Windows 10: lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10

Discus and support lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10 in Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade to solve the problem; Hi, New here and have a problem. I just upgraded to W10 from W8.1 and have lost my desktop short cuts and files. How do I recover them. During the... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade' started by Bernietech, Nov 15, 2015.

  1. lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10


    Hi,

    New here and have a problem. I just upgraded to W10 from W8.1 and have lost my desktop short cuts and files. How do I recover them. During the upgrade process it said all files were transferred properly. I have looked at windows.old, but don't know what to look for or how to recover them from that file.

    Please bare with me as I am recovering from serious neck surgery and dealing the associated pain. I am limited to short periods of time sitting in front of the computer.

    Thanks,

    Bernie

    :)
     
    Bernietech, Nov 15, 2015
    #1

  2. After upgrading to Windows 10 from 8.1 Lost all desktop icons

    After "upgrading" to Windows 10 from 8.1 I lost all desktop icons for programs I used. Still had the task bar thankfully. Can run each app and open its window individually but can no longer have several windows open simultaneously, like Adobe X and a MSWord
    file side by side for comparison or reference. When switching to the other the other automatically reduces to the task bar. Same with Excel and Publisher. How do I revert to 8.1 without reinstalling every thing?

    Changing the title

    old title- Functionality

    new title - After upgrading to Windows 10 from 8.1 Lost all desktop icons
     
    EMERY E ROBERTS, Nov 15, 2015
    #2
  3. Chris Brewerton

    I have upgraded my Asus X550C laptop from Windows 8.1 to 10. The upgrade worked just fine for a few days with no further changes made (no apps or drivers upgraded or loaded.) Then Windows 10 lost my desktop icons and windows icon lowere left does not load
    apps so lost their use as well. Now want to downgrade back to Windows 8.1 but there is no facility to do so. I cannot easily do any business on this computer now and am at wit's end. HELPPPPPPP!!!!!
     
    busheybrew, Nov 15, 2015
    #3
  4. Ztruker Win User

    lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10

    You Desktop is in C:\Users\yourusername\Desktop.
    Likewise if available they will also be in C:\Windows.old\Users\yourusername\Desktop.
     
    Ztruker, Nov 15, 2015
    #4
  5. Thanks, but no go. file is empty. I do have a lot of stuff in windows.oldbut not users\name\desktop
     
    Bernietech, Nov 15, 2015
    #5
  6. Ztruker Win User
    What names are shown under C:\Users

    Maybe you are running with a temporarily user account and you original account is still there?
     
    Ztruker, Nov 15, 2015
    #6
  7. John035 Win User
    I‘ve seen this problem , I finally found all my files located in Network/
    Take a look and see. If they aren't there then, I don't know.
    I sure wish you the best.
     
    John035, Nov 16, 2015
    #7
  8. lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10

    hi Rich,

    4 items listed under user:

    administrator empty

    default.migrated 2 chains leading to empty in both

    public 5 chains leading to empty in each

    my name

    keep the ideas comming!!!

    thanks,

    bernie
     
    Bernietech, Nov 16, 2015
    #8
  9. Ztruker Win User
    I doubt Administrator is empty. Have you enabled showing hidden files and folders?

    If Administrator is empty then you should seriously think about doing a clean install. I hope you have backups of your data at least or better yet, an image backup of the entire drive.

    You can chcekc Administrator by enabling it:

    net user administrator /active:yes

    then Switch users and login as Administrator and see what's there.
     
    Ztruker, Nov 16, 2015
    #9
  10. thanks all,

    I enabled hidden files, saw no changes and later went to admin and there they were. desktop, downloads and many more. problem solved. I immediately moved them to the desktop and backed up on my portable hard drive. lesson learned. back up, backup, backup.

    thanks to all

    bernie
     
    Bernietech, Nov 16, 2015
    #10
  11. hzeng Win User
    Hello,

    I have encountered the exact same situation as Bernie did. However, my admin account is empty. The files missing from the desktop cannot be found. Any help from there?

    Thanks in advance!

    Hao
     
    hzeng, Nov 28, 2015
    #11
  12. Did you enable hidden files? When I enabled the files the missing files appeared.
     
    Bernietech, Nov 28, 2015
    #12
  13. hzeng Win User

    lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10

    No. I will do that now. By the way, do I enable hidden files in admin account or the regular user account? Thanks!
     
    hzeng, Nov 28, 2015
    #13
  14. hzeng Win User
    I just did the enabling hidden files in user account. This option is actually already checked. But I still cannot find the lost files.
     
    hzeng, Nov 28, 2015
    #14
  15. Not sure which acct I used. Try the other and see what happens. Have you tried the other suggestions in this thread? My missing files were from the desktop, Where are yours?

    Also do some more online searching. I found a few other suggestions as where to look in other forums. For me, they did not work.

    Bernie
     
    Bernietech, Nov 28, 2015
    #15
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lost desktop icons and files after upgrade from 8.1 to 10

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