restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?

Question

restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?

steven hungerford 20

steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-10T20:19:27.8933333+00:00

restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted on 9/10/2026: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?

Answer accepted by question author

AI answer

If those files were deleted from OneDrive, the recovery path depends on where they were deleted from and whether they are still within the retention window:

Check the OneDrive Recycle bin:
- Go to the OneDrive website and sign in.
- In the left navigation pane, select Recycle bin.
- Select the files and choose Restore.
If the files were deleted from the synced folder on the PC:
- Open Recycle Bin in Windows.
- Select the files.
- Right-click and choose Restore.
- The files return to their original folder.
If the files are not in either recycle bin:
- For Microsoft accounts, files in inactive personal accounts may have been deleted after two years.
- For work or school accounts, files may have been deleted after 93 days.
If using Microsoft 365 and the deletion was within the last 30 days:
- On the OneDrive website, use Restore your OneDrive to undo changes across files and folders from a previous point in time.

Important:

If a file was permanently deleted from the OneDrive Recycle Bin, it cannot be recovered.
Deleted online-only files do not appear in the PC Recycle Bin.
Files deleted from the cloud are recovered from the OneDrive or SharePoint web recycle bin, not from the PC Recycle Bin.

References:

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3 additional answers

Your answer

steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-10T20:19:27.8933333+00:00

restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted on 9/10/2026: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?restore three from OLD files accidentally deleted: 8/8/23 and 9/8/23 and 4/24/23?

Answer 1

Carl-L 23,080 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello steven hungerford,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Sorry but I can't quite understand your questions, can you please clarify it a little bit? What are you restoring and what is deleted?

I'm waiting for your reply.

steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-11T09:11:29.79+00:00

In the 'OLD MAIL' FOLDER i found three valuable financial emails: 5/23/24, 8/8/23 and 4/24/23 that I moved to NEW MAIL to keep and work on today. But, when i went to NEW Emails -nothing was there. And they were missing in the ,OLD EMAIL folder'. And not in the 'Recycle Bin? So how do i locate or restore the 3 emails?
steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-11T09:18:57.8733333+00:00

OLD folder emails - 3 emails transferred to "New Mail" disappeared. Can they be found? Or Restored? Not found in Recycle Bin?
steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-11T09:21:39.1966667+00:00
I just learned : copy and paste the following :" If the files are not in either recycle bin:

For Microsoft accounts, files in inactive personal accounts may have been deleted after two years."
Carl-L 23,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-12T10:07:22.85+00:00

Hello steven hungerford,

Thanks for replying.

Just want to make sure, the old mail you see is from a folder of an old account that is no longer active? And now you are trying to move it to your new account?

I'm waiting for your reply.
Carl-L 23,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-15T10:21:07.3333333+00:00

Hello steven hungerford,

Just checking in to make sure that you have received my reply. Please let me know if you have any updates.
Carl-L 23,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-15T13:55:38.7833333+00:00

Hello steven hungerford,

It's been a while since I last heard from you. May I know if you still need assistance in this?

Any feedback is appreciated.
steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-15T18:06:25.6033333+00:00

In Windows 10 OLD FILES i found three email files dated 4/24/23, 8/8/23 and 5/24 i wished to keep. I routed them to "KEEP AS NEW". They vanished from OLD FILES Folder and are NOT in New Emails. I cannot find them in the "Empty" Recyle Bin. Other Web searches for a 'Downloadable' [sic] have not worked or cost too much for me to 'Restore' an email.
Carl-L 23,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-16T13:39:39.9766667+00:00

Hello steven hungerford,

Can you please refer to the other user answer first?
steven hungerford 20 Reputation points

2026-09-16T16:37:08.8733333+00:00

OneDrive replied that for a Windows 10- i needed a particular Cloud [which i do not] to retrieve Old Fie documents over 2 years old. i e years 2024. There was nothing in the Recycle Bin that i did access when i retrieved the Recycle Bin. Thanks, any way.

Answer 2

Muhammad Ishfaq 0

You can recover files deleted over three years ago (from April and August 2023) **only if you have an older cloud backup, a local system backup, or if they remain in a specialized cloud trash bin like **Onedrive. Standard local Recycle Bins or temporary trash folders will no longer retain items from that long ago.

If the files were stored locally on a drive and not overwritten, scanning the drive with file recovery tools might find traces, though success is very low after several years.

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Answer 3

steven hungerford 20

I tried two downloads to install a retrieve OLD FILE -over 2 years old Emails. Both failed.

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