{"id":45942,"date":"2023-01-23T16:32:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-23T16:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=45942"},"modified":"2025-01-16T11:35:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T11:35:40","slug":"how-to-find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You turn on your PC, enter your password, and see your familiar wallpaper. This time, though, something is different. After some seconds, it hits you: most shortcuts are where you left them, but your files disappeared from the desktop.<\/p>\r\n<p>Next stop, the Documents folder. Maybe you absent-mindedly moved your files there yesterday? Nope, not there, either.<\/p>\r\n<p>You enter panic mode as you start frantically looking for them in every single folder. They&#8217;re nowhere.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>What now? &#x1f914;<\/b><\/p>\r\n<p>Let&#8217;s see why your documents, photos, or any other type of files could seemingly disappear and, more importantly, how to get them back.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ohCGgZGTDA8\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why_did_my_computer_files_disappear_main_reasons_and_solutions\"><\/span>Why Did My Computer Files Disappear: Main Reasons and Solutions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Computer files can disappear for many reasons. Instead of making this article a Recovery Encyclopedia, let&#8217;s list them on a table. This will clarify their cause-and-effect relationship and the best solutions for each scenario.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"table_wrapper table_heading\"><p><\/p>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Problem<\/td>\r\n<td>Cause<\/td>\r\n<td>Solution<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files disappeared after an accidental action.<\/td>\r\n<td>Accidentally deleted, hidden, or misplaced files.<\/td>\r\n<td>If the files were deleted, hidden, or misplaced, you can use an app like <a href=\"#method1\">Disk Drill<\/a> &#x2705; to find and recover them. A tool like <a href=\"#method9\">Everything<\/a> can also help locate hidden and misplaced files, but not deleted ones. If hidden, set Windows Explorer to <a href=\"#method3\">show hidden items<\/a>, and you&#8217;ll find them in the folder where you last left them.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>All my files disappeared from the desktop after a Windows restart or update.<\/td>\r\n<td>Files cannot be found at their usual location\/where you last left them.<\/td>\r\n<td>If you can&#8217;t find the files after a restart, ensure that you logged in using the <a href=\"#method4\">same user account<\/a> where the files &#8220;were left&#8221;. Also, check if you&#8217;re logged in using a temporary profile instead of your user account.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Desktop file disappeared after you installed a cloud storage\/synchronization solution.<\/td>\r\n<td>Files aren&#8217;t on the desktop or inside the user account folders where you last left them.<\/td>\r\n<td>If stored or synchronized using newly installed cloud solutions, the cloud client app might have moved them within its local subfolders or online. Use a tool like Everything to find local versions and, if unavailable, <a href=\"#method8\">seek them on the cloud solution&#8217;s sites<\/a>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Your hard drive or files got corrupted.<\/td>\r\n<td>The drive or the files on it are inaccessible.<\/td>\r\n<td>Manipulating the drive can result in further data loss, so start by backing up as many of the files on it as possible or cloning the whole drive. An app like <a href=\"#method1\">Disk Drill<\/a> can help with those tasks since it allows both file recovery and drive image creation. Then, try to <a href=\"#method10\">repair the drive<\/a> using Windows&#8217; built-in disk-checking tools.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files cannot be found anywhere, even when trying the above &#8211;solutions.<\/td>\r\n<td>The files have truly disappeared; even tools like Everything and Disk Drill cannot find them.<\/td>\r\n<td>If using cloud storage\/synching solutions, <a href=\"#method8\">check their sites<\/a> for copies\/clones of the lost files. If you kept backups before, with tools like <a href=\"#method5\">Windows File History<\/a>, seek older copies of your files within those backups.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ohCGgZGTDA8\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_recover_and_find_disappeared_files_on_windows_10_or_11\"><\/span>How to Recover and Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>There are many potential reasons desktop files can go missing, and at least an equal number of ways to deal with such issues. However, some of those reasons may be ticking clocks, counting down to a point after which it won&#8217;t be possible to get any data back.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-success\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f530; That&#8217;s why, although we&#8217;ll go over many solutions, we&#8217;ll start with a method to ensure your files&#8217; safety by first recovering them\/backing them up before proceeding to the rest.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_1_recover_disappeared_files_with_disk_drill_recovery\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 1:<\/span> <span id=\"method1\">Recover Disappeared Files With Disk Drill Recovery<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Among dozens of apps, we consider Disk Drill one of the best choices when you need to find or recover files that disappeared from your PC. Disk Drill has a superb search and recovery engine that can unearth files recently deleted or considered lost. More importantly, Disk Drill&#8217;s advanced search and filtering capabilities make locating particular files unbelievably easy, even if they&#8217;re playing hide and seek (AKA: were somehow marked as &#8220;hidden&#8221;).