Recovering accidentally deleted folders and files

[XnViewer2025]

I have been using XnView for a few years (version 1.8.0 64 bit Libformat 7.192) on my Windows 10 Home laptop (2009 version build 19045.5608). I use XnView mostly for viewing and managing my collection of vintage car pics and vids stored in a series of individual folders in roughly chronological order on a password protected 1TB external SSD. For some reason the XnView is installed on the SSD, not on the laptop itself. When I use XnView, I usually have File Explorer open in the laptop which I typically prefer to use for any deleting, while using the XnView mostly for viewing and occasional moving by cutting and pasting within and between folders - but this not rigidly followed as I will sometimes use XnView for deleting. Normally all this is usually without major mishap. That is the background, now for the problem.

This last week I was in XnView (with Explorer open) viewing my collection when in one of the folders I noticed a lone empty subfolder that had found its way into that particular folder. Since it appeared a simple task I decided to delete it using XnView it so I selected it and pressed the XnView Delete. To my horror, I saw that not only the offending sub-folder had been selected but that all of the folders above it had been "selected" as well - and before I could do anything, this was immediately accompanied by a pop-up box showing progress as it whizzed through deleting nearly all of my folders - leaving only the few folders listed below in the series untouched. It all happened so quickly and I do not remember being asked at any point if I "really wanted to delete" so many folders!

After recovering my equilibrium, I noticed that there still remained a shaded representation of all of the now deleted folders showing in XnView so I hoped desperately that an "Undo" function might come to the rescue, but I could not find one. I then switched to Explorer that I knew had an "Undo" function but there I noticed that there was no trace of the deleted folders or their contents, and, worse, that the "Undo" option was not active. I checked Windows Recycle Bin but this, as I half expected, showed no sign of the folders.

Can anyone suggest any way I might recover my lost folders and their contents? (As may be apparent I am not a tech expert but, apart from checking on the remaining contents and Properties of the SSD I have refrained from using it to maximize the chances.)

[xnview]

Can anyone suggest any way I might recover my lost folders and their contents? (As may be apparent I am not a tech expert but, apart from checking on the remaining contents and Properties of the SSD I have refrained from using it to maximize the chances.)

By default, folders/files are moved in recycle bin (settings>File operations)

[XnViewer2025]

Merci Pierre. No sign of the folders or files in the recycle bin unfortunately. The data may gave exceeded the bin's capacity perhaps, or XnView just deleted everything because XnView was installed on the portable SSD and not on the PC itself? What about using the C:\ command prompt somehow to reverse the delete?

[cday]

Merci Pierre. No sign of the folders or files in the recycle bin unfortunately. The data may gave exceeded the bin's capacity perhaps, or XnView just deleted everything because XnView was installed on the portable SSD and not on the PC itself? What about using the C:\ command prompt somehow to reverse the delete?

Does the portable drive have a recycle bin you could also check?

What about using the C:\ command prompt somehow to reverse the delete?

Somebody?

[michel038]

Perhaps use a "Undelete" software ?
First, do not use the disk where the files were stored to prevent changes of it's content...

(...) "Always keep 2 different physical locations for your photos and be extremely careful when updating the 2nd one, so as not to do the same mistake you did on the 1st without noticing you did"

[XnTriq]

I use Microsoft's WinFR (Windows File Recovery). It's a command-line tool, but there's a graphical user interface for it.

• Download and install WinfrGUI on your PC.
• Connect your USB to your Windows computer.
• Launch WinfrGUI and select your USB from the list of available drives.
• Initiate the scanning process by clicking on the appropriate option.
• WinfrGUI will scan your USB thoroughly to locate the deleted files. This may take some time depending on the size of your USB and the amount of data stored on it.
• Once the scan is complete, you’ll be presented with a list of recoverable files. Preview the files to ensure they are intact.
• Select the files you want to recover and proceed with the recovery process.
• Save the recovered files to a secure location on your computer.

Saved path is “the location where the recovered files are saved”. This “cannot be the same as the scanned partition”.
Recommended setting for Scanning mode: Deep scan

Good luck!

[XnTriq]

One more thing: How to Access the Recycle Bin on an External Hard Drive

[XnViewer2025]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will digest them carefully and respond when I can, and let you all know what happens. Happy Easter.

[XnTriq]

Happy Easter 2U2 (-:
I just ran WinfrGUI on an old FAT32-formatted USB stick with 8 GB capacity (5 GB free space) and was surprised how many files it was able to resurrect.
So I'm cautiously optimistic that you'll get your data back.