How to Recover Misplaced Files on Your Windows 10 Computers

I am sure everyone had felt absolute panic when we lost or misplaced an important file. Within seconds you can lose the work you had been working on for days and even months. However, there are ways to recover these files and, in this tutorial, I will show how to recover misplaced files in Windows 10.

Recover Misplaced Files Methods

There are different ways to try to recover your files, and I will walk you through them step-by-step.

Recover Misplaced Files Using File Path

This is a proactive measure. Whenever you save a file, make sure you check the File Path. The path is displayed at the top of the Save As window.

If you remember the File Path, then you can use that location to locate your files.

Recent Documents

However, if you didn’t check the path, there are ways to locate the file. If you are using a Microsoft Office product, you can find 25 recent saved files.

Step-1: Open the application you used to save the file. For example, Word.

Step-2: Click on File.

Step-3: Select Open on the left side of the screen.

Step-4: In Recent, you can see previously saved files. You can also recover any unsaved files by clicking on the Recover Unsaved Documents button.

Windows Start Bar

You can try and locate the document by typing what you remember of the file name. This method can only be applied IF you remember a little part of the file name.

Step-1: Go to the Start menu, and in the search bar, type as much as you remember of the file name.

Step-2: You can click on the Apps, Documents, More options at the top of the Start Menu to help you look for the lost file. Once you find the file, click Open.

Extension

You can search the file by the extension. For example, if you are looking for Word file, type doc in the Windows Start search bar. Here are some of the extensions to help you locate the file type you lost:

•  .DOC and DOCX (Word)
•  .HTML and .HTM (web pages)
•  .ODT (text documents)
•  .PDF
•  .XLS and XLSX (Excel documents)
•  .ODS (spreadsheet counterpart of .ODT files)
•  .PPT and .PPTX (PowerPoint)
•  .TXT

Just type the extension in the search bar, and you will get a list of documents that use that extension. Scroll through to locate the file.

Recycle Bin

There is always the possibility that you accidentally deleted the file.

Step-1: Open Recycle Bin using the desktop shortcut

Step-2: Locate the file.

Step-3: If you find the file, right-click on it. Click Restore.

Hidden Files

Step-1: Open File Explorer from the taskbar.

Step-2: Click on View.

Step-3: Check the Hidden items box.

Backup

Even if you don’t remember backing up your computer, there is a possibility that your computer carried out automatic backups. To recover files from backup, follow these steps:

Step-1: Go to the Start Menu and type system restore.

Step-2: Select Create a Restore Point.

Step-3: Click on System Restore in the tab System Protection.

Step-4: Select Choose a different restore point.

This will restore your system to a point where your files were not lost.

Recover Misplaced File Using File History

This option is only valid for people who had configured their File History settings before.

1.  Go to the Start Menu and type restore.
2.  Select Restore your files with File History.
3.  Look for the files you lost.
4.  Click Restore.

[If you have not configured the settings, you will get a ‘No file history found’ window.]

Hopefully, the above methods will help you look for the files you misplaced.

The post How to Recover Misplaced Files on Your Windows 10 Computers by Zarmeen Shahzad appeared first on Wccftech.

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