Hey everyone! I really need your help. Today, I was in the process of transferring around 70GB of files (including subfolders, videos, Premiere Pro projects, and images) from one folder to another on the same drive using drag-and-drop. Unfortunately, something went wrong during the transfer, and I don't remember seeing an error message. Now, both my source and destination folders are completely empty, and the files aren't in the recycle bin either.
I did some troubleshooting beforehand. Here's what I've discovered:
- I suddenly have 70GB of free space on my C: drive.
- Checked the recycle bin – it's empty.
- Looked directly in `C:$Recycle.Bin` and found nothing.
- Enabled visibility for hidden and system files, still no luck.
- Ran a PowerShell command to find large files (over 100MB), but nothing matched.
- I noticed broken shortcuts in `C:UsersNameRecent` that point to the original file locations, but navigating there reveals empty folders.
I'm at a loss. Do you think Windows moved these files somewhere temporary because of the failed transfer? What recovery options do I have before that space gets overwritten? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
2 Answers
I've been in a similar situation before. Now, I always use copy instead of move when dealing with large files. It's safer! You never know if the transfer will screw up, and at least with copy, the original stays put until you know it transferred correctly.
Definitely learned my lesson from that! Gonna stick to copying!
You should hold off on installing anything for a bit. Get a recovery software on a USB stick that's separate from your main drive. Deleted files often aren't fully gone; they just get overwritten eventually. If your files are crucial, you might want to consider going to a professional data recovery service.
Thanks for the tip! It's reassuring to know files might still be recoverable. Do you have a specific recovery software you recommend?
Totally agree! I've switched to copying too; you just can't risk losing files like that.