How to Recover Minecraft World in Windows [2024]

Last Updated Date: March 5, 2024

Minecraft, launched in 2011, is a well-known block-building game that lets users create virtual or 3D worlds using textured cubes. This app is developed by Mojang Studios and players can explore the virtual worlds, collect resources, craft, and battle.

It takes a significant amount of time and effort to build your unique Minecraft world, so it can panic any gamer if you accidentally delete Minecraft World files. In fact, many players have experienced

Check out this guide as we explore 3 effective ways to get back a deleted Minecraft World.

Table of Contents

Why do Minecraft Worlds Get Lost or Deleted?

There are plenty of reasons as to why Minecraft Worlds are deleted or lost, such as:

❎Human error: Either intentionally or accidentally deleting while trying to load a world
💻Insufficient storage space: Low or limited storage capacity can lead to the deletion of Minecraft World as the game needs a good amount of storage space
🔌Unexpected power cuts: While saving progress, sudden power outages shut down your system and the progress is lost

How to Find Deleted Minecraft Worlds

After losing or deleting Minecraft worlds, instead of panicking, you need to act fast and find the deleted files to recover it. Here is how to find deleted files on Windows 11:

1️⃣Method 1:

If you accidentally deleted Minecraft World, you can open the “Recycle Bin” on your system. In most cases, you can find the deleted file here unless the recycle bin is emptied or the game is deleted from the recycle bin.

2️⃣Method 2:

Another way to find the deleted Minecraft world is by checking your drive. Follow the below steps:

Open “File Explorer” on your system.
In the search bar, type .mcworld and press enter.
Once you locate the deleted file, double-click the file in order to open it to the Minecraft Bedrock Edition.
Now, your Minecraft World will be imported automatically.

How to Recover Minecraft Worlds in Windows

There is no need to panic if you have not found any deleted files. Here, we have mentioned all the possible methods for recovering Minecraft world and you can follow the method that works for you.

Manually Import Minecraft Worlds After Finding

If you successfully found the deleted Minecraft world, then this method is highly suitable for you. It is an easy and quick procedure that you can use after locating the deleted Minecraft world file. Follow the below steps in order to import the .mcworld file using the manual method:

Go to Minecraft
Open the “Worlds” tab. Tap on the “import” option (green arrow button).

Now choose and open the .mcworld file you previously found. It will be imported.

Recover a Minecraft World with the Local Backup (For Windows)

Did you spend hundreds of hours building a grand Minecraft world but lose it due to system or human errors? In Minecraft, for Windows computers, the autosave feature will automatically back up your progress, so you can recover the deleted files with the help of these backups.

Do you back up your Minecraft world regularly? Then, go to the folder where the backup copy is saved and move the backup files into your new Minecraft saves folder.

Bedrock Edition and Java Edition are the two primary editions of Minecraft. The steps to restore Minecraft worlds in Windows 10 with the local backup will vary depending on the version you utilize.

💡For Java Edition

Here is how to get back a deleted Minecraft world for Java Edition:

Open Minecraft, click on the “Create new world” option and save the changes.
In the Windows search bar, type “Run” and open it. An alternative way to open the Run dialog box is — Windows + R keys.
Now, type “%appdata” and tap on the “OK” button.

The AppData folder will open on your screen. Locate the “.minecraft” folder and double-click on it.

Click and open the “saves” folder. It will have the following path: \Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\saves.

Go back to the backup world folder. You can see Level.dat – Level.dat_old – session.lock – and spc.settings files, copy it.

Open the New World folder. You will see four files. Delete and substitute them.
Go back to the Minecraft app. Open the new world and you can see the lost or deleted world.

🌟For Bedrock Edition

Follow these steps to learn how to recover Minecraft world using local backup for Bedrock Edition:

Open the Minecraft app. Choose the “create new world” option and save changes. One important thing to note is to ensure the new world has the same settings as the deleted Minecraft world.
Go to the File Explorer. The alternative way to open File Explorer – Windows + E keys

Locate C:\Users\Sumit\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds

Now search for the “db folder” and double-click on it.