<\/p>\r\n<p>To recover files that disappeared from your PC using Disk Drill:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/download.html\">Download<\/a> and install the app from Disk Drill&#8217;s official site. <div class=\"relative bottom download__block\">\r\n            <div class=\"d-flex align-center download__block__inner\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image-wrapper\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image\">\r\n                    <img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-96.png\" srcset=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-2x-1.png 2x\" alt=\"Disk Drill\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\">        \r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__announce\">\r\n                    <b>download-block-title<\/b><br>\r\n                    download-block-text\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__action\">\r\n                    <a href=\"\/\/download.html\" data-href-mac=\/\/disk-drill-mac.html data-href-win=\/\/disk-drill-win.html class=\"button button-green btn-md osreplace\">\r\n<svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M11.9546 7.293C11.8736 7.114 11.6956 7 11.4996 7H9.49957V0.5C9.49957 0.224 9.27557 0 8.99957 0H6.99957C6.72357 0 6.49957 0.224 6.49957 0.5V7H4.49957C4.30357 7 4.12557 7.115 4.04457 7.293C3.96257 7.472 3.99457 7.681 4.12357 7.829L7.62357 11.829C7.71857 11.938 7.85557 12 7.99957 12C8.14357 12 8.28057 11.937 8.37557 11.829L11.8756 7.829C12.0056 7.682 12.0356 7.472 11.9546 7.293Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<path d=\"M13.5 11V14H2.5V11H0.5V15C0.5 15.553 0.948 16 1.5 16H14.5C15.053 16 15.5 15.553 15.5 15V11H13.5Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\r\ndownload-block-button-text\r\n<\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div> Then, run it, and select the device you want to scan from the app&#8217;s <b>Device\/Disk<\/b> list at the center of its window. Click on <b>Search for lost data<\/b>.<b> <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52377 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Select Device And Search For Lost Data\" width=\"1350\" height=\"772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data.jpg 1350w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data-500x286.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data-768x439.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1350px) 100vw, 1350px\" \/> <\/b><\/li>\r\n\t<li>For optimal results, let Disk Drill finish scanning your device. You can pause the process or check the already located files at any time. However, letting the process complete will reveal more files and allow Disk Drill to run extra scans on them. This will enable Disk Drill to estimate each file&#8217;s &#8220;recoverability&#8221;. When done, click on <b>Review found items<\/b>. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-52378 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Review-Found-Items.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Review Found Items\" width=\"1350\" height=\"772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Review-Found-Items.jpg 1350w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Review-Found-Items-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Review-Found-Items-500x286.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Review-Found-Items-768x439.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1350px) 100vw, 1350px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go through Disk Drill&#8217;s results to find the files you&#8217;re seeking. If you can&#8217;t locate them, use Disk Drill&#8217;s categories and filters to search for them using various characteristics, like their type, size, or last modification range. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter size-full wp-image-52379\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Categories-And-Filters.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Categories And Filters\" width=\"1349\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Categories-And-Filters.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Categories-And-Filters-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Categories-And-Filters-500x285.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Categories-And-Filters-768x438.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Disk Drill lets you preview the contents of many types of files (documents, photos, and more) to ensure you found the correct ones. If the app&#8217;s preview pane (2) is not visible, click on the little hovering eye icon (1) next to a file&#8217;s name, or right-click on it and choose <b>Preview<\/b>. It&#8217;s also worth noting that Disk Drill estimates every file&#8217;s recovery chances (3) and will tell you beforehand how probable it is to get it back intact and usable. This way, if in a rush or if recovering files from a failing device, you can prioritize the ones with the highest chances of recovery. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52380\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Preview-Contents-And-Recovery-Chances.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Preview Contents And Recovery Chances\" width=\"1349\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Preview-Contents-And-Recovery-Chances.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Preview-Contents-And-Recovery-Chances-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Preview-Contents-And-Recovery-Chances-500x285.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Preview-Contents-And-Recovery-Chances-768x438.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go through Disk Drill&#8217;s list of located files and place a checkmark on the left of those you&#8217;d like to get back. With the files you want to recover selected, click on the unsurprisingly named <b>Recover<\/b> button. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52381\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Marked-Files-For-Recovery.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Marked Files For Recovery\" width=\"1349\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Marked-Files-For-Recovery.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Marked-Files-For-Recovery-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Marked-Files-For-Recovery-500x285.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Marked-Files-For-Recovery-768x438.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select where you want Disk Drill to store the files it recovers. The app suggests some destinations, among which some it remembers from past runs. If the one you want isn&#8217;t among them, click <b>Choose destination<\/b> and select it. Choosing a destination on a different drive than the one from which you recover data ensures you won&#8217;t overwrite the files you&#8217;re trying to get back. With the destination set, click <b>Next<\/b>. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52382\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Choose-A-Destination-For-Recovery.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Choose A Destination For Recovery\" width=\"1349\" height=\"769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Choose-A-Destination-For-Recovery.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Choose-A-Destination-For-Recovery-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Choose-A-Destination-For-Recovery-500x285.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Choose-A-Destination-For-Recovery-768x438.