Recovering Deleted PST Files – Even After Freshly Formatted HD!

Recovering deleted PST files is something that I’ve recently tested myself. I’m sure that the following quick guide can help all those Outlook users out there who accidently deleted their Outlook.pst file.

The following data recovery method is for those who never kept a backup of this file (PST backup), and who lost this file by ‘hard deleting’ it (either deleting it from the Recycle Bin, or by using the SHIFT+Delete keys), or by formatting their hard drive (freshly formatted!).

Well, whatever the reason is that caused your PST file to get deleted, there is a way out – you see, when a file is being deleted, it isn’t really deleted, it still resides somewhere on your hard drive.

However, over time the chances of restoring or ‘undeleting’ that file are getting smaller, as new data that is being written into your hard drive might be written over that file.

That’s why you need to act fast - as soon as you’ve lost that file.

Recovering deleted PST files
The easiest way to check whether your deleted Outlook PST file is retrievable and if so, being able afterwards to restore it, is by using a professional data recovery tool.

I conducted the following quick test:
(1) ‘Hard Deleted’ (SHIFT+Delete keys) a 2.06 GB Outlook.pst file (Called it: Outlook2.pst)
(2) Installed the following data recovery tool
(3) In the search box I typed: Outlook2.pst
(4) Clicked Start Scan (be patient here…)

It took it a while to scan my entire hard drive and detect the ‘hard deleted’ PST file, but then it notified me that the file is recoverable. Anyway, run a quick scan to see whether your PST file is recoverable, and if so, simply ask it to recover the entire lost file.