Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11 And Rename the Restored Files

Every day, we create new files. We also modify and delete the existing ones. And it should not surprise you that you often lose an important document. We all know that when we move a file to the Recycle Bin, we can restore it later. But what if we have emptied our Recycle Bin or deleted the file permanently? It could be frightening, if the file was too important for you. But don’t worry, this article enlists some useful steps to restore your deleted files in Windows 11 and rename them in an orderly manner. Let’s begin.

First Things First…

Stop using your PC. The more you use it, the higher the disk read/ write activities. If a new file overwrites your deleted file, you may not be able to recover the latter (or you may recover only a portion of it).

Reasons Behind Accidental File Deletions

You can reduce such file deletions with utmost care and caution, but you cannot prevent it. In specific scenarios, you may delete files permanently without moving to the Recycle Bin. Due to lack of technical know-how, a user may assume their files are in the Recycle Bin while they are not.

Here are some possible scenarios that result into accidental file deletions:

• Emptying your Recycle Bin without verifying its contents can cause unexpected data loss.
• The process of formatting a hard disk wipes out all the data from it. If you do so without backing up your files first, they are permanently gone.
• When a Recycle Bin is full, no new files are moved to the Recycle Bin. In Windows, there is a specific storage quota allocated to your Recycle Bin. If you haven’t emptied your Recycle Bin for quite a long time, it may be already full.
• Do you often delete files from a network location? If so, in the absence of a Recycle Bin, they are permanently deleted.
• Shift + Delete is a keyboard shortcut to skip moving files to the Recycle Bin. If you deleted any files using this shortcut, they are gone.
• Some commands in the Command Prompt permanently delete your files. If you copy-paste them from the Web without understanding, you may lose your precious data.
• Whenever you delete any file from a USB flash drive, it is permanently deleted and not moved to the Recycle Bin.
• It’s not just about human errors. Computer viruses are also a major culprit. While some computer viruses might do some nasty things in the background or change system settings, there are dangerous viruses that automatically wipe out a user’s documents and files. If the data is not backed up, it can result in terrible data loss.

Recover Deleted Files in Windows 11

A free software Recuva from the same company that made CCleaner can come to your rescue.

Features:

• Supports hard disks, external hard disks, USB flash drives, and other storage devices
• Recover files from a damaged hard disk and other media
• Recover files from an accidentally formatted hard disk and other media
• Deep scan to find old traces of files
• Supports recovering various types of files including documents, photos, videos, emails, and so on.

Steps:

1. Download, install and open Recuva.
2. In the new wizard-based interface, click the Next button.
3. Select the file type you want to recover. For example, Pictures, Music, Documents, Videos, Compressed, Emails. Select “Other” to restore all file types.
4. Click Next.
5. Now, specify where you want to search for the deleted files.
   1. On my media card or iPod: Use this option to search for deleted files from your removable drives (except CDs and floppies) for deleted files. Make sure your media card or iPod is already connected and recognized before selecting this option.
   2. In my Documents: Use it to search for files deleted from the My Documents folders.
   3. In the Recycle Bin: You can use this option to search for files deleted from the Recycle Bin (for example, emptying your Recycle Bin).
   4. In a specific location: Use this option to specify an exact location you remember.
   5. I’m not sure: Use it only if you don’t remember the exact location of your deleted files and want to search everywhere across your computer.
6. Click Next.
7. If you want to deep scan, check the option “Enable Deep Scan.” Remember, it can take a few hours depending on the number of deleted files, disk activity, and disk reading speed.
8. Start the process by clicking “Start.”
9. Recuva will then list deleted after completion.
10. To restore your files, check their corresponding boxes and then click the Recover button.
11. In the new dialog, specify a target directory where you want to restore them.

Warning: In the Step # 11 above, DO NOT specify the same drive as the drive that contained your deleted files.

Rename Restored Files

Now that you’ve restored the files, you’ll realize that they have random names, characters, and numbers. You can rename or organize them using an easy tool like Easy File Renamer.

Easy File Renamer Features:

• Dozens of file renaming rules to choose from- New name, Insert text, Remove text, Add prefix, Add suffix, Add numbering (ascending/ descending), Change case (upper case, lower case or title case), Swap text.
• Real-time new file name previews
• Apply multiple renaming rules at once
• Rename files on the cloud: You’ll get a complimentary subscription to the Cloud File Renamer to rename files on your favorite cloud storage.
• Organizer: Organize your files into your own directory structure
• Music Fixer: Fill-up missing music tags, batch edit music tags
• Mover and Copier: Bulk copy/ move files with zero chances of errors.

Steps:

1. Download Easy File Renamer.
2. Click Files.
3. Select “All files from a folder.”
4. Click “Add files.”
5. Select the folders that contain your recovered files.
6. Now, select a renaming rule from the left panel and then add it by clicking the “Add rule” button.
7. You can add multiple rules of your choice.
8. To start renaming, click the “Rename” button.