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The time needed for the actual recovery process (primarily) depends on the speed of your PC, its storage devices, and their condition. When done, Disk Drill will present a report and a link to the folder where it saved all the files that had disappeared from your hard drive. Click on it (&#8220;<b>Show recovered data in Explorer<\/b>&#8220;) to check them out. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52383\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Data-Recovery-Complete.jpg\" alt=\"Disk Drill Data Recovery Complete\" width=\"1350\" height=\"772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Data-Recovery-Complete.jpg 1350w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Data-Recovery-Complete-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Data-Recovery-Complete-500x286.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Data-Recovery-Complete-768x439.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1350px) 100vw, 1350px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_2_check_the_user_folder\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 2:<\/span> <span id=\"method2\">Check the User Folder<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Windows is a multi-user OS, where each user has their own folder for personal documents and app settings. Sometimes, though, after an upgrade or reinstall, an app might &#8220;forget&#8221; it had stored data there.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4ac; If your files became lost after an app or OS upgrade, it&#8217;s worth seeking them in that folder.<\/div>\r\n<p>To find your files in your user account&#8217;s folder:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open <b>Windows File Explorer<\/b> and navigate to C:\\Users to find your account&#8217;s alias subfolder. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52384\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer User Profile Folder\" width=\"1074\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder.jpg 1074w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-500x268.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-768x411.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1074px) 100vw, 1074px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Look for your missing files in the <b>Documents<\/b> and <b>Public<\/b> subfolders. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52385\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer User Profile Folder Documents Contents\" width=\"1074\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents.jpg 1074w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-500x268.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-768x411.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1074px) 100vw, 1074px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Copy or move the lost files to any folder for easier access if you find them. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52386\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-Copy.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer User Profile Folder Documents Contents Copy\" width=\"1076\" height=\"698\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-Copy.jpg 1076w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-Copy-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-Copy-500x324.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-User-Profile-Folder-Documents-Contents-Copy-768x498.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1076px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_3_show_hidden_files_folders\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 3:<\/span> <span id=\"method3\">Show Hidden Files &amp; Folders<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>If you can&#8217;t see your files with Windows File Explorer, but you can access them from the apps where you last used them, they&#8217;re probably hidden.<\/p>\r\n<p>To view hidden files with Windows File Explorer:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52387\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-View-Show-Hidden-Items.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer View Show Hidden Items\" width=\"1071\" height=\"655\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-View-Show-Hidden-Items.jpg 1071w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-View-Show-Hidden-Items-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-View-Show-Hidden-Items-500x306.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-View-Show-Hidden-Items-768x470.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Click on File Explorer&#8217;s toolbar&#8217;s <b>View<\/b> drop-down menu. Then, choose <b>Show<\/b> and <b>Hidden items<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>To permanently unhide your newly revealed files, right-click on them and choose <b>Properties<\/b>. Then, uncheck the &#8220;Hidden&#8221; Attribute at the bottom of the <b>General<\/b> tab.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_4_switch_to_the_correct_user_account\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 4:<\/span> <span id=\"method4\">Switch to The Correct User Account<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>You&#8217;ve created a new user account. You were already using multiple accounts. You&#8217;ve just upgraded to a newer version of Windows. Your profile\/user account got corrupted.<\/p>\r\n<p>The common thread among those scenarios is that, after a typical log-in, you may find that all your files disappeared from your desktop. Fortunately, the solution is relatively easy, as long as you don&#8217;t mind a bit of account juggling.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you&#8217;re using a new or multiple user accounts, remember that each account has separate &#8220;desktop storage&#8221; for the user&#8217;s files. Thus, maybe the files you expected to find on your desktop were actually stored under one of your other accounts.<\/p>\r\n<p>To find your files on a different account&#8217;s desktop:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52388\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-User-Account-Sign-Out.jpg\" alt=\"Windows User Account Sign Out\" width=\"1283\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-User-Account-Sign-Out.jpg 1283w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-User-Account-Sign-Out-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-User-Account-Sign-Out-500x320.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-User-Account-Sign-Out-768x491.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1283px) 100vw, 1283px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Click on your account&#8217;s alias in the Start menu and select the account you want to switch to.