I accidentally recycled some files....

[Manny Cav]

I'm on Windows XP. I just recycled some files that I didn't mean to. I know that there are ways to "undelete" stuff, but I might be missing a few possibilities. Does someone know a way to do it on Windows, or if it isn't possible, a freeware program that can undelete, or a shareware program with a limited fully-functioning trial version? Speed is paramount, since I heard that writing new files and stuff begins to degrade the "marked" files.

[Richie]

A quick Google search came up with this - http://www.r-undelete.com/

I'm afraid that's all I can offer. 

[Loremaster]

Most tune-up utilities have this feature, same with file shredders.

Try searching on Download.com

Tune Up Utilities 7 has a 30 day trial, and includes this feature as I recall.

[Manny Cav]

Well, I DO have some good news: I didn't delete as much as I thought I did. All of the stuff that I had worked "hard" on (like game saves, documents, etc.) was never deleted in the first place. It was still sitting in the recycle bin. The rest of the stuff that was actually deleted were mostly replacable video files off of the net. However, as proof that great minds think alike, it was hardly a few minutes after I made that post that I remembered that Tune-Up Utilities 2007 could "undelete." The 30-day trial had expired, but I went to the main site, and found that the new 2008 version was released. I downloaded it, and got a fresh trial period. However, since all that is lost are video files, I don't think it's worth trying to restore them, since they're so far gone and messed up, anyway. It would be better to start fresh, since I intended to delete some of that, anyway.

[Loremaster]

Probably a good idea. Undelete is only reliable for files you won't WANT undeleted, like text files with personal info and such. The larger the file, the quicker it's bits get overwritten.