URGENT HELP LOSSS OF FILES MORE THAN 30 DAYS

Callum Dickson 0 Reputation points
2026-11-11T15:03:44.2033333+00:00

Subject: Urgent help needed – approximately 42,000 irreplaceable photographs missing from OneDrive

I am asking for urgent help with what is an extremely serious loss of personal data from my OneDrive.

33 folders containing approximately 42,000 photographs appear to have disappeared from my account on or around 2 October 2026. I did not knowingly delete these folders and received no warning or notification that a deletion of this magnitude had occurred.

By the time I discovered what had happened, the normal 30-day Recycle Bin period had passed and the folders were no longer available there.

These photographs are effectively my entire personal photographic collection, built up over many years. Many are irreplaceable. I had relied on OneDrive specifically to keep this collection safely stored, which makes their unexplained disappearance particularly concerning.

I would therefore be extremely grateful if Microsoft could escalate this beyond standard Recycle Bin troubleshooting and investigate whether:

Any server-side copy, backup, retained version or residual data relating to these folders still exists and can be recovered.

Account or activity records can establish what caused the deletion, including, where possible, the device, application, browser, OneDrive sync client or other process responsible.

Any service issue, synchronisation problem, storage/account issue or automated process could have contributed to the disappearance of the folders.

An exceptional recovery is possible given the scale of the loss, involving approximately 42,000 photographs across 33 folders.

I would also appreciate a support case/reference number so that I can pursue this formally with the appropriate OneDrive support or data-recovery team.

I appreciate that the normal Recycle Bin retention period has passed, but because of the exceptional volume of data involved and the irreplaceable nature of these photographs, I am asking Microsoft to investigate all remaining recovery possibilities before concluding that the data cannot be restored.

Thank you for your help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Other
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  1. Xavier-D 14,530 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-11-12T02:24:52.5933333+00:00

    Hello

    If these files were stored in a personal OneDrive account and have already been permanently removed from the OneDrive Recycle Bin, recovery is unfortunately very unlikely.

    Deleted files normally remain in the personal OneDrive Recycle Bin for up to 30 days. After permanent deletion, the Restore your OneDrive feature cannot bring them back because it also only covers changes made within the previous 30 days.

    Before giving up, please check whether another copy may still exist in:

    • The Windows Recycle Bin or Mac Trash
    • Another computer, phone, tablet, external drive, or old device
    • Windows File History, Windows Backup, or another backup service
    • Another Microsoft account
    • A shared folder, email attachment, or a copy downloaded by someone else

    If a computer has not connected to OneDrive since the files disappeared, disconnect it from the internet before checking its OneDrive folder. This may prevent synchronization from removing any remaining local copies.

    Because AI answer didn't provide the detail step to contact support, I will add them in case you need further insight from Microsoft support and to check whether an account or service issue was involved.

    However, please be aware that Support may not be able to recover files that have already been permanently deleted.

    1. Visit Contact Microsoft Support.
    2. Enter Contact in the search box.
    3. Select Get Help, and then choose Ask our support assistant or Sign in to contact support.
    4. In the support assistant, request to contact support.
    5. Under Products and services, select Microsoft 365 and Office.
    6. Under Category, select Technical support.
    7. Select Confirm.
    8. Choose Chat with a support agent in your web browser, if available.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-11-11T15:06:20.2366667+00:00

    For a personal OneDrive account, immediately search OneDrive.com, Personal Vault, every other Microsoft account, and all previously synchronized devices; if those checks fail, open a Microsoft Support case and explicitly request assessment for One-Time Data Restoration (OTDR) eligibility and a case/reference number.

    1. Complete the remaining recovery checks

    You have already exhausted the online Recycle Bin, so do not reset, unlink, reinstall, or resume synchronization on any device that might still contain photographs.

