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How to restore a folder with no name from the recycle bin?

Anonymous
2023-04-13T13:28:50+00:00

Windows 11 just did an update this morning. When my computer restarted, it had a folder on the desktop that had no name. I checked the contents of that folder and it was identical to my desktop. Since this was inside a folder on my desktop, I thought it was some bug from the update and I deleted the folder. Everything seemed fine.

The next time I restarted my computer, my desktop was completely empty. So I looked in the recycle bin and I see a folder there with no name, whose "original location" was C:\Users\ME\Desktop\

When I try to restore this folder, an alert pops up and says "The file name you specified is not valid or too long. Specify a different file name."

I would like to restore this folder, copy its contents onto my Desktop, and then delete it again. Is there anyway to specify a different file with which to restore the folder--or any other fix--that will allow me to access the contents of this folder?

I uninstalled the update, but it kept the current state of my Desktop, so that didn't work.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Recovery and backup

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-19T05:29:44+00:00

    I had this same issue of the mystery linked directory. In my case I found that the linked sub directory had a name consisting of a single space character so it appeared as though it had no name. If I could rename the folder in the recycle bin, I expect that I could restore it to the original location or drag-and-drop it to a different location. How do I rename the folder in the recycle bin or access the recycle bin from the command prompt or PowerShell.

    I have some files in there that would take a long time to recreate. (size of file in recycle bin is 1GB.)

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  2. DaveM121 890.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-04-13T14:04:59+00:00

    Hi b_tudor,

    I am Dave, I will help you with this.

    In Windows it should not be possible to have a folder that does not have a name, because the drive index would then not know where the content in that folder is stored and you will not be able to restore that folder from the Recycle Bin.

    Check if your Desktop files have been synced to OneDrive on this link:

    https://onedrive.live.com/

    If not, the only hope you may have is to run check disk on the drive to see if that can find a name that should be on that folder.

    Click the power button on your Start Menu

    Press the Shift Key and click Restart

    Your PC will boot into the Windows Recovery Environment

    Go to Troubleshoot - Advanced Options - Command Prompt

    Type this command and press Enter:

    chkdsk C: /f /r

    Wait for that command to complete, then restart your PC to see if that folder still exists in the Recycle Bin and if so, does it have a name.

    If not, you will not be able to recover the contents of that folder.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-11-29T16:39:22+00:00

    I have the same exact issue, only it was the Download file being affected. I don't know if it was due to an update or not.

    I found a folder within my Download folder which had no name but had all the contents of my Download folder, as if it was nested within itself. I couldn't access the files from within this nested folder, it didn't have a name or a size, I initially couldn't even rename or delete it. Then (I don't remember the detail) I tried again and it was deleted, and shortly after I lost access to my files in the Download folder and then to the folder itself. After a while, this nameless folder showed up in the Recycle Bin, still no name but now showing an accurate 4.6 GB size.

    I there truly no way to restore this? Is everything lost? Why does this thing happen??

    Thank you for your assistance

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  4. DaveM121 890.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2023-04-13T18:35:22+00:00

    Hi b_tudor, glad to help!

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-04-13T18:27:58+00:00

    Hi Dave... thanks for the assist.

    I tried this, but unfortunately it did not change anything--the folder is still there, nameless. And it still will not let me restore it due to the invalid name.

    My PC did create a restore point last night (in anticipation of this update, I assume) and so I was able to restore to last night's snap shot. This, however, only returned to me a small number of the files that were erased--I estimate it to be on the order of 10%. Incredibly, it did restore the one file I feared losing the most! A small W, but I'll take it.

    Thanks again!

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