Countless fixes explain how to recover deleted files, but what if you want to recover deleted files with original folder structure so you don’t have to spend plenty of time reorganizing the recovered files? That could be challenging for you especially when you don’t have enough experience. However, only if you read this post on MiniTool, you can obtain some effective ways to recover data with folder structure.
“Earlier this week, I tried to fix my Win10 installation, but it instead started formatting my C drive! Despite being stopped immediately it was already too late and the drive is now empty. The important things on this drive were mostly projects that rely heavily on the folder structure instead of singular files. So is there any way to get the original folder structure back somehow? Thanks in advance.”answers.microsoft.com
Can You Recover Deleted Files With Folder Structure
Yes, it is usually possible to recover the original folder structure as well as the deleted files themselves. Every disk or partition has a file system, which is a way to organize data. The information about the file and directory will be saved by the file system in the master file tab. It means that if the directory in the file system can be rebuildable, you are able to recover deleted files with original folder structure.
Professional data recovery tools can scan every sector of the disk thoroughly to rebuild partition tables and file systems under different data loss situations such as accidental deletion, virus attacks, and so on. However, if you want to recover deleted files with original folder structure successfully, the file system type, the damage degree, and the number of overwritten data are critical. Sometimes, files can be recovered but the folder structure would be lost.
The following two parts are some factors that affect successful folder structure recovery and what you need to do to increase the chance of file recovery.
Factors of Affecting Successful Folder Structure Recovery
To understand the chances of recovering files along with the original folder structure, you have to know the various factors involved that affect successful folder structure recovery.
- The situation that leads to data loss. For accidental deletion, as long as the data is not overwritten, there is a high probability that it can be recovered; for hard drive damage, whether the original folder structure can be successfully restored depends on whether the file system is damaged; for physical damage, you need to turn to data recovery services.
- The type of storage device. For SSD, recovering files from it is limited by the TRIM feature. This feature immediately clears deleted data, optimizes the free space of the SSD, and spreads new data out, making data recovery difficult. While you can disable TRIM on internal SSDs, many external SSDs don’t support this option due to limitations of the USB interface; for HDD and other storage media, if you don’t perform a full format and the files are not overwritten, the files can be restored.
- The file system. NTFS and ext4 file systems make it easier to recover files with the original folder structure due to their advanced metadata and documentation features. In contrast, the FAT32 file system does not have the similar features. Therefore, this shortcoming makes it difficult to correctly reconstruct the original folder structure for the FAT32 file system.
- The professionalism of the data recovery tool. You must choose the tool with the advanced scanning feature and powerful capability to recover folder structure completely.
What Should You Do After Losing/Deleting Files
Now that you have lost or deleted the files, you are supposed to take some measures to prevent it from getting worse. These actions can help you increase the chance of recovering deleted files with original folder structure.
- Firstly, you must stop using the device where your lost files were stored. Writing any new data to the computer’s internal or external disk puts your old data at risk of being overwritten. Even if you don’t write anything intentionally, background processes can create temporary files that have the same effect. Therefore, it is recommended that you remove external devices or shut down the computer until you start data recovery.
- Secondly, you need to start recovering once you find file loss. The longer you leave it, the less chance of recovery will be. So, perform data recovery earlier to recover more files you want.
In case your files are overwritten and to recover files more completely, you are supposed to start restoring them as soon as possible.
Recover Files With Original Folder Structure From the Recycle Bin
When you delete files in Windows, they are not permanently deleted. Instead, deleted files are first moved to the Recycle Bin. You can always recover them until you empty the Recycle Bin. The most important thing is that these files can be definitely recovered with the original folder structure. The Recycle Bin appears as an icon on your desktop so that you can easily access it at any time. Work with the following steps to do a recovery.
Step 1: You need to open Recycle Bin by double-clicking on the icon on your desktop.
Step 2: All deleted files/folders will be in the interface. Find and right-click on the folder you want to recover and choose Restore.
You can also recover individual files from the Recycle Bin without rebuilding the folder structure.
Recover Files With Original Folder Structure Using MiniTool Power Data Recovery
If you want to recover the whole path of files, but the Recycle Bin cannot help, you can use professional and robust file recovery software that can help preserve the original structure. MiniTool Power Data Recovery could be your first choice. This tool offers the best solution for data loss from different devices. For example, it makes SSD data recovery, HDD file restoration, USB drive recovery, SD card file restoration, etc. straightforward.
