WHAT ARE THESE?

Question

WHAT ARE THESE?

Ruth Sandon 135

These showed up today. Some are items I saved over the years which now I have no idea what they are or how I get them back as I titled them. Anyone have an idea what happened? WHAT ARE THESE

Ruth Sandon 135 Reputation points

2026-08-17T22:06:20.0566667+00:00
Ruth Sandon 135 Reputation points

2026-08-17T22:07:22.15+00:00

ABOVE. This is what they should look like.

Answer accepted by question author

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Your answer

Ruth Sandon 135 Reputation points

2026-08-17T22:06:20.0566667+00:00
Ruth Sandon 135 Reputation points

2026-08-17T22:07:22.15+00:00

ABOVE. This is what they should look like.

Answer 1

Emma1-N 12,365 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Ruth Sandon,

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Q&A.

From the screenshots, it appears that File Explorer may have changed how it is displaying your files. The names such as Birthdays and Deaths, Donation Process, and Ruth's Medical suggest these are likely your original files and folders, but Windows is now showing some items with their file extensions or with generic icons instead of their usual appearance.

To help determine what happened, could you please provide a little more information?

Did this change occur after a Windows update, OneDrive sync change, or system restart?
When you right-click one of the affected items and select Properties, what is shown next to Type of file?
In File Explorer, select View > Show > File name extensions. Does enabling or disabling this option change how the files appear?
Are the files still opening normally when you double-click them?

As a quick check, please also try:

Open File Explorer.
Select View > Show > Hidden items
Then select View > Show > File name extensions
Compare the affected files with the files that still appear normally and let us know what you see.

Once I know the file type shown in Properties and whether the files still open, I can narrow down whether this is a display issue, a file association issue, or a problem related to the folder contents.

I look forward to your update.

Ruth Sandon 135 Reputation points

2026-08-18T14:14:27.2033333+00:00

Not sure if happened after update or my fingers did some walking, but clicking VIEW and turning off File Extensions in View and turning on Hidden Items, did the trick. All those others are now not viewed in File Explorer. Thank You Very Much. I am 85, so sometimes have to be reminded of what I learned in my younger years, which definitely did not make me computer literate, but I was able to figure things out back then.
Emma1-N 12,365 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-19T06:40:46.7366667+00:00

Hello Ruth Sandon,

You're very welcome! I'm glad that solved the issue. It sounds like you did a great job figuring it out. Don't hesitate to ask if you need help with anything else.