Pictures that appear to have been deleted, but show up when I search This PC

A This PC search result does not prove that the photo still exists, so first open its actual location; if Windows cannot open that location, treat the result as a stale search-index entry and proceed with recovery.

1. Determine whether the search result is a real file

1. In File Explorer, search This PC for one missing photo.
2. Right-click the result and choose Open file location.
3. If available, select Properties and note:
   • Location
   • Size
   • Size on disk
4. Try opening or copying the photo to a new folder outside OneDrive, such as C:\Recovered HVAC Photos.

Interpret the result as follows:

• It opens: immediately copy it to another drive or folder.
• It points into a OneDrive folder and shows a blue cloud: it is online-only. Start OneDrive, connect to the Internet, right-click the file, and select Always keep on this device. A blue cloud means the file is online-only; green status icons indicate locally available files.^1^
• “Can’t open file” or “Make sure OneDrive is running”: select Start, search for OneDrive, and open the OneDrive desktop app.^2^
• The location does not exist or the result disappears after refreshing: it is probably an indexed reference to a file that is no longer present.

The Microsoft Photos icon only identifies the app associated with that image type. The cardboard-box overlay is not one of Microsoft’s documented standard OneDrive availability icons, so it cannot by itself establish whether the photo is archived, deleted, or recoverable.

2. Check both recycle bins

Because the three OneDrive accounts have already been searched, focus on their recycle bins rather than repeating the account search:

1. Sign in to the OneDrive account that originally contained Pictures\HVAC Pictures.
2. Select Recycle bin.
3. Restore any matching photos or folders.
4. Also open the Windows Recycle Bin, search for the filenames, and select Restore if found.

For a personal OneDrive account, deleted items can normally be restored for 30 days unless they were permanently deleted. Cloud-only files do not appear in the Windows Recycle Bin, so both locations matter.^3^

Deleting an online-only file from a synced OneDrive folder deletes it from OneDrive online and other synced devices as well; moving a file outside the OneDrive folder should first download it and then remove it from OneDrive.^4^

3. Conditional: restore the entire OneDrive

If the original account has a Microsoft 365 subscription and the disappearance occurred within the last 30 days:

1. Open the Restore your OneDrive options: https://onedrive.live.com/?v=restore
2. Choose a point immediately before the photos disappeared.
3. Review the listed changes, then start the restore.

This reverses OneDrive changes after the selected time. Files created afterward may be moved to the OneDrive Recycle Bin, so download any newer important files first.^5^

4. Restore from File History or Previous Versions

This works only if File History or another previous-version mechanism was enabled before the loss.

Check both places where the pictures may previously have existed:

• The original OneDrive\Pictures\HVAC Pictures folder.
• Each local user account’s Pictures folder.

For each location:

1. Open its parent folder in File Explorer.
2. Right-click the affected folder and select Restore previous versions.
3. Select a version dated before the disappearance.
4. Choose Open in File History to inspect it.
5. Prefer Restore to… and restore onto another drive or folder, avoiding replacement of current content.^6^

5. Recover deleted local copies

If none of the above works, minimize use of the PC because new data can overwrite deleted files. Windows File Recovery can recover only photos that actually existed on the local disk; it cannot recover content that was always online-only in OneDrive. The recovery destination must be a different drive, such as an external E: drive.^7^

After installing Windows File Recovery from Microsoft Store, run:

winfr C: E: /extensive ^
 /n \Users\<username>\Pictures\*.jpg ^
 /n \Users\<username>\Pictures\*.jpeg ^
 /n \Users\<username>\Pictures\*.png

Repeat with the original OneDrive path if those files had been downloaded locally. Recovered files will be placed in a Recovery_<date and time> folder on the destination drive.

References

1. What do the OneDrive icons mean? | Microsoft Support
2. Troubleshoot the "Can’t open file" error in OneDrive
3. [PC or Mac](https://support.microsoft.com/onedrive/restore-your-onedrive-files)
4. Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows | Microsoft Support
5. [Personal](https://support.microsoft.com/onedrive/find-lost-or-missing-files-in-onedrive)
6. Backup and restore with File History | Microsoft Support
7. Windows File Recovery | Microsoft Support