While Organizing Files You Accidentally Deleted an Entire Folder! What Should You Do Next?

Oops! Deleted an Entire Folder While Organizing Files

What Should You Do When Deleting an Entire Folder During Files Organization?

Accidentally deleting an entire folder can happen to anyone — especially when organizing or cleaning up files. One wrong click and months of work, family photos, or important documents can disappear. Fortunately, deleted folders aren’t always lost forever. With the right steps, you can often recover them quickly and completely.

First, Stay Calm and Assess the Situation

Before trying any recovery method, avoid creating or saving new files on the same drive where the folder was deleted. This prevents overwriting data and increases your chances of recovery. Next, take a moment to check:

• How the folder was deleted — manually or by formatting
• Whether the Recycle Bin has been emptied
• If you’ve used local backups or cloud sync tools like OneDrive or Google Drive

Once you know the situation, move on to the most effective solution below.

Step 1: Check the Recycle Bin

When you accidentally delete a folder in Windows, the first place to look is the Recycle Bin. Unless you used Shift + Delete or delete the entire folder from removable media like USB flash drive, SD memory card, etc, Windows usually moves deleted files and folders there temporarily before they are permanently erased.This makes the Recycle Bin your easiest and quickest recovery option.

• Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop to open Recycle Bin.
• Use the search bar or scroll through the list to find your missing folder.
• Right-click the folder and choose "Restore".

Windows will automatically return the folder to its original location, just as it was before deletion.

Step 2: Restore from Backup (If Available)

If your deleted folder isn’t in the Recycle Bin, a backup may still save your files. Windows provides multiple backup options, and many users also rely on cloud storage services. Restoring from these sources is often faster and safer than attempting data recovery software.

Option 1: Use File History

File History is a built-in Windows feature that automatically backs up your personal files on a schedule.If it was turned on before deletion, you can easily restore your folder.

• Type "Restore your files with File History" in the Windows search bar.

• Browse through the available versions until you find the one containing your deleted folder.

• Select the folder and click the "Restore" button to recover it to its original location.

If needed, choose "Restore to"and specify a different location to avoid overwriting current files.

Option 2: Use Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

This legacy backup tool is still available in modern Windows versions and is useful if you created a system image or scheduled backups earlier.

👉Recommended for you: File History vs Backup and Restore: Which Windows Tool Should You Use

• Open "Control Panel → System and Security → Backup and Restore (Windows 7)".

• Click "Restore my files"or "Restore all users’ files".

• Follow the wizard to browse your backups and select the deleted folder.

• Choose where to restore the files and confirm the process.

Option 3: Restore from Cloud Backup

If you sync your files with cloud storage services such as OneDrive (pre-installed on Windows 10), Google Drive, or Dropbox, there’s a good chance your deleted folder still exists in the cloud’s recycle bin or version history.

• Sign in to your cloud storage account.

• Navigate to Recycle Bin, Trash, or Deleted Files (depending on the service).
• Locate your deleted folder and click "Restore".

• Sync your cloud folder again to bring the files back to your computer.

If you frequently edit and organize files, enabling automatic cloud sync or File History can prevent future data loss and make recovery effortless.

Step 3: Use Professional Data Recovery Tools [No Backup Required]

If no backup exists and the folder was permanently deleted, professional data recovery tools are the next option while organising files you accidentally deleted an entire folder. These tools can scan your hard drive for permanently deleted files, even if you used Shift + Delete or the Recycle Bin was emptied. Two reliable options are Windows File Recovery and MyRecover.

Option 1: Windows File Recovery

Windows File Recovery is a free command-line tool provided by Microsoft. It can recover deleted files from NTFS, FAT, and exFAT drivesvia regular or extensive mode.

• Download and install Windows File Recovery from the Microsoft Store.
• Open the tool as adminand use the command line to scan the drive where your folder was stored.

For example: Winfr C: E: /regular /n \Users\username\Documents\

• C: = Source drive
• E: = Destination drive for recovered files
• /n: Specifies the path or folder to recover. In this case, it targets "C:\Users\username\Documents", including all files and subfolders.

Follow the on-screen instructions to recover your deleted folder to a safe location. Microsoft automatically creates a recovery folder for you called (Recovery -date and time) on the destination drive.

Option 2: MyRecover

Windows File Recovery works best for users comfortable with command-line tools. For beginners, a graphical interface tool may be easier. MyRecover is such a user-friendly and professional data recovery tool that provides a graphical interface and simple workflow for recovering deleted files and folders.

• Download and install MyRecover.Launch the program and select the drive containing the deleted folder.
• Click "Scan" and the software will perform a scan to locate deleted or lost files.

• Preview the recoverable files to verify contents.

• Select your folder and click "Recover".

• Save the recovered folder to a different drive or location to prevent overwriting existing data.

MyRecover supports NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS drives recovery, making it suitable for all Windows PC and Server users.

Conclusion

Accidentally deleting an entire folder can feel like a disaster, but as we’ve discussed, it’s not always permanent. By following the right steps, you can effectively recover your lost files.Whether it’s important work documents, family photos, or project folders, these strategies make it possible to restore your files even while organizing files you accidentally deleted an entire folder.

As one of the most convenient and direct way, MyRecover is more recommended since it covers 500+ data loss cases and 1000+ different file types, catering most users’requirement. Moreover, for businesses and MSPs who need to perform data recovery operation on unlimited PCs and Servers, it offers the Technician Edition.