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Alternatively, instead of directly switching to another account, you can choose to <b>Sign out<\/b> of your current one and log in to the account where you last saw your files. If you&#8217;ve upgraded Windows or your profile was corrupted, you might be using a temporary account without realizing it.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>To check if you&#8217;re logged on using a temporary profile:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Select Start &gt; Settings &gt; Accounts &gt; Sync your settings.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If the options there are disabled, and you see the message &#8220;You are logged on with a temporary profile. Roaming options are currently unavailable&#8221;, you aren&#8217;t seeing your &#8220;real&#8221; account&#8217;s desktop, but the temporary one&#8217;s.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Solving the issue is as easy as switching to your actual account, as we saw above.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">If you did any work while using a temporary account, make sure to back it up and copy your files to a secondary device. After switching to another account, everything on the temporary account&#8217;s storage (on the desktop and inside folders like Documents, Pictures, etc.) will be deleted.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_5_find_your_files_within_a_backup\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 5:<\/span> <span id=\"method5\">Find Your Files Within a Backup<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>If you kept backups of your files, rejoice! You can grab your files back from them!<\/p>\r\n<p>Unfortunately, with so many backup solutions available, we can&#8217;t explain how to retrieve your files from all of them.<\/p>\r\n<p>To get back your files using one of the most popular backup solutions, Windows File History:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52389\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-File-History.jpg\" alt=\"Windows File History\" width=\"1055\" height=\"590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-File-History.jpg 1055w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-File-History-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-File-History-500x280.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-File-History-768x429.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1055px) 100vw, 1055px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Search for <b>Control Panel<\/b> in the Start menu and &#8220;open&#8221; it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Move to <b>System and Security<\/b> and, from there, to <b>File History<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose <b>Restore personal files<\/b> from the menu on the left.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Check the available backups by using the &#8220;Left&#8221; and &#8220;Right&#8221; buttons at the bottom of the window.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Locate your files in one of the categories\/folders in the window&#8217;s main part.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select them and click on the green <b>Restore<\/b> button at the bottom of the window.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_6_turn_off_fast_startup\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 6:<\/span> <span id=\"method6\">Turn off Fast Startup<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Fast Startup is a new enabled-by-default feature in the latest versions of Windows. It combines hibernation and shutdown to give a nice boost to the startup process.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f517; Still, as <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/troubleshoot\/windows-client\/deployment\/fast-startup-causes-system-hibernation-shutdown-fail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft notes<\/a>, sometimes the process can fail. As a result, files may get corrupted or, worse, could not have been saved at all.<\/div>\r\n<p>Disabling Fast Startup won&#8217;t help you bring back missing files like other methods we see here. However, it can ensure you won&#8217;t lose more files in the future because the process failed.<\/p>\r\n<p>To disable Fast Startup on Windows 11 and 10:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52390\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Power-Options-Turn-On-Fast-Startup.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Power Options Turn On Fast Startup\" width=\"1152\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Power-Options-Turn-On-Fast-Startup.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Power-Options-Turn-On-Fast-Startup-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Power-Options-Turn-On-Fast-Startup-500x296.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Power-Options-Turn-On-Fast-Startup-768x455.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Visit the <b>Start<\/b> menu or hit the Windows key on your keyboard and start typing &#8220;Control panel&#8221;. When found, &#8220;open&#8221; it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose the <b>Hardware and Sound<\/b> category (click directly on its title).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click on <b>Change what the power buttons do<\/b> under <b>Power Options<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If the Fast Startup option is greyed out, click on <b>Change settings that are currently unavailable<\/b> to be able to modify it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Remove the checkmark from the <b>Fast Startup<\/b> entry at the bottom of this window to disable it.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_7_change_indexing_options\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 7:<\/span> <span id=\"method7\">Change Indexing Options<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>If you can&#8217;t find your files using Windows Search, the process might have skipped indexing them.<\/p>\r\n<p>If you&#8217;d prefer Search to be more thorough and don&#8217;t mind a (significant) drop in its speed, you can disable indexing.<\/p>\r\n<p>To disable Search indexing on Windows 11 and 10:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52391\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Services Windows Search Change Startup Type to Disabled\" width=\"1147\" height=\"555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled.jpg 1147w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled-300x145.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled-500x242.