What to do right now
- Check whether C:\Windows.old exists. If it does, your previous files are in its Users folder.
- If drive C: was formatted, stop installing programs and downloading.
- Run a recovery tool from another PC or USB stick, scan C: and save to another disk.
Step by step
Work out how Windows was installed
Did you reset with Keep my files, choose Remove everything, or install from USB and delete or format partitions? The next steps depend on it.
Check Windows.old
A clean install without a format moves the previous Windows and user folders to C:\Windows.old. Copy Desktop, Documents and Pictures from your folder under its Users folder to another disk. It may be cleaned up automatically after about 10 days.
Use drive C: as little as possible
Without Windows.old, stop installing programs, updates and downloads. Data written by the new Windows keeps overwriting the space of your old files.
Run recovery from USB
Put the FileFix Ultimate portable ZIP on a USB stick, run it and scan C:. Removing the disk and connecting it to another PC reduces overwriting even more. If partitions were deleted, also run the lost partition search.
Save the results
Preview what was found and save it to a USB stick or another disk. Files found by signature after a format have no original names.
Chances by installation method
A reset with Keep my files should leave personal files in place and remove only installed programs. A clean install without a format lets you copy most things from Windows.old. In both cases you often do not need recovery software at all.
After Remove everything or a format, the old file records are gone and tens of gigabytes of new Windows files were written to the same disk. Signature search can still find photos and documents in the remaining space, but usually only some come back. If Clean the drive was turned on during the reset, recovery is practically impossible.
On an SSD
When an SSD is formatted, Windows often sends TRIM for the whole area, so the data may be empty right after the format. Expect less than with a hard drive.
When recovery will not work
- Clean the drive was turned on when resetting.
- An SSD was formatted and TRIM ran over the whole area.
- The PC was used for a long time after reinstalling and most of the old space was overwritten.
How FileFix Ultimate helps
- The unsaved file finder lists previous user folders in Windows.old.
- Signature search finds photos, documents and archives on a formatted drive C:.
- Finds deleted partition candidates.
- Runs from a USB stick to keep writes to C: to a minimum.
FileFix Ultimate is free, works offline and never writes to the drive you are recovering from. Check the signature before you run it.
Frequently asked questions
Does reinstalling Windows delete all files?
It depends on the method. Without a format, previous files stay in Windows.old; with a format, the file records are gone.
I formatted and installed Windows. Can I recover anything?
On a hard drive, some files can be found by signature search. The more you use the PC afterwards, the fewer remain, and SSDs are often difficult.
I chose Keep my files in Reset this PC, but my files are missing.
Check your user folder in C:\Users, Windows.old and the OneDrive folder. Keep my files does not normally delete them.