WEBVTT - How can I recover a deleted file from my computer?

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is sponsored by Harry's dot com. Get a

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<v Speaker 1>Hi Am Marshall brain with today's question how can I

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<v Speaker 1>recover a deleted file from my computer? When the idea

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<v Speaker 1>of the trash can or the recycle bin became popular

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<v Speaker 1>on the Apple Macintosh and then in Windows, it immediately

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<v Speaker 1>became a fail safe for many users. If you delete

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<v Speaker 1>a file and realize that you actually need it, you

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<v Speaker 1>can recover it easily by doing the following. In Windows. First,

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<v Speaker 1>you open the recycled bin by double clicking on the

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<v Speaker 1>recycled bin icon on your desktop, or you can go

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<v Speaker 1>to the recycle bin folder in Windows Explorer. Next, you

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<v Speaker 1>find the file you want to recover and click to

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<v Speaker 1>highlight it. Then you go to the file menu and

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<v Speaker 1>choose the restore option, or you can write, click over

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<v Speaker 1>the file name and select restore from the menu. After

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<v Speaker 1>you do this, the file is now back on your

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<v Speaker 1>computer in its original place. It's a great feature. While

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<v Speaker 1>the recycle bin is a great utility, there are many

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<v Speaker 1>times that a file is not placed in the recycle

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<v Speaker 1>bin when it gets deleted. These include files from removable

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<v Speaker 1>storage such as flash memory and zip disks, files deleted

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<v Speaker 1>from within some applications, and files deleted from the command prompt. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>there are times when you'll empty the recycle bin and

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<v Speaker 1>then realize that there was a file in it you

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to keep. A common misconception is that the data

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<v Speaker 1>is actually removed from the hard drive erased. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>when you delete a file. Any time that a file

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<v Speaker 1>is deleted on the hard drive, it's not actually erased. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the tiny bit of information that points to the location

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<v Speaker 1>of the file on the hard drive is erased. This pointer,

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<v Speaker 1>along with the other pointers for every folder and file

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<v Speaker 1>on the hard drive, is saved in a section near

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<v Speaker 1>the beginning of the hard drive and is used by

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<v Speaker 1>the operating system to compile the directory tree structure. By

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<v Speaker 1>erasing that pointer file, the actual file becomes invisible to

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<v Speaker 1>the operating system. It's still there, it's just invisible. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 1>the hard drive will write new data over the area

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<v Speaker 1>where the old file is located, but immediately after you

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<v Speaker 1>delete it, it's still there. There are several hard disk

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<v Speaker 1>utilities that you can find on the internet that will

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<v Speaker 1>allow you to recover deleted files. What these utilities do

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<v Speaker 1>is search for data on the hard drive that doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have a corresponding pointer information package and present you with

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<v Speaker 1>a list of these files. Your chances of fully recovering

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<v Speaker 1>a file diminish the longer you wait after you deleted

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<v Speaker 1>the file, since the probability that the file has been

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<v Speaker 1>overwritten increases. Sometimes you can recover portions of a file

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<v Speaker 1>that's not been completely overwritten. What if you really do

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<v Speaker 1>want to delete something, Say you have financial information or

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<v Speaker 1>passwords or something in a file, and when you delete it,

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<v Speaker 1>you really want to delete it and make it disappear

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<v Speaker 1>completely from your hard disc. What if you don't want

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<v Speaker 1>the file to remain on the disc after you delete

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<v Speaker 1>it at all. There are other utilities you can find

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<v Speaker 1>that will go in and zero out the files sectors

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<v Speaker 1>to completely remove that information. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics because that how stuff works dot

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<v Speaker 1>com and don't forget to check out the brain stuff

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<v Speaker 1>blog on the house stuff works dot com home page.

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<v Speaker 1>at brain stuff hs W. Brain Stuff is sponsored by

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<v Speaker 1>Harry's dot com. Get a great shaving experience for a

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<v Speaker 1>fraction of the price. The quality of the shave is

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<v Speaker 1>so important that Harry purchase the factory that makes their blades.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifteen dollars gets you a set that includes a handle,

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<v Speaker 1>three blades, and shave cream. Go to Harry's dot com

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<v Speaker 1>use the code brain stuff to save five dollars off

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<v Speaker 1>your first purchase.