Last Updated on September 26, 2015

We are bound to losing our files provided that we do share our peripherals like USB storage, External hard disk with other PC users or even sharing files in our memory cards to other devices through bluetooth. I will always tell my friends to please format my USB flash drive after use to avoid getting this trending malware they popularly call shortcut virus. This is disgusting because it turns your files and folder into shortcut fie extension (.lnk). It sometimes turn your files into an executable file (.exe). It also creates a folder called z which you cannot delete. You could actually lost your files by mistakenly formatting or deleting them or damaged SD card

It really works like Ebola virus. Assuming you went to print your work at a cyber cafe or printing press, unfortunately you had no earlier backup of your files. As soon as plug in your device, it all get corrupted. One of my friends recently called me, panting. His project work got corrupted from where he went to print it. No backup of them. Also, another one told me that he lost his images he recently took  from a tour after sharing files with his laptop. Luckily for all of us, MiniTool Partition Wizard saved us our day.

MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition creates, deletes, aligns, moves, resizes, recovers, splits, joins, hides, copies, and converts partitions or entire disks. It can change drive letters, label partitions and volumes, edit properties, and check file systems. It does all that and more for free.

Requirements:

1. PC , Windows 7,8,10
2. MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition 8.1.1 Download here

Note: The latest version of MiniTool Partition is 9.1 but version 8.1.1 is a lot easier and simpler. Also, Free edition of MiniTool Partition  has a limited recovery of 1GB per operation. This means that you can only recover files of 1GB on a single recovery operation. If your files are more than 1GB, then mark the important ones first and save. Now come back again and perform another recovery or you could purchase the license for pro.

How to Recover Lost files

1. Download Minitool Partition then, Unzip your downloaded file
2. Copy the unzipped folder to “C:Program Files (x86)” or “C:Program Files” then paste the folder there. Number 2 step is optional. You can extract it anywhere at any folder.
3. Connect your device (Flash, USB Card reader, Phone, memory card, etc). If you wish to recover files from your phone, use a USB cable to turn on USB Storage or connect your memory card through a card reader. If it is an external HDD, just plug in the cable.
4. Open the unzipped folder, locate “Loader” then double click on it Loader to open it. Allow administrator control by clicking YES.
5. From the window that shows, click “MiniTool Power data recovery”  .
   
6. Now select Lost partition Recovery.
   
7. Select the drive/device you wish to recover your files from and click recover button at the right.
   
8. Click on the Show files button, Select the Partition with the highest percentage e.g. 99%
   
9. Click on the ‘+’ icon to select all the files or tick the files individually and click ‘Save Files’
   
10. Select the destination where you wish to save your recovered files. It could be My Documents, Desktop or New Folder etc Then Ok
    
11. After completion, the image below shows up. Then exit the application.
    

Your files have been recovered. Go to that destination or folder where you save the files and open them.

Done! You could help a friend by sharing this post. Thank you.