FILE VANISHED PLEASE HELP

Question

Yesterday I completed half an essay and saved it to the usual place on Onedrive, I opened my MAC back up today and Microsoft word was closed for some reason, so I re-opened it. The file that I saved as ‘Part 2’ was in my ‘recent’ files, when I tried to click it this error appears:

 "Can’t Open File - Sorry we couldn't find (pathway to the folder I saved the file to) is it possible that is was moved, renamed or deleted?

I have searched my MAC through every folder and can not find it anywhere, I’ve logged into OneDrive online and it’s nowhere to be seen, there’s no evidence at all that the file ever existed, apart from the fact it appears on my ‘recent when I open Microsoft word. I have checked recycle bins on both onedrive and my Mac and nothing.

I was going to do a restore, but again the one driver restore box shows no evidence that this file ever existed. I have never experienced a file just totally vanish, if it wasn’t for the fact it shows up in ‘recent’ on Microsoft word I would swear I was lying.

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!

Answer 1

Hello Ryan.gough,

Unfortunately, I don't have any further troubleshooting to offer. I guess, covered all the portions for recovering the file. However,

There are many knowledgeable users active on the forum and I hope that someone else can offer further insight on your issue.

Thanks,

Gunasekar N.

Answer 2

Hi, thank you for your help. It seems the actual folder in one drive is the issue. When I try to save other documents into that folder the same thing happens - the file is not in there and unable to access it via the ‘recent’ on Microsoft word or excell. I have also noticed that I can’t seem to rename this particular folder anymore.

I am able to right click on all other folders and ‘rename’ but this particular folder doesn’t have that option anymore. I tried creating a new folder and moved the corrupted one out of onedrive, I named the new folder the same name as the old one and again - saved file doesn’t save into the folder and unable to open it via and programme, such as word, excell, PowerPoint.

Do you have any other advice?

Answer 3

Hello Ryan.gough,

I’m Gunasekar and I will be happy to help you with your question, I am a Microsoft consumer like you.

I understand that you are trying to recover a Word document on MAC. A few locations exist where you can retrieve the files in addition to the solutions provided by Sneha.

1. OneDrive recycle Bin.

https://support.microsoft.com/help/949ada80-0026-4db3-a953-c99083e6a84f

2. Restore OneDrive to earlier versions.

OneDrive's "Restore your OneDrive" feature helps Microsoft 365 subscribers undo all the actions that occurred on any files and folders within the last 30 days. If any OneDrive files or folders were deleted, overwritten, corrupted, or infected by malware, you can restore your entire OneDrive to a previous time.

https://support.microsoft.com/help/fa231298-759d-41cf-bcd0-25ac53eb8a15

3. Recover the files using Time Machine: (This method was already stated above, I am sharing them again) Use Time Machine, the built-in backup feature of your Mac.

https://support.apple.com/HT201250

4. Using Auto recover.

AutoRecover, a feature that is available in some Office applications, attempts to recover files automatically in the event of an application or system crash. It does this by periodically saving a copy of the file in the background. By default, AutoRecover saves a recovery file every 10 minutes.

https://support.microsoft.com/help/6c6425b1-6559-4bbf-8f80-4f038402ff02

If you have tried all the steps above and still can't find your document, it is possible that the file might have been lost. We really apologize for the inconvenience caused.

I hope this information helps. If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be glad to assist you further.

Best regards,

Gunasekar N

Answer 4

Hi,

None of those things helped, it's as if the file has totally vanished. I have never experienced anything like this before. I will not be using OneDrive ever again for this reason. It looks like I will have to admit defeat and restart my essay.

Answer 5

Hi,

I'm Sneha and I'd be happy to help you out with your question. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

I can suggest several solutions that may help you recover your missing file.

Firstly, you can try searching for the file name in Finder on your Mac. Make sure to search all folders, including hidden ones. If you still can't find it, you should check the Trash on your Mac or in OneDrive's recycle bin. If you accidentally deleted the file, it might still be there.

If you have Time Machine or another backup system enabled, you might be able to recover the file from a previous backup. You can check your backup software's documentation for instructions on how to do this.

If you have any other questions or need assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. It will be my pleasure to Assist you.

Best Regards, Sneha

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