excel spreadsheets disappear

Question

all my excel spreadsheets disappear. this is the third time this has happened.

Answer 1

Because Windows and OneDrive searches found nothing, minimize use of the PC and check the redirected OneDrive folders and recycle bins before attempting deleted-file recovery.

1. Check whether OneDrive redirected the folders

This is different from searching OneDrive online: OneDrive folder backup can relocate Documents or Desktop into its local folder.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Enter each applicable path in the address bar, replacing <username>:
   • C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents
   • C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Desktop
   • For a work account: C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive - <organization>\Documents
   • Also inspect the original locations:
     • C:\Users\<username>\Documents
     • C:\Users\<username>\Desktop
3. Select the OneDrive cloud icon by the clock, then open Help & Settings > Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup.
4. If Documents or Desktop is enabled, inspect that corresponding folder under OneDrive directly. OneDrive folder backup can change where those folders are stored.^1^

2. Check both recycle bins

These are separate locations; a cloud-only deletion might not appear in the Windows Recycle Bin.

• Windows: Open Recycle Bin, select any workbooks, right-click, and choose Restore.
• OneDrive website: Open Recycle bin, select the files, and choose Restore.^2^

If many OneDrive files disappeared together and an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription is attached to the account, Restore your OneDrive can roll the whole OneDrive back to an earlier point within the last 30 days. Use this only if the missing workbooks were stored in OneDrive because the operation reverts other file changes as well.^2^

3. Check Excel’s recovery copies

For workbooks that were open or had not been saved normally:

1. Open Excel.
2. Select File > Info > Manage Workbook > Recover Unsaved Workbooks.
3. Open any relevant workbook and immediately use Save As to place it in a known folder.

If an existing workbook appears under Manage Workbook with “when I closed without saving,” open it and select Restore.^3^

AutoRecover is mainly for unexpected closure or unsaved changes; it is not a general backup for files deleted from storage.

4. Restore from File History, if it was previously enabled

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that previously contained the spreadsheets.
2. Right-click that folder and select Restore previous versions.
3. Select a version dated before the disappearance.
4. Prefer Restore > Restore to… and choose another folder, avoiding replacement of current content.^4^

If no previous versions appear, File History probably has no usable backup for that folder.

5. Recover deleted local files

If the preceding checks fail, avoid creating or downloading more files on the affected drive. Deleted-file data can be overwritten by normal computer use.^5^

Install Windows File Recovery from Microsoft Store if necessary, connect a USB or external drive, and run Windows File Recovery as administrator. The source and destination drive letters must differ. If the PC has only one physical disk, use an external destination—do not create a new partition on the affected disk.

For files recently deleted from an NTFS C: drive, with the external drive assigned E::

winfr C: E: /regular /n *.xlsx /n *.xls /n *.xlsm /n *.xlsb

If Regular mode finds nothing, run the deeper scan:

winfr C: E: /extensive /n *.xlsx /n *.xls /n *.xlsm /n *.xlsb

Enter Y when prompted. Results are written to a Recovery_<date and time> folder on the destination drive.^5^

Prevent another recurrence

After recovery:

• In Excel, open File > Options > Save and note the Default local file location.
• Ensure Save AutoRecover information every x minutes and Keep the last autorecovered version if I close without saving are enabled.^6^
• Save important workbooks in a consistently backed-up location.
• If using local storage, enable File History to an external drive through Control Panel > System and Security > Save backup copies of your files with File History > Turn on.^4^
• Review OneDrive sync activity and Windows Security protection history for events around the disappearance. These are exploratory checks; the repeated loss alone does not establish whether syncing, deletion, storage failure, or another process caused it.

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References

1. onedrive sync? - Microsoft Q&A
2. [PC or Mac](https://support.microsoft.com/onedrive/restore-your-onedrive-files)
3. Recover an earlier version of an Office file | Microsoft Support
4. Backup and restore with File History | Microsoft Support
5. Windows File Recovery | Microsoft Support
6. Help protect your files in case of a crash | Microsoft Support

Answer 2

Hi, Steve Clever

When this happens over and over, the files usually aren't being deleted at random. More often Windows is cleaning them out of a temporary spot, or you're signed in to a different Windows profile that doesn't show them.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Open Excel and go to File > Open > Recent. Right-click one of the missing spreadsheets and choose Open file location. Even if the file is gone, this shows you which folder it was saved in, and that helps explain what's going on.

If the folder turns out to be Downloads, check Storage Sense. Go to Settings > System > Storage > Storage Sense and find Delete files in my Downloads folder if they haven't been opened for more than. If it's set to anything other than Never, Windows has been deleting your files on a timer, so switch it to Never.

If you usually open your spreadsheets straight from email attachments, use File > Save As and save each one to Documents before you edit it. Otherwise your changes get saved to a hidden Outlook temp folder, and Outlook clears that folder out.

If your desktop looks "brand new" when the files go missing, Windows may have signed you in to a temporary profile. Restart (don't shut down) a few times, then open C:\Users to see if there's a second folder with your name, and look inside it. Don't copy files into the temporary profile, because they'll be deleted when it goes away.

In File Explorer, click View > Show > Hidden items too, in case the files were just hidden.

Let me know what folder path Excel shows in step 1 and we can narrow it down from there.