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Services-Windows-Search-Change-Startup-Type-to-Disabled-292x140.jpg 292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1147px) 100vw, 1147px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Visit the <b>Start<\/b> menu, or press the Windows key, or press Windows key + R. Then, type &#8220;services.msc&#8221; and press Enter to access Windows&#8217; <b>Services<\/b> panel.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Find the <b>Windows Search<\/b> entry and double-click on it, or right-click and choose <b>Properties<\/b>. Change its <b>Startup type<\/b> to <b>Disabled<\/b> to prevent it from running automatically. Click on the <b>Stop<\/b> button under <b>Service status<\/b> to stop its current instance and deactivate it. Finally, click on <b>OK<\/b> to accept the changes.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_8_onedrive_local_storage\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 8:<\/span> <span id=\"method8\">OneDrive Local Storage<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Were your disappeared files or folders from your Desktop stored in your OneDrive or another cloud storage service\u2019s local folder? Or, did you follow OneDrive&#8217;s suggestion to use it to back up your desktop and have its contents synchronized to the cloud and other PCs, only to find that your files and folders vanished from your desktop?<\/p>\r\n<p>Timestamp inconsistencies or a broken connection might have prevented its contents from syncing correctly.<\/p>\r\n<p>Plus, if you haven&#8217;t explicitly chosen to keep some data locally, it could be only available online.<\/p>\r\n<p>Thankfully, if you can&#8217;t find your files locally, you&#8217;ll probably see them in the online version of OneDrive.<\/p>\r\n<p>To get your files back from OneDrive\u2019s site:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52392\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Download-Selected-Files.jpg\" alt=\"OneDrive Download Selected Files\" width=\"1397\" height=\"910\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Download-Selected-Files.jpg 1397w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Download-Selected-Files-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Download-Selected-Files-500x326.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Download-Selected-Files-768x500.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1397px) 100vw, 1397px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/onedrive.live.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OneDrive&#8217;s site<\/a> and locate your missing files.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select your files, right-click on them, and choose <b>Download<\/b> to get them back on your local storage.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p>To ensure your important files are always available locally with OneDrive:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52393\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Folder-Always-Keep-On-This-Device-Selected-Folder.jpg\" alt=\"OneDrive Folder Always Keep On This Device Selected Folder\" width=\"1227\" height=\"844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Folder-Always-Keep-On-This-Device-Selected-Folder.jpg 1227w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Folder-Always-Keep-On-This-Device-Selected-Folder-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Folder-Always-Keep-On-This-Device-Selected-Folder-500x344.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/OneDrive-Folder-Always-Keep-On-This-Device-Selected-Folder-768x528.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1227px) 100vw, 1227px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open <b>Windows File Explorer<\/b> and locate the local instance of the folders where you saved the files that have disappeared from your hard drive.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><b>Right-click<\/b> on them and find OneDrive\u2019s options in the context menu. Choose <b>Always keep on this device<\/b> to keep the contents of this folder stored locally.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_9_use_everything\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 9:<\/span> <span id=\"method9\">Use Everything<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Like Windows Search, Everything builds an index of your files, which you can then search to find them quickly. Unlike Windows Search, Everything is blazing-fast and rarely fails to index new files.<\/p>\r\n<p>To find your files with Everything:<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52394\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Everything-Seeking-Accountant-MarkDown-Documents.jpg\" alt=\"Everything Seeking Accountant MarkDown Documents\" width=\"1150\" height=\"558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Everything-Seeking-Accountant-MarkDown-Documents.jpg 1150w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Everything-Seeking-Accountant-MarkDown-Documents-300x146.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Everything-Seeking-Accountant-MarkDown-Documents-500x243.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Everything-Seeking-Accountant-MarkDown-Documents-768x373.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1150px) 100vw, 1150px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Download the app from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voidtools.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Everything&#8217;s official site<\/a>, install it, and run it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Type part of the filename you want to find in Everything&#8217;s search bar, and in less than a blink, you&#8217;ll see all files that match that pattern in its window. Double-click on a file to open it with the default app for its file type, or right-click on it to access the typical Windows file context menu for more actions.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"method_10_check_your_hard_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Method 10:<\/span> <span id=\"method10\">Check Your Hard Drive<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>A corrupted file system can make files appear garbled, unusable, or even disappear. Thankfully, Windows comes with built-in tools for dealing with such issues. However, there&#8217;s a catch.<\/p>\r\n<p>Repairing a file system might &#8220;fix&#8221; a misbehaving hard drive, make it usable again, and render the files stored there accessible. And yet, the &#8220;repair&#8221; is about the file system itself, the &#8220;scaffolding&#8221; used for storing files, and not the files themselves, some or all of which might end up corrupted.