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When you delete a file, it doesn't go to that Big Bit Bucket in the Sky. An intermediate step exists between deletion and the Big Bit Bucket. The step between deletion and the Big Bit Bucket is called the Recycle Bin.
When you delete a file or folder from your hard drive — whether by selecting the file or folder in Windows Explorer and pressing Delete or by right-clicking and choosing Delete — Windows doesn't actually delete anything. It marks the file or folder as being deleted but, other than that, doesn't touch it.
 | Files and folders on floppy drives, key drives, and network drives really are deleted when you delete them. The Recycle Bin doesn't work on floppies, key drives, or drives attached to other computers on your network. |
That's a good news/bad news state of affairs:
- The good news: If you ever accidentally delete a file or a folder, you can easily recover the "deleted" file from the Recycle Bin.
- The bad news: All those deleted files take up space on your hard drive. The space isn't reclaimed until you go through the steps necessary to empty the Recycle Bin, thus truly deleting the files.
To rummage around in the Recycle Bin, and possibly bring a file back to life, double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the Windows desktop. Windows Explorer takes you to the Recycle Bin.
To restore a file or folder (sometimes Windows calls it undeleting), click the file or folder and then click Restore This Item in the Recycle Bin Tasks box in the upper-left corner. You can select a bunch of files or folders by holding down Ctrl as you click.
To reclaim the space that the files and folders in the Recycle Bin are using, click the Empty the Recycle Bin link. Windows asks whether you really want to get rid of those files permanently. If you say yes, they're gone.
 | Okay, after you empty the Recycle Bin, the emptied files and folders are still on the disk; they're just significantly harder to get to. When you delete files from a floppy, key drive, network drive — or even your digital camera — you might be able to recover them if you act quickly. Check out Active@ UNDELETE from LSoft, Active-undelete.com. A free demo version can undelete files up to 64KB in size. The paid version can handle any size. |
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