Some recovery software can run directly from a USB flash drive but you must download it using a different computer. When you notice your loss, don’t save anything to the disk and don’t even download or install a file recovery utility if the file was on your PC or laptop’s hard drive as it might overwrite the very files you’re trying to recover.

Act fast! The sooner you realise you’ve accidentally deleted a file, the better your chances of recovering it.

The missing file(s) will be saved with automatically generated filenames, so you’ll need to rename them to their original names or something meaningful. Then select the device and folder where you want your files to be restored to (this must not be on the same physical drive as the lost file) and click on OK. When you’ve identified your deleted file(s) select them in the list at the left and click on ‘Recover selected files…’. We’re using DiskDigger here, but the process is similar with all recovery software.

DiskDrill Pro – starting at £89.75 (approx $99).

Kroll Ontrack EasyRecovery – starting at £69 (approx $75).

Stellar Windows Data Recovery – starting at US$99.99 (approx £90).

Here are three of the best paid options, most of which offer a trial version or at least will display the files available for recovery before you have to pay: For example, if you format a hard drive (the long option, not the Quick one) then you might find free recovery software can still get the files back. Often, these premium versions can find and restore files that the free versions can’t.

But many of these have limited power for recovering files, or are limited in the number of files or the amount of data they will recover before you have to pay for their more powerful, deeper-scanning versions. On some occasions, a free tool is all you’ll need. Minitool Partition Wizard Free Edition – can recover deleted partitions.

Piriform file recovery