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What to do when faced with an accidentally deleted network drive?

  • A network drive is a storage location – hard drive, shared folder, or storage device – that can be accessed through network connections.
  • Thanks to them, you can access the files and folders stored on a unit if it is connected through a network connection, which is why they are key in firms and organizations
  • What can you do if you have accidentally deleted a network drive?

Being attentive to the main problems that affect Internet users is key to being able to anticipate them. In pursuit of this goal, and as many users warn of this problem on their PCs, we believe that knowing what to do when faced with an accidentally deleted network drive is important so that it does not affect you.

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In case you don’t know, a network drive is a storage location that can be accessed through network connections, clarifying that it can be a hard drive, a shared folder or a storage device connected through a network . You can also access files and folders stored on a drive when it’s connected via a network connection.

In general, firms and organizations use network drives to share files and data between networks. They provide a convenient way to share data over the network and allow multiple users to access and collaborate on files and data stored in a central location. Since the data is crucial for the normal functioning of the team or organization, accidents are possible if you are not careful.

You could even delete the network drive accidentally, and that’s what this article is all about. What to do in such a case?

Solutions for an accidentally deleted network drive

Check the Recycle Bin

Since every network drive is assigned a drive letter, chances are if you’ve accidentally deleted one, it’s stored in the Recycle Bin. That is, you should be able to locate the units inside. Whenever you find files from that drive in the Recycle Bin, try to restore them to their location.

Check previous versions of files

In this situations, Windows creates copies of previous versions of files in the background to prevent accidents that cost time or money. You should check to see if older versions are available to restore files you lost when you accidentally wiped a network drive, so be sure to do that.

To check the previous versions of the available files, you have to follow these steps:

  1. Right click on the folder where the files were located
  2. Click on Properties and open the File Properties window
  3. Click on the Previous Versions tab and wait for them to load
  4. If there are older versions, you’ll see the list. Select which ones to restore
  5. Click the Restore button to start the recovery process
  6. The files will be sent to the original folder; Click Apply and accept to finish

Contact your IT department for backups

If your network drives are managed by an IT department, you can check with their members to see if they have data backups. It is common for IT staff within a workforce to keep copies of files in more reliable locations for information security reasons.

If they don’t, this incident is a good reason for them to start doing it from now on.

Run a data recovery program

If none of the above works, the last chance remains related to data recovery programs. There are free trial data recovery software, or directly free, that you can take advantage of to try to get the data back before they are permanently lost by overwriting others.

Recovering data with free software is the final remedy that you can rely on in these circumstances.

Other frequently asked questions

How to recover a deleted folder from a Windows network drive?

To recover a deleted folder from a network drive, you can use the previous version of the folder. You can access it through the Properties of the folder in which the file or folder you want to recover was previously deleted. Or you can use a data recovery app for the same result.

How do I enable the recycle bin on my network drive?

To enable Recycle Bin on your network drive, you have to follow these steps:

  • Go to Control Panel and then Shared Folder
  • Select a shared folder and click Edit
  • Check the box next to Enable Recycle Bin

If you wish, you can restrict access to the Recycle Bin to administrators only, by clicking on the Restrict access to administrators option. When you’re done, click OK to save all changes.

Have you been able to troubleshoot an accidentally deleted network drive?

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