Worms are malware that delete and modify files on a computer before jumping to another computer on a network. Files deleted by a worm may be recoverable through undeletion; however, they should be scanned by an anti-virus program because they could be infected by the worm and start the file deletion process over again.
Files being hidden - Incorrect operation or other reasons may make your files invisible. Hardware Error - Hardware failure on the computer hard drive may cause loss of files. File system corruption - File system corruption resulting from power failure can make PC files miss.
Due to virus infection or disk error, sometimes, the Desktop apps and files suddenly disappear on your PC. To avoid this issue, we also suggest you turn on Windows Defender or use virus cleaner software to protect your PC and run a disk check command to clear existing errors on your local hard drive.
Why did my files suddenly disappear from Windows 10? Here are the reasons: Windows 10 automatic upgrade or update deleted the file. The virus deleted or hid personal files.
A virus or malware attack on your computer may result in files being deleted or where files are stored being modified. Accidentally deleted downloads folder. The files or folders disappear from your computer may result from accidentally deleted downloads folder on Windows 10. Files are corrupted.
Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions. You'll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you're using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.
Some files might be hidden from view. In the search box on the taskbar, type File Explorer Options, then select the View tab. Under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives option. Then try searching for your files again.
Files that are moved to the Recycle Bin (on Microsoft Windows) or Trash (on macOS) stay in those folders until the user empties them. Once they have been deleted from those folders, they are still located in the hard drive and can be retrieved with the right software.
Restart the Windows Search Service
The Windows Search service is responsible for indexing files and folders for the search box. If it's disabled or not running correctly, your search results will be incomplete or nonexistent. To fix this, you can restart the service using the Services app in Windows.
The reason some files and folders are automatically marked as hidden is that, unlike other data like your pictures and documents, they're not files that you should be changing, deleting, or moving around. These are often important operating system-related files. Both Windows and macOS computers have hidden files.
Simply open the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. As with any folder, you can sort the files by name, location, date, and other criteria. You can also search for a file by name. Once you find the file you wish to recover, right-click on it and select Restore.
Check your hidden folders; maybe the missing files are there. Go to the This PC folder and select the File tab here. Here you need to click on “Change folder and search options”. Click on View and in front of the “Show hidden files, folders and disks” checkbox, activate this function and see previously invisible files.
Check Your Firewall and Proxy Settings
Occasionally, firewall and proxy settings may block access to Google Drive. When you find the uploaded and shared files are not showing up in Google Drive, it is necessary to check your firewall and proxy settings.
All deleted files (in Windows) are still safely stored in your computer hard drive. Just because you can't see it anywhere, doesn't mean it's not there.
Files in trash will be automatically deleted after 30 days. You can restore files from your trash before the 30-day time window. You can also permanently delete them to empty your trash. If you delete, restore, or permanently delete multiple files or folders at once, it might take time for you to notice the changes.
Pressing the Shift + Delete or Shift + Del keys permanently deletes the selected file(s) but before that, Windows will ask for confirmation. When asked if you're “[...] sure you want to permanently delete this item/these items?” press Yes.
The most common issue for this is that you click the "show hidden files" option in Windows and accidentally click off of it without realizing it. To fix this problem, go back to that option and click "show hidden files" again. Or you may accidentally delete the files or folders.
But just because you delete a file, doesn't mean that the data is gone forever. Traditional spinning hard drives store data on polished magnetic metal platters (or glass or ceramic with a thin metal layer) and the store data by magnetizing sectors.
If your files have changed properties as a result of an update or a virus or malware attack, desktop files and folders may be marked as hidden so you can't currently see them. You can try to recover all the hidden data to fix desktop files or folders disappeared on Windows 10 or 11.
Select the Start button, then select Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization. Select Folder Options, then select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and then select OK.
Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.
Windows will then start to find the virus-infected and hidden files on the external hard drive, memory card, or USB drive. After the process finishes, navigate to your disk or card and check if you can see all of the previously virus-infected files.
To remove the virus using CMD, type into your command prompt: attrib -r -a -s -h D:\*. * and press "Enter". This will remove the Read Only, Archive, System and hidden file attribute from all the files.
In a computer, any document file that can't be deleted in the usual way is known as a ghost file. While deleting, users regularly get an error message like "Unable to delete the folder" or "Unable to delete file".