Thousands of MP3 files can be stored on your computer’s hard drive, eliminating the need to allocate space for your music collection. The tradeoff is that digital music can be inadvertently lost and you may have to restore deleted audio files to save the tunes.
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How to Recover Lost Music Files on Windows
Users with any level of computer experience can use Disk Drill to quickly restore music files that have been accidentally deleted or lost by formatting the wrong drive or partition. To recover deleted music using Disk Drill for Windows, follow these steps:
- Download, install and launch the program.
- Select the disk that contained the deleted audio files.
- Click Search for lost data to scan the disk and find your lost music.
- Preview the recoverable data and select the files to retrieve.
- Click Recover to perform the music recovery.
You can try Disk Drill for free and restore up to 500 MB of data without upgrading to the Pro version of the tool.
Other Methods to Recover Deleted Music Files
In many cases, data recovery software is the only way to recover deleted music files. But two alternative methods may be able to get back your lost tunes. You can try searching in the Windows Recycle Bin or attempt recovery from previously created backups. Here are the steps that you need to follow.
Method 1: Recovery via the Recycle Bin
- Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking on its icon.
- Locate the files you want to recover from the list of deleted items.
- Right-click on your selection and choose the Restore option. This recovers the deleted item to its original location on your computer.
Method 2: Recovering Files from Backup Media
Based on the particular backup and recovery solution you are using, there may be some slight differences in how you restore your files. This is the general procedure for recovering data from backups.
- Locate the storage media that contains the backup and connect it to your computer. You may also be using a cloud provider to back up your data, in which case you need to establish a connection to the designated cloud storage.
- Launch the backup and recovery program and use it to search the backups for the files you would like to restore.
- Use the recovery application to retrieve the found files to your computer or device.
If the files were recently created, such as at a concert or live performance, you may not have had time to back them up. Without a backup, that avenue is closed. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you back up your data frequently.
How to Recover Deleted Audio Files from Android Phones
Android smartphones work great as portable music players because they support a broad range of audio file formats and often have a slot for a microSD card, allowing you to carry your entire collection of music with you anywhere.
There’s just one issue with using your Android smartphone as a portable music player: an increased chance of data loss. Why? Because you use your Android smartphone for all kinds of different things, from phone calls and text messages to emails and web browsing to playing games and watching Netflix.
All these activities create the potential for accidental deletion of important music files. The good news is that it’s possible to recover deleted audio files on Android using the same tools and techniques that make it possible to recover them on Windows.
Method 1: Using SD card Reader on Mac or Windows
If you keep all your audio files on a microSD card, then you’re in luck because you can simply insert it into a memory card reader connected to a Mac or Windows computer and recover all deleted or lost audio files directly from it using Disk Drill:
- Insert the microSD card into your computer’s card reader.
- Install Disk Drill on your computer’s internal drive.
- Launch Disk Drill and scan the microSD card.
- Preview and select the audio files you want to recover.
- Click the Recover button and recover them to a safe location (such as your computer’s internal drive).
As you can see, there are no extra hoops to jump through, and the process is virtually identical to Windows audio file recovery. The only difference is that you need to scan your microSD card instead of the system drive.
Method 2: Connecting Android Device to Mac
If you don’t have an Android smartphone with a microSD card slot or choose not to take advantage of it, keeping your audio files stored in internal storage instead, then you can recover any lost files from it by connecting it directly to a Mac computer via a USB cable and using Disk Drill for Mac as your Android audio recovery solution.
Here’s how to recover deleted audio files from an Android device using Disk Drill for Mac:
- Connect your Android device to a Mac. Make sure USB debugging is turned on.
- Install Disk Drill for Mac and launch it.
- Launch Disk Drill and allow it to access your Android device.
- Scan your Android device.
- Select the files you want to recover and pick a safe recovery location.
Keep in mind that recovering lost audio files directly from your Android’s internal memory is possible only with root access. To read more about rooting and the risks associated with it, we recommend you read this comprehensive article on the subject.
How to Prevent Accidental Deletion of Audio Files
Experiencing the loss of some of your valuable music can be devastating. It’s quite possible that you have one-of-a-kind performances that can never be recreated. You may be able to use Disk Drill to undelete lost music, but a better strategy involves taking measures to prevent further data loss scenarios. There are a number of steps you can take to minimize the chances of losing more music in the future.
🖨️ Make backup copies
The first thing you can do is to make backup copies of any of your music files that cannot be easily recreated or downloaded. You can do this in a variety of ways. You might download the music from a mobile device to your computer and make backups from that platform.
Another option is to engage a cloud provider which can enable you to create a backup at any time and from any location. This can be very useful if you are in the habit of recording live performances and want to protect your files as soon as they are created.
🦠 Protect your disks from viruses
Many files are lost when disks or memory cards become corrupted due to exposure to viruses or malware. Using an effective anti-virus tool can go a long way toward protecting your disks from this type of damage. Stay away from unsecured websites, as they are notorious for spreading malware which could lead to file corruption and data loss.
📇 Delete cautiously
Of course, a large percentage of data loss situations occur due to user error. If you have valuable music files on your computer or mobile devices, take extra care when deleting files or cleaning up your storage. Windows users might want to get in the habit of taking a look at what’s in the Recycle Bin before emptying it.
If you make it a practice to carry around flash drives with the only copy of some of your music on it, you risk data loss through physical damage to the drive.
