How to Recover Deleted Text Files in Windows 11

Updated on Oct 18, 2026 | by Qiling

Quick Navigation:

Find the Original Text File
Stop Writes to the Source
Scan for a Deleted TXT File
Check Encoding and Completeness
Frequently Asked Questions

Small text files are easy to overwrite because they occupy little space. Stop writing to the drive once you notice the deletion, and first check whether the file was moved or backed up.

Find the Original Text File

Search by name and .txt extension in File Explorer, including the folder used by Notepad or another editor. Check Recycle Bin and any synced folder's deleted-items view.

An unsaved note may exist in an editor's session or recovery feature, but a disk scan only searches data that was actually written to storage. Identify whether you ever saved the text file.

Stop Writes to the Source

Note the original file path and disk. Avoid saving new text files or installing the recovery program to that same physical device.

Prepare another drive for output. If the text was stored on an SSD, deleted blocks may already have been discarded; an older backup can be more reliable.

Scan for a Deleted TXT File

Qiling Deep Data Recovery provides a visual scan of storage that Windows can detect. In this case, use the deletion mode that matches where the text file was removed. A listed file is only a candidate until you open and verify its recovered copy.

Step 1. Inspect Recycle Bin and Editor Copies

Check the editor's recent files, Recycle Bin, and any backup. Do not confuse a similarly named blank note with the original content.

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Step 2. Choose Fast Scan

For a recently deleted local text file choose Fast Scan. After an emptied bin choose Recycle Bin Scan; choose USB/SD Scan for removable media.

Step 3. Choose the Former TXT Location

Select the disk that held the file before deletion, using its letter and capacity. Start the scan without saving new data to it.

Step 4. Review Text Candidates

Filter for .txt and compare paths and sizes. Preview candidates where supported, remembering that several versions may share a generic name.

Step 5. Recover to Another Drive

Select likely files, click Recover, and save elsewhere. Open them in a text editor and confirm that lines, characters, and the ending are complete.

Check Encoding and Completeness

If characters look garbled, try opening the copy with the original encoding in a text editor before declaring it lost. Keep the raw recovered copy unchanged.

If a text file has no content, inspect other scan results and backup versions. Renaming a blank file will not restore missing text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing .log to .txt recover the contents?

No. An extension change only changes how Windows opens the file; it does not restore deleted bytes.

Why are accented characters unreadable?

The recovered copy may be opened with the wrong encoding, or its contents may be damaged.

Can Notepad restore text that was never saved?

Check its available session or recovery state first. A disk scan cannot guarantee an unsaved note exists on disk.