While people are extensively dependent on digital technology, file transfer is ubiquitous in work and everyday life. You will need to download files, music, and images from the internet or save email attachments for work on a frequent basis. 

However, it can be a bit challenging to organize your digital life and you might accidentally delete downloaded files due to various reasons, for instance, clearing computer caches. 

It can be frustrating when you lose your important downloaded files, especially when you can’t get another copy at that point. But worry not, in this article, we will teach you how to recover downloaded files on Windows easily. Just make sure to continue reading!

So how to recover deleted downloads? Before everything else, you need to figure out where Windows saves them. It’s worth noting that, when you delete downloaded files, they don’t disappear for good, instead, these files are moved to another folder or stored in a storage place that is not visible to you, or they just exist in countless folders on your computer. 

Downloaded files are automatically saved in the Downloads folder. This folder is typically located on the drive where Windows is installed (e.g., C:\users\your name\downloads). Downloads from the Downloads folder can always be moved to other locations on your computer.

To recover downloaded files on Windows, all you have to do is find these locations or folders. However, some files can be easily found in those folders, some can not and the only way to access them is by using a specialized tool. Want to know more? Just read on. 

To recover downloaded files on Windows, you will need to access those unnoticeable folders, also known as computer caches to find the remains of your deleted downloads. Here we’ve concluded 4 places to help you look for your deleted download files and how to recover deleted downloads easily.

1. Browser Downloads

When you download a file with your web browser, the download path will be saved in the browser logs as well. The feature comes in handy when you need to recover deleted downloads. Here’s how to recover downloaded files with Chrome.

Step 1. Open Chrome. Click on the 3-dot icon in the top right and select the “Downloads” option.

Step 2. Here you can find all the downloaded files. You can also search for a specific downloaded file here.

Step 3. Locate the deleted downloads, and click on the link to redownload the file and recover downloaded files. 

2. Recycle Bin

Recycle Bin is another place to recover deleted downloads. When you accidentally delete downloaded files, they will be moved to the Recycle Bin if you haven’t emptied the bin. You can easily recover Recycle Bin to get them back. Here’s how. 

Step 1. Open Recycle Bin on your Windows.

Step 2. Locate the downloaded file you want to recover.

Step 3. Right-click on the file and select “Restore” to recover downloaded files.

3. Temporary Files

How to recover deleted downloads? You can locate them in the Temporary Files, which is a folder that might store your files even if they have been deleted. Here’s how to recover downloaded files with Temporary Files. 

Step 1. Press the Windows Start key.

Step 2. Search the name of the deleted downloaded files. 

Step 3. You should be able to find the deleted downloads in the search results. Just drag them to a preferred location to recover downloaded files.  

4. Windows File History

If you have enabled the backup feature on Windows, then you can recover downloaded files with Windows File History. It’s a handy feature that allows you to recover deleted files Windows 10. Here’s how. 

Step 1. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Back Up > More options. You can see an overview of backups if File History is enabled. 

Step 2. Click on the “Restore files from a current backup” option.

Step 3. Locate the downloaded files you have deleted. Click on the green “Restore” button to restore files. 

With the 4 methods above, you can have a good chance to recover deleted downloaded files. However, there’s no way to retrieve files from Browser Downloads, Recycle Bin, and Temporary Files if you have cleared your computer cache. And the Windows File History feature is only useful if you have enabled the backup beforehand.

So does it mean you can never recover downloaded files you deleted after clearing caches? Not necessarily. Your deleted files are still there but just not visible at this point. And you will need to use a specialized data recovery, for instance, iTop Data Recovery to access the storage place and recover deleted downloads. 

Here’s how to recover downloaded files with iTop Data Recovery 

Step 1. Free download and install iTop Data Recovery on your Windows.

Step 2. Select the location you store the downloaded files and the file types. 

Step 3. Click the “Scan” button to start scanning deleted downloads.

Step 4. You will see a list of files when the scanning is done. Preview and click on the “Recover” button to recover downloaded files. 

With iTop Data Recovery, anyone can easily recover deleted downloads without technical skills. Want to learn more about it? Just have a look at the main features below.

       

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Conclusion 

How to recover downloaded files on Windows? If you haven’t cleared your computer cache, you may easily recover deleted downloads with Browser Downloads, Recycle Bin, Temporary Files, and Windows File History. However, if these methods can’t seem to help, you will need to use iTop Data Recovery, a one-stop data recovery solution to get your files back. The software is highly effective and it can help you recover any data from any data loss situation. Just try it for free and recover downloaded files effortlessly now!

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