How to Scan for Lost Files in My Documents
- 1). Open My Documents in Windows explorer by clicking the "Start" button and selecting "My Documents" in the "Documents" tab. This can also be done by right clicking the "My Documents" folder on your desktop and clicking "Explore."
- 2). Click "Search" at the top of the explorer window. A Search Companion pane will appear in