The Frustration of Lost PDF
PDF is an abbreviation that stands for Portable Document Format. It’s a versatile file format created by Adobe in the 1990s that gives people an easy, reliable way to save their work. From schools to businesses to government agencies, PDF file format is used everywhere, because of its ease of use. Considering this widespread use and the fact that PDF files often contain important information, it has become increasingly important to develop a way to safeguard essential PDFs.
Fortunately, now we have many ways and some amazing tools that will save you from panic attacks in case your PDF file is lost or deleted. In this article we will guide you through the manual methods and professional file recovery software, explaining the steps to recover deleted PDF files on your system.
Common Reasons for PDF File Deletion
PDF files may get deleted due to various common reasons, including:
- Accidental deletion while clearing up space.
- Formatting the drive where the PDF files were stored.
- Virus or malware attacks that corrupt or delete files.
- Emptying the Recycle Bin without realizing the PDF files were there.
In majority of the cases, these files are not permanently gone and can be recovered if you act promptly and quickly.
Manual Methods to Recover Deleted PDF Files
Before going for any third-party file recovery software you should first try the manual methods because they may save your time energy, and money and you get your PDF file back quickly, especially if the deletion was recent.
- Check the Recycle Bin
The first place where files go after deletion is Recycle Bin, so it’s the easiest way to recover deleted files from Recycle Bin, all you need to do is open Recycle Bin, look for your deleted PDF file, and once found right-click on the file and select “Restore”.
The file will return to its original location. If it’s not in the Recycle Bin, proceed to the next method.
- Use Windows File History
The second method that you can try is the built-in feature of Windows called File History which automatically backs up your files. But this will only be helpful if you have enabled it. All you need to do is open the folder where the PDF was previously restored, right-click on the folder, and select “Restore previous version”. Lastly, browse through the available backups, select the version of the folder that contains your file, and click “Restore”.
- Check OneDrive or Google Drive Backup
If you were using cloud services like OneDrive or Google Drive to store or sync your PDF files, they might still be recoverable. To recover from the drive all you need to do is open the drive, log into the account, locate the deleted file, and if found restore it from there.
If none of these manual methods work, don’t worry—there’s still hope. The next step involves using file recovery software to recover your lost files.
Recover Deleted PDF Files Using File Recovery Software
If the manual recovery method fails or your file is deleted permanently, you can go for third-party file recovery software, which will be the best bet in such situation. These tools are created to thoroughly scan the hard drive and recover the lost or deleted files, even if they are formatted completely or corrupted. Among the many options available file recovery software of Stellar Data Recovery for Windows stands out as a superior way to recover lost PDF files on Windows
Why Stellar Data Recovery Stands Out
- Comprehensive Scanning: Stellar scans your entire system or specific drives, even deeply formatted or corrupted ones, to retrieve deleted PDF files.
- Support for Multiple Formats: While it specializes in recovering PDF files, Stellar also works seamlessly with other formats, making it versatile for all kinds of data loss scenarios.
- Quick Recovery: The software’s advanced algorithms help recover data quickly, reducing the downtime caused by missing files.
- User-Friendly Interface: Stellar offers a simple, step-by-step interface that makes the recovery process straightforward, even for non-technical users.
- Recover from All Storage Devices: Whether your PDF file was stored on a hard drive, SSD, USB drive, or even an external storage device, Stellar can recover it.
- Preview before Recovery: Stellar Data Recovery allows you to preview your recoverable files before you restore them, ensuring that you recover only the files you need.
How to Recover PDF Files Using Stellar Data Recovery Software
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to recover deleted PDF files using Stellar Data Recovery:
- Download and Install: Start by downloading Stellar Data Recovery from their official website. Install it on your Windows computer.
- Launch the Software: Open Stellar Data Recovery, and you’ll be prompted to select the file types you want to recover. Since you’re looking for PDF files, choose “Documents.”
- Select the Drive: Next, select the drive or location where the PDF files were originally stored. If you’re unsure, Stellar can scan the entire system.
- Scan for Lost Files: Click “Scan,” and the software will start searching for deleted PDF files. Depending on the size of the drive, this may take some time.
- Preview and Recover: Once the scan is complete, Stellar will show a list of recoverable files. You can preview each file to ensure it’s the correct one. When you’re ready, click “Recover” and choose a location to save your recovered PDF files.
Conclusion: Act Fast to Recover Your PDF Files Efficiently
Losing important PDF file can disrupt your workflow and also cause a huge loss of you hard work and valuable time spend, but with the right approach, it’s far from the end of the road. While the permanent loss of data is easily understandable, the recovery methods are a great solution to not only give the file back but also reclaim the time, effort, and peace of mind associated with that document.
The most important thing is to act quickly and promptly to avoid any overwriting of the data and choose the best recovery method that perfectly fits your situation. If you will act quickly the recovery chances increase exponentially. With the right file recovery software not only the chances of recovery increase but also the anxiety of lost documents can be transformed into a seamless recovery process, ensuring that your work and crucial information remain intact. Always remember recovery is just a few steps away with Stellar Data Recovery.
