Walter Stevens is a contributor at Free-backup.info — the home of the popular Amazon S3 based online backup service — Back2zip. This article available at http://free-backup.info/delete-or-undelete-that-is-the-question.html
What is Undelete?
Undelete is exactly what it sounds like: undoing a deletion of a file on your computer. While you might not realize it, you have most likely undeleted files before. Any time that you restore files from the recycle bin, you are undeleting files that you have previously deleted. Undelete is a very powerful tool, as it allows you to regain files that you had accidentally or purposefully deleted and then realized that you needed once more.
How Does Undelete Work?
When you delete a file, it is not immediately removed from your computer. If you are a user of the Windows operating system, then the files that you delete will be moved to the Recycle Bin. These files are no longer in actual use by your machine, but they are there to be undeleted if you need them returned. However, if you delete them from the recycle bin then it will be much more difficult if not impossible to recover them.
However, it is often the case that files deleted from your machine are still available on your machine, in some form or another. The essence of undelete is to allow you to explore your machine and find files that while you cannot find them through the normal functioning of Windows are still available on your hard disk. This is a very powerful data recovery tool, and can greatly help you in your business, whether at home or in the office.
Some undelete programs will work essentially as a large recycle bin. They will hold all of the data deleted from your disk, including ones too large for recycle bin to hold or files which would normally not be sent to the recycle bin, such as files removed in an un-installation of a program. If you then need to recover these files they will be there for you to undelete. These programs generally also have a secure delete function, so that if you are sure you no longer need a file you will be able to erase it from your computer and know that it is nowhere in your hard disk.
Other undelete programs simply seek out files that you have previously deleted and restore them to you. A program like the above must be installed prior to the deletion of the files, or else you will be unable to use it to undelete your files. However, these programs will search out areas of your disk which you might not be able to find in the normal operation of your system, and find files that you had thought were gone forever and return them to a pace where you can access them and work with them again.
How do I Get Undelete Software?
There are many different undelete programs on the market. One of the best places to find undelete programs is www.download.com, which also provides downloads for many other utilities as well. Many undelete programs are freeware, and you will be able to find them on download.com. If you cannot find one which you think is right for you that is freeware, you will be able to download trial versions of paid products and discover which is the best fit for you before you put down money on the purchase of a program which does not fit your needs.