<\/p>\r\n<p>Thus, we&#8217;re placing this method last and suggest you first take a complete backup of any storage device you decide to &#8220;fix&#8221; with the following steps. At the very least, use an app like Disk Drill to recover your most important files from it before attempting any &#8220;repair&#8221;. For more on that, check our article on <a href=\"\/howto\/crashed-hard-drive-recovery.html\">how to recover data from corrupted hard drives<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>To fix the issue of files disappearing from your PC using Windows built-in error-checking tools:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Open a Windows File Explorer window and right-click on the drive you want to scan for errors. Choose <b>Properties<\/b>. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52395\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer Folder Properties\" width=\"1238\" height=\"741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties.jpg 1238w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-768x460.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1238px) 100vw, 1238px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Move to the <b>Tools<\/b> tab of the <b>Properties<\/b> panel. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52396\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-Tools-Tab-Check.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer Folder Properties Tools Tab Check\" width=\"1238\" height=\"741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-Tools-Tab-Check.jpg 1238w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-Tools-Tab-Check-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-Tools-Tab-Check-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Folder-Properties-Tools-Tab-Check-768x460.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1238px) 100vw, 1238px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click on <b>Check<\/b> to scan your drive for errors. Windows will inform you if it didn&#8217;t detect any problems with the drive. You can scan the drive to eliminate the possibility of such issues as a potential reason for your missing files. <img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10 aligncenter size-full wp-image-52397\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Error-Check-Selected-Disk.jpg\" alt=\"Windows Explorer Error Check Selected Disk\" width=\"1238\" height=\"741\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Error-Check-Selected-Disk.jpg 1238w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Error-Check-Selected-Disk-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Error-Check-Selected-Disk-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Windows-Explorer-Error-Check-Selected-Disk-768x460.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1238px) 100vw, 1238px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-success\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f527; Although we&#8217;re using Windows 11, the drive error-checking process is identical in almost all past versions of Windows up to XP.<\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_to_do_if_files_keep_disappearing_on_windows\"><\/span>What To Do If Files Keep Disappearing On Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Do files tend to disappear from your computer to the point it&#8217;s become a recurring event? You should find and address the source of those issues. Ignoring the problem or postponing dealing with it might make things worse, until you lose all your data instead of a handful of files. But why could something like this keep happening, and how could you prevent it from reoccurring?<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"table_wrapper table_heading\"><p><\/p>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Problem<\/td>\r\n<td>Solution(s)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files disappeared after an unexpected shutdown.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Files you were working on but didn&#8217;t save could still be available as &#8220;temporary versions&#8221;. Look for them in your app&#8217;s temp folder and in the two usual locations where Windows stores temporary files, <b>%systemdrive%\\Windows\\Temp<\/b> and <b>%userprofile%\\AppData\\Local\\Temp<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If neither folder seems to exist, it might &#8220;be there&#8221;, but you may have <a href=\"\/howto\/files-disappeared-from-external-hard-drive.html#file_explorer\">to unhide it first<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If the files already existed (you weren&#8217;t actively working on them), use a data recovery app like Disk Drill to locate them. Then, scan your storage device to ensure no errors were introduced to its file system.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Many users deal with shutdowns <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tenforums.com\/general-support\/216448-files-disppeared-after-power-failure.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">because of electric fluctuations<\/a>. In such scenarios, it\u2019s best to also &#8220;upgrade&#8221; the way you power your PC with a surge protector power strip or, even better, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uninterruptible_power_supply\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a UPS<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files not found after a PC &#8220;crash&#8221;.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Follow the same steps as above.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Additionally, use the <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/shows\/inside\/event-viewer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows Event Viewer<\/a> to seek more information about the cause of the crash and, if possible, address it to ensure it won&#8217;t happen again.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Cannot locate files \/ don&#8217;t recall where they were stored.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Users of the latest versions of Windows often report they cannot locate their files <a href=\"https:\/\/answers.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/forum\/all\/file-explorer-search-not-finding-files-that-are\/f943728c-7a32-476f-8302-c7b6aabed95d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even when using Windows built-in Search<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If you find yourself among them, that&#8217;s probably because Windows Search indexer doesn&#8217;t go over all files on all storage devices. Use an app like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voidtools.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Everything<\/a> instead.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Data gets lost, and the OS is freezing or stuttering.