What are the Best Tips for Email Recovery?

When an email is lost for one reason or another, there are some helpful methods available for retrieving them. These methods include searching the default email junk or trash file, looking for the email through the search browser window on the email software, checking the main computer hard drive, and using email recovery software programs. When emails go missing, there are tools in the email program and services to retrieve them successfully.

A common method for email recovery is to do a general search in the email program search browser to find the email by the topic, title, the date it was sent, or the person who sent it. Most of the major web email services and software include a search function at the very top of the email listing. By using this search, the email can be retrieved from among a long list of emails that may go back several years.

The most obvious place to look for deleted emails is in the default trash folder that’s standard with most email software or web-based programs. This trash folder includes emails that have been deleted upon receipt either automatically or by the email user. Check this folder to see if the missing email is still listed, then choose to restore it or send it back to the inbox for reading. If the email is older than 30 days, it is advisable to contact the administrator of the email service for assistance.

Another method of email recovery is to check the computer's hard drive for a stored record of the email. It is relatively simple to do a hard drive search by clicking on the computer function and then doing a search by topic, sender, date, or title. Once the email file is found, it’s possible to open it and locate where it is on the hard drive so that it can be restored or printed out for reference.

In some cases, it’s impossible to find missing emails if they are old or if a file is corrupt and won’t open correctly. When this happens, free or low-cost email recovery software can be downloaded to work with the email program to locate the email file. Be sure to download email recovery software that works with the types of files that the email program uses, such as .doc, .mbx, and .dbx for example.