WinUndelete Review

Yes, we have all been there. In fact, the scenarios are almost endless:

- We thought we would no longer need a file, so we got rid of it - only to need it the next day!

- We had a brand new computer, there is no way it could crash in the middle of important work... doh!

- I already saved those digital pictures off my camera card right? Uh-oh.

Fret not! With a utility like WinUndelete, you can breath a little easier knowing you have a good shot at getting those files back, even after they've been deleted for a while.

Here's a quick primer on how it actually works:

When you delete a file, it does not actually go anywhere, it stays right where it was on the hard drive. However, Windows thinks it is gone, so it tells you it is not there anymore.

A program like WinUndelete searches your hard drive for these files that have been "deleted" but are really still sitting on your hard drive. When it finds your file, it will tell Windows that the file is still there, and then you can access it again.

A problem arises when you write more files to your hard drive or disk (such as installing new programs or downloading media). There is a possibility that the new files will be written to the hard drive where your deleted files are. Since Windows thinks there are no files on that spot on the hard drive, it will just overwrite your old files.

Most of the time this is not a problem, since you really did mean to delete the files. However, if you deleted something a while back and want to recover it, there is a possibility that you have recently overwritten the old files with something new. If that is the case, even WinUndelete cannot help you.

Therefore, if you realize you have deleted something you need, stop using the computer (or the flash drive, floppy, or whatever media the data was on). The less you use the computer, the better chances you have of "undeleting" the lost file.

WinUndelete is a capable program for returning your lost files. The interface is very basic, but you don't need anything fancy. You can tell it just to look for certain files (like documents, mp3s, or videos) or to search for any recently deleted files.

Once you find your file, it will try to rescue it. If it is successful, it will save the file wherever you specify (it is highly recommended that you save the file to a separate hard drive or flash drive, this way you won't overwrite another file you may want).

There is a simple wizard which will walk you through the steps, which makes the whole process a piece of cake!