    1. Search the OneDrive website directly
      • Sign in at OneDrive.com using a private/incognito browser window.
      • Select My files, then use Search everything.
      • Search using:
        • Several exact folder names.
        • Photo filenames or extensions.
        • Years, months, locations, tags, and descriptions.
      • Check Photos and manually inspect likely parent folders.
    2. Check Personal Vault
      • Open Personal Vault and search or browse there separately; Personal Vault content does not appear in normal search results.
    3. Check every other Microsoft account
      • Sign out and repeat the search using any other personal, work, or school account ever connected to your computers or phones.

    These are Microsoft’s remaining documented checks for missing personal OneDrive files.^1^

    1. Preserve and search every previously synchronized device
      • Windows: Pause OneDrive syncing, open File Explorer, search the former OneDrive folder and other drives for *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.png, *.heic, and camera filenames such as IMG_*; also inspect the Windows Recycle Bin.
      • macOS: Pause syncing, use Finder → This Mac, search by Kind: Image, and inspect Trash.
      • iPhone/iPad: Check Photos → Albums → Recently Deleted, the Files app, iCloud Photos, and any device backup.
      • Android: Check the gallery’s trash/recycle area, Files, DCIM, Pictures, SD cards, and any manufacturer cloud backup.
      • Check external disks, old computers, memory cards, NAS devices, and prior phone backups.

    Pausing synchronization is only a precaution to protect possible local copies; it does not recover data from OneDrive. Copy anything found to a separate disk before reconnecting the device.

    2. Open the support case and request OTDR assessment

    Use Contact Microsoft Support, enter the issue, select Get Help, and then Contact Support when offered.^2^

    Paste this request:

    Please assess this personal OneDrive incident for One-Time Data Restoration (OTDR) eligibility and provide a case/reference number. Approximately 42,000 photographs in 33 folders disappeared around 2 October 2026 without an intentional deletion. The personal OneDrive Recycle Bin retention period had expired before discovery. Please record this as a suspected mass file-loss incident and advise whether any exceptional restoration or service investigation is available.

    Attach or provide:

    • The exact Microsoft account used, through the private support form only.
    • Subscription type and storage usage.
    • Missing folder names and representative filenames.
    • Approximate last-known-good date and discovery date.
    • Devices and OneDrive clients connected at that time.
    • Screenshots showing the empty locations and Recycle Bin.
    • Any mass-deletion, security, storage, or unusual-activity messages.
    • A timeline of device changes, app installations, sync errors, or account alerts.

    A closely matched accepted Microsoft Q&A answer recommends specifically requesting OTDR for personal OneDrive files missing beyond the normal recovery window.^3^ However, OTDR is not documented as an available personal-account recovery feature in Microsoft’s official recovery guidance, so eligibility and recovery are not guaranteed.

    3. Understand the documented recovery limit

    For personal OneDrive, deleted files are normally recoverable for 30 days, and Restore your OneDrive also rolls back activity only within the last 30 days. Microsoft states that files permanently deleted from the OneDrive Recycle Bin cannot be recovered.^4^^5^

    Microsoft’s missing-file guidance also states that support agents cannot access files in a personal account or provide more recovery assistance than the published steps.^1^ Therefore, the support case should be treated as a request to:

    • Determine whether any exceptional OTDR escalation is available.
    • Document and report a suspected service incident.
    • Obtain a formal case/reference number.
    • Confirm the account’s recovery status.

    It should not be assumed that Support can inspect a residual server copy or identify the deleting device.

    4. Review account security

    Personal Microsoft-account Recent activity shows only the last 30 days, so it will not establish what happened on 2 October if that date is now older than 30 days. It can still reveal newer suspicious access, including device/app type and approximate location.^6^

    If anything is unrecognized:

    1. Mark it This wasn’t me where available.
    2. Change the account password.
    3. Update security information.
    4. Enable two-step verification.
    5. Remove unrecognized trusted devices.

    References

    1. [Personal](https://support.microsoft.com/onedrive/find-lost-or-missing-files-in-onedrive)
    2. My OneDrive says it's full
    3. All my OneDrive photos disappeared — not deleted, “Restore” only goes back 30 days - Microsoft Q&A
    4. Restore files deleted from your OneDrive | Microsoft Support
    5. Restore your OneDrive | Microsoft Support
    6. What is the Recent activity page? | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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