Gone! Vanished without a trace. You've lost an important file and you just realized you didn't back it up. So now what do you do?
Panic? Break small objects? Ice cream? No. You stay calm and try to get the file back.
- First, make sure you've lost the file and not misplaced it. When you press the DELETE key, Windows sends the selected file(s) to the Recycle Bin. Click the Recycle Bin icon on the Windows desktop to see the files currently stored there. To restore a file, just click it and then click the Restore button.
- Next, search your computer. Your PC is a big place and there are lots of places for a small file to hide. Right-click My Computer in Windows Explorer and select Search. You can search you entire PC for the filename, part of the filename, or even for words in the file.
- If it looks like you've really lost the file, there's still hope. When Windows erases a file, it doesn't really delete it. To get it back, you'll need a file recovery utility like Undelete 4 from Executive Software, which costs about $30. But before you pay for a recovery program, download and try PC Inspector (www.pcinspector.de); it's free.
