Restore files/folders that I can not see in the recyle

Question

Some of my files/folders have been deleted, and I can not find them to restore them! They are not in the recycle trash!

Help!!!

Answer 1

Are you sure the deleted files were synced to OneDrive? Folders that are not syncing in the Manage Backup settings are not located in OneDrive.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

Answer 2

If your deleted files or folders are not in the Recycle Bin, there are a few steps you can take to try to recover them:

1. Check OneDrive Online: Log into your OneDrive account through a web browser and check if the files are available there. Sometimes, files may not appear in the local Recycle Bin but can still be found in the OneDrive online Recycle Bin.
2. Check OneDrive Recycle Bin: After logging into OneDrive online, check the Recycle Bin specifically for OneDrive. Files deleted from OneDrive may be found there for a limited time.
3. System Restore: If you have System Protection enabled, you might be able to restore your system to a previous state. However, this typically does not restore user files, only system files.
4. Third-party Recovery Tools: If the files are not available in OneDrive or the Recycle Bin, you may consider using third-party file recovery software. However, the success rate can vary, and recovering a large amount of data can be hit or miss.

Unfortunately, if none of these options work, it may be difficult to recover the deleted files.

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References:

• Unable to restore deleted files from C:OneDrive - Microsoft Q&A