I bought a new laptop for school and signed into my Microsoft account so I could access my saved passwords. After that, the items from my main computer's desktop appeared on the laptop too. I deleted some of them from the laptop, assuming that would only remove them from that device, but when I checked my desktop computer, the same photos, documents, and shortcuts were gone there as well. Some files existed only on the desktop computer. Is there a way to undo this or recover them?
3 Answers
Signing into the same Microsoft account usually doesn’t directly delete local files, but OneDrive may have been syncing your Desktop, Documents, or Pictures folders between devices. Stop using both computers heavily for now, and don’t empty either Recycle Bin. Check the Recycle Bin, OneDrive online, and the OneDrive folder in File Explorer. Also look under C:Users for another or older Windows profile, then check that profile’s Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders. If the files were deleted from a synced folder, restoring them through OneDrive or the Recycle Bin may bring them back on both devices.
For the future, use separate Windows or Microsoft accounts, or disable Desktop and Documents backup on the school laptop. You can still use the same account for passwords without syncing personal folders everywhere. Keep important photos and documents backed up to an external drive or a separate cloud location, because syncing is not the same as having an independent backup.
It’s actually my own laptop that I bought for school. I used the same Microsoft account because it already had all my saved passwords, but I didn’t realize it could also sync my desktop folders.
Right-click an empty area of the desktop and check View to make sure desktop icons aren’t simply hidden. Also search the entire computer by filename and check the Recycle Bin. If Windows System Protection was enabled and the files were stored in a protected location, an earlier restore point might help, although System Restore usually won’t recover personal files. If they’re truly gone and there’s no backup, stop saving new data and consider reputable file-recovery software or a professional recovery service.
I didn’t realize that deleting the items from the laptop and emptying its Recycle Bin could remove them from my desktop too. Most of the items were game shortcuts, but a few were important documents and photos.