Windows 10: All loose files in documents folder disappeared and not in recycle bin

I was on File Explorer today and I saw that under the quick access section the documents folder had disappeared so i pinned it back and thought nothing of it. Then I look now and all my files that were loose in the documents folder have disappeared and they are not in the recycle bin. However all the files inside folders stayed there. Is there any way i can get these back without having to restore to a previous version of my OS?

:)

 

Recycle Bin disappeared

Hi,



I realize the inconvenience you are experiencing with recovering your accidentally deleted pictures as Recycle Bin has disappeared. I will certainly help you with the issue.



I suggest you to follow the instructions provided below and check if it helps.

Step 1:

• Open File Explorer.
  
• Go to click View option.
• Double click on Options, on the top right windows
  
• Go to View tab.
• Check on "Show hidden files, folders and drives ".
• And uncheck on "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)".
• Click on Apply and
  OK button.

Step 2:

• Now, go back to File Explorer.
  
• Click on This PC, from right hand side panel.
• Double click on C drive.
  
• Right click on $Recycle.Bin
  
• Select Send to option.
• Click on Desktop (create shortcut).

The recycle bin shortcut shall be created on the desktop.

Note: Check on "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" by follow step 1.



Hope this information helps.



Please get back to us with an update on the issue, we will be happy to help.

 

recycle bin

Hi George,

To prevent your files from being deleted from the Recycle Bin, we suggest increasing the maximum file size your Recycle Bin can keep by following the steps below:

• Right click on the Recycle Bin icon.
• Under the Settings for selected location, select Custom size.
• Fill up the box for your allotted maximum file size for your Recycle Bin.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

Document folder renamed as recycle bin

I'm running a 1TB hybrid HD as C: drive in my PC and a 4TB Hard Drive as an internal backup which contains various archives of music, movies, old videos that have been transferred to digital format and so on.

These list as

F:Cinema

F:Music

and so on, all perfectly normal.

For unknown reasons the F:music folder has been renamed and identified as the recycle bin. If i enter it i can see the items in the main C: drive recycle bin, however if i go into properties for the F:recycle bin and tell it to show the hidden files then
it will list all the sub-folders and files but wont let me access it. It also lists all the sub-folders as being present and the correct folder size

If i try and fix the F:recycle bin it tries to change the C: genuine recycle bin instead

If i run recuva it will let me identify and retrieve most of the individual files

If i create a new folder named F:music the system instantly renames it to F:recycle bin, claims it already exists and rejects the new name

Apart from updating GOM player nothing has been changed on the system since yesterday so i'm puzzled what has caused the renaming and how to fix it.

I can recover the files, probably in their entirety or replace large parts of it from old data but i need to know what caused it so it doesnt happen again.