How to Recover Deleted Large MKV File on Windows | 6 Methods

Overview of MKV File

MKV, or Matroska Video, is a popular multimedia container format that can hold unlimited video, audio, picture, and subtitle tracks in a single file. It’s widely used for: high-definition movies, TV shows, video projects with multiple audio/subtitle tracks, online streaming and sharing large video files. Because MKV files are often large in size, accidental deletion can feel like a huge loss.

Losing a large MKV video file can be extremely frustrating, especially if it’s a movie, project footage, or personal video you can’t easily replace. While these files often take up a lot of storage, there are several effective ways to recover deleted MKV files on Windows.

How to Recover Deleted Large MKV File on Windows

This section will walk you through practical methods on how to recover deleted large MKV file. Always start with the simplest approaches before moving to advanced recovery tools. You can choose anyone based on your needs.

Solution 1. Check the Recycle Bin

Whenever you find a file is missing, checking the Recycle Bin first is a wise choice. Files deleted (not permanently deleted) from Windows will be moved to the Recycle Bin until they are restored or the Recycle Bin is emptied. If the MKV file was deleted from an external storage device, please move on to other methods.

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

Step 2. Browse through or search for the deleted MKV files, right click on them.

Step 3. Choose "Restore" from the context menu.

This will return the file to its original location, making it the easiest way to recover deleted MKV files.

Solution 2. Restore Your Files with File History

File history is a Windows built-in backup tool which allows you to restore older version of your MKV files. If you have enabled File History on Windows and add the folder where the deleted MKV files were stored before data loss, you can restore deleted files using this way.

Step 1. Type "Restore your files with File History" in the Start menu and open it.

Step 2. Locate the folder where the deleted MKV file were stored and choose a desired version based on the backup time.

Step 3. Click the green "Restore" button to recover the MKV files.

Additionally, you can restore earlier versions of MKV files with "Restore previous versions" in File Explorer.

Step 1. Open "File Explorer" and locate the folder with lost MKV files.

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

Step 3. Choose a desired version from the recoverable lists and click "Restore" to recover it.

Solution 3. Recover from Backup and Restore

Windows also offers the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) feature, which can create a full system image. It allows you to restore deleted files from the created backup including personal files.

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

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

Step 3. Click "Browse for files/folder" to choose the MKV files to restore from the backup.

Step 4. Select a destination folder to save the recovered files and click "Restore" to begin the process.

Once the process is completed, the message "Your files have been restored" will pop out. You can check the recovered files by clicking on "View restored files".

★Tips:

Similar to File History, Backup and Restore only works if you have created a backup before the MKV file was lost.

Solution 4. Restore from Cloud Backup

If you use cloud storage services like OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox, your deleted MKV files may still be retrievable from the cloud. Typically, the Recycle Bin feature of cloud backup tools only retains deleted files for 30 days.

Step 1. Sign in with your OneDrive account (take OneDrive as an example here).

Step 2. Select the "Recycle bin" section, browse through the deleted items and locate the deleted MKV files.

Step 3. Select them and click "Restore" in the upper left corner.

Solution 5. Run Windows File Recovery Command (Command-Line Tool)

For users who don’t have backups, Microsoft offers, Windows File Recovery, a command-line tool to retrieve permanently deleted files. It can recover lost files from local storage devices like USB drives, SD cards, HDDs and more. But it requires familiarity with basic Windows File Recovery command and only works on Windows 10 and 11.

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

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

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

★Tips:

F: The source drive where you want to recover files from.

E: The destination drive where recovered files will be saved.

/Extensive: The scan mode. It is the most thorough and take more time.

/n *.mkv: The filter for file types/names. /n means include only files matching this pattern. *.mkv means recover only files with the .mkv video extension.

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

Solution 6. Recover Deleted Large MKV File with MyRecover

While Windows File Recovery is a powerful data recovery tool, it can be quite challenging for most beginners. Even minor mistakes such as typos, missing spaces, or selecting the wrong scan mode can lead to data recovery failure. In such cases, an intuitive data recovery tool can save your lost files: MyRecover. It can scan all drives on your computer and provide an opportunity to recover the lost files.

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

Step 2. Launch it and choose the drive where the deleted MKV files were stored to scan, then click "Scan".

Step 3. Choose the files you want to recover from the recoverable lists and click "Recover".

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

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

Summary

Accidentally deleting a large MKV file doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. From checking the Recycle Bin and File History to using Windows File Recovery and cloud backups, there are multiple ways to recover deleted MKV files. But for the best chance at success especially with large, important video files, using a dedicated recovery tool like MyRecover is the safest choice.

It also offers the Professional edition which allows data recovery from crashed Windows system, helping you safeguard your important data with ease.