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Files and folders missing from onedrive even if it was not synced online.

sree v 20 Reputation points
2025-10-10T19:14:15.6866667+00:00

In the past few weeks, I have lost a whole bunch of files from my onedrive even though I had stopped syncing online. I found some in the onedrive recycle bin even though I didnt put them there. Even files that I had updated that in a different folder outside Onedrive. Yesterday I made updates to a file and today none of those are there. I KNOW I saved them. I am losing my mind becuase this has taken so much of time to my time to search for these files and restore them but then they dont have the new updates I made. What the heck is happening to Windows??? How do I get these files back?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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Marcelo Mendoza 10,685 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2025-10-10T20:13:36.96+00:00

Hi Sree,

Thanks for getting in touch to the community and telling me what happened. I get how annoying it is to lose important files especially after you put a lot of work into them let me help.

From what you're saying it looks like OneDrive might have moved or trashed your files because of sync problems, backup settings or how it handles different versions. Even if you paused syncing OneDrive can still mess with files if they were linked to it before or if backup was turned on. Also files might end up in the Recycle Bin if OneDrive spots changes or deletions when syncing gets interrupted or folders get rearranged.

To fix this I'd suggest checking the OneDrive Recycle Bin online at onedrive.live.com. Look for your missing files there and bring them back if you can. If they're not there try using the Restore your OneDrive thing in the settings to bring your OneDrive back to how it was before the files vanished. Also make sure you're signed into the right Microsoft account and check your computer folders for versions that didn't sync. If you have Microsoft 365 you might be able to get older versions of your files back through the version history.

Does this seem to happen with certain types of files or folders or is it just random?

I hope this answer is helpful, if you have further questions, feel free to reply back

Regards,

Marcelo

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  1. Marcelo Mendoza 10,685 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-13T14:40:57.2933333+00:00

    Hey Sree,

    Thanks for getting back to me I'm really sorry to hear the problem is even hitting files not in OneDrive that's really worrying.

    Since the Recycle Bin and past versions aren't showing the files or edits from yesterday and you've already looked in Roaming and Unsaved folders here's what I suggest next look at the OneDrive Activity Log: go to onedrive.live.com click the Settings selct Options click Activity. This log might show what happened like deletions, moves or sync problems.

    Try the Windows File Recovery Tool if the files are gone and can't be found in OneDrive or the Recycle Bin, Microsoft’s Windows File Recovery tool might be able to get them back from your computer's drive especially if they weren't saved in OneDrive. First get the tool go to the Microsoft Store then look up Windows File Recovery then hit Install. Second open it up Press the Windows key type Windows File Recovery and open it. It'll pop up in a command prompt you know a black window. Third here's the basic way the commands are written: winfr <source-drive>: <destination-drive>: [/mode] [/switches] Source drive: Where the deleted files were. Destination drive: Where recovered files will be saved (must be different from source) Modes: Regular: For NTFS drives, recently deleted files. Extensive: For formatted drives or long-deleted files. Segment and Signature: For more advanced recovery.

    I hope this answer is helpful, if you have further questions, feel free to reply back

    Regards,
    Marcelo

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  2. Craig Long 17,965 Reputation points
    2025-10-11T06:03:51.3933333+00:00

    You should look into data recovery software.

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  3. Craig Long 17,965 Reputation points
    2025-10-10T23:27:42.7366667+00:00

    Make sure you are syncing your Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders to OneDrive if you are using those folders to back up your data. Go to Manage Backup to check.

    Back up your folders with OneDrive - Microsoft Support

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