Fix Disappearing Files and Folders in Windows 10/11 and Restore Them (2024)

Windows 10/11 has become extremely popular since its release. However sometimes you may have found that your desktop files and folders disappeared from Windows 10/11? Or you are not able to find your personal files, installed programs or documents, pictures, videos, games, etc. which have been lost within your system. If this is right then this article is going to provide you easy methods to recover lost desktop files. Further you are also going to find the several reasons that may lead to desktop files loss. So, follow the given content and find your disappeared files back.

Part 1. Show Hidden Folders and Files

For getting back your disappeared files and folders in Windows 10/11, it will be better to locate your hidden folders within your system. Because the files and folders which appear missing to us are usually hidden somewhere in your system. And this happens due to the file explorer in your system which is not configured to display the hidden folders. So, to make it configured, here you need to follow the following steps:

• First of all go to ‘This PC’ option.
• Now click on the ‘File’ tab which will be displaying on the top left corner on your screen.
• Then select ‘Change folder and search options’ from the given menu.

• After this, a drop down box will appear on your screen. So, here you need to click on the ‘View’ Tab.
• Then select ‘Show hidden files, folders and drives’ option.
• Finally click on the ‘Apply’ button given in the last of this drop down box.

Here after doing this, you are making your system configured for displaying hidden files and folders so that you can easily locate your disappeared folders.

Part 2. Check the Users folder

When you upgrade your system to Windows 10/11 then sometimes you may have found that some of your files and folders are missing from your computer system. But that is not true because they are not missing actually as they can be found again within your system only.

During the process of system upgrade, many of your files just moved to some other drives which makes these folders disappear from your current locations where you had placed them. So to bring them back these folders at your desired locations in your system, you can follow the given steps:

• Firstly go to ‘This PC’ in your system.
• There you need to choose ‘Local Disk C’.
• Then select ‘Users’ Folder.
• After the ‘User Name’ Folder.
• And then ‘Documents’.

Here you are going to find all your missing files. Further, you can also try the other way for which steps are given below:

• Go to ‘This PC’.
• Then double tap on ‘Local Disk C‘.
• Then click on the ‘Users’ folder.
• And finally on the ‘Public’ folder.

Here you can also locate your files which sound missing to you.

Part 3. Check Temp Folder to Find the Vanished Folder

Sometimes a temporary folder named as ‘App Data’ automatically gets created in the C drive of your computer system while upgrading the windows. This temporary folder also holds your desired folders which you might think have disappeared from your system. So to relocate or to get those back in your preferred drive, here you need to follow the given steps:

• Firstly directly go to the ‘This PC’ in your computer system.
• Then choose ‘Local Disk C’.
• Then move to the ‘Users’ Folders.
• After this, you need to click on the ‘Users Name’ Folder.
• Here you are going to find the ‘AppData’ Folder. So, when you find it, immediately click on that.
• In the Appdata folder, you further need to click on ‘Local’.
• Then choose ‘Temp’ Folder.

Here you are going to see those files which you might have thought were lost during the windows updation procedure. However, you will be required to perform some manual instruction given on your screen for getting those files in their original format.

Part 4. Switch to your Old User Account

In many cases it has happened that when you upgrade your system to Windows 10/11 then it creates a default user account other than your existing one. Due to this new user account, it seems to you that your folders disappeared during the updation process in your system.

But actually your files and folders have not gone anywhere as they still exist in your old user account. So to get all of them, you are only required to switch your user account to the old one. And for doing this, you can follow the given steps:

• Firstly click on the start button.
• Then click on your User Account Name which is appearing on the top of your list.
• Here you must be seeing other user account names. So pick your desired one as per the requirement.
• Login with Id and password or with thumb print or directly as per your old account login settings.

After switching to your old user account, here you are going to find all your files and folders which you had believed to be lost.

Part 5. Search Different Hard Drive Partitions for your Files

This is another way to locate the files and folders disappeared during the process of windows updation. Here you can assume that your drive letters might have gone changed due to some reason while your operating system was updating. So to get back your data at your desired location, you are required to search different hard drives installed in your computer.

For example, you may have saved all your files and folders in the C drive before the process of windows updation. But during the process, the drive letters might have changed which eventually shift your previously stored data in the other drive. So, don’t forget to search each and every drive manually to locate your disappeared data after the updation process in Windows 10/11.

Part 6. Check if Drive Index is Corrupted

If you find that your files and folders have disappeared in your current system then there is a probability that your hard drive index on Windows 10/11 might have been corrupted and due to this reason, it is unable to display your folders on screen which actually are present in your system.

So for displaying all those files and folders, here you need to fix your hard drive which you can easily do by following the given steps:

• Firstly go to the ‘This PC’ tab.,
• Here locate your hard drive i.e. ‘Local Disk C’.
• Now right click on your drive. One drop down menu will appear in front of you on your screen. Here you need to choose the ‘Properties’ option.

• After clicking on the ‘Properties’ option, another drop down box will appear on your screen.
• Here you need to choose the ‘Tools’ option given on the second row on the top of this drop down box.
• A new screen will arrive on the same box where simply click on the ‘Check’ button.

• After this, another ‘Error Checking’ box will appear on your screen where you simply need to click on the ‘Scan Drive’ option. Then your Local Disk C drive scanning procedure will start which you can see on your screen.

Now after the completion of this hard drive scanning process, the disappeared files and folders will be restored on their previous locations.

Part 7. Change Indexing Options

For locating your files and folders disappeared in Windows 10/11 in your computer system, you can try updating your index option on your system. In most of the cases, this fixing disappearing files and folder solution has effectively worked out and helped in relocating the desired folders in the Windows 10/11 of your computer. So for changing index option, you have to follow the given instructions:

• First of all you need to press the ‘Windows Key +S ’ for opening the search tab on your screen.
• Here in the search bar, you need to type ‘Indexing Options’. Then the indexing option will appear in front of you on your screen. So simply click on this option to select it.

• After clicking on ‘Indexing Option’, one drop down box will appear on your screen. Here you need to select the ‘Advanced’ button.

• Then another drop down box named with ‘Advanced Options’ will appear in front of your computer screen. Now you need to select the ‘Index Settings’ Tab.
• There you are going to find the ‘Rebuild Button’ under the Troubleshooting tab. Simply click on the ‘Rebuild’ tab and find the solution to your problem.

Part 8. Find Your Disappeared Folder and Files with Wondershare Recoverit

Here even after trying all other manual fixing folders disappeared options which might have been lost during the process of Windows updation, if you still didn’t become able to recover your files and folders then you can utilize a perfect file recovery software known as ‘Wondershare Recoverit’. This is one of the most trusted software which helps in providing practical solutions to the people where they can recover their hidden files and folders.

Now for using ‘Wondershare Recoverit’ software in your computer system, firstly you will be required to launch this for which you can follow the given instructions.

Launching Recoverit:

It is very easy to configure the ‘Recoverit’ software along with your computer system. Here all you need to do is double tap on the ‘Recoverit’ icon on the desktop window of your computer system. After this, a dropdown window will appear on your computer screen where you simply need to follow the instructions as given on the screen.

Using Recoverit:

It is very simple to relocate your disappear files and folder in your computer system with the help of ‘Wondershare Recoverit’ software where you only need to follow three basic steps:

Step 1: Select your Drive:

Firstly you need to select the drive from where you want to recover your disappeared files. So simply open the ‘Wondershare Recoverit’ and choose your drive in it.

Step 2: Scan your Folders:

Here when you have selected the drive for recovering your desired folders, then ‘Recoverit’ software will immediately start the scanning procedure where all your files which you might have thought become vanished, will now be appearing in front of you on your screen. Further, the overall scanning duration completely depends upon your internet speed and size of your data.

Step 3: Preview and Recover:

Here you can see now all your disappeared data on your screen. Now for recovering this data, you only need to click on the folder for preview and then press the ‘Recover’ button. This way you will be able to recover your folders disappeared during the Windows upgrade procedure.

Bottom Line:

So from the above discussed topics regarding fixing disappeared files and folders during the process of Window update, it has been clear that folders could be found within your computer system. Here we have provided you different manual options where you can utilize and fix the issue of disappeared files and folders in your system. Further, you can use a perfect and practical solution for fixing your disappeared folders which is easy and simple to use known as ‘Wondershare Recoverit’ software.