FILES GONE

Xander Caesar 20 Reputation points
2026-09-01T18:01:05.97+00:00

I just opened my OneDrive today after using Word for my entire university career and to my surprise all of my documents were gone. I have five files created from May 2026 to August 2026 and no previous documents can be found anywhere. I have checked any recycle bins and done back ups and there is no information anywhere. If anyone knows what happened or how to restore, please let me know.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For education | MacOS
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AI answer

2026-09-01T18:01:20.0733333+00:00

For OneDrive for education, the supported recovery path is:

  1. Go to the OneDrive website and search there first. Use Search everything and try not only exact filenames, but also dates, keywords, and descriptions.
  2. Confirm the files are not in the Recycle bin on the OneDrive website. If found, select them and choose Restore.
  3. Make sure the files were not saved under a different account. If both personal and school Microsoft accounts are used, the files may be in the other OneDrive.
  4. Check local storage on the Mac with Finder in case files were saved outside OneDrive or never synced.
  5. If the organization supports it, use Restore your OneDrive to roll the entire OneDrive back to an earlier point within the last 30 days. For work or school accounts, on the OneDrive website go to Settings > Restore OneDrive.

Important limits:

  • Restore your OneDrive is available only within the last 30 days.
  • If a file has been permanently deleted from the OneDrive Recycle Bin, it cannot be recovered.
  • For work or school accounts, files may have been deleted after 93 days.

Since the recycle bin and backups were already checked, the next best step is to have the school IT administrator investigate. If files are not found in OneDrive search or the OneDrive Recycle Bin, they usually cannot be retrieved by end users. The administrator will need:

  • the names of the missing files or folders
  • approximately when they were last accessed
  • which device was used

References:

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