How to Recover Shift Deleted Files on Windows (4 Best Methods)

Accidentally deleted a file with Shift+Delete and now you’re wondering if it’s gone forever? Maybe you didn’t realize Shift+Delete skips the Recycle Bin, or perhaps you thought you didn’t need those files anymore, only to change your mind. Either way, recovering Shift+Delete files on Windows is often possible, especially if you know the right steps.

Over the past 16 months, more than 8,000 people have turned to this guide, and we’re so glad we’ve been able to help. We’re constantly updating this guide to make it even more helpful, and we believe this latest version is the best yet.

Assess Your Chances to Recover Shift Deleted Files

As we mentioned earlier, when you use the Shift+Delete command in Windows, it permanently removes files and bypasses the Recycle Bin. Unlike regular deletion, which allows easy restoration from the Recycle Bin (excluding files deleted from certain external media), shift-deleted files require immediate action to maximize recovery chances.

When a file is deleted, the operating system does not immediately erase it from your storage device. Instead, it marks the space as available for new data. This means your files remain on the drive until new data overwrites them. For example, downloading files, creating new documents, or installing software (including recovery tools) on the affected drive or partition can reduce your chances of successful recovery.

There are two main ways to restore your shift-deleted files:

• Using backups: If you had backups enabled prior to the data loss, you can restore your files using Windows Backup, File History, or another backup solution.
• Using data recovery software: If no backup is available, data recovery software can scan your drive for deleted files and help you recover them. This solution also works if you’ve emptied your Recycle Bin. Again, it’s critical not to install the recovery software on the same drive where the deleted files were located, as this could overwrite the data you’re trying to recover. Instead, install the software on a different drive or use a portable version if available.

Note on SSDs: It is more challenging to recover permanently deleted files from solid-state drives (SSDs) due to a feature called TRIM. TRIM automatically clears deleted data to optimize the SSD’s performance, which can make data recovery difficult or impossible. If your SSD supports TRIM and it is enabled, the chances to recover shift-deleted files are significantly reduced.

4 Best Methods to Recover Shift Deleted Files

Assuming you have no backups available, let’s start with the second most effective way to recover shift+deleted files. But we’ll get back to backups a little later on in this article.

Method 1: Use Data Recovery Software

As you may have realized, data recovery software is the best way to recover Shift+Deleted files if you haven’t backed up your data. We’ll start by discussing one of the top options, Disk Drill, and then explore an alternative (Windows File Recovery) that’s suitable for basic recovery.

Option A: Disk Drill

Disk Drill supports approximately 400 file formats, providing extensive recovery capabilities when needed. For recently deleted files, the software can recover almost any type of file without requiring deep scans.

To recover Shift deleted files with Disk Drill, follow these simple steps:

1. Download and install Disk Drill. As we noticed earlier, do not download or install it to the same drive from which you try to recover data. Open it, once installation completes.
2. Select the drive that contains the files you previously deleted and click Search for lost data.
3. Disk Drill will start to scan your drive for deleted files. It can take some time, depending on the drive’s size. You can actually preview found files in real-time, however, we suggest you wait till the scan completes. Then click Review found items.
4. To narrow down the results you can use various filters, depending on the file information you know. It’s size, date of modification, or even file name. Once you find the files you need, select them by ticking their checkbox. When ready, click Recover.
5. Specify the recovery location for the files. You need to restore the files to a location that is different from where they were stored originally. You will see a notification if something is wrong. Once selected, press Next.
6. And that was the last step. Now you can review recovered files, and transfer them wherever you need.

Option B: Windows File Recovery

To recover your shift-deleted files using Windows File Recovery, follow these steps:

1. Download Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store.
2. Launch Windows File Recovery after the installation completes.
3. Determine the Appropriate Recovery Mode based on your file system and recovery needs. The basic command syntax is: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
4. You can use the Regular mode for NTFS file systems when recovering recently deleted files. Type in winfr C: E: /regular /n \Users\YourUsername\Documents\* (as example) and press Enter. This command recovers all files from the Documents folder on drive C: and saves them to drive E.
5. When prompted with “Continue? (Y/N)”, type Y and press Enter.
6. If you use non-NTFS file systems, such as FAT32 or exFAT, run Extensive Mode. Here the example of command will be winfr C: E: /extensive /n *.pdf /n *.docx /n *.xlsx. This command searches for .pdf, .docx, and .xlsx files on drive C: and saves them to drive E:.
7. Type the command and press Enter. When prompted with “Continue? (Y/N)”, type Y and press Enter.
8. The tool scans the source drive and recovers the files to the specified destination.
9. When recovery complete, navigate to the destination drive (e.g., E:) to find your recovered files in a folder named Recovery_date and time.

