Files Missing after Restart? Fixed!

Find possible reasons for files missing after restart and learn how to find a missing file on Windows 10/11 in this tutorial.

Penny

By Penny / Updated on April 3, 2024

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Files missing after reboot Windows?

   
   
   
       

I restarted my computer and everything is gone Windows 10. But I haven’t reset the PC. What can I do to retrieve these missing files? Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Several users have run into this problematic issue: files missing after restart in Windows 7/8/10/11. In most cases, users haven’t changed the configuration of the PC system. Even some of them don’t know what has happened to their PCs. At the moment, if you are keen to figure out the potential reasons for missing files and restore missing files after a normal restart, please read on.

3 workable solutions to fix files missing after restart

As you can see, finding possible factors for data loss is a catalyst for selecting a targeted solution. Therefore, let’s tap into the following influence factors first.

Hard Failure: Your computer experienced a hard crash and couldn’t load your profile upon reboot.
Human error: After the Windows OS update, you’ll be prompted to restart the system as Now or Later. If you accidentally click the “Now” option, the system will restart with data deletion.
Software issue: Incompatible software could make the PC reboot.
Virus infection: Virus is prone to corrupt system files and damages the Windows OS, causing an automatic restart.

After files missing after restart, you’re supposed to minimize the usage of your PC. If possible, you’d better don’t execute any written performance for a higher partition data recovery rate.

Please select a pin-pointed method among the following three workable solutions. For example, if you’ve turned on System Restore Point, you can restore your PC from your selected Point. Then the computer will run smoothly without data loss.

Method 1. Switch the User Account

After a normal restart, you could also receive an error message like this “We cannot sign into your account. This problem can often be fixed by signing out of your account and then signing back in. If you don’t sign out now, any files you create or changes you make will be lost.” At this point, your Windows operating system has created a temporary profile and loaded a temporary profile.

we-cant-sign-into-your-account-windows-10

As you log in to this temporary profile, you’ll mistakenly deem all of your files missing after restart. However, your user profile data has not been wiped out. Please log out of the temporary profile, and sign in with your user account to restore your user profile data. Naturally, you can also access your missing files.

Method 2. Perform a System Restore to restore missing files

Windows Backup and Restore provides two types of backup: File and folder backups & System Restore backups. Files missing after reboot Windows? Why not restore your PC from the System Restore Point if you’ve made a complete PC backup (system files, installed applications, Windows Registry, and system settings) using it.

The restoration process will not affect your documents, music, pictures, and video files, but will remove applications, drives, and updates installed after restoring from your selected System Restore Point. It’s possible for you to restore the D drive in Windows 10 via it. But Win10 users need to activate the System Restore Point manually.

Step 1. Enter “Create a restore point” in the Windows 10 search box and “Open” it.

create-a-restore-point-open

Step 2. Click “System Restore” > “Next”.

system-drive-on-system-restore-next

Step 3. Select a System Restore Point from the list and “Scan for affected items” to confirm items that will be wiped out after the process. Then “Close” the next window.

scan-for-affected-programs-close

Step 4. Confirm your restore point again, then click “Finish” > “Next”.

confirm-your-restore-point-finish-next

Step 5. You’re prompted to click the “Yes” button to start the process. Please note that the restoration process cannot be interrupted.

Method 3. Use MyRecover

Files missing after reboot Windows? In this case, how to find a lost file on Windows 10 without an accessible backup? Deeply engaged in the data recovery field, AOMEI Tech offers you a powerful and user-friendly tool, MyRecover. Perhaps you’ll be attracted by the software after getting an overview of it. 

Recover the deleted/lost files from HDD/SSD/USB and other storage devices.

✦Recover 200+ types of data such as Word, Excel, PPT, Photos, Videos, Audios, Emails, Webpages, and Compressed files.

✦Get the original format for the deleted and lost data.

✦Perform Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically to search all the deleted files and other missing files of your selected disk/partition.

✦Deal with deletion, disk formatting, system crashes, and other data loss scenarios.

✦Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Windows Server.

Step 1. Download and install MyRecover on your PC. Then launch it.

Download SoftwareWin 11/10/8/7/Server
Secure Download

Step 2. After loading the disk, hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

select-a-partition-to-scan

Step 3. This tool will detect all the deleted files and other missing files using Quick Scan and Deep Scan automatically.

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Step 4. Confirm your scanning results and select files you want to retrieve. Then click “Recover x files” and save them in a new location.

recover-lost-data

In conclusion

If your files missing after restart, please avoid adding new data to your storage devices. Because any written performances could overwrite the missing data. Then how do you fix the issue of files missing after reboot Windows?

Please switch the user account to view your user profile data rather than the temporary profile. Then you can get your missing files and folders back. If your missing files are deleted ones, you could restore your missing files from System Restore or MyRecover. It’s undeniable that most users are inclined to the latter tool.

What is the most effective way to prevent data loss? The answer is the regular backup. You can create backups using Windows features or freeware-AOMEI Backupper

Penny
Penny · Editor
Penny works as an editor at AOMEI Technology, while she's a tester and editor for AOMEI Data Recovery Tools. She enjoys helping users with data recovery issues on Windows and iPhones using simple and practical solutions. Outside of work, she has a strong affection for pets, particularly giant pandas.