How can I recover permanently deleted videos from PC?

EWJim

hey guys
need help bad
I deleted a video from my pc by accident (an hour ago)
it was a soccer game I recorded, pretty important to me
mp4 video file, about 200mb
its not in the recycle bin
I checked already so yeah not a total idiot
is there any way to restore deleted videos from pc or is it just gone ?
would really appreciate any advice

DanyOrtega89

EWJim Do you have any backups?
Or File History running? OneDrive? Google Drive?
Any synced folders might have a copy.

Regarding recovery software. I would not rely on Recuva for this type of case.
I tried it recntly and the results were disappointing.

HopeInSleep

Yeah, Windows makes recovering deleted videos super fun (not).
If there’s no backup anywhere (maybe still on the camera? or wherever you first saved it?)
Your only real option is recovery software.
I’d try Disk Drill.
Pretty easy to use and works nicely (unless the file’s already been overwritten).

SocialImpactCoder

If you didn’t overwrite yet you’ve got a shot
Where was the file SSD? HDD? USB drive? Matters a lot
Use recovery software fast!
Don’t waste time, literally every second counts here

Nonprofitech

Oh man been there
I deleted my sisters wedding videos once
Thought I was screwed lol
PhotoRec saved me though
Managed to pull most of them back somehow
It’s free, but I’ll be honest… not the easiest tool to use.
Definitely look up a guide first.
And just to echo what others said:
Don’t mess wth the PC too much right now.
The sooner you try to restore the deleted videos the better.

crimsonKing

I used Recuva to recover deleted videos.
It did help, but not completely.
Out of about 8 videos, I managed to recover only 3 properly. The others would not open.
Still, it might be worth a try in your case.
Best of luck.

ginger_bird

Maybe easier fix than you think
Just defrag your drive
It’ll reorganize everything
Could help pull those deleted video bits back together
You can just Right click your drive - Hit Properties - Tools - Defragment
Worth a shot

Nonprofitech

ginger_bird
lol that’s probably the funniest suggestion I’ve seen
defragging won’t help friend
actually it does nothing good
just wears the drive out faster
stick with recovery tools for this one

0neWire

Just to clarify: defragmenting will NOT help recover deleted files.
You can read what defragmentation is here:

“In the maintenance of file systems, defragmentation is a process that reduces the degree of fragmentation. t does this by physically organizing the contents of the mass storage device into the smallest number of contiguous regions. It also tries to create larger regions of free space using compaction to slow down future fragmentation.”
That’s useful for speeding up file access on HDDs.
But it does nothing to bring back deleted data.

When files are deleted you need recovery software that can scan space for lost/deleted data, not something that just rearranges existing files.

0neWire

OP, here’s a basic breakdown for you.

When you delete a file on Windows it does not vanish instantly.
What actually happens: the system marks that space as free until something new is saved there.
The old data still exists on the disk. That’s why recovery is possible (but only if you act quickly and carefully).
Here’s what you should do:

Stop using the PC
Every new file risks overwriting your video. No browsing. No downloads. No installs.
Use good recovery software
I would recommend: R-Studio, PhotoRec, or UFS Explorer.
Save recovered files to another drive
NEVER restore recovered data to the same disk you’re scanning
That will lower your chances or even destroy reocverable files

Handled correctly, yes, you can restore deleted videos from Windows.
But time and method matter a LOT.

EWJim

thx everyone
didn’t think I’d get this many replies tbh
so
video was in my Documents folder on my Dell PC
it has an SSD drive (pretty sure its SSD)
I haven’t really downloaded or saved much after deleting it
so what’s the best move here?
what software should I use
never really done anything like this before
And no @DanyOrtega89 i dont have any backups or copies

HopeInSleep

EWJim
SSD makes things trickier (TRIM usually wipes deleted files faster).
You’d have better chances on a flash drive or HDD.
But still worth trying, you’ve got nothing to lose at this point.
I’d go with Disk Drill or EaseUS. Both freemium so yeah, limited recovery.
But should be enough for one video.

SocialImpactCoder

EWJim Oh man
SSD = bad news
Prepare for the worst
If I were you I’d download TestDisk/PhotoRec to a USB
And run PhotoRec from there
Just read the guide first: https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step
But yeah, just being honest, your chances arent great
Be ready for that

Nonprofitech

SocialImpactCoder
I wouldn’t say chances are that bad
I recovered from my SSD plenty of times
Yeah TRIM makes it tougher, but it’s all about timing (and some luck 🙂)
If you act fast you can still pull stuff back
OP STOP reading now
Seriously
Don’t do anything else right now
Grab a flash drive
Download/install recovery app to that
Run it from the flash drive
Scan your SSD right away
Stop wasting time
Just do it

crimsonKing

Wait I thought TRIM only runs after some time or when the disk gets full?
Shouldn’t he be safe if he deleted the video just recently?

0neWire

crimsonKing TRIM doesn’t erase deleted files instantly.
When you delete something, the OS sends a TRIM command telling the SSD which blocks are no longer needed.
The drive marks them as free, but the actual erase happens later during garbage collection
(usually when idle or low on space).
Until then, the data can still physically exist, which is why recovery is sometimes possible.
The risk comes with time and usage.
The more you use the SSD after deletion, the higher the chance garbage collection will wipe those blocks permanently.
That’s why it’s always recommended to stop using the drive immediately and scan it with recovery tools, saving recovered files elsewhere.
Once TRIM fully kicks in and clears the blocks, recovery is no longer possible.

Nonprofitech

Btw just remembered something
If you go with PhotoRec there’s also qphotorec_win.exe in the same folder
Way easier to use
PhotoRec runs in CMD which can be kinda scary if you’ve never done it before
qPhotoRec gives you buttons and a simple UI
Just FYI

EWJim

OK thanks everybody
grabbing a spare USB stick
will report back

EWJim

quick update
grabbed both PhotoRec and Disk Drill like you all suggested
tried PhotoRec first but that stuff fried my brain lol
(didn’t really want to read guides)
so went with Disk Drill
ran a scan on my drive
was pretty easy to figure out what to do
after like 20 minutes it found 7 files under the Video category
my video had some random numbers as the name
so wasn’t sure at first if it was there
used preview
went through all of them
and there it was 🙌
hit recover saved to my USB drive
file plays
HUGE thanks to everyone here
you saved my a**
seriously wouldn’t have figured this out without all your advice
peace

roman-demian

✅ Final summary for anyone facing a similar issue - recovering permanently deleted videos from a PC:

Check backups first
Look in File History, cloud storage (OneDrive, Google Drive), external drives, or even the original camera used to record the video
Stop using the drive where the video was stored immediately
Every new file or action can overwrite deleted data and make recovery impossible
Act fast
The sooner you start recovery, the better the chances (especially on SSDs)
Choose a recovery tool that works well for video files
For best results, check our guide: Best Video Recovery Software
Download and install recovery software on a different drive
If it’s your system drive, use a USB stick or external drive so you don’t risk overwriting the lost video
Recover to another storage location (never the same drive)
Always save recovered files elsewhere to avoid corrupting recoverable data

I also want to link these guides that might be useful:
➡️How to Recover Deleted Video Files on PC
➡️How to Recover Lost or Deleted MP4 Videos
➡️How to Recover Files from SSD