How to Recover Deleted Files from Server 2008 | Top 3 Ways

How do I recover deleted files on Windows Server?

"I've just accidentally deleted some development files from my Windows Server. I do not have any backups, so can I recover them? Are there any recommendations for the approach I should take and what tool I should use? Thanks in advance."

File deletion is one of the most common situations where every computer user encounters when using a Windows Server 2008. If you suffer some loss of crucial files and do not have any backup created in advance, you may feel it difficult to retrieve them back.

Whether you lost the file due to careless deletion or malicious viruses, you can always find a suitable method from the following guide that focuses on how to recover deleted files from Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2.

How to recover deleted files from Server 2008 (R2)

As a matter of fact, when you delete a file from Windows Server, it is not gone completely unless it is overwritten by new data. Thus, you can recover deleted files in Windows Server with the methods we provided below.

Way 1. Restore deleted files from Server 2008 via Recycle Bin

You should know that most files will be moved to the Recycle Bin once they are deleted, so, we suggest you go to the Recycle Bin first to see if the deleted files are still there. You can refer to the steps below to learn how to recover deleted files from Windows Server 2008 R2.

Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin from the Server desktop and you can see all the deleted files.

Step 2. Locate and right-click the items you want to recover, then click "Restore".

Way 2. Retrieve deleted files on Server 2008 R2 from Previous Versions

Things become easy if you have enabled Windows backup or created s system restore. You can restore your deleted files from the previous versions. Here is how to recover deleted files from Server 2008 with the help of previous versions.

Step 1. Go to the target hard drive and folder that contains the deleted files, right-click on it, and choose "Properties".

Step 2. In the new pop-out window, click the "Previous Versions" tab.

Step 3. Then, select the latest saved file version from the previous versions and click "Restore".

How to recover deleted files from Server 2008? You can see it's quite easy to make it via the above two methods. However, if you don't have a created system restore or you are unable to find your deleted files in Recycle Bin, it means you have lost your files completely.

Luckily, using a third-party data recovery tool is your last chance to get the deleted files back. Go ahead to the next part to know more.

Way 3. Recover permanently deleted files via file recovery software

It is significantly important to figure out which software can be used on the Windows Server system to recover deleted or lost files. Utilizing an unreliable or dubious file restoration tool can cause data corruption or data loss during the recovery process. Thus, it is highly recommended to employ a secure and reliable application called AOMEI Partition Assistant Server for file recovery.

It works well with Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 (R2)/2008 (R2)/2003 (R2) and is equipped with a powerful scanning strategy that can restore multiple deleted file types like recovering Yahoo email, MS Project files, folders, pictures, etc. from hard drives, USB drives, flash memory cards and other storage media.

With an easy-to-use interface, you can easily finish the steps on how to recover permanently deleted files in Windows server 2008.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI software. Click "Recover" > "Recover Data" on the taskbar.

Step 2. Then, the Recover Windows Data tool will pop up. Select the partition where you store the deleted files before and click "Start Scan".

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, you can see all the deleted files, recycle bin, and other missing files on the window. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path for your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this recovery process ends. Click "OK" to finish the operation.

Tips to avoid losing files on Windows Server

Although you can easily know how to recover deleted files from Server 2008 through the tutorial foregoing, you'd better make some preparation to prevent file loss. Here we listed two kind tips to protect your files on Windows Server 2008 and R2.

1. Enable Audit option

An audit option is provided by Microsoft for Windows Server 2008 to avoid data loss. When you enable the audit option, you are able to know who creates, modifies, or deletes a specific file. Mastering this information helps you know if the files are deleted accidentally or intentionally. Anyway, it's necessary to perform Windows audit file deletion for file safety.

2. Backup Windows Server 2008 (R2)

Making a backup of Windows Server 2008 should be one of the most effective ways that can save you from the loss of files. AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is also a professional backup program that offers the clone feature to protect your data safety.

It can clone the entire hard drive, migrate only system, copy a single partition, move programs or files from one drive to another. Only with a few clicks, you can get a backup by cloning what you don't want to lose. Here, we take clone the hard drive as an example.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Partition Assistant Server. Right-click the disk that you intend to copy and click "Clone Disk" in the drop-down menu.

Step 2. Choose an appropriate way to copy Windows Server 2008 hard drive. Then, click "Next".

Step 3. Select a destination disk to clone the source disk to (When the target disk is SSD, tick the box before "Optimize the performance of SSD" to align SSD partitions). Then, click "Next".

Step 4. You can adjust the partition size on the target disk. Then, click "Next".

Step 5. After reading a note, you will return to the main menu. Click "Apply" and "Proceed".

Conclusion

Three methods of how to recover deleted files from Server 2008 (R2) have been explained in detail in this article. You can choose the most suitable one to quickly get your deleted or missing files back.

Although there is a great possibility that your deleted files can be recovered, you are still suggested to back up Windows Server 2008 in case of any future data loss.