Lost/missing folder on desktop

streetgum · 27 Sep 2022

I had a folder on my desktop that i kept important apps, documents and files in after decluttering that seems to have randomly disappeared. My first thought is that I may have deleted it by accident or moved it to a different drive while mass selecting pictures, but it doesn't make sense. I say this because I run a live wallpaper app that's always running and the mp4 file it uses was located in that folder on my desktop.

When i went to turn off my pc for the night the wallpaper was still running, so that means that file was still on the C :drive and hadn't been moved or deleted. Also there were files still in my recycle bin, so I know I didn't delete anything. Still the next morning the folder was gone.

I've ran 3 different types of recovery software, couldn't find any files. I've used the search bar in windows explorer to search all my drives and can't find anything. It's not hidden or invisible, there was no update and it wasn't removed to quarantine. I've tried everything and don't where else to look.

I'm open for suggestions because I have no idea where it could have gone or how to recover it. I spent years procuring everything in that folder and there are also some important documents in there as well.

i appreciate any help.

dalchina · 27 Sep 2022

Hi,

I spent years procuring everything in that folder and there are also some important documents in there as well.

- curiously you don't mention the backups and disk images (3rd party disk imaging is endlessly recommended here) ... which you surely have given its significance. You know, of course, disks can fail too - so without backups...??

a. Finding any file or folder on your PC fast.
Doing this with Windows search reliably means you need to understand it. It can also be slow when searching non-indexed folders.
Get a copy of Everything (Free) or - I prefer- Locate32 (free).

In your case, best use a portable version rather than installing it if available- the more you write to the disk in question, the more you use your PC, the greater the probability any deleted file is overwritten and gone for good (if in fact it has been deleted).

Run that program, let it scan all disks (a couple of minutes?) then try a search.

b. Recovering deleted files.
If you've already run scans with file recovery software... have you checked all disks? .. have you run the deep scan? (Such programs usually have two scan modes).

KeithM · 28 Sep 2022

streetgum said:

I had a folder on my desktop that i kept important apps, documents and files in after decluttering that seems to have randomly disappeared. My first thought is that I may have deleted it by accident or moved it to a different drive while mass selecting pictures, but it doesn't make sense. I say this because I run a live wallpaper app that's always running and the mp4 file it uses was located in that folder on my desktop.

When i went to turn off my pc for the night the wallpaper was still running, so that means that file was still on the C :drive and hadn't been moved or deleted. Also there were files still in my recycle bin, so I know I didn't delete anything. Still the next morning the folder was gone.

I've ran 3 different types of recovery software, couldn't find any files. I've used the search bar in windows explorer to search all my drives and can't find anything. It's not hidden or invisible, there was no update and it wasn't removed to quarantine. I've tried everything and don't where else to look.

I'm open for suggestions because I have no idea where it could have gone or how to recover it. I spent years procuring everything in that folder and there are also some important documents in there as well.

i appreciate any help.

Is the Desktop still displaying files that were in the folder? If so, ProcMon should be able to tell you what ifles it's accessing and thier location.