For some people when a file is lost or deleted accidentally after working for several hours on a project there is a series of incidents that occur spelling the end of life as they know it. First, there will be a stunned silence as they stare at the screen waiting for a flicker of recognition. At this point, some people will hit the keyboard a few times just in case, then disbelief, then panic, then things get really bad.

But, before starting to write a resignation letter or thinking up a reason for not having the project completed, take a moment to try some recovery tips that may help.

Files and documents are never "lost." When a file is deleted, the computer will let it hang out until some other information is typed into the computer and it needs the space. Think of it as being at a group event where everybody has a tag that identifies where they work and who they are. If you're chatting with somebody and give them something to hold then they suddenly tear off their identification and disappear, they are not gone. They are in the room and, until the doorman lets them out, they are going to be in the room where you can find them.

Your file or document has just ripped of it's identification tag and is wandering around the room until the computer makes it leave. You have an opportunity to recover the file if you can track it down and stick it's identification back on it's little label. There are lots of favorite spots that "no-name" files like to hang out. Just take a few minutes to visit each spot.

The most obvious place will be in the trash bin. Check to make sure that it didn't slip in there accidentally. Then, check your temp files. There will be two of these in your system and you'll want to check both of them. After that check out the History section of your computer and if it's not there check the recent folder. Now some systems call the recent folder by different names so you may need to go to your help file to find out the name of recent on your system. If it's not there, then do a system search for *. ASD files and if the puppy shows up there just click on the file, highlight it, click open and nothing will happen. Reboot your system, open the program you were working in and the file will be on the left in a recovery option box.

If you want to save some time in the searching for files department and you lose a lot of files, you may want to get a recovery software program. There are programs available that are free and some have a cost. It totally depends on the types of files you lose and how often you lose them as to how much money you want to invest in a software recovery program.