Searching for lost files

In the search box, type computer management and then select the Computer Management Desktop app. In the left pane, select Local Users and Groups , and then select Users.

To enable this account, double-click the Administrator icon to open the Properties dialog box. Next, clear the Account is disabled check box, and then select Apply to enable the account.

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. Select Restore my files and follow the instructions to restore your files. Sometimes you can recover a file by creating a new one with the same name and file type. If you created a new Microsoft account when you upgraded from Windows 7, your files may be located in a disabled administrator account. Windows 10 Windows 11 More Notes: You might need to restart your PC more than once before you can see your files again.

Sign out and then sign in again using the Administrator account. Need more help? Join the discussion. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. The machine may find your file by some criterion, depending on what you know about what you are searching. Open the searching application, in the left column there are some text fields, subscribed to help you where and what to enter.

So, you remember the file name, type it in the upper field the file name. Computer will search all files, having similar names, and list them all in the right column. The wizard will help you to formulate your search query and search mask by asking several questions.

In the middle field type some abstract you remember from the text. Computer will search all text files, containing the text you have input. And all found files would be listed in the right column. But you remember the date, so, you can easily find it! The wizard will help you to specify the date interval. Probably the file that you are looking for was created this month. The next step is to type in portions of the name of the file.

As you can see, so far we have narrowed down our search quite significantly. Even if the file name is a bunch of random numbers or letters, entering any sequence you may remember might help you.

If you still cannot find your file at this point, it may be more difficult to locate. Was it deleted? Or maybe the file was saved on another PC?

Alternatively, if it was named something obscure, it may be time to dig deeper. Finding files can be very quick on Windows 10 so long as you know just part of the name of the file. If you need even finer search filters, and you know more details about a file, you can take it further.

In fact, if you view the properties of any file, you will find a list of attributes, most of which can be searched for. You can also add custom details and tags for finding later.

Ollie stumbled upon writing online whilst participating in a mobile network forum back in