Troubleshooting Glary Undelete: Common Problems and Fixes

How to Use Glary Undelete to Restore Deleted Files on WindowsLosing files can be stressful—whether it’s accidentally emptied Recycle Bin items, a mistaken format, or a quick delete. Glary Undelete is a simple, free Windows utility for scanning drives and recovering deleted files. This guide walks through safe preparation, installing the tool, scanning, recovering files, troubleshooting, and best practices to improve your chances of successful recovery.

Before you begin: safety and preparation

• Stop using the affected drive immediately. Continued use (especially writing new files) can overwrite deleted data and reduce recovery chances.
• Work from a different drive if possible. Install and run Glary Undelete from another disk, USB flash drive, or another PC to avoid writing to the drive that contains deleted files.
• Know what you’re trying to recover. File name, type (photo, document, video), approximate deletion time, and the drive/partition help focus the scan and speed decisions.

System requirements and obtaining Glary Undelete

• Glary Undelete runs on Windows (Windows XP through current Windows ⁄₁₁ versions historically supported).
• Download the installer only from the official Glarysoft website or a reputable software repository to avoid bundled unwanted software.
• The program is lightweight (a few megabytes) and installs quickly.

Installing Glary Undelete

1. Download the installer to a different drive than the one you need to recover files from, if available.
2. Run the installer and follow prompts. Decline any optional toolbars or bundled offers if present.
3. Launch Glary Undelete after installation.

Scanning for deleted files

1. Select the drive or partition to scan from the dropdown list at the top (for example, C:, D:, or a USB drive).
2. Optional scan settings:
   • Enable “Deep Scan” (if available) to scan beyond file table entries; this takes longer but can find more files, especially after formatting.
   • Filter by file type (e.g., .jpg, .docx, .mp4) to reduce results and speed selection.
3. Click “Scan” (or similar) to begin. A progress indicator shows estimated time; deep scans can take significantly longer depending on drive size.

What the results show:

• Filename (if recoverable)
• Path (original location, sometimes partial)
• File size
• Deleted date (when available)
• Recovery state/quality: categories like “Excellent,” “Good,” “Poor,” or “Unrecoverable.” These indicate how likely the file contents are intact.

Choosing files to recover

• Sort results by file type, name, date, or recovery state to find important files quickly.
• Prioritize files with Excellent or Good recovery states. These have the highest chance of restoring fully.
• Preview files when Glary Undelete offers previews (images, text) to confirm content before recovery.

Recovering files safely

1. Select one or multiple files/folders to recover by checking them.
2. Click the “Restore” or “Recover” button.
3. IMPORTANT: Choose a recovery destination on a different drive than the source (e.g., recover to an external drive or another partition). Saving recovered files to the same drive risks overwriting other deleted files you may still want to recover.
4. Wait for the process to complete and verify the recovered files open correctly.

If recovery fails or files are partially corrupted

• Try a Deep Scan (if not already used). It looks for file signatures and can recover fragments even if directory references are gone.
• Use multiple tools: no single tool finds everything. Other reputable recovery utilities (Recuva, PhotoRec, R-Studio, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard) may succeed where one fails.
• If files are very important (legal, business-critical, irreplaceable photos), avoid further DIY attempts and consult a professional data recovery service—especially if the drive shows hardware faults.

Common issues and solutions

• Drive not listed: ensure the drive is connected and visible in Windows Disk Management. If it’s uninitialized or has hardware errors, Glary Undelete may not see it—professional help might be needed.
• Slow scans: scanning large HDDs or running Deep Scan takes time; run scans when you can leave the computer running.
• Recovered files open with errors: partial overwrite or fragmentation may have corrupted contents. Try alternate recovery tools or check if a previous backup exists.

Best practices to avoid future data loss

• Keep regular backups using an external drive or cloud backup (OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.).
• Enable File History or Windows Backup on Windows for automatic previous-version recovery.
• Use the Recycle Bin protection (avoid Shift+Delete unless intentional).
• When deleting large amounts of data, double-check selected files and confirm backups exist.

Quick checklist (summary)

• Stop using the drive.
• Install Glary Undelete to a different drive.
• Scan the affected drive (use Deep Scan if needed).
• Preview and prioritize files with Excellent/Good status.
• Recover to a different drive.
• Try other tools or professional recovery if necessary.
• Start regular backups to prevent future losses.

If you want, I can:

• Provide step-by-step screenshots for each stage (install, scan, recover).
• Suggest alternative recovery tools and pros/cons in a comparison table.
• Help draft an email to a professional recovery service describing your issue.