[SOLVED 3+4] OneDrive Deleting Files Automatically

Why is Microsoft OneDrive deleting files automatically?

No matter what situation you encounter, we will help you recover deleted or missing files and stop OneDrive from deleting files in 4  useful ways.

How to restore OneDrive deleted files [⏳Immediate Action]

Before troubleshooting “OneDrive files deleted automatically”, the most important thing is to recover the lost files. There are 3 feasible ways for you to choose from.

Option 1. Restore deleted files from the Recycle bin

Whenever you want to recover deleted files, the first thing is to check the Recycle bin, either on local system or online.

Step 1. Right-click the OneDrive icon from the system’s tray, and click More > Settings.

Step 2. Select the Account tab and click Unlink this PC. (Repeat the same process on your other PCs that are linked with the same OneDrive account)

Step 3. Exit the OneDrive application and check your system Recycle bin. If the deleted files appear, right-click them to Restore.

If not, try to restore files from the OneDrive Recycle bin.

Step 1. Go to the OneDrive website and log in to your account.

Step 2. Click the Recycle bin from the left panel. Tick the files and click Restore.

Option 2. Restore OneDrive to previous date [All Files]

You can also restore OneDrive to a previous time to get deleted files back. This operation will roll back not only deleted files but all other files at once. We recommend you create a backup of the files you don’t want to revert.

Step 1. Open your OneDrive account, click Settings > Restore your OneDrive.

Step 2. Choose a date when your files have not been deleted, and click Restore.

Option 3. Recover OneDrive deleted files locally via software (Permanently Deleted)

If neither of the two methods works, your files may be deleted permanently. You need to employ a free yet professional recovery tool like AOMEI FastRecovery that can help you retrieve OneDrive automatically deleted files on the local system. What's more, it has a free edition that can recover data of over 500MB.

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Best Recovery Software for Local OneDrive

• 👵 Quick start - With a user-friendly interface, all users can use it easily and quickly.
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• 📁1000+ data types - Recover deleted or lost documents (e.g., recover Word files), photos, videos, compressed files, etc.
• 💻Partitioning well - Quickly find recovery locations, e.g., Recycle Bin, Desktop, Select folder, specific partitions (C:, D:, E:, etc.), or USB/SD cards.
• 🔄Flexible, hassle-free searching - Search, filter, preview, and recover files while scanning, especially for recovering specific files or folders.
• 🛡️ Safe & reliable to use - It's read-only and does not write data to your device, causing data overwriting. Please contact us if you have any questions.

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Step 1. Install and open AOMEI FastRecovery. Then, hover the mouse over the drive you want to recover files from and click Scan. Usually, the local OneDrive is located on the C: drive.

Step 2. The software will quickly scan your drive (about 3-5s) to find lost data. To get the best result, it's suggested to wait until the process is complete. You can try the following options to find files quickly and preview them.

Step 3. Tick all the files you want to restore and click Recover. Please select a new location to save the recovered files to avoid data overwriting. If you don't find the desired data, click the Deep Scan button to scan the disk thoroughly.

 Try it if OneDrive is deleting files automatically! With it, you can recover deleted files in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and servers.

How to stop OneDrive from deleting files [4️⃣ options]

When you successfully get back the files, it’s time to fix “OneDrive deleting files automatically” to avoid data loss again.

Option 1: Check your OneDrive settings

Sometimes, Microsoft OneDrive deletes data related to its settings and how you set it up. So you can attempt to check its settings in the following.

Option 2. Check your hard drive for bad sectors

OneDrive automatically deleting files is mainly caused by corrupted hard drives, so at the beginning, you need to check your hard drive for bad sectors.

Step 1. Search for “cmd” and select Run as administrator.

Step 2. Enter “chkdsk #: /f /r/x” (enter the letter of the disk you want to check instead of #)

Step 3. Wait for the process to complete and restart your computer.

Option 3. Update the OneDrive client

It may not work properly if you are using an outdated version. In this case, updating the OneDrive client may solve this problem.

Step 1. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, right-click Microsoft OneDrive, and click Uninstall. 

Step 2. Click Yes to confirm you want to uninstall OneDrive.

Step 3. Go to the OneDrive download page and click the Download button. Wait until the process is complete, install it, and sign in with your OneDrive account.

Option 4. Check for Windows Update

If there are any pending system updates or your system encounters errors during Windows Update, you may find OneDrive deleting files automatically. So, please make sure your operating system is updated.

Step 1. Navigate to Settings, click Update & Security > Windows Update,

Step 2. Click Check for updates, and then install any available updates.

Step 3. Reboot your computer to confirm the update.

Conclusion

This article describes why is deleting files automatically and how to stop OneDrive from automatically deleting files in 4 useful methods. But when it comes to affected files or even buggy Windows updates, various file damages may trigger more crucial problems. Thus, it's necessary to recover deleted files first.

For permanently deleted files, professional tools like AOMEI FastRecovery are recommended. The process is very simple. It is scene matching and fast, so you can quickly find and recover deleted local OneDrive files. Don't forget to backup files so you don't lose any data. Windows Backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard, is recommended.