Don't worry if you accidentally deleted temp files, refer to these post to get 3 easy and effective ways to recover files from temp folder in Windows 11/10.
How to restore temp files?
“I am using Microsoft Word 2016 and it crashed while I was saving a file. When I reopened it it said it couldn't find my file and in the folder where I saved it it was now saved as a temporary file. Can temp files be recovered? Is there a way to restore temp files? Thanks!”
Have you used Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., and abruptly the system crashed or shut down? It happened all of a sudden, making no time for you to save your modified content.
To recover unsaved Excel files/PowerPoint files, etc., except for turning to the AutoSave feature, you could also try to recover files from temp folder, which won't be that helpful but worth trying. In this post, we’ll discuss what temporary files are, how to find files saved in a temporary folder and show you 3 effective way to recover temporary files.
A temp file (short for temporary file) is a file created by software programs or operating systems to temporarily store data while performing tasks. These files are often used to save information while installing, updating, or processing large files.
Temporary files help improve performance and can also be used to recover data if a program crashes. Usually, they are automatically deleted when they are no longer needed, but sometimes they can remain on your device, taking up space.
Where do temporary files go? How can you access the temp files? At this time, you need to head over to the temporary file directory, where all temp files are stored.
How to find temporary files? You could tap on Win+E to open This PC > input the directory in the path box > press Enter to access the temp folder.
⚠️Notes:
How to recover files from AppData local temp directory? If you are unable to find files from the temp folder or you have deleted the temp files by mistake. In this case, read on to know 3 ways to recover lost or deleted files from temp folder.
If you have deleted the temp file, deleted files will be thrown into the Recycle Bin until it is emptied or overwritten. How to restore temporary files? The first method is to check the Recycle Bin.
Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin on your Windows PC. Search for the temp file you want to restore.
Step 2. You can sort the content using the file name, deleted date, size, and type filters. Once you find your temp file, right-click on it. Choose "Restore".
If you found deleted files not in Recycle Bin, or you have already emptied the Recycle Bin, then they might be permanently gone. How to recover deleted temp files?
Given that, instead of trying hard to restore files from temp folder, you would better seek help from a professional Windows data recovery tool - MyRecover. With an advanced tool, the data recovery rate will be higher, and the data recovery process will be more straightforward.
Now download the software to recover temp files in Windows 11/10 easily.
Step 1. Install and run the software > hover the mouse over the affected drive/partition > click Scan.
Step 2. While scanning, you could input extensions in the search box or use filters to target your files faster.
Step 3. To recover deleted temp files, go to the Temp folder > select temp files you need > click Recover x files.
In this way, you could recover files from temp folder. What's more, it can retrieve data from formatted hard drive.
Without a tool, it will be challenging to recover permanently deleted files. Here we suggest you utilize a Microsoft official free tool – Windows File Recovery.
It is a command-line application to recover lost or deleted files from healthy/corrupted/formatted hard drives. But please note that it uses commands and offers no graphical user interface, which will be a challenge for ordinary users.
Check for how to use Windows File Recovery to learn the recovery modes and switches.
Step 1. Go to This PC > right-click on the C drive > click Properties and check the file system.
Step 2. Choose a recovery mode.
| File system | Scenarios | mode |
| NTFS | Deleted recently | Regular |
| NTFS | Deleted for a while | Extensive |
| NTFS | Formatted disk | Extensive |
| NTFS | corrupted disk | Extensive |
| FATandexFAT | Any | Extensive |
Step 3. Select switches to help you specify the scanning range.
| Switches | Meaning | Supported mode(s) |
| /n | Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc. | All |
| /y: | Recovers specific extension groups. | Signature |
| /k | Recover system files. | NTFS Segment |
| /segment | Segment mode; recover files under NTFS drives using file recordsegments. | Segment |
| /signature | Signature mode; recover files under all file system types using file headers. | Signature |
| /u | Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin. | NTFS Segment |
Step 4. Go to Microsoft Store > click Get > run the app.
Step 5. Input the command:
winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]
For instance, input:
winfr C: D: /regular /n *.tmp
You can restore all .tmp files from the C drive to the D drive using this command. When encountering any errors, refer to the Windows File Recovery troubleshooting tutorial.
Check out the 3 methods to recover files from temp folder and restore lost standard files in the post. For a high success rate and convenience, it is recommended to rely on an efficient data recovery software like MyRecover to restore temporary files. This tool can also recover unsaved Word document with ease.
If you still have more questions about temp files, here is the Q&A corner.
>It is safe to delete temp files. Temp files are ought to be deleted when the app is closed, but a bunch of temp files still won’t get deleted. And this will take up your storage space. If you want to manually delete any file, you will notice that open files cannot be deleted, which is set in default to protect the file in use. So, for various reasons, you could delete them manually. Or, just reboot your computer, some temp files would get deleted automatically.
Theoretically, it is harmless to delete all temp files. But for the sake of security, it is suggested to reboot your computer first before deleting them. Because some apps will store some data in the temp folder, which will be deleted automatically after a restart. If you only need to free up some disk space, using cleanup programs is recommended.