I lost hope

Question

Recently I lost a lot of files from Onedrive. I thinked it was like an online folder, a copy, and that I could free some space (because I reached the limit), but I didn't know that deleting files from the Onedrive website acrually deletes them also in your computer. Are we entitled to have possession of anything nowadays? I lost a lot of memories, I was always the little kid who passed too much time in front of a screen, and now I feel numb, after it went all down into oblivion.

For me, technology is dead. If everything you do, you experience, you like, can vanish in just a couple of minutes, what's the purpose? If a computer is like your archive, where you put inside all the important things you need in life, or all the time you pass on it, losing things is very similar to lose a part of you.

Now, I know, this text getting too romantic, but if we pass most of our time in front of a screen, it becomes part of us, of our memories, of our self. And if you lose a part of yourself you must regenerate it, build new things, to save yourself from being just a wretch.

This is not the first time I lose things I was attached to, but this one is the worst thing that happened to me so far in my pc.

I blame microsoft, the path chosen by its managers and all the industry.

And so for me technology is dead, is just another mean of consumerism, I don't believe, no more, that a virtual world, parallel to ours, it's possible.

Now I must change the way I coexist with technology and return to the more consistent parts of life. Like buying physical, or just spend more times with my friends and family instead of alone in a dark room.

This is not a question, it's a call to evaluate the risks of a life spent in a computer.

Thank you for your precious time.

Answer 1

Hi Zacccaria,

Yours is the perfect example why I

don't store anything on One Drive.

Anything that's important to me memory

wise gets copied to a USB so I never lose it.

Answer 2

Please check the recycle bin at onedrive.com and your computer's recycle bin.

If you can't locate your files there, consider a data recovery service or using do-it-yourself file recovery software. If you plan to recover files from your hard drive, please don't use your computer; otherwise, you will most likely overwrite any recoverable data.

Answer 3

It's understandable to feel overwhelmed and frustrated after losing important files, especially when they hold sentimental value. OneDrive is designed to sync files between your devices and the cloud, which means that deleting files from OneDrive can also remove them from your local storage. Unfortunately, if files are deleted from OneDrive and are not in the Recycle Bin, recovery options can be limited.

To prevent future losses, consider the following best practices:

1. Regular Backups: Regularly back up your important files to an external hard drive or another cloud service. This provides an additional layer of protection against accidental deletions.
2. Understand Sync Settings: Familiarize yourself with how OneDrive syncs files. Knowing that deleting a file from OneDrive affects all synced devices can help you make more informed decisions about file management.
3. Use Version History: OneDrive has a version history feature that allows you to restore previous versions of files, which can be helpful if you accidentally overwrite or delete something important.
4. Explore Recovery Options: If you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, check the OneDrive Recycle Bin online and explore third-party recovery tools, although success can vary.

While technology can sometimes feel fleeting, it also offers tools for preservation and recovery. Balancing digital and physical experiences can help create a more fulfilling relationship with technology.

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References:

• How to recover from a ransomware attack using Microsoft 365
• Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive