Share via

How can I undo disk cleanup? (downloads folder)

Anonymous
2019-02-26T07:10:36+00:00

A few days ago I performed disk cleanup and cleaned my downloads folder, as I had a lot of junk in there. However, I forgot that I had one important notepad document saved there, and I can't seem to recover it. I used a few different data recovery software and none of them were able to find it, besides the shortcut (.lnk) to the txt document. I also tried to do restore from previous version (no previous versions available) and file history (but it was off). Is there anything I can do to recover this file?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

10 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Sumit D - IA 168.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2019-02-26T07:29:29+00:00

    Hi,
    I am Sumit, an Independent Advisor and a 2-Year Windows Insider MVP here to help.

    See if you can recover using a Recovery Software like Recuva. Unfortunately, the chances of recovery become lesser as the time progresses.

    http://www.recuva.com

    Disclaimer:
    This is a non-Microsoft website which would provide accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on the site which are frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). There is no need to buy paid products to fix your computers as they do more harm than good sometimes.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-02-26T07:55:26+00:00

    Assuming it is not on my Onedrive, if third party tools can't find the file, is it gone for good?

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-02-26T07:26:06+00:00

    No, but I wish it was

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Vijay A. Verma 104.8K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-02-26T07:22:53+00:00

    Hi GamingJuice

    I am Vijay, an Independent Advisor. I am here to work with you on this problem.

    It is very difficult to retrieve anything deleted by Disk Cleanup. Restoring to a previous state doesn't retrieve the user files. Unless you have a backup in a USB drive or on Onedrive, it is a bad problem to have.

    Do let me know if you require any further help on this. Will be glad to help you.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-02-26T07:15:52+00:00

    Is by chance that it is in the Recycle Bun?

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments