I accidentally permanently deleted several important files and can’t find them in the Recycle Bin. Is there a reliable way to recover these deleted files without overwriting or damaging the data?
If the files were on an SSD with TRIM enabled, recovery may be impossible, but stop using the drive immediately either way. Check cloud backups or File History first, then scan with a tool like Disk Drill. Install the software on a different drive and recover files to a different drive too, since writing anything to the original disk can overwrite the deleted data.
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Don’t run recovery tools on the original drive if it contains truly irreplaceable data. Even scanning can stress a failing disk, and a DIY attempt may complicate professional recovery. If the drive makes noises, disconnects, or shows errors, shut it down and contact a recovery service. Otherwise, make a full sector-by-sector image first and scan that copy with Disk Drill or another recovery tool.
Stop using that drive immediately, especially if it’s an SSD. Deleted SSD data may be cleared quickly by TRIM, so even Disk Drill might find filenames without recoverable contents. Check cloud storage, File History, Previous Versions, and application autosave folders first. If you try recovery software, install it on another drive and save recovered files somewhere else.
Nobody’s asked where these files lived. If they were on your C: drive, just running Windows is already writing over the free space, so the ‘stop using it’ advice from @jackson only half works unless you shut down and pull the drive to scan it from another machine.