Deleted C Drive File? Full Steps to Recover it!

This article is aimed at telling you how to recover deleted C drive files. Unlike files on other drives, C drive files often associated with the operating system and software running files. So you must know how can you recover deleted C drive files.

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Page Table of Contents

Updated By

Brithny

Approved By

Evan Galasso

Updated on

20 May 2024

Min Reading

9 Min

A common situation that many Windows users may encounter is that the C drive is running out of space and is displayed as a red bar in the "Devices and Drives" of the computer. The most straightforward solution that most users may think of is to delete some useless files to free up space. But wait a minute, this is the problem.

The C drive, also known as the computer's hard drive, stores your computer's operating system, the applications you use, and the files you download from the Internet. Some seemingly useless files may affect the operation of the computer operating system or other software after being deleted.

Recover Deleted C Drive Files

What Happens If I Deleted C Drive Files?

Some of you may be wondering what would happen if you delete the C drive files. This is a kind of tricky question. What happens to your computer or the software on your computer depends on what kind of file you delete. If the files you delete are program cache files, then congratulations, it would not affect your computer. However, if the deleted file is related to the computer system or software operation, you may find that you cannot open some software, or some error messages pop up when you open the computer.

Recover Permanently Deleted C Drive Files with EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard

Since you started searching for solutions on the Internet, you may have tried all the basic troubleshooting methods but failed. So in this part, we will go straight to the most effective data recovery method, telling you how to apply third-party software to recover the deleted files. 

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is what we recommend, this tool has a good reputation in the data recovery field. It will perform a deep scan to find your computer's deleted files. Here are some other key features of this tool.

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You can download the EaseUS files recovery software from the button above and then use the following steps to recover your deleted C drive files.

Step 1. Choose the exact file location and then click the "Search for Lost Data" button to continue.

select the location to scan for deleted files

Step 2. After the process, locate the deleted or lost files in the left panel using the "Path" or "Type" feature. Or, you can apply the "Filter" feature to find the deleted files.

check the results

Step 3. Click the "Recover" button and save the restored files – ideally, it should be different from the original one. You can choose a cloud storage, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, etc., and click "Save" to save your recovered files.

recover deleted files

After restoring the files you want, you can try to restart the computer or re-open the software to see if it can operate successfully.

However, it must be remembered that time is of the essence for data recovery. The sooner you start the process of finding and recovering data, the better your chances of successfully recovering data. Leaving it for too long may cause the data to be overwritten, or there is a problem on the drive from which you are trying to recover the data, and the recovery cannot be performed.

Quick Steps to Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin

Although this is rare, some users may not know that when you delete a file from the computer, the file does not simply disappear. You can find these deleted files in the recycle bin. It also applies to deleted C drive files. If you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin, you can try the following steps to recover deleted files.

  • Right-click the Recycle Bin icon and choose "Open".
  • If you know the file name, searching the deleted file you want to restore in the search bar.
  • Right-click on a selected file and choose “Restore” to recover the file to its original location.

Bonus Tip: How to Free Up C Drive Space

To avoid further data loss, we'd like to share with you a safer method to free up C drive space, that is to apply the Disk Cleanup utility. It is a Windows built-in tool that helps users to clean the disk without formatting. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Open This PC/My Computer, right-click on C drive, and select Properties.

Clean C drive without formatting

Step 2. Click Disk Cleanup and select files that you want to delete from the C drive.

Clean C drive with disk cleanup utility

Step 3. Click OK to confirm the operation.

Confirm to clean C drive

Notice:
Disk cleanup includes emptying the recycle bin. If you perform this operation, you will not be able to restore deleted files from the recycle bin in the future.

Start to Rescue Your C Drive Files Now

Now you've known the best way to recover lost C drive files is to apply EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Don't hesitate, download the software and have a try. And please remember, next time you find your C drive is out of space, don't delete files directly on the C drive. If you like to know more about free up C drive space in a bit more depth, you can refer to the following tutorial for further information.

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  • Updated by

    Brithny is a technology enthusiast, aiming to make readers' tech lives easy and enjoyable. She loves exploring new technologies and writing technical how-to tips. In her spare time, she loves sharing things about her game experience on Facebook or Twitter.…
  • Approved by

    Evan Galasso is a digital forensics and data recovery engineer with over 10 years of experience in the field. He presents opinions on the current state of storage media, reverse engineering of storage systems and firmware, and electro-mechanical systems of SSDs and HDDs.…
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