OneDrive folders empty but was not deleted or moved

/ gdp 0 Reputation points
2026-08-31T11:10:39.37+00:00

OneDrive. A large number of files, mainly PDF and Word documents, have disappeared.

The folders are still there, but several of them are now empty. The files are also missing directly from OneDrive Web, so this is not only a synchronization or Windows issue.

I checked the OneDrive Recycle Bin and the 30-day Restore history, but there is no mass deletion corresponding to the missing files.

The same OneDrive was synchronized on 2–3 computers, and the missing files have disappeared from those computers as well.

Could you please investigate whether these files can be recovered from the OneDrive server/backend?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Other
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  1. Lucus-V 12,535 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-31T17:06:33.7633333+00:00

    Hi / gdp,

    I'm very sorry to hear about this. I understand how concerning it is when a large number of files appear to have disappeared unexpectedly.

    Unfortunately, this is beyond what the Microsoft Q&A community can investigate. Community members and moderators do not have access to OneDrive's internal systems, storage records, account telemetry, or any back-end recovery tools. We also do not have the authority or channels to escalate cases internally to OneDrive engineering teams or request a server-side investigation on a user's behalf. As a result, we cannot determine what happened to specific files, verify whether they still exist on Microsoft's servers, or perform any back-end recovery.

    Since your request is specifically for Microsoft to investigate whether the files can be recovered from the OneDrive service back end, the appropriate next step is to contact Microsoft Support directly. They are the team that can review account-specific information available to them and advise whether any additional recovery options may exist.

    I sincerely hope they're able to provide more insight into what occurred and whether any recovery options remain available.

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  2. / gdp 0 Reputation points
    2026-08-31T11:16:02.9166667+00:00

    I have already completed all these standard troubleshooting steps: OneDrive Web search, Recycle Bin, and the 30-day Restore OneDrive history.

    The missing files are not found, and there is no corresponding mass deletion in the activity history.

    Since multiple folders are still present but their contents have disappeared directly from OneDrive Web, could you please escalate this case to the OneDrive technical team for a server-side investigation and recovery check?

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