After installing a Windows 11 update overnight, I started my computer to find a black background and an empty desktop across all my monitors. The Recycle Bin is still visible, and the rest of my files on both my HDD and SSD appear to be intact, but the Desktop folder no longer contains any files or shortcuts. Some of the missing items may have been shortcuts, but I believe several family photos were stored there. I checked the files through Command Prompt and found nothing hidden, then tried uninstalling the update and restoring the system to an earlier state, but the desktop contents still haven't returned. What else can I check or try to recover them?
1 Answer
Check the Desktop folder inside your Windows user profile directly. If that folder is empty too, the files may not simply be hidden on the desktop and you’ll need to investigate another user profile, a temporary profile, backups, or file-recovery options.
I checked the Desktop folder in my user directory, and it’s completely empty as well.