How to Recover the Lost/Deleted ZIP Files on Windows— Here are 5 Ways to Choose
Last Updated on September 20, 2025 by Yulia Ilina
Sometimes Windows operating system errors or software conflicts can lead to the loss of ZIP files, but don't worry, deleted ZIP files can be recovered either due to system issues or human reasons. Based on multiple privacy considerations such as the time of deletion as well as the success rate of recovery, this post will provide you with 5 ways to recover ZIP files on Windows.
- Part 1: How to recover Deleted ZIP Files on Windows
- Part 2: How to restore the Lost ZIP Files by Using Recovery Software
- Part 3: Using Windows File Recovery to Retrieve the Lost ZIP Files
- Part 4: Recover the Deleted ZIP Files via File History
- Part 5: System Restore function to Retrieve the Deleted ZIP/RAR Files
Part 1: How to recover Deleted ZIP Files on Windows
Make good use of Recycle Bin in Windows, it can help you avoid a lot of files lost because of accidental deletion. Recycle Bin can store up to 30 days of recently deleted files, as long as you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin, you will be able to find the deleted ZIP files in it and recover it.
Step 1: Click the Recycle Bin icon on your computer to enter it, at this time you can see all the recently deleted files in it. If there are too many files in it and you can't find the ZIP files you need to restore quickly, you can enter keywords in the search box in the upper right corner to filter them.
Step 2: Select the ZIP file you need to restore, and right-click it to call out the shortcut menu. Click the Restore button to restore the ZIP file from the Recycle Bin to the address stored before deletion, if you need to restore more files, you need to wait for a while.
Part 2: How to restore the Lost ZIP Files by Using Recovery Software
Recycle Bin only allows you to retrieve recently deleted files, but after you empty the Recycle Bin, you can't recover any files in it, including ZIP. but it doesn't prove that there is no way to recover things, you can use recovery software to restore the lost ZIP files. Aiseesoft Data Recovery enables you to recover a wide range of file types, including documents, photos, videos, audio files, emails, and more. it can support you to recover ZIP files lost due to accidental deletion, system crashes, and virus attacks.
1. Supports a wide range of devices, including internal and external hard disks, digital cameras, smartphones, and removable media.
2. Quick Scan feature allows analyzing the file system and retrieving recently deleted files.
3. Preview recovered files can support you to selectively recover ZIP files.
4. Provides filtering and searching options to find the desired files easily.
Step 1: Launch the software after installing Aiseesoft Data Recovery on your computer. After entering the software, you will be able to see the types of files supported by the software and the file storage partitions generated based on the storage space of your computer. At this point, if you want to add a storage device, you need to make sure that it is connected to the computer.
Step 2: If you want to recover ZIP files, then you need to select the file types to detect Others, selecting Check All Files Types will make your detection slower. Select the partition where the ZIP file was stored before it was lost, and click the Scan button to start the file scanning.
Step 3: Initially Quick Scan can quickly help you scan ZIP files, when the ZIP file you want to recover doesn't appear, Deep Scan will be opened automatically, in the scanning result, select the ZIP file you need to retrieve. Click the Recover button to retrieve the lost ZIP file.
Part 3: Using Windows File Recovery to Retrieve the Lost ZIP Files
In terms of recovering files, Microsoft has specifically launched a Windows File Recovery to restore lost ZIP files. Because he is a command line tool, the operation is slightly more complex. Because it is a command line tool, it is a little bit complicated to operate. And before you use it, make sure the storage drive of the ZIP file before deleting is NTFS, you can check it in the Properties.
Step 1: Search for Windows File Recovery in Microsoft Store and click the Get button to start the application, you need to choose to run as administrator.
Step 2: After running start, type winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches] n *.zip, where the source-drive is the location where the ZIP file is placed before deletion, the destination-drive is the location where the recovered ZIP file is placed. where source-drive is the location of the ZIP file before deletion, destination-drive is the location of the recovered ZIP file, and the mode can be Regular or Extensive.
Step 3: After the command line input is completed, it will run automatically. You will be able to re-create a ZIP file storage place, which will have the recovered ZIP file. And this feature is free to use.
Part 4: Recover the Deleted ZIP Files via File History
Windows has introduced very many new features to help use the computer better according to the constant updates. One of them is the File History feature which enables you to help you backup your files and find the ZIP file and restore it after the file is deleted according to this feature.
Step 1: Click the System and Security button in the Control panel to enter a new action page. Select File History and enter it, click the Restore Personal File button in the left panel to enter the browsing page of the file.
Step 2: After previewing the files, find the ZIP file you need to restore among the many backup files. Select the file and click the Restore button to save the ZIP file again.
Part 5: System Restore function to Retrieve the Deleted ZIP/RAR Files
System Restore function in Windows can be used to restore the version of the computer at a certain point in time, if you clearly understand the point in time before the deletion of the ZIP file, then you can use this method to restore the deleted ZIP file. However, this method is not capable of precise recovery and has some limitations.
Step 1: Click the Windows key, type Create a restore point in the search box and click the Open button to start it. In the dialog box that appears, check the System Protection tab to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Click the System Restore button and then click the Apply button on the action page to summon the action wizard. Follow the wizard's instructions to restore the ZIP file step by step.
Conclusion
Of course, the chances of successfully recovering ZIP files on Windows will become smaller with the increase of time, before the partitioned disk data is rewritten, choosing a good recovery software can make it fast and efficient to restore lost ZIP files to your computer, and Aiseesoft Data Recovery has just been able to help you as an excellent ZIP recovery software.