5 Ways to Recover Shift Deleted Files in Windows 11 or 10

Shift Deleted Files Will Not Go to Recycle Bin

When you are trying to delete a file using the Shift + Delete keys, it will ask you “Are you sure you want to permanently delete this file”. What does it mean?

This means your files will be deleted from this disk and you will find deleted files not in Recycle Bin or elsewhere. Fortunately, your files are still there and recoverable as long as they are not overwritten. Windows simply removes file entries from their location and allocates the space as “free” for new data.

At this time, you need to stop using this drive and recover Shift Deleted Files in Windows 11 or 10 immediately. Any further options might cause data loss on it. The best practice is using an all-inclusive data recovery software like MyRecover. Of course, if you backup copies of them, try to restore files from a backup image.

Delete vs Shift + Delete: Both are methods to deletion method in Windows 11 or 10. The biggest difference between them is whether or not they bypass the Recycle Bin. The Delete method will not and stay there for a while.

How to Recover Shift Deleted Files in Windows 11 or 10

Shift-deleted files are also known as permanently deleted files, but this does not mean that there is no way to recover them. There are 3 types of methods to retrieve Shift Deleted files in Windows 11 or 10, select them based on your situation:

• Try data recovery software like MyRecover
• Use the backup image to get your files back
• Download Shift Deleted files from a cloud drive

Among these 3 recovery methods, if you recover the files immediately after recognizing the data loss, then the first method does not have any requirement attached to it. So it’s suggested to try data recovery software first. If you have a backup image or you are using any cloud drive (eg: OneDrive), try the other 2 methods as well.

Way 1: Retrieve Shift Deleted Files with MyRecover

MyRecover is a reliable and easy to use data recovery software for Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, etc and Windows Server. Thanks to its two advanced scanning methods and high success rate, you can easily find out and recover permanently deleted files on the disk. It can internal or external disk, flash drive, SD card, etc.

• Recover Word documents, Excel files, PPT, pictures, videos, compressed files, etc, and more than 200+ file types. 
• keep the recovered files with their original name, format, quality, and path.
• Recover specific files or folders during the scanning process. You don’t need to wait for the scanning result.

To get started, download Windows data recovery software- MyRecover and install it on your Windows PC.

Step 1. Launch Windows data recovery software- MyRecover. Hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.

Step 2. The software will automatically scan the selected drive and display all the deleted or lost files.

You can also filter specific files you want to recover (eg: recover files from a specific folder on internal or external disk, flash drive, etc). Here are two ways in the following:

• Directly type its file name in the Search for files or folders box.
• Use the Filter feature. You need to select file type (eg: Word documents), date modified or size. 

Notes:

• Type: include all file types, such as images, videos, documents, mails, webpage, compressed files, etc.
• Data Modified: support today, yesterday, last 7 days, last 30 days, and custom.
• Size: filter file size from less than 128KB to 128KB ~1MB to 1MB ~ 512MB and above, or custom.

Step 3. Select the files you want to recover and click Recover xxx files. You don’t need to wait for the final scanning result if you find the Shift Deleted files need to recover.

Note: MyRecover displays the number of files to be recovered and their full size. You can use this to determine if you have selected all the Shift Deleted files.

Step 4. Select a new folder to store all the permanently deleted files on your drive. Then, confirm it and click Select Folder. It will automatically recover the selected files in this folder. Don’t save them to original location as it may cause data corruption or permanent data loss.

Notes:

• MyRecover allow users to recover files from flash drive needs formatting for free, up to 500MB in total. To recover unlimited files, try advanced editions.
• You still can use it to recover files from formatted hard drive, fix RAW SD card without losing data, and other data loss scenarios.

Way 2: Restore Shift Deleted Files from File History

File History, one of Windows backup software, is able to backup and restore user files, such as files in Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Pictures, etc. Try this If you turn on it in advance.

Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security and click File History.

Step 2. Select Restore personal files. It will open a file history recovery window and display the most recent backup made for the Documents folder.

Step 3. Check if it contains permanently deleted files. If not, click the left arrow to find it in the older backups and the right arrow to go back to the most recent backup. Once you find files that need to recover, click the green restore button to restore Shift Deleted files in Windows 11 or 10.

Way 3: Recover Permanently Deleted Files using Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is another backup software for Windows and you can use it to backup files in the user profiles as well as include a system image as well in Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11.

Step 1. Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security and select Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Then, click Restore my files.

Step 2. In the Restore Files window, you can choose to search or browse for the deleted files or folders.

• Search: type part of the name of files and select the deleted files to restore.
• Browse for files: navigate to the folder containing deleted files from Recycle Bin and select it. Then, click Add Files.
• Browse for folders: select the entire folder with deleted files.  

Step 3. Select a location to recover permanently deleted files in Windows 11 or 10. You can choose original location or browse to new location. Then, click Restore.

Way 4: Perform Shift Deleted File Recovery from OneDrive

Windows 11 comes with cloud backup service - OneDrive and many users use it to backup local folders to OneDrive. The same is true for Windows 10 system. If you are one of them, try it to retrieve Shift Deleted files from OneDrive.

Step 1. Go to https://onedrive.com/ and log in with your Microsoft OneDrive account.

Step 2. Navigate to the folder containing permanently deleted files. Select the file you want to restore and click the Download button to retrieve permanently deleted files in Windows 11 or 10.

Tip: To restore multiple files, select all of them and click the Download button at the top.

Way 5: Recover Shift Deleted Files with Previous Version

If you enable File History or System Restore, you are also able to restore Shift Deleted files to previous version, such as Word documents, Excel files, PPT, compressed file, etc.

Step 1. Start File Explorer/This PC. Locate the folder which is used to save Shift Deleted files.

Step 2. Right-click it and then select Properties > Previous Version.

Step 3. Select the previous folder version and click Restore to restore Shift Deleted files to previous version.

How to Take Care of Your Files

Sometimes data loss can be avoided if you perform a good habit and create backup copies of your files. To prevent any loss in the future, follow the given suggestions below:

• Use the Delete button or right-click to delete files. The files will be moved to Recycle Bin, which make it easy to recover deleted files in Windows 11.
• Always keep Windows Defender turned on. It is able to scan your system and find out viruses & malware may affecting your files.
• Keep at least 3 copies of your files. Except for the original files, you still need to create two  backup copies and save them on different devices, such as external disk, cloud drive, etc. Meanwhile, you also need backup software for Windows like AOMEI Backupper Standard.

• Keep a good data recovery software like MyRecover handy.

FAQs

✍  Does Windows 11 has file recovery software?

Yes! Microsoft offers a Window File Recovery tool and it can be used on Windows 10 version 2004 and Windows 11. It is able to recover accidentally deleted downloads folder, documents, photos, videos, etc.

✍ Can I restore Shift Deleted files without software?

You can definitely restore Shift Deleted files if you have a backup image or you are using cloud drive, such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. If not, you can only use data recovery software like MyRecover.

✍ How to recover permanently deleted files in Windows 11 using CMD

If your files are not deleted permanently but hidden, you can try CHKDSK command. Open CMD with administrator priority, type chkdsk drive letter: /f /r or chkdsk drive letter: /f /r /x, depending on if your disk has bad sectors.