The fine folks at Lifehacker have an amazing wrap up on ways to get files that you may have accidentally deleted back without having to resort to an expensive software suite that may or may not work.

Most commercial file recovery applications do essentially the same things that most free applications do, perhaps with a cleaner interface and some real-time file protection. Even so, keep hope! If you’re prone to accidentally deleting files that you realize a moment or two later that you really should have kept, there are ways to maximize the chances that you’ll get those files back in good order without having to pay a cent for the apps that’ll get them back for you.

First and foremost – whenever you realize you deleted something you actually need, stop working – the less you do the higher your chances that your system won’t overwrite the space on your drive where the file actually lived. From there, Adam Pash (Lifehacker Editor) has some tips on how you can find the right application to try and save that file. And when it’s all said and done and you actually do get that file back? Adam also has some tips to help make sure you don’t wind up in this situation again – and yes, part of that advice is settling down your itchy delete finger.

[ Lifehacker :: How to Recover Deleted Files with Free Software ]