Is all lost if you accidentally delete a file?  No, all is not lost.  Microsoft has a built in utility for such accidental actions.  The recycle bin has been created as an attempt to temporarily store discarded files in a different directory where it safely waits to either be restored or permanently discarded.  If your file is still in the recycle bin, meaning you have not performed the “empty recycle bin” function then the solution is simple. 

Open your recycle bin, select the file that you would like to restore and simply click “restore this item” and poof the item is restored.  If you however have elected to permanently discard the file using the “empty recycle bin” bin then the solution is not so straightforward. 

When a file is permanently deleted by emptying the recycle bin a system called the “File Allocation Table”, which is a table of contents of all stored files on the hard drive, replaces the first character in the file name with a (?) signifying that the space it once occupied is now available for use.  If the file is not overwritten it still remains hidden on the hard drive.  Unfortunately there is no simple click that will retrieve deleted files that are hidden in the File Allocation Table. 

Before you panic or proceed with any actions that might result in the file being overwritten consider downloading a restore utility such as Norton Undelete or PC Inspector File Recovery.  PC Inspector File Recovery is actually a free utility that is provided by WebAttack. 

It is designed to recover anything except erased or wiped files.  Both these utilities will analyze the File Allocation Table on your hard drive and list all of the deleted files.  Provided that the file has not been corrupted or overwritten you may be able to replace the (?) with the original character of the file name and retrieve the deleted file.  Once you find the file that you wish to recover rename it and save the recovered file to the directory of your choice.