This probably isnt the right place to ask this but my laptop recently decided to just up and delete everything on my laptop. all the folders are still there, but files are straight up gone. vanished. and all my... saved content.... with it.

anyone else deal with this? advice?

A recent update for Windows 10 had a glitch in it where the windows program would delete files with no way to restore files a lot of people lost their family pics and movies before it was caught.

General (windows) file recovery advice:

1. STOP USING YOUR COMPUTER. STOP IT.

Generally when your computer deletes a file it doesn't remove the data, it says "hey, all this data in this part of the disk isn't important anymore, feel free to write over it" and removes the ability for the OS to look up that file. The more you use that computer the more files are written to the disk, increasing that chance that the area on the disk where those deleted files were will be overwritten.

2. Get some file recovery software, ideally on another computer for previously stated reasons. I recommend Recuva: https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva/features...le-version because it's free and you can run it from a flash drive, which means you don't have to write any files to the disk you want to recover from.

Ideally you should pull the drive and hook it up to another computer, then run the recovery software on there. If that's not an option, put portable Recuva on a flash drive (ideally on another computer) then run it on the affected computer and follow the instructions.

(November 1, 2018, 11:49 am)ts2k General (windows) file recovery advice:

1. STOP USING YOUR COMPUTER. STOP IT.

Generally when your computer deletes a file it doesn't remove the data, it says "hey, all this data in this part of the disk isn't important anymore, feel free to write over it" and removes the ability for the OS to look up that file. The more you use that computer the more files are written to the disk, increasing that chance that the area on the disk where those deleted files were will be overwritten.

2. Get some file recovery software, ideally on another computer for previously stated reasons. I recommend Recuva: https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva/features...le-version because it's free and you can run it from a flash drive, which means you don't have to write any files to the disk you want to recover from.

Ideally you should pull the drive and hook it up to another computer, then run the recovery software on there. If that's not an option, put portable Recuva on a flash drive (ideally on another computer) then run it on the affected computer and follow the instructions.

Exactly correct. It may already be too late to recover everything, but depending on how long it's been you may be able to get some/most of it back.

Have a look at Easus Data Recovery (Not Free) But if you look on Pirate Bay and look for the latest version and download and install and run the Deep Scan on the Drive and leave it do it's thing. Once that's done see if it's picked up the lost data.
But don't recover the data back on the drive your recovering from as you will not have the best chance of recovery, recover the data to a different or new drive!

I too second the recommendation of Recuva. I was able to recover many accidentally deleted photos and videos with that program.