Internet Download Manager (IDM), developed by Tonec, is a tool that can help you download images, music, videos, links, and many other files from the Internet without any hassle. It offers users a simple graphic interface and a very high downloading speed.

However, while using this software, you may encounter some unexpected problems, such as mistaken deletion, unexpected data loss, program crash, formatted hard drive, and virus attack. So, what if your precious file disappears all of a sudden?

In this post, we will show how to recover deleted files on IDM manually. And you can also learn an intelligent and efficient method to retrieve your lost data.

Part 1. How to Recover Downloads from IDM (Finished & Unfinished)

If you accidentally delete your files from IDM list of downloads, the first thing you need to do is check whether the complete downloaded files are removed from your hard disk. There’s still a chance that your files are well preserved on your drive. To find them, please follow the instructions below.

Unfinished Downloads

With a smart download logic accelerator, IDM segments downloaded files dynamically during the download process, which can bring you the best acceleration performance. Therefore, if the downloads are not finished when you delete them, you can go to the temporary directory to look for your file segments.

Step 1. Open IDM on your computer. Then go to the Downloads tab and select Options.

Step 2. After that, you will see the Configuration window. Choose Save to. Please copy the Temporary directory address and paste it into your Windows Explorer.

Step 3. Find a folder called DwnlData. Double-click to open it. Then open the Administrator folder.

Step 4. There will be several folders that contain the downloaded file segments. You can open and check if they are what you want. By the way, if the file is a video, then it should be noted that the video track and the audio track are saved separately in different folders.

Finished Downloads

And if you want to find finished downloads from IDM, you can simply go to the default download directory of IDM.

Step 1. Open IDM. Select Downloads, then Options. Navigate to the Save to tab under the Configuration window again. Copy the Default download directory.

Step 2. After opening the download folder, you will see all your downloaded files there.

But how do you know if your file is completely deleted? In fact, when you remove files from the IDM list, you should get a prompt as below.

If you select the option of deleting completely downloaded files from your hard disk, the source files will also be erased. In that case, your files will be hard to find manually. You’d better employ a professional data recovery tool to do the job for you.

Part 2. How to Restore Deleted/Moved/Lost Files in IDM

To retrieve your files on IDM, you can trust Apeaksoft Data Recovery, the best choice for data recovery. It can not only recover your deleted/moved/lost IDM files but also handle any kind of data loss caused by accidental deletion, hard drive damage, virus attack, and more.

How to recover deleted IDM files with Apeaksoft Data Recovery?

Step 1. Download & Install this IDM Recovery Tool

Free download Apeaksoft Data Recovery on your computer. Install and then open this program.

Step 2. Select Data Type & Location

After entering the home interface, please choose the data type you want to recover. For example, if you want to recover the video you have downloaded with IDM, you can select Video here. Then select the hard disk drive where IDM saves downloads. Click the Scan button.

Step 3. Deep Scan Mode

If you cannot find your lost files with the Quick Scan mode, you can try the Deep Scan mode. It can scan your disk more thoroughly.

Step 4. Recover the File You Want

After scanning, you will see all the video files that were once stored on your disk. You can look through the files one by one. Or you can enter the file name to search for the deleted file. Click on the Filter button. If you find the deleted file, select it and click the Recover button in the bottom right corner. Then your file will be saved to your computer automatically.

As you can see, we scanned the E: hard disk with Apeaksoft Data Recovery. That is because it is the default download directory of our IDM program. You should adjust the disk according to the actual situation. What’s more, if you deleted the downloaded file directly from the download folder, then you should recover files from Recycle Bin.

Part 3. How to Prevent IDM File Loss

• Set the IDM to automatically save the path and back up the download history.
• Enable Do not automatically delete temporary files after completion.
• Do not clean up the IDM folder at will.
• Back up the download content to OneDrive/Google Drive.

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