What to Check When Files Are Missing After Reset This PC

Updated on Oct 17, 2026 | by Qiling

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Check What the Reset Preserved
Before You Scan
Scan Only After Checking Existing Copies
Know When a Scan Is Unlikely to Help
Frequently Asked Questions

Keep my files is intended to preserve personal files, but a missing item may be in another account, a cloud folder, or a location the reset did not retain. Verify its path before writing more data.

Check What the Reset Preserved

Sign in with the same Windows and Microsoft accounts used before the reset. Inspect the current user's Documents, Desktop, Pictures, and OneDrive locations, plus any other local user profiles.

Look for relevant backup copies and, where present, a Windows.old folder. Do not assume every app-specific folder or nonstandard storage location was preserved by the reset.

Before You Scan

Avoid installing many apps or downloading files onto the original system drive. Reset and later Windows use can overwrite deleted space, particularly on SSDs.

If important files remain absent, prepare a different physical disk for recovery output. Record the original account, path, file type, and whether the reset used Keep my files or Remove everything.

Scan Only After Checking Existing Copies

Qiling Deep Data Recovery can scan an accessible Windows drive for files that are no longer visible. The steps below use the mode that fits this case; scan results are possibilities, not a guarantee of intact recovery.

Step 1. Search Accounts and Backups

Check user folders, OneDrive, Windows.old if present, and File History or other backups. Copy any intact file to the separate destination first.

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Step 2. Choose a Matching Scan Mode

For missing files on an otherwise accessible internal disk, begin with Fast Scan. If the reset removed or rebuilt a partition, Disk Scan may be more relevant, but results are uncertain.

Step 3. Select the Original System Disk

Identify the physical disk that held the files before reset. Do not scan a newly connected output drive or an unrelated D: partition.

Step 4. Preview Candidate Files

Filter by known file types and dates. A result may be an older temporary file rather than your last saved version.

Step 5. Recover Outside the System Disk

Click Recover for useful candidates and choose the separate disk. Open files before reinstalling further software or reusing the source heavily.

Know When a Scan Is Unlikely to Help

Remove everything or a clean installation can make recovery much harder, especially on an SSD. A backup or synced copy may be the only complete version.

Do not run another reset as a recovery tactic. Preserve the current state while you investigate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Keep my files preserve every app folder?

No. Check app-specific paths and backups; the option focuses on personal files, not every location.

Will System Restore bring back documents removed by reset?

System Restore is not a dependable personal-file backup. Use file backups or recovery.

Can TRIM prevent recovery after reset?

Yes. On SSDs, discarded blocks cannot be reconstructed by a deeper scan.