Solved Accidentally Deleted "Users" Folder...everything missing

wLink1985

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I use the word missing because it seems like this stuff still exists somewhere on my PC, I just can't see or find it...

I was trying to do a bit of cleaning with a malware cleaner...I noticed a lot of stuff it was finding as in a folder I didn't recognize, so I deleted it. Bad idea. I'm kind of embarrassed I did that, you'd think using Windows since 98 would have made me a little smarter but I guess not.

It seems like I somehow deleted the "Users" folder under the "This PC" dropdown on the left of Windows Explorer.

This has caused all my files to disappear from my Desktop, Documents folder, Downloads folder, Music folder, etc...

However, they seem to still be on my computer somewhere, as when I, say, open Excel and try to open recent files, or open my Media Player to play music, I can. In those applications, I can even see the paths to the files. However, that path doesn't seem to exist when I try to find it in Windows Explorer - and I can't find them via searching the C drive either!

My mind is boggled on this one...any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz 2.30 GHz
    Memory
    6 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
Which malware cleaner did you use?
Did you delete it using that program? If so, it may be in a vault of that program. Allowing you to restore what you deleted; unless you opted to completely delete without placing files in the vault.

If you know the name of a document, song or picture, go to start screen and start typing the name until it is displayed.
Right click it & choose 'Open File Location'

This has caused all my files to disappear from my Desktop, Documents folder, Downloads folder, Music folder, etc...
Sometimes we forget things we know so well when things aren't working right. Have you tried right clicking your desktop, View and Show desktop icons ?

I hope you have had it working long before now. Good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" 24"
    Hard Drives
    1 TB WD
    PSU
    550w
Rat,

Thanks for the reply. It turned out that somehow I had unintentionally hidden the folder. After reading your suggestion of going to the start screen and searching for the file, I followed the path to where the file was supposed to be and simply hit a dead end. Suddenly it dawned on me that the folder might be hidden, and sure enough, it was.

Thanks again. The malware cleaner, in case you were interested, was HitmanPro. After realizing what had happened, I doubt that it had anything to do with the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz 2.30 GHz
    Memory
    6 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
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