Have you lost your games due to accidental or intentional deletion on your Windows 10/11 PC? Wondering if you could get them back? The good news is that you can easily recover the deleted games on a Windows 10/11 PC using some effective DIY techniques.
This article will guide you with some tested DIY hacks to get back your deleted games. Let’s begin.
Recover Deleted Games in Windows 10/11 PC
If you have been using your PC to play games, you might be aware that you can divide these games into two categories depending on their mode of play – Online and Offline.
The online games don’t acquire any space on your PC’s storage drive (except the cookies and temp files). But the offline games require sufficiently large storage space on your hard disk.
When you lack storage space, you uninstall the old games and delete the related files to free up space on Windows 10/11 PC. We all do this. However, the situation gets complex if you delete a game and later realize that it was a classic and you want it back.
Relax, as not all is lost yet. You can get back your favorite game using some simple DIY methods. Each deletion scenario requires a tailored recovery solution. So, depending on your situation, choose from the methods described below.
Method 1: Recover deleted games from Recycle Bin
Recycle Bin acts as the last check before permanently deleting any data on a Windows PC. When you delete data by selecting and pressing the Delete button, it goes to the Recycle Bin.
The deleted data sits in the Recycle Bin for a few days before it gets emptied automatically or manually. If your deleted games are in Recycle Bin, you can recover them using the steps below.
Step 1: Open Recycle Bin on your Windows 10/11 PC.
Step 2: Locate the Game you are searching for.
Step 3: Right-click on the Game icon and select Restore from the drop-down menu.
Your Game file will be restored to its original location.
Method 2: Use Windows File Recovery Tool
Windows File Recovery is a command-line-based tool by Microsoft launched with the later versions of Windows 10. So if your Games are permanently deleted, you can use this built-in tool on Windows 10/11 to get them back.
You can use Windows File Recovery for Windows 10 in the same way as the method for Windows 11 described below.
Note: Windows File Recovery is not included in default apps installed on Windows. You need to download and install it from the Microsoft Store.
Step 1: Type File Recovery in the search box and launch the tool.
Step 2: Click Yes to allow the Windows File Recovery to make changes (If prompted).
Step 3: Insert the winfr command in the command line by adding the relevant values to the command given below and copy-pasting it.
Winfr C: E: /regular /n\the original path of the game folder\
Note: Insert the source and destination drive letters in place of C and E. Don’t forget to put the backslash after entering the folder path.
Step 4: Hit Enter and type Y to confirm recovery. Again, press Enter.
Your games will be restored in the destination drive.
Method 3: Recover deleted games using File History
You can use the File Explorer on your Windows PC. Open File Explorer and check the File History of the folder where your lost game was saved. Here is a systematic description of the process to be followed.
Step 1: Type File Explorer in the search box and select the first result to open it.
Step 2: Locate the folder where you saved the lost game before deletion.
Step 3: Right-click the folder and select Properties.
Step 4: Click the Previous Versions tab and check if any earlier version is available.
Step 5: Select the version that contains the lost or deleted game files and click Restore > Apply.
Your game files will be restored to their original location.
Method 4: Recover deleted games using data recovery software
This is the easiest and highly effective method. So, if you don’t want to be caught in the rigorous recovery process using the native methods, this is the appropriate method for you. You can recover your deleted game files using the Stellar Data Recovery Standard for Windows.
It’s a DIY tool with a simple 3 step recovery process. The powerful recovery tool is equipped with simple and deep scans to retrieve data in any complex data loss scenario. If you can’t find the desired file type in the recovery list of the software, you can add your file extension to the list.
Wrapping up
With the help of the above methods, you can easily recover deleted or lost game files or any other data and keep your extraordinary game collection intact. Each method has its applicability depending on the data loss scenario. However, the last method can be used in any situation to get back any type of data. Now that you’ve got your game files back, it’s time to hit the gaming arena.