Tech Support Lost All Files

Hi Kathryn Blegen,

I am truly sorry to hear that you have lost your files, it is never easy to face a situation like this.

Do you have any cloud backup service and include your files in backup location? Or do you have an additional backup to an external drive?

If you do, you can restore them. If you don't, I have to regret to inform you that the chance to get back your data is not high.

I assume you're using an SSD. On modern SSDs, a feature called TRIM tells the drive which blocks are free right after you delete files. The SSD then clears those blocks in the background (garbage collection), which often permanently erases the old data. That's why "undelete" methods that used to work on HDDs frequently fail on SSDs once TRIM has run. In case those blocks were overwritten, it's likely impossible to recover.

You may take a chance with Windows File Recovery to see if there's any data is recoverable. Please try using Windows File Recovery with both "/regular" and "/extensive" mode.

Professional data recovery applications might have more advanced methods to bring back your data, but it's not guaranteed, especially every minute of idle drive time can reduce the chances due to TRIM.

I truly hope that by any chance you still have a backup somewhere, and once again, I am very sorry for your loss.

Follow these steps to try to recover files and get direct help without extra cost:

1. Search the entire PC for missing files
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select File Explorer.
   2. In the left pane, select This PC.
   3. In the Search This PC box (top-right), type the name of a missing file, or search by type (for example, *.doc for Word documents).
2. Check if files are just hidden
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings.
   2. Select System > Advanced.
   3. Under File Explorer, make sure Show hidden and system files is set to On.
   4. Go back to File Explorer and look again in the usual folders (Documents, Pictures, Desktop, etc.).
3. Fix Windows Search if it is not finding files
   1. Right-click the Start menu and select Settings.
   2. Select Privacy & security > Search (or use 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 Search and Indexing troubleshooter steps, then try searching again as in step 1.
4. If files were in OneDrive If the missing files were stored in OneDrive, follow the guidance in Find lost or missing files in OneDrive from the referenced article to look for previous versions or items in the OneDrive recycle bin.
5. Contact Microsoft Support again and request an agent If self-recovery does not work and there is a need to escalate:
   1. Open the Get Help app (type Get Help in the Start menu search and open it).
   2. In Get Help, type a short description such as “Files lost after support session, need recovery help”.
   3. When suggested solutions appear, scroll and select Contact support.
   4. Choose the appropriate Product or service (Windows) and follow the prompts.
   5. On the final screen, choose a contact option such as Chat with a support agent in your web browser or Provide your phone number, and a support agent will call you.

If the device shows that files are truly gone (not hidden, not on OneDrive, and not found by search), recovery may require specialized tools or backups. In that case, use the Get Help contact options above to discuss next steps with a Microsoft agent before paying a third party.

References:

• Find lost files after upgrading Windows
• Use a screen reader to navigate Windows support tools