"Offering free computer help, hints, and tips to the Internet populace." Now with over 3,820 tips!

File Recovery - Undelete

File Scavenger for Windows

SUMMARY: File Scavenger can help recover accidentally-deleted files. Images may be previewed before recovery.

File Scavenger is a data recovery package for Windows. The software can perform file recovery on NTFS, as well as FAT 12/16/32 file systems.

Use is simple; enter in the types of files to find (or "*" for all files), the path to search, and whether or not to perform a quick or long search. Click the "Search" button to look for possibly recoverable files; results will contain original paths (where applicable), sizes, and the possibility of successful recovery. Then check boxes to try to recover files, click the "Recover" button, and follow the prompts to save the recovered files.


Displaying details on a deleted file via File Scavenger



File Scavenger supports previews of several image file types before recovery such as BMP, JPEG, PNG, and TIF files. Options include displaying found files in a list or tree view (the latter may be useful if displaying a list of deleted files from many folders) and performing partial searches to save time.

File Scavenger runs on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and above. A portable version is available. A demo may be downloaded at the following site. Note that the demo only allows files up to 64kb to be recovered.

* File Scavenger

This tip was written regarding File Scavenger v3.2 Revision 19 running on a Windows XP machine. Features, information, and screenshots for other versions / operating systems may vary.



As with all file recovery software, results will vary based on many factors including whether a drive has been defragged, amount of computer use since the file was deleted, etc. Even if software claims to recover a file, information may be lost. Your results with this and all file recovery software may vary.

Return to the File Recovery - Undelete page.

Print this tip


Get the Newsletter

blog comments powered by Disqus

Thanks For Sharing!



Newest Tips:

Microsoft Word 2010
W0rds w8th Numbers Pass the S0ellchecker!
Google Gmail
Automatically Archive a Conversation you Respond to
Digital Photography
[MODIFIED] Did Someone Get in the Way While Taking a Photo?
Google Chrome
View Kittens and Pandas Everywhere!

Follow Us!

About MalekTips and the Author

The MalekTips website was created in 1998 by Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. The page's goal is to freely disperse computer-related tips, hints, and informative articles. Tips are organized to be easy to find, and are presented clearly, in easy-to-understand language. MalekTips also provides information and links to public-domain, open source, freeware, shareware, and commercial software available for download. < more >