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Check the Windows Event Viewer for potential causes of the freezing\/stuttering.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Also, check your storage devices&#8217; condition for problems using the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Self-Monitoring,_Analysis_and_Reporting_Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SMART monitoring<\/a> features of an app like Disk Drill or a dedicated tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hdsentinel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hard Disk Sentinel<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files are gone after synching with cloud solutions.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Many users who rely on cloud storage\/synchronization solutions find that some of the related apps have a tendency to <a href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/r\/WindowsHelp\/comments\/17advy2\/how_do_i_fix_my_desktop_location\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">move files from the desktop to a different local folder<\/a> or remove them from local storage and keep them only in cloud storage.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If \u201cthat\u2019s you\u201d, too, In the first case, look inside the subfolders of your cloud solution&#8217;s local folders, or use an ap like Everything to find your files in their new location.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In the second case, use either the cloud client&#8217;s local interface or visit its site, select the files that were moved online, and choose to have them &#8220;available locally.&#8221;<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Files disappear randomly for no apparent reason.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Do you, like many other users, find that <a href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/r\/WindowsHelp\/comments\/17acxx4\/my_exe_files_of_certain_apps_keep_disappearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">files keep disappearing<\/a> from your PC? Start by running an extended scan ASAP on all your storage devices using a trusted tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitdefender.com\/en-us\/\">BitDefender<\/a> to ensure you aren\u2019t dealing with a virus or other malware infection.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Then, use the Windows Event Viewer to check for severe storage-related errors (especially those marked with red exclamation marks).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>With virus and hardware or driver issues out of the way, use an app like Disk Drill to try to find and recover your files to another storage device.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Finally, scan the one from where they disappeared for errors and repair them.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Lost all data \/ cannot reach the desktop anymore \/ the OS drive seems to have disappeared.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Users post on Reddit not only that <a href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/r\/techsupport\/comments\/1g6u12x\/please_help_me_half_my_fil%C3%A9s_disappeared\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">files on their PCs disappear<\/a>, or get corrupted, but sometimes can even <a href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/r\/WindowsHelp\/comments\/11mv1ty\/files_disappearing_and_reappearing_in_windows_10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blink in and out of existence<\/a>!<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The first step when dealing with such problems is to check for damage the drive where the files are stored, using a S.M.A.R.T. monitoring tool, and recover all crucial data off it ASAP. Note that you might have to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvvWnQSSo3w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tweak your approach if using a RAID setup<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Then, either try to recover or fix any damaged partitions or the whole boot drive.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p><\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>There&#8217;s no reason to worry at the first sign of missing files. Even what looks like a total catastrophe, like turning on your PC only to realize that Windows 10 have disappeared, may be reversible by simply restoring a backup.<\/p>\r\n<p>Still, it&#8217;s better to prepare for such situations. Keep backups of all your essential data, and periodically check your storage device&#8217;s SMART status. You might have to invest some time and effort, but it&#8217;s easier than dealing with data loss.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"related_posts\"><div class=\"related_posts__inner\"><div class=\"h4\">Read also<\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Frame-50.png\" alt=\"files\" width=\"140\" height=\"160\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/recover-deleted-files-windows10.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/windows.png\" alt=\"windows\" width=\"144\" height=\"144\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/fix-failed-system-restore-windows.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">Fix Failed System Restore in Windows 11\/10<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/photo.png\" alt=\"recover deleted photos from sd card\" width=\"144\" height=\"144\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/recover-deleted-photos-windows-10.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">How to Recover Deleted Photos in Windows 10<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"faq\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<div><section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq1\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq1\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why_are_my_desktop_files_missing_after_restarting_windows\"><\/span>Why are my desktop files missing after restarting Windows?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq1\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Many causes can make all your files disappear from your desktop. A newly installed and misconfigured cloud storage and synching solution, like OneDrive, might have moved your files to one of its subfolders or only to its cloud storage while removing them from local drives. A virus might have hidden them, and an interrupted save, shutdown, or restart process that corrupted the storage device&#8217;s file system might have similar results. Plus, there&#8217;s always the slight possibility you misplaced them to a different folder or even another user account without realizing it.