Locating a file in my C: drive to retrieve data after I cleared my cache and cookies in Microsoft Edge

Question

Locating a file in my C: drive to retrieve data after I cleared my cache and cookies in Microsoft Edge

JK 0

After I cleared my cache and cookies in Microsoft Edge, I lost about six months of notes on medical and legal issues generated by Google AI. Microsoft Copilot suggested I "[n]avigate to C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default and look for the History or Bookmarks file" to try to retrieve them. However, I do not know how to do this in Windows 11.

Any assistance will be appreciated!

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

SD - IA 182.9K Independent Advisor

Hi,

I need some clarification here.

Did you clear cookies and cache? Did it end up deleting your bookmarks?
What exactly do you mean by notes - do you mean they were history or bookmarks?

I don't think for History you can do something.

Press Win + R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%, and press Enter.

Navigate to:

   Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default

Full path:

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default

Locate the following files:
- Bookmarks
- Bookmarks.bak
Close Microsoft Edge completely.
Rename the existing Bookmarks file to Bookmarks.old (if it exists).
Rename Bookmarks.bak to Bookmarks.
Reopen Microsoft Edge.

Your bookmarks should now be restored from the backup.

I look forward to hearing from you to get the results of the troubleshooting.

JK 0 Reputation points

2026-11-09T18:55:18.89+00:00

Thank you for the inquiry. To clarify: I cleared my cookies and cache only. I do not use bookmarks. By "notes," I mean months of conversations with Google AI regarding medical and legal issues. For example, we discussed case law, statutes and legal strategies. I would like to get those notes back! Also, I do not know what "<YourName>" means in Windows.

Answer 2

In Windows 11, the simplest way to look for Edge data files is through File Explorer:

Right-click Start and select File Explorer.
In File Explorer, select This PC.
Use the address bar at the top and paste this path: C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default
Replace <Username> with the Windows account name.
Press Enter.

If the folder does not open, hidden items may not be visible. In Windows 11, hidden and system files can be shown from:

Start > Settings > System > Advanced.
Expand File Explorer.
Make sure Show hidden and system files is turned On.

Relevant Edge files mentioned in the available guidance include:

Bookmarks: Edge stores Favorites locally in a file named Bookmarks inside the browser profile folder.
History: Edge history data is stored in the profile folder as History.
Cookies: Edge cookies are stored in C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Network\Cookies.

Important limitation:

Clearing download history only deletes the list of downloaded files, not the actual downloaded files.
Clearing browsing data such as cookies, cached images and files, and download history removes stored browser data from the device.
If the notes existed only inside browser-based AI sessions and were not saved as files, Favorites, or downloads, the provided guidance does not include a supported way to recover them from Edge after that data was cleared.

If the notes were saved as downloaded files, check where Edge saves downloads:

In Microsoft Edge, select Settings and more > Settings > Downloads.
Check the Location path shown there.
Then open that folder in File Explorer and search for the files.

If files were deleted from local storage and are not in the Recycle Bin, Windows File Recovery can be used to try to recover lost files from local storage devices. Important: to improve recovery chances, minimize or avoid using the computer because new activity can overwrite deleted file data.