How to recovery a file deleted from drive and recycle bin

Hello @Mamoudou Magassouba,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how concerning it can be to lose an important file, especially after it has been removed from both your Drive and the Recycle Bin. I will gladly help you check whether recovery is still possible.

Before we proceed further, I would like to confirm a few important details so we can determine the correct recovery path:

1. What type of account are you using? Personal Microsoft account (for example: outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com) - Work or school account (Microsoft 365 Business or Education)
2. Approximately when was the file deleted? Please let us know the estimated date (for example: today, 3 days ago, 2 weeks ago, etc.).
3. How was the file deleted? Was it first deleted from OneDrive and then manually removed from the Recycle Bin? - Or was the Recycle Bin emptied entirely? - Or was the file deleted from a synced local folder on your computer?

This information is important because retention periods are different depending on account type.

For your information, here is the Retention Period differences:

• For Personal Microsoft accounts (OneDrive consumer): + Deleted files are typically kept in the Recycle Bin for up to 30 days before permanent removal.
• For Work or School accounts (OneDrive for Business): + Deleted files are retained for up to 93 days in total. + After being removed from the main Recycle Bin, files may still exist in the Second-stage Recycle Bin during this retention window.

For now, please follow the steps below carefully to check whether the file is still recoverable.

Step 1/ Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin

1. Sign in to OneDrive via a web browser: https://onedrive.live.com (for personal accounts)    or https://www.office.com > Sign in > OneDrive (for work or school accounts)
2. In the left navigation panel, select “Recycle bin.”
3. Search for the deleted file using the search box or sort by “Deleted date.”
4. If you locate the file:

• Select the file. - Click “Restore.” - The file will return to its original location.

Step 2/ Check the Second-stage Recycle Bin (Work or School Accounts Only)

If you are using a work or school account:

1. Open the Recycle Bin.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Click “Second-stage recycle bin.”
4. Search for the file.
5. If found, select it and click “Restore.”
   

• If the file is located within the retention period, this process should successfully restore it.
• If the file does not appear in either Recycle Bin and the deletion occurred outside the retention period mentioned above, recovery may unfortunately no longer be possible through standard user-level options.

Please confirm:

• Your account type - The approximate deletion date - Whether you were able to check both Recycle Bin levels - What result you observed after following the steps

Once I have this information, I will guide you on the next appropriate course of action based on your specific situation.

I look forward to your update.

If a file has been deleted from both the drive and the Recycle Bin, recovery depends on where it was stored and how quickly action is taken.

1. Check cloud recycle bins (OneDrive/SharePoint)
   • If the file was in a OneDrive or SharePoint-synced folder:
     • Go to the OneDrive website and sign in.
     • In the left navigation, select Recycle bin.
     • Select the file (or files) and choose Restore.
       • For work/school accounts, items stay in the OneDrive recycle bin up to 93 days unless the admin changed this setting.
       • For SharePoint libraries, use the site’s Recycle bin (and, if needed, the Second-stage recycle bin) to restore items.
   • If not found there, and this is a work/school environment, an admin may be able to:
     • Use Restore your OneDrive or Restore a shared library to roll back to a previous point in time.
     • As a last resort, contact Microsoft 365 support within the backup retention window (SharePoint Online keeps backups for 14 additional days beyond deletion) to request a site collection restore.
2. Check local Recycle Bin (if not already emptied)
   • If the file was local and not synced to cloud, and the Recycle Bin still contains it, restore it directly from there.
   • If the Recycle Bin is corrupted (error about the Recycle Bin on a drive being corrupted), it can be reset with:
     • Open an elevated Command Prompt.
     • Run: RD <Drive>\$Recycle.bin /s /q
     • Restart the system, then check again.
3. Use Windows File Recovery for local drives
   • If the file was on a local drive and is no longer in the Recycle Bin, Windows File Recovery can sometimes recover it:
     • Install Windows File Recovery from Microsoft Store (Windows 10/11).
     • Minimize use of the PC to avoid overwriting deleted data.
     • Use the tool to scan the affected drive and attempt recovery.
   • Recovery from cloud storage or network shares is not supported by this tool.
4. If nothing is found
   • If the file is not in any Recycle Bin (Windows, OneDrive, SharePoint) and cannot be recovered with Windows File Recovery, there is no native Microsoft method left. Third-party recovery tools may be tried on local drives, but success is not guaranteed.

References:

• Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive
• How to recover missing, deleted or corrupted items in SharePoint and OneDrive for work or school
• Delete list items
• The Recycle Bin is corrupted
• Windows File Recovery