How to Recover Unsaved, Deleted, or Overwritten CSV File [2025 Updated]

Overview of CSV File

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files are widely used for storing tabular data such as financial records, product inventories, and research results. It stores plain-text data separated by commas, making it compatible with Excel, Google Sheets, and many database applications. While lightweight and simple, CSV files can be prone to accidental deletion, corruption, or overwriting like any other types of files.

This guide walks you through how to recover a CSV file in various scenarios, including unsaved work, deleted files, and overwritten data. We’ll also cover preventive tips to avoid future loss. Let's explore them one-by-one.

How to Recover Unsaved CSV File

If you forgot to save your CSV file before closing Excel or your computer crashed unexpectedly, these unsaved CSV files may seem to have completely disappeared. However, Excel actually offers an AutoRecover feature that can recover these unsaved files.

Step 1. Launch Excel and go to "File" tab.

Step 2. Select "Info", under the "Manage Workbook", choose "Recover Unsaved Workbooks".

Step 3. Choose a file you wish to recover and open it to check if it's the version you want. If it's, save it to a safe location immediately.

How to Recover Deleted CSV File

If you have saved the CSV file but it gets deleted due to accidental deletion, emptying the Recycle Bin, permanent deletion, or other such reasons, there are multiple methods available to help you retrieve the deleted CSV file.

Check the Recycle Bin

Most deleted files (not using “Shift + Delete”) first go to the Recycle Bin before being permanently removed. Checking the Recycle Bin first is the simplest and fastest way to retrieve any lost files.

Step 1. Double click the Recycle Bin icon to open it.

Step 2. Browse through the deleted items and select the CSV file you want to recover.

Step 3. Right click on it and choose "Restore" to return it to its original location.

Restore from Backups

If you regularly back up your files using Windows built-in backup tools or cloud backup, restoring the CSV file from a backup is quick and straightforward. Windows provides two backup tools: File History and "Backup and Restore". Here, we'll take restoring from a backup created via Backup and Restore as an example.

Step 1. Open "Backup Settings" and select "Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)".

Step 2. Choose "Select another backup to restore files from" and select a created backup including the lost CSV file.

Step 3. Click "Browse for files" to choose the CSV file to restore from the backup.

Step 4. Choose a safe location to save the recovered files and click "Restore" to start the process.

When the process is completed, the message "Your files have been restored" will pop up. You can check the recovered CSV file in the destination folder by clicking on "View restored files".

★Tips:

If you enabled File History before the data loss, you can also restore the lost files from File History.

Additionally, using cloud backup tools like OneDrive for backup is increasingly chosen by more users. You can also recover lost files from OneDrive.

Run Windows File Recovery Command

Windows File Recovery is a free Microsoft command-line tool for retrieving permanently deleted files. It can recover files from local storage devices like USB drives, SD cards, HDDs and more. But it requires basic familiarity for Windows File Recovery command and it only works on Windows 10 and 11.

Step 1. Download and install Windows File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft official channel.

Step 2. Open Windows File Recovery and run it as administrator.

Step 3. Type the following command "Winfr E: F: /extensive /n *.csv" and press "Enter". Replace the drive letters "E" and "F" with your actual drive letters.

★Tips:

E: The source drive letter.

F: The destination drive letter.

Extensive: Perform a comprehensive scan. If you don't want to spend too much time, you can switch to regular mode for a quick scan.

/n *.csv：Filter condition. Specifies to recover only files with the ".csv" extension.

When the process is finished, you can press "y" to check the recovered CSV file in the destination folder.

Recover Deleted CSV File with MyRecover

If the file is not in the Recycle Bin and no backup exists, and you're uncomfortable with your command-line tool, this beginner-friendly data recovery software, MyRecover will come in handy. It can scan all the drives on your computer and offer a chance to recover lost files including documents (docx, xlsx, ppt, txt, etc.), images (PNG, JPG, JPGE, GIF, etc.), videos (MP4, MOV, AVI, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.).

4 Steps to Recover Deleted CSV File on Windows

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your computer from secure channel, avoid installing it on the drive with lost files.

Step 2. Launch MyRecover and choose the drive where the CSV file were stored, then click "Scan".

Step 3. Choose the CSV file from the recoverable lists and click "Recover". If there are too many scanned files to easily find the one you want, you can use the filter function in the top - right corner to quickly access the file you wish to recover.

Step 4. Select a location different from the original one to save the recovered files.

Upon completion of the recovery process, the message "Files have been recovered successfully" will pop out. You can check the recovered CSV file by clicking on destination folder path or "Browse" button.

How to Recover Overwritten or Replaced CSV File

When editing a CSV file, you must have encountered such a situation: after modifying and saving the CSV file, you find that the previous version was better. Here are several methods to restore the CSV file to the previous state you want.

Restore Previous Versions

If you have enabled Shadow Copy or File History before data loss, you can use the "Restore previous versions" feature to restore your CSV file to previous version.

Step 1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder where the CSV file was stored.

Step 2. Right click on it and choose "Restore previous versions" from the context menu.

Step 3. Select a desired version and click "Restore" to recover it to its original location.

Check OneDrive Version History

If you have backed up your CSV file to cloud backup tools like OneDrive, it will automatically record the modified versions of the file. You can view and restore previous versions in OneDrive.

Step 1. Sign in to OneDrive with your correct account.

Step 2. Navigate to the CSV file and right click on it, then choose "Version history". A list of earlier versions will be displayed.

Step 3. Check which version is the one you want and right click it, then choose "Restore" to replace the current version.

Final Words

Losing a CSV file can be stressful, but knowing how to recover CSV files, whether they are unsaved, deleted, or overwritten, can save you time and frustration. You can choose the appropriate method from the above options based on your actual situation. If those fail, professional recovery software like MyRecover can dig deeper to restore your data.

For power users and IT technicians, MyRecover's Professional Edition offers unlimited recovery volume and file content preview before restoration, making it a reliable solution for any data loss situation involving data recovery from unbootable Windows.