Phone calls can’t be made, but the files can be searched for and restored using Windows and Microsoft backup tools.
Follow these steps on the Windows 11 PC where the files were originally backed up:
- Search the entire PC for the files
- Right-click the Start menu and select File Explorer.
- In the left panel, select This PC.
- In the Search This PC box (top right), type the file name, or use wildcards like
*.doc for Word files or *.mp3 for music.
- Fix Search if it isn’t finding files
- Right-click Start, select Settings.
- Select Privacy & security > Search, or use this shortcut: Searching Windows.
- Under Related settings, select Advanced indexing options.
- In Indexing Options, select Advanced.
- On the Index Settings tab, select Troubleshoot search and indexing and follow the wizard.
- Show hidden files (in case the files are hidden)
- Right-click Start, select Settings.
- Go to System > Advanced, or use this shortcut: For developers.
- In System > Advanced, expand File Explorer.
- Under File Explorer, turn Show hidden and system files to On.
- Check if the files were backed up with Windows Backup / OneDrive
- Open Settings > Accounts > Windows backup, or use this shortcut: Windows backup.
- Under Back up files, confirm which folders are being synchronized to OneDrive.
- Sign in to OneDrive with the same Microsoft account used for backup and look for the files there.
- Restore from a “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” backup (if one was created)
- Connect the external drive that was used for backup (if applicable).
- Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7).
- Select Select another backup to restore files from.
- Choose the backup created from the old PC and select Next.
- Select Select all files from this backup, then Next.
- Choose to restore to the original locations or In the following location to pick a new folder.
- Select Restore.
- If the original PC is lost but Azure/MARS backup was used
- On another machine, install and register the MARS agent with the same passphrase used on the original machine.
- Use Recovery Option > Another location to restore the data.
- If the passphrase is lost, the data cannot be recovered.
- If files were deleted and are not in backup
If the files were deleted from local drives and are not in Recycle Bin or backup, use Windows File Recovery from Microsoft Store to attempt recovery. Minimize use of the PC to avoid overwriting deleted data.
If these steps do not locate the files, contact Microsoft Support directly through the official support site and request a callback or chat session.
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