In addition, it supports recovering files of almost all types. For example, it is good at WMF file recovery, HTML file recovery, and so on. It can be used to recover files not only from the entire hard drive or partition but also from specific folders where the files are stored. More importantly, you can use it to recover deleted files with original folder structure.
As a user-friendly free data recovery software, you are able to recover 1 GB of files without paying any cents. Regarding the Windows operating system, it is compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8. Click on the following button to download and install it to start a recovery.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1: Open the MiniTool Power Data Recovery app
After installing MiniTool Power Data Recovery, double-click on the icon to open it. When the UAC window pops up, click on the Yes button to continue.
In the main interface, you will see two tabs: Logical Drives and Devices. The former shows all disk partitions, as well as lost partitions and unallocated space, while the latter lists all disks. Under these two tabs, there is a section called Recover From Specific Location. It means you can recover data from the desktop and Recycle Bin, and you can also select a folder to scan for lost files.
Step 2: Select a folder to scan for lost files
Since you need to recover files with original folder structure, here we take scanning a specific folder for example. Move your cursor to the Select Folder section, and the Browse icon will appear. Now click it to choose the location where you lost files, and click on the Select Folder button to start scanning. This process will take some time. Wait for it to be completed.
Step 3: Find and tick the needed files
After the scan is over, you need to find the files you want to recover. The files will be displayed by path under the Path tab by default. You will see the deleted and lost files under the folder you just scanned. Click on the arrow in front of the folder to expand it to locate and tick the needed files.
What’s more, the Filter feature in the upper-left corner can be used to find files more quickly. It classifies files according to file type, modification date, file size, and file category.
You may notice the Search box in the upper-right corner. The files and folders can be found by typing the keywords of the file/folder name and pressing Enter. If you remember the name, using this feature will save a lot of time.
After ticking the file, you may wonder if it is correct. How to check? MiniTool Power Data Recovery supports many file previews. You can use the Preview feature to preview the file just by clicking the Preview button on the top or under the thumbnail on the right side.
Step 4: Save wanted files to a new location
After confirming, you are supposed to do the last step. Click on the Save button. When the Select a directory to save files window shows, choose a new location to store your recovered folder instead of the original place. Once the recovery is completed, the Recovery Completed window will show on the screen. The size of the restored file and free remaining recovery capacity will be displayed as well.
Recover Files With Original Folder Structure Using MiniTool Partition Wizard
MiniTool Partition Wizard could be your second option for recovering files. It is a reliable and professional data recovery tool that offers partition recovery and data recovery, which can help you recover lost or deleted partitions and data easily. Moreover, this tool can also help you partition hard disks, check disk errors, convert MBR to GPT, and so on.
After downloading and installing MiniTool Partition Wizard on your computer, you can easily recover deleted files with original folder structure by doing the following.
MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Here are specific steps to recover files with original structure using MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Step 1: Double-click on the icon to open the MiniTool Partition Wizard app.
Step 2: On the top of the main interface, choose the Data Recovery section to enter it.
Step 3: Under Recover From Specific Location, click on Select Folder, choose the folder to scan for deleted files, and hit the Select Folder button.
Step 4: After finishing scanning, find and tick the files you want to recover. Next, click on the Save button on the bottom to recover them.
Step 5: In the pop-up window, select a new directory to save the recovered files and click on OK.
Read Also: Recover Data From Lost Partition in Proven Ways: Full Guide
A Helpless Move: Seek Help From Data Recovery Services
After trying all the ways above, but you still have difficulties in recovering deleted files with original folder structure, you can seek help from data recovery services. They are equipped with the most professional and powerful tools to help you perform data recovery with folder structure.
To Sum Up
This post introduces the chance of recovering files with original folder structure, what actions should be taken after losing files, and some ways to recover deleted files. Among them, MiniTool Power Data Recovery and MiniTool Partition Wizard are the most recommended methods to recover data with original folder structure because they are professional and robust.
Finally, feel free to contact us via [email protected] if you have difficulties using these tools.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Chelsea graduated from university with a major in English. She has a strong interest in English writing. It is this passion for writing that led her to become an English editor. Her articles mainly foucus on data recovery and other computer industry news. As an energetic and outgoing girl, Chelsea enjoys listening to music, singing, riding bikes, and eating in her spare time.