Windows 10: Disappeared Files Desktop, desktop icons are still there

I was sorting files for a backup and made the mistake of putting them all on my desktop. Then i opened a movie with VLC and tried to add a subtitle file from my desktop. This failed for some reason without VLC giving an error so i tried again. I dragged the file from my desktop to the VLC Window and as soon as i dropped it I saw all the files vanishing from my desktop in less than a millisecond. Way faster than it would take to delete them manually (i have a potato from 2005 so I noticed the difference). The only thing left on the desktop was the recycle bin. I already tried everything i could think of.

Here is what i did:
- disabled network connection
- checked recycle bin, Empty
- refreshed / sorted desktop, nothing
- checked Windows Defender and Eset for quarantined/deleted files, not the case
- ran chkdsk, no errors
- searched the whole disk for the files, no results
- rebooted pc, everything seems to work fine
- ran full in depth scan with Eset, everything fine
- Put new files on desktop, rebooted, searched the internet for clues, rebooted again. Files are still there
- tried recovery with EaseUs, found all sorts of deleted files, even files from long before formatting my hdd but not the disappeared ones.

I really have no idea what the problem is. The subtitle file may have been corrupted or something but why and where would the rest of the files go? It could be malware but that seems very unlikely as well. I was not browsing or installing anything. Also 2 weeks ago i formatted my disk and did a clean windows install. Windows is always updated. I have Eset Smartsecurity always up to date and I am serious about practicing safe internet behavior.

Some of the files were important and some of them contain sensitive and personal data so if anyone has any idea what could have happened to them, even if it's a long shot I'd be very happy to hear it.

The disk is a Seagate barracuda 2tb and i'm running windows 10 home 64bit.

:)

 

Desktop Icons disappeared

Hi Kinsley,

• Are you referring to the desktop icons?
• When did the icons disappear? Did you make any changes to the system Settings?

It's possible that your device is in Tablet mode. I suggest you to turn it off and check if the icons appear. To do so, select the
Action center icon on the taskbar (the little message box next to the date and time), and then select
Tablet mode to turn it on or off.

Also refer the following thread which discusses about a similar issue.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...may-have/d47c81e8-78d8-4d6a-bf0c-98decec85944

Hope this helps. Keep us updated with the status of the issue to continue assisting you further.

Thank you.

 

Remove Linux Desktop Icons

I am not sure whether this will work (Ubuntu does not have icons like that on the desktop by default), but I suggest opening the trash bin and sweeping the icons into the window showing the trash bin.

 

Desktop icons missing?

For some reason, between last night, when I OC'd, and sometime today, my desktop icons disappeared. I've tried downclocking to stock clocks, and enabling/disabling desktop icons does nothing. *Frown

I've tried restarting, it doesn't help either. *Frown