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq2\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq2\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"where_can_i_find_files_that_disappeared\"><\/span>Where can I find files that disappeared?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq2\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Finding your missing files depends on various parameters, like where they were stored or how they &#8220;disappeared&#8221;.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>If they were marked as &#8220;hidden&#8221;, they&#8217;re still in the same folder where you left them but invisible from File Explorer&#8217;s default view.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If you can&#8217;t find them through Windows Search, maybe its indexer excluded or removed them from its index. You&#8217;ll still find them where they were, but they don&#8217;t appear in search results.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If you kept them in a cloud-synced folder, maybe they were &#8220;sent to the cloud&#8221; but deleted from local storage. You&#8217;ll find them in the web version of the cloud storage service.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 01px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq3\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq3\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_can_i_manually_find_missing_files_in_windows_10\"><\/span>How can I manually find missing files in Windows 10?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq3\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>The best ways to find missing files on Windows are:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Have an app like Disk Drill scan your drive, finding all existing but also &#8220;lost&#8221; and deleted files.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Seek your missing files with Windows File Explorer, with its Hidden files toggle turned to Off.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use a specialized desktop search app like Everything to locate any file on any storage device instantly.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You turn on your PC, enter your password, and see your familiar wallpaper. This time, though, something is different. After some seconds, it hits you: most shortcuts are where you left them, but your files disappeared from the desktop. Next&#8230;","protected":false},"author":7882,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2630],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-recover-deleted-files-on-windows"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Did your files disappear without warning, nowhere to be found? Let&#039;s see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Did your files disappear without warning, nowhere to be found? Let&#039;s see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/og-cleverfiles.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Odysseas Kourafalos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Did your files disappear without warning, nowhere to be found? 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Let's see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11","og_description":"Did your files disappear without warning, nowhere to be found? Let's see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html","og_site_name":"Data recovery tips. 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Let's see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Disk-Drill-Select-Device-And-Search-For-Lost-Data.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ducklord","twitter_site":"@Cleverfiles","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Odysseas Kourafalos","Est. reading time":"21 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html"},"author":{"name":"Odysseas Kourafalos","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/265ce959a1a65ecb648cb8ec8840d025"},"headline":"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10\/11","datePublished":"2023-01-23T16:32:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-16T11:35:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html"},"wordCount":3982,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Recover Deleted Files on Windows"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html","name":"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10 or 11","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-23T16:32:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-16T11:35:40+00:00","description":"Did your files disappear without warning, nowhere to be found? Let's see how you can locate or brink them back from the brink.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/find-disappeared-files-on-windows-10.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f","item":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Find Disappeared Files on Windows 10\/11"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","name":"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#organization","name":"CleverFiles","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/dd-mac-1024-flat.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"CleverFiles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/Cleverfiles"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/265ce959a1a65ecb648cb8ec8840d025","name":"Odysseas Kourafalos","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/650319c30d8542b16a13a51decb4bc14fc074d0f53430abdbc5482a7cb74fc2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/650319c30d8542b16a13a51decb4bc14fc074d0f53430abdbc5482a7cb74fc2e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Odysseas Kourafalos"},"description":"Odysseas Kourafalos has been writing about computers and technology for over two decades. He specializes in software and has produced thousands of articles, from tutorials on Linux to mini-books about gaming console modifications. His journey in tech began with a Commodore 64, which he almost immediately short-circuited attempting \"to cheat in a game\". It was soon replaced by a Commodore 128, which in time gave way to an Amiga. When the era of Home Computing came to an end, he moved - with the times - to PCs. He's lost vast amounts of data on MS-DOS, then Windows, as well as various Linux distributions. \"Data\" stored on media ranging from ancient 5.25'' floppies to modern SSDs. Since joining us, he's losing his data on purpose. His work has been published on major Greek magazines, like Computer For All and PC World, popular tech sites - among which Make Tech Easier and Make Use Of, as well as countless blogs, like CyberPunks and VapoSearch. 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