How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Files from USB Drive?

Accidental deletions are more common than you may think. In fact, human errors cause more data loss than malware or virus infections. Human errors – such as accidental deletion, formatting, and more – account for the second most common cause of data loss across the globe, after software and hardware failure.

However, with adequate measure for data backup and system protection, you can prevent data loss due to accidental deletion and formatting largely.

In this guide, we will guide you through step-by-step instructions that will help you to recover accidentally deleted files from a USB drive – be it an external hard drive, SSD, thumb drive, or memory card, etc.

Steps to Recover Accidentally Deleted Files from USB Drive

Then, start by looking into the Recycle Bin folder. More often, deleted files can be found and restored from the Recycle Bin, if you haven’t already emptied it or used a system cleaner app recently such as CCleaner.

First, stop using the USB storage media immediately. This is important to prevent data overwriting which otherwise can permanently destroy your deleted files – beyond the scope of data recovery.

Recycle Bin does not contain files deleted with Shift+Delete command. To recover such permanently deleted files, you need a powerful data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional.

Follow these instructions to recover deleted files from a USB storage media,

• Download and install Stellar Data Recovery Professional software

• Launch the software and click ‘Recover Data’
• Select ‘All Data’ and click ‘Next.’

• Choose the USB drive from the ‘Connected Drives’ and click ‘Scan.’

• After the scan, you can click on a file to see its preview. In case desired files are not found, turn on the ‘Deep Scan’ toggle at the bottom left of the ‘Recover From’ screen to run a ‘Deep Scan.’

• Select the files you wish to recover and click ‘Recover.’

• Click ‘Browse’ and choose a save location.

• Click ‘Start Saving’

That’s it. That’s how you recover deleted files from USB drive when they are not found in the Recycle Bin and backups.

The Stellar Data Recovery software not only helps you restore accidentally deleted files but also files lost due to formatting, drive corruption, and deleted partitions. Further, the software comes with an add-on Drive Monitor utility that actively monitors Windows hard drive health and SMART status.

The software timely warns you when it detects health issues with the drive or SMART errors, which may lead to a disk failure and permanent data loss situation.

Tips to Prevent Data Loss from Accidental Deletion

1. Frequently backup your important files – use cloud and external or network storage media.

2. Use right-click or the Delete key to remove files only when you mean it.

3. Install a reliable Antivirus/Malware software.

4. Edit Recycle Bin properties. Change ‘Size’ (volume) and enable ‘Display delete confirmation dialog’ checkbox.

5. Always inspect Recycle Bin folder and restore accidentally deleted files before running system cleaner app.

6. Immediately use data recovery software when the file isn’t in the Recycle Bin or backup.

Conclusion

USB drives are vulnerable to accidental deletion, corruption, and other disk errors as they are frequently connected to various systems. To recover deleted files from USB, check the Recycle Bin folder of the PC – where it was connected when the file(s) was deleted. Also, check your backups for the file. If not found, immediately leverage a data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Professional.

The software recovers deleted files from any Windows-based internal or external USB storage media such as hard drive, SSD, pen drives, SD cards, etc. The software also recovers files from formatted, corrupt, and deleted partitions in Windows PC.

And to prevent data loss situation, always keep a backup of your important files. Also, change the Recycle Bin properties to avoid accidental and permanent deletion of file from the PC and USB storage media.

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About The Author

Isha Rikhi

Isha is a technical blogger and data recovery expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery. She writes about technical tips and tutorials.