All in all, with Windows File Recovery, you can recover shift-deleted files without installing additional software. While it requires the use of command-line prompts, it provides useful solution for basic recovery tasks involving common file types.

It’s also worth noting that Windows File Recovery has a third-party graphical user interface (GUI) called WinfrGUI. We’ve done some research on this ‘product’ as well.

Method 2: Recover Shift Deleted Files Via Windows Backup

If you’re among those who rely on native Windows backups and were fortunate enough to have it enabled at the time of data loss, then probably you can recover your shift deleted folders and files using Backup and Restore option. In case you are not familiar with the recovery procedure using this type of backup, bellow we provide detailed steps to do it.

Here are the steps that you need to take:

1. Right-click on Start and select Search.
2. Type in Control Panel.
3. Go to System Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
4. Hit the Restore my files button in the bottom right corner. Here you can also browse for more backups if they are available.
5. Select Browse for folders to see which files can be restored to their previous condition.
6. Click on the folder that you wish to restore and select Add folder.
7. Hit Next and locate where you wish to recover your files.
8. Click Restore to undo shift delete.

Method 3: Check File History to Undo Shift Delete

Windows comes with another convenient tool named File History. While the previous method is used for creating bigger backups, File History is tasked with copying all of the files located in the Music, Photos, Videos, and Documents folders. It does so every hour, so you can easily browse through many previous iterations and restore the ones you like.

File History is easy to set up. All you have to do to activate it is…

1. Visit Settings > Update & Security > Backup.
2. Click Add a Drive and make sure that the Automatically back up my files function is turned On.
3. File History will make an updated copy of your files every hour.

Again, if you are lucky enough to have File History set up in advance, this is how you can restore shift deleted files:

1. Click on the Quick Access icon located in your toolbar.
2. Open the folder which contained your lost files. In the Home tab, click on the History icon to open up File History.
3. Here, you can choose to restore the whole folder or one file. To recover all of the files in the folder, simply click on the green icon at the bottom. If you wish to get a single file, first you’ll have to open it inside the File History. Now, browse through different versions of your shift deleted file by clicking on the arrows at the bottom of the screen. The newest version will be all the way to the right. Once you find the version that you wish to retrieve, click on the restore button.
4. The file you’ve chosen to recover will be recovered back to its original location.

Method 4: Check If you Got OneDrive Backups

You might not realize it, but when you set up Windows 10 or 11, you have the option to configure automatic backups of your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive. Chances are you enabled this feature and then forgot about it. In this case, you may be able to recover files that were Shift+Deleted from your Desktop or other mentioned locations using OneDrive.

Here are the steps to recover shift-deleted files from the OneDrive:

1. You need to expand your icons bar on the right-bottom of the screen, and click on the cloud icon.
2. Then click on the ‘Open folder‘ button.
3. Browse through folders and files you have on the drive that were previously backed up. If you are lucky, you will find the files you need there.
4. Now you can transfer your files from OneDrive backup to any location you need.

Should I Contact a Professional Data Recovery Service for Shift Delete Data Recovery?

If you aren’t tech-savvy, you might consider taking your computer to professionals. However, you should keep in mind that this route has some risks.

To start, this can cost you a lot of money. Recovery services are only getting more expensive each year. While rates will vary depending on where you live, here are the average fees. There is also no guarantee that your files will be successfully recovered. Lastly, your privacy may be at risk, since nothing is stopping an employee from snooping through your personal data.

FAQ

Parting Words

As you can see, in most cases it’s easy to undo shift delete. Since this is a fairly common problem, there are many ways to recover permanently deleted folders and files. Using the recovery software tools we previously mentioned can save you a lot of time and money.