How to recover recent items shortcuts

J

JackieTKD

New Member
[FONT=&quot]Hello,

I cleared my recent items list by accident via the right-click context menu option. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
The recent items shortcuts do not appear in my recycle bin. Does anyone know where they go? Or better yet, how to get them back?

After turning ON Show Hidden Files & Folders, I tried these things with no success: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

* CTNL-z but nothing happened.
* Right click Undo delete, but the option was grayed-out.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]* Did an analyze with [/FONT][FONT=&quot]ccleaner, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]but only the NEW recent item showed.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Is there a way to get those shortcuts back - without doing a system restore?.

I have enough computer experience to be dangerous.

Any help is appreciated!

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
Computer specs:
Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium 32-bit (service pack2) on a [/FONT][FONT=&quot]TOSHIBA Satellite A215 Laptop
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ccleaner[/FONT]
 

My Computer

System One

I don't have the answer you really want to hear, but since nobody else has replied (possibly because you removed the obvious option by what you said in your post) I thought I would post anyway. Unfortunately, I do not believe it is possible with your version of Vista (unless you have Shadow Explorer ShadowExplorer.com - About installed (which is a free download that provides Shadow Copies for people with Vista versions that don't include that feature) - if so, you may be able to recover from a previous version). Post back if you do have Shadow Explorer and need help using it.

File recovery programs most likely will not help in this circumstance but I suppose it is possible, so if you want to give one a try, try Recuva at: Recuva - Undelete, Unerase, File and Disk Recovery - Free Download. There are many options, but of the free ones I think this is the best and if any can do it this one will.

Do you do backups? If so, that information may be contained in the most recent backup if you have elected to backup that folder and you may be able to restore it from it. It will only be as recent as your most recent backup, but perhaps better than nothing.

The most likely answer here is a System Restore (and I know you wanted other options and I tried to provide a few if you have the software installed or have backups or if you want to attempt the recovery despite the slim chances of success), but there's no special process or a special backup file anywhere to undo what you did. In fact, I'm not 100% sure even a System Restore will work because this may be considered data and System Restore doesn't affect data - but it would be worth a try and I would certainly try if it were me and I wanted those shortcuts back and the above options didn't work (if you are willing to consider it).

I'm sorry there's no easier answers for you. Some actions are just very, very hard to reverse once they are done and this happens to be one of them (except perhaps by using System Restore).

I hope this helps or at least gives you options (both for now and perhaps for the future) to try.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
@Lorien Thanks for the input. It does help!

I forgot about Recuva. That just might work! will try when Im back in the office!

The last thing I'll try is to run some searches, looking for files modified/accessed within the date range & save the results.

Even thought backup & restore points are done regularity....there's just not enough time in my day to dig into that.

Thanks again!
 

My Computer

System One

If you do run the search and get some results as a saved search, the search will be a bunch of shortcuts. If you copy this listing to your C:\Users\<username>\Recent folder, it should make them available as recent items (though I'm not certain if something else is required to get them into the Recent Items listing in the Start Menu beyond simply by adding them to the folder - if you do this and Recent Items doesn't repopulate (and I suspect that might be the case), then post back and I'll see if I can find a way to get it to do so (I suspect some registry modifications may be required as that's where the data in that list is stored even it it originates in that folder but I'm not positive if it will be necessary or exactly how to do it if it is possible)). In fact, your Recent Items folder may be fine (you may want to take a glance before bothering with the search) and only the registry information was affected - let me know in any case as this isn't something I care to test on my own system and risk losing my own Recent Items list.

Also, I'd like to recommend that you seriously consider installing Shadow Explorer to provide added protection against lost files. It won't help you with this situation, but may come in handy in the future is this occurs again or anything similar occurs (like you accidentally delete or lose some of your files for whatever reason).

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
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