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All of my files are suddenly gone

Guedira, Elias Michael 0 Reputation points
2026-01-15T22:24:23.9666667+00:00

I am a university student who uses OneDrive through my university. Suddenly all of the files on my computer disappeared yesterday, and I do not have access to the rest of them. I really need these documents back.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For education | MacOS
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  1. Dora-T 13,745 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-01-16T02:28:54.33+00:00

    Hi Guedira, Elias Michael

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum. 

    I understand how stressful this situation can be, especially when your documents suddenly disappear.

    Since you are using OneDrive, please visit OneDrive on the web and sign in with the same Microsoft account you use on your Mac. Try locating your files in their original folders to see whether they are still available there.

    If you’re able to see your files on OneDrive on the web, the data itself hasn’t been deleted and the issue may be related to syncing on your Mac. Please click the OneDrive cloud icon in the macOS menu bar to check the sync status, ensure you’re signed in, and confirm that syncing is running normally.

    If you cannot find them there, check all possible recovery locations such as the OneDrive Recycle Bin, the Second-stage Recycle Bin, and your Mac’s local Trash. If you find your files, you can restore them to their original locations.   

    User's image

    You can also refer to this article for detailed steps: Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive - Microsoft Support 

    If your files were deleted, overwritten, or affected by malware, and you are using a Microsoft 365 subscription, you may be able to restore your entire OneDrive to a previous point in time using the Restore your OneDrive feature. You can find more information here: Restore your OneDrive 

    Note: This feature restores your OneDrive to an earlier point in time. Any files or folders created after the selected restore point will be moved to your OneDrive Recycle Bin.

    As you are part of an educational institution, I also recommend contacting your school’s IT department or Microsoft 365 administrator as soon as possible to explore all available options. 

    I truly appreciate your patience and hope you’ll be able to resolve this quickly. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-01-15T22:24:33.0666667+00:00

    If your files have suddenly disappeared from OneDrive, there are a few steps you can take to try to recover them:

    1. Check OneDrive Recycle Bin: Log into your OneDrive account through a web browser and check the Recycle Bin. Sometimes deleted files can be restored from there.
    2. Check for Previous Versions: If you had the files synced to OneDrive, you might be able to restore them from previous versions. You can do this by right-clicking on the folder or file in OneDrive and selecting "Version History" if available.
    3. Restore Deleted Items: If you don't find your files in the Recycle Bin, you can also check if they are available in the second-stage Recycle Bin. This can be accessed from the bottom of the Recycle Bin page.
    4. Contact University IT Support: Since you are using OneDrive through your university, it might be beneficial to reach out to your university's IT support for assistance. They may have additional recovery options or insights into what might have happened.
    5. Use Recovery Tools: If the files were stored locally on your computer and not just in OneDrive, you might consider using recovery tools to attempt to retrieve them, although success can vary.

    If these steps do not help, unfortunately, there may not be a native method to recover your files if they are not available in the Recycle Bin or previous versions.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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