And if you don’t have a backup, you really should. If you do have a backup, now’s the time to check it for a copy of the file you deleted. You should be making regular backups of your most important files so you won’t lose too much critical data if your files ever vanish on you.

This is the cloud storage version of the Recycle Bin. If your file was stored in a cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive, be sure to log into your account on the service’s website and check your deleted files there-you may find the file is still recoverable. CCleaner-and similar apps-do let you disable cleaning the Reycle Bin, so that may be an option worth exploring if you like to hang on to deleted files until you’re ready for them to go. Note: By default, programs like CCleaner empty your Recycle Bin when you run them, so having CCleaner or a similar program automatically run in the background can prevent you from recovering files from the Recycle Bin. You can also right-click in the Recycle Bin window, and then choose Sort By > Date Deleted to more easily view recently deleted files. You can search the Recycle Bin using the search box at the top-right corner of the window, which may help if you have a lot of files in there. In Windows, take a peek in the Recycle Bin. Hopefully, you just misplaced the file and you can find it again. Try performing a search in File Explorer. If you’re not sure whether you permanently deleted a file, be sure to look around for it first.

Ccleaner recover deleted files