Request to get back my lost files after update

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

Are you using a personal OneDrive account or a Microsoft 365 (work or school) account?

If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can try restoring your OneDrive to a previous point in time to undo all actions that happened within the last 30 days. Here’s the guide: "Restore your OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/restore-your-onedrive-fa231298-759d-41cf-bcd0-25ac53eb8a15

If you’re using a personal OneDrive account, check the Recycle Bin on the OneDrive website. https://onedrive.live.com

• Items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted 30 days after being placed there.
• Files deleted from your Personal Vault will only appear in your Recycle Bin if your Personal Vault is unlocked before you check it. You can use the “Show Personal Vault items” command in the Recycle Bin to unlock the vault and view those files.
• Personal OneDrive accounts don’t have a second-stage recycle bin, that feature is only available for business or enterprise accounts managed by an administrator.

If you’re using a work or school account, items in the recycle bin are automatically deleted after 93 days, unless your organization’s administrator has changed that setting.

• "Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive" https://support.microsoft.com/office/restore-deleted-files-or-folders-in-onedrive-949ada80-0026-4db3-a953-c99083e6a84f

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Follow these steps to try to get the files back.

1. Search the entire PC for the missing files
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select File Explorer.
   2. In the left panel, select This PC.
   3. In the Search This PC box (top right), type the file name (or part of it) of something that is missing.
   4. If file names are not remembered, search by type, for example:
      • *.doc for Word documents
      • *.mp3 for MP3 music files
   5. When a file is found, right-click it and select Open file location to see where it is stored, then copy or move it to the desired folder.
2. Make sure hidden files are visible
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings.
   2. In Windows 11: select System > Advanced.
   3. Under File Explorer, turn Show hidden and system files to On.
   4. Go back to File Explorer and repeat the search from step 1.
3. Fix Windows Search if it does not find anything
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings.
   2. Select Privacy & security and then Search (or select the Searching Windows button if shown).
   3. Under Related settings, select Advanced indexing options.
   4. In Indexing Options, select Advanced.
   5. On the Index Settings tab, select Troubleshoot search and indexing.
   6. Follow the steps in the Search and Indexing troubleshooter, then try searching again.
4. Check OneDrive online for the files
   • If the files were stored in OneDrive before the update, sign in to OneDrive on the web and look for them there.
   • If they are not in the main folders, check the OneDrive Recycle Bin and restore any needed files.
5. Restore from a Windows backup (if one exists) If a backup was created before the update using Backup and Restore (Windows 7):
   1. Connect the external drive that holds the backup.
   2. Right-click the Start menu and select Search.
   3. Type Control Panel and open it.
   4. In the top-right Search Control Panel box, type backup.
   5. Select Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
   6. Select Select another backup to restore files from.
   7. Choose the backup drive in the Restore Files (Advanced) window.
   8. Follow the wizard to restore the needed files.
6. If the files were only on the PC and not backed up
   • Purchasing extra OneDrive space does not bring back deleted or missing files; it only increases storage capacity.
   • If the files are not found by search, not in OneDrive (or its Recycle Bin), and not in a backup, there is no built-in Microsoft method in this context to recover them. At that point, only third-party file recovery tools or professional data recovery services might help.

References:

• Find lost files after upgrading Windows
• Unable to restore deleted files from C:OneDrive - Microsoft Q&A
• retrieving an accidental Excel file deleted - Microsoft Q&A