How to Recover Permanently Lost Files in Windows 7 PC

Written By Satyeshu Kumar
Approved By Rohit Arora
Updated on 1 May, 2023
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Summary: Using ‘Shift+Delete’ keys to remove files from Windows PC is a common issue and many of us have already experienced this issue which permanently removes the files from the system. However, with the help of Stellar Data Recovery software, these permanently deleted files can be recovered. Get the software now!

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Often, mistakenly or intentionally, few people use ‘Shift+Delete’ to remove files (photos, videos, audios, documents, etc.) from their Windows PC which permanently removes the file(s) from the system’s hard drive. It could be devastating when you accidentally delete an important file using ‘Shift+Del’ keys. However, it’s a fairly common issue and therefore, you are not alone. Most of us have already experienced this critical data loss situation at some point in time.

Moreover, other factors as mentioned below can also lead to permanent data loss in Windows 7:

Malware or Virus infection.
Emptying of the Recycle Bin.
Bad Sectors or a corrupt file on system’s hard drive.
Deleted partition, etc.

Fortunately, accidentally deleted or missing files can be recovered back in Windows 7 PC using tools provided in the Windows OS or with the help of a specialized software as long as the files are not overwritten.

How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 7?

1. Using Backup

If you can’t find a file on your Windows 7 PC, you can take the help of your recent backup (if you are using Windows Backup) and restore your permanently lost files in Windows 7. To restore file(s) or folder(s) from a backup, connect the media or drive where the backup is saved to your Windows 7 PC and then follow these steps:

Go to ‘Start’ and click ‘Control Panel’.
Click ‘System and Maintenance’ and then click ‘Backup and Restore’.
Click ‘Restore my files’ and follow the wizard to restore lost files.

If the backup contains your lost files & folders, the file and folder(s) will be restored successfully.

2. Previous Version

You may also use the Previous Version feature available in Windows 7 (if enabled). The Previous Version is the copy of the files and the folders that are saved automatically by Windows. This feature is also known as shadow copies.

To restore lost files in Windows 7 from previous versions, follow these steps:

Click ‘Start’ and then click ‘Computer’.
Browse to the location from where the file or the folder had got lost. Then right-click and select ‘Restore previous versions’. You may also right-click on a folder or drive and select ‘Restore previous versions’.
List of available previous versions of the files and folders are displayed. It also displays files saved on a backup (if you are using Windows Backup) and the system-restore point if available.
Double-click on the previous version of the file or the folder (with earlier date) that you want to restore.
Finally, drag and drop the file or the folder you want to recover to a different location such as Desktop.

Selected file or the folder has now been successfully restored and saved to your desired location.

3. Using a Data Recovery Tool

Data recovery tools come handy in critical situations where you have lost important files and there is no backup available. It’s also important to choose a reliable data recovery tool from a trusted source in order to recover permanently deleted files and folders. One such tool is the Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows that can recover permanently lost files and folders from FAT (FAT16, Fat32), NTFS, and exFAT volumes and drives even if they are formatted, re-formatted, corrupt, or inaccessible.

Did you know that previously deleted data can still be recovered by a data recovery tool? If you are discarding/donating/exchanging your old computer, please ensure to erase the unused space of your hard drive as well. This is an important step to protect your data privacy. To do that, only trust a professional and efficient file eraser software like Stellar File Eraser. Read More.

Conclusion

To avoid such critical data loss situations, use a reputed antivirus and anti-malware program & protect your system from virus and malware attacks that lead to data loss. Also, enable Windows Backup and Previous Versions feature in your Windows 7 PC. That’ll help you quickly restore files lost due to various factors as explained above including accidental deletion of files and folder using ‘Shift+Delete’.

However, data recovery tools like Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows can help you recover data with just a few clicks. This software has a highly intuitive interface that makes it easy to use and a remarkably efficient way to recover lost data.

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About The Author

Satyeshu Kumar

Satyeshu is a Windows blogger and data recovery expert. He is having good technical knowledge and experience in Windows data recovery. He writes about latest technical tips, Windows issues and tutorials.

25 comments

Giribabu says:

November 10, 2020 at 9:26 am

Hi Sir, I have formatted the system I made a mistake needed files not coped. how to recover that files with date and time-wise.

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  November 20, 2020 at 10:04 am
  
  Hi Giri Babu, you just need to download stellar data recovery professional and run on your machine. If after scanning in preview you able to see your formatted data then you can recover it easily. Thanks.
  
  Reply
Ozren Kartalović says:

November 2, 2019 at 7:49 am

Hello sir,
I need to ask you is it possible to recover data files from a hard drive that was formated and has a fresh win install (7) BUT the user that was using this computer was loging as somebody else. and when i migrated files i did not do the copy from other users, only him, so this files that he made logged as another user are not saved, they are gone.
I am asking you this, since Stellar is not recovering this old user at all when i try. Recovery only comes back with current files and folders. Partition option is also without results.
Thank you in advance.

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  November 5, 2019 at 5:15 am
  
  Hi Ozren,
  Stellar Data Recovery is a powerful software that can recover formatted data, deleted data, lost partition data, etc very easily. But it’s not possible to recover overwritten data. Thanks.
  
  Reply
Kregg Klingman says:

October 24, 2019 at 6:25 pm

i have many GIG of music on an SD card. when i plug the sd card into my win7 machine the only file that appears is LOST.DR

Can my music be recovered?

Thank you,

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  October 30, 2019 at 7:18 am
  
  Hi Kregg,
  Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows supports more than 300 file types. The software gets back your data from pen drive, hard disk, camera/mobile Flash card, SD cards and so on. So you can download the free trial version of Stellar Data Recovery Professional and run on your machine. If you see your data in preview then you can recover it easily. Thanks
  
  Reply
Yogeshswar says:

September 15, 2019 at 6:21 am

Hi,
I selected and moved files to be burned on a DVD but when I selected START BURNING, Windows prompted that not enough space on the DVD. I then clicked CANCEL.
Which resulted that I lost all the moved files.
Can these be restored???
Thanks in advance

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  September 19, 2019 at 10:54 am
  
  Hello Yogeshswar,
  
  We would like to inform you that we have software to recover lost data, here in this case if the files are stored in the computer before moving to DVD then we can run a scan on the hard drive to recover data.
  
  Our software can recover data if it was stored on a drive, if it was lost at the time of moving then we would recommend try to Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows software. Thanks
  
  Reply
William Sanders says:

August 22, 2019 at 11:55 am

Hi,
Can this software recover my files after I accidentally made my external HDD bootable USB-HDD with Power ISO?? Essentially I have overwritten it. Can this help?? I had almost 350 GB valuable stuff on HDD 🙁

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  August 23, 2019 at 5:20 am
  
  Hello William,
  Overwritten data can never be recovered. Still, you can try a free demo of Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Windows. If you see your data in preview, so you can recover it. Thanks!!
  
  Reply
Gilbert Shepherd says:

May 26, 2019 at 8:17 pm

For no reason, Windows 7 had removed one of my desktop folders. I was not able to find in the bin, in the recovery file, and all the pc. It disappeared without reason.But I used anti-malware software and scanned my pc. I found my folder and all the files were there. I am very happy for your informatics blog. Thanks.

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  May 27, 2019 at 3:49 am
  
  Hello Gilbert,
  I am glad to know this blog helped you. Keep reading.
  
  Reply
Brett says:

December 4, 2018 at 9:25 am

Thanks heaps Satyeshu,
we had 20 short power cuts today and my restore points would
not restore the lost files
BUT the right click and ‘Restore previous versions’ worked perfect, recovered 10gig of files that restore point could not,

Cheers
Brett

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  December 5, 2018 at 3:52 am
  
  Hello Brett,
  
  Glad to know that our blog helps you. Keep Reading and keep sharing.
  
  Reply
Sonja Wilson says:

November 14, 2018 at 10:36 am

This is an effective software which can easily recover data which has been deleted intentionally or accidentally. Perfect software for data recovery. Thanks!!!

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  November 15, 2018 at 4:38 am
  
  Hello Sonja,
  
  Thanks for sharing your experience.
  
  Reply
Sandra says:

July 16, 2018 at 7:09 am

Thank you Stellar for the article.It perfectly addressed my problem:)

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  July 18, 2018 at 4:48 am
  
  Thank You Sandra
  
  Reply
Lisa Parsons says:

June 6, 2018 at 3:30 am

I lost my data two months back. Is it possible to recover now?

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  June 8, 2018 at 5:11 am
  
  If the data is not overwritten then it will be easily recovered using Stellar windows data recovery software.
  
  Reply