Recovering Orphaned Files? 4 Workable Ways to Fix it

While restarting your PC, are you getting a message “recovering orphaned file?” Do you know What does recovering orphaned files meaning? How to recover orphaned files? Please find the 4 workable ways for recovering orphaned files. Moreover, this post lists the best data loss prevention software for you. Read here to learn about it!

What does orphaned file mean?

Orphaned files are deleted files with file metadata that stay in the file system but cannot be accessed from the root directory. Manual deletion or incomplete uninstallation is the common reason for orphaned files.

To be more specific, if you accidentally deleted parent programs, your operating system will automatically create a recovering orphaned file with the .dll extension.

What does recovering orphaned files mean? The CHKDSK software built into Windows automatically fixes file errors on your system by checking them through the command prompt. But if this fails to successfully recover the files, you will need to recover the orphaned directory. If you want your computer to return to its previous normal state, you will need to recover the orphaned files or directories.

How to recover orphaned files?

After deleting orphaned files, they are no longer associated with the parent program to make their PC more organized. But some parent programs cannot run smoothly.

Some of you might raise questions:

If it happens to be your case, here are 4 workable solutions for recovering orphaned files.  

Solution 1. Recover orphaned files via data recovery software

The most effective way to recover orphaned files is to use professional data recovery software - MyRecover. It is can easily and quickly recover deleted or lost data without any efforts.

★Powerful features & friendly design:

Recover deleted/lost Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, photos, videos, audio, folders, and other 1000+ types of data from HDD, USB, SD cards, and other storage devices.   

During Quick Scan and Deep Scan, you can enter filenames in the search bar to find your desired files or wait to see all the deleted and missing files.

Support accidental deletion recovery, Recycle Bin recovery, formatted hard drive recovery,computer crashed recovery, and virus attack recovery.

Support NTFS, exFAT, FAT32, and ReFS file systems on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Windows Server

🔥 Bonus! Now, you can download such a free and useful tool to enjoy 500MB of free data recovery. Get your orphaned or missing files back easily!

Step 1. Launch MyRecover on your PC. Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. Locate your desired orphaned files by Name, Date, Type, Size, or Path. After Quick Scan and Deep Scan, you can also wait to view all the files and other missing files.

Step 3. Go to the Deleted Files/Other Missing Files folder, and click “Recover x files” to get your selected orphaned files back. Please remember to store these recovered files in another path.

Solution 2. Recover orphaned files using file System Restore

The System Restore feature allows you to revert your system to a point before you encountered the "recovering orphaned file" error. Here's how to recover Orphaned files using File System Restore fetaure: 

Step 1. Press the Win + S key simultaneously to open the Search window. Type "recovery" and select Recovery from the Best Match results.

Step 2. In the Recovery window, click on Open System Restore. Click Next in the pop-up window. Choose the restore point you need and click Next again.

Step 3. Click Finish and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. After the process is complete, check if the error is resolved.

Solution 3. Recover orphaned files using CHKDSK

If you’re still having issues, try CHKDSK to recovering orphaned files. CHKDSK is good at recovering corrupted hard drives. If there’s something wrong with hard drives, Windows OS will automatically check the disk and repair the detected file system errors or bad sectors using CMD.

Let’s perform how to fix computer errors and recovering orphaned file CHKDSK.

Step 1. Enter “cmd” in the search bar and click “Run as administrator” to open the command prompt window.

Step 2. Type “chkdsk” in the window.

Step 3. Type “chkdsk d: /f” in the window.

Solution 4. Recover orphaned files using the Windows repair tool

Apart from that, you can also utilize the Windows repair tool to recover orphaned files. Let’s show how it works.

Step 1. Press “Win + E” to open Windows File Explorer.

Step 2. Click “This PC” on the left and right-click on your desired hard drive.

Step 3. Select the “Properties” option. Under the Tools tab, click the “Check” button.

Step 4. Click the “Scan drive” button. Please wait patiently.

Bonus tips: How to prevent data loss with ease?

Since you’ve realized the dangers of data loss, it’s time for you to cultivate a good habit of creating regular backups to prevent data loss. In this case, you can try this free backup software for Windows to make a File Backup. Moreover, this tool also can back up your partitions, disks, or systems according to your needs.

These steps describe how to restore files from your prepared backups using this tool, AOMEI Backupper.

▶Part 1. Make a File Backup

Step 1. After launching AOMEI Backupper on your Windows PC, select “File Backup” under the Backup tab.

Step 2. Click “Add Folder/Add File” to add the files/folders you want to back up.

Step 3. Locate a saved path to store your backup files/folders. Then click the “Start Backup” button.

Step 4. After the backup process, click “Finish” to exit the window.

▶Part 2. Restore files from backups

Step 1. Under the Restore tab, click the “Select Task” button.

Step 2. Select your File Backup and click the “Next” button.

Step 3. Select the specific files/folders you want to restore. Then click the “Next” button.

Step 4. Select “Restore to original location” or “Restore to a new location” as you need. Then click “Start Restore” to begin the restoration process.

Wrapping up

If you know nothing about orphaned files, get an overview of their definition in the first part. After that, you can begin recovering orphaned files via the above 4 solutions. Those users without backups will be prompted to utilize a top-rated data recovery software for Windows like MyRecover to recover deleted files easily.  Give the free version a try to recover up to 500MB of data at no cost!

Undeniably, regular backups could be the best hedge against data loss. You’d better use Windows features or the recommended free backup software to make backups if you’re unwilling to suffer the second damage.

FAQs about orphaned files

1. How do I fix an orphan file?

To fix an orphan file, start by opening the Search window. Type “cmd,” then right-click on Command Prompt in the Best Match results and select Run as administrator. In the Command Prompt, type chkdsk c: /r to check for and fix any orphaned files. Once the process is complete, see if CHKDSK successfully recovered the orphaned files.

2. How to stop recovering orphaned files?

If you're wondering how to stop the recovery of orphaned files, unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward way to do this. The recovery process is lengthy, and you can’t manually interrupt it. Your system will return to its previous state once the recovery is complete.

3. How to fix orphaned files in Google Drive?

You can recover orphaned files in Google Drive using one of these two methods:

• Search for the file name in the Search bar.
• Enter is:unorganized owner:me in the Search bar.