Find the db folder that contains deleted Minecraft world files. Select all the files and copy them.
Go to the new Minecraft world’s db folder and paste all the files.
Refresh Minecraft and select the new world to restore the deleted Minecraft world.

Get Back Minecraft Worlds Using Previous Version

In Windows, there is a File History that locally backs up and stores selected folders. If you previously added Minecraft saves to the regular backups, it is easy to recover deleted Minecraft worlds. One important thing to note is that this method will only work if you have system restore points enabled on your system. So, you can restore the accidentally deleted Minecraft world by using the previous version option. For that, follow the below steps:

In the Windows search bar, type “Run” and open it. The alternative way to open Run – Windows + R keys.
In the box, enter %appdata and tap on the “OK” option.

Go to AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\saves

In this folder, click on the “History” option. In the new pop-up menu, tap on the “Properties” option.

In the new pop-up screen appears, choose “Previous Versions” and tap on the folder that comprises the deleted Minecraft world files. Select the “Restore” option.

Relaunch Minecraft and you can see the deleted Minecraft worlds.

❗ If you failed all the solutions mentioned above, then it’s also worth trying to contact Minecraft support to see if they could get back deleted from Minecraft World, however, you will inevitably have to wait 3-5 business days for them to process your request. For a quick attempt to get back a Minecraft Worlds, file recovery software may be a good choice.

Using Windows Recovery Software to Get Back Deleted Minecraft Worlds

If none of the above methods are working or if the Minecraft world is completely deleted from your system, you can still restore file using recovery software. ONERECOVERY can help you easily and quickly restore lost files or folders that was lost due to update failures, software crashes, virus attacks, and many more. You can use ONERECOVERY to restore accidentally deleted Minecraft worlds on Windows for free. Here is how you can do that:

Download and install ONERECOVERY for Windows. Launch ONERECOVERY on your system.
Select any hard drive by clicking on the “Hard Drives and Locations” option. Using “Quick Access,” you can select the hard drive from your computer, or you can directly choose any hard drive from under the “Hard Disk Drives” option.

ONERECOVERY will initiate the scanning process.

A preview of the scanned files will be provided. You can choose every file or select only the deleted Minecraft world files.

Tap the “Recover” button once you have chosen every file you wish to have recovered.
Relaunch Minecraft to find the deleted Minecraft world.

Bonus Tips: How to Backup and Load Worlds in Minecraft

Though you can restore deleted Minecraft worlds in most cases, it is recommended to keep a copy of your files by backing them up.

There are 4 ways to back up the Minecraft world, which include:

Activate backup and restore in Windows: Windows has an automatic backup feature (Backup and Restore), so you can save your Minecraft world on your system.
Backup Minecraft on Xbox: If you use Xbox 360 or Xbox One to play Minecraft and also have an active Xbox Live account, your Minecraft worlds will be backed up automatically to Xbox cloud storage.
Backup Minecraft on PS5: For those who use PS4/PS5 to play Minecraft, you can back up your files regularly or turn on automatic backups. If you have a PlayStation Plus subscription, you will get 100 GB of cloud storage.
Backup Minecraft on your smartphone: If you are playing Minecraft on your smartphone, you need to turn on backup for the Minecraft game or your entire mobile.

💡With regard to how to load a backup in Minecraft, it’s also simple. Here’s the step-by-step guide(for Java edition):

Choose and click the world you want to load and click “Edit” then click on “Open Backups Folders”.

Find and open the .zip file of the world you have backed up, and drop the folder in .zip onto your desktop.
Open the “Save” folder and drag the folder(mentioned in the previous step) into it. Then you can load a backup in Minecraft.

Conclusion

Whether the Minecraft world is deleted by mistake or lost due to hardware failures, you can recover the deleted Minecraft world by following the above-listed methods. It is best to regularly back up your Minecraft world so that you have a copy of your world in case the Minecraft world is lost suddenly.