A deleted PDF may remain in deleted items, a backup, an email attachment or the application that created it. Recover the best complete source before trying repair. After export, verify all required pages: a readable cover is not evidence that the rest survived.
Look for an existing complete PDF
Check Windows Recycle Bin for filename, original location and deletion time. For a cloud-stored PDF, use the correct account’s web interface and deleted items. Search sent attachments, downloads and delivery folders, distinguishing final and review versions.
If the PDF was generated from Word, InDesign, a scanner or another source, ask whether the source or scan images remain. Re-exporting can restore readable content, although it may not recreate signatures, annotations or edits made only in the lost PDF. Keep those distinctions when choosing between candidates.
For a folder already protected by File History, inspect Previous Versions and copy the PDF from a suitable dated folder to a separate location. A backup configured after deletion does not contain the earlier document. See Microsoft’s File History instructions.
Recover from readable storage
Minimize writes to the disk that held the PDF. In XRecovery, scan that disk or partition, look in document/PDF results and search by name where available. Use preview to identify candidates, then save selected files to another physical device. Keep multiple candidates separately until checked.
If the drive is unstable or returns read errors, repeated opening and scanning are not a substitute for preserving readable data. Do not format the source or repair its file system merely to make the deleted PDF reappear.
Validate the contents you need
Open a recovered copy in a current PDF application. Check expected page count and the beginning, middle and final page, then review every required page for blank regions, missing scans or damaged images. Search for distinctive text and inspect whether a scanned PDF’s OCR text matches the visible page.
Check attachments, comments, form fields and signatures when they matter. A rendering can look correct while a required attachment is missing. A modified or repaired PDF should not be represented as preserving original signature validity without checking it in the signing application.
If you have a known-good original hash, an exact match can confirm the bytes. Otherwise, report the content checks rather than claiming byte-for-byte restoration.
When the PDF exists but is damaged
Keep the unchanged file and try a fresh copy from its sender or source application. Adobe’s PDF opening guidance suggests recreating a damaged PDF from its source when Acrobat cannot open it.
XRecovery supports PDF file repair. Add a preserved copy, inspect useful output and save it separately. A zero-byte file has no PDF payload to repair, and a truncated file may lack pages that structural repair cannot recreate. Retain partial pages if useful, with missing content identified.
For the next step, see Document Recovery: Deleted, Unsaved, Overwritten or Damaged?.