A file or folder is missing
Most 'lost' files were moved, renamed, or deleted into a recycle bin that still holds them. Search by name and check version history before assuming it is gone — and tell us quickly if it is not there, because backups are easiest to use early.
Step-by-step troubleshooting
- 1
Search by file name, don't browse
Use search in File Explorer, Finder, OneDrive or SharePoint with part of the file name. Files are far more often moved into the wrong folder than deleted.
- 2
Check the recycle bin on your computer
Open the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (macOS), sort by date deleted, and restore rather than drag out so it returns to its original location.
- 3
Check the online recycle bin
In SharePoint or Teams files, open the site's Recycle bin. Items deleted in the last 93 days are usually recoverable there, including whole folders.
- 4
Use version history
If the file exists but the content is wrong or blank, right-click the file in OneDrive or SharePoint and choose Version history to restore an earlier version.
- 5
Ask whoever else has access
On a shared drive or Teams site, someone may have reorganised or renamed it. A quick check with the team is faster than a restore.
- 6
Log a ticket for a backup restore
If it is genuinely gone, tell us the exact file name, the full path where it lived, and roughly when you last opened it. We restore from backup with those three details.
Contact us straight away if…
- An entire folder, drive or mailbox is missing.
- Files have been renamed with odd extensions or you see a ransom note — phone us immediately.
- The data is needed today to keep the business running.
Include this in your ticket
- The exact file or folder name
- The full path or the Teams/SharePoint site it lived in
- The last date and time you know it was there
- Who else has access to the location
Still stuck? We'll take it from here
Log a ticket with what you already tried and our Australian help desk will pick it up. Anything urgent, phone 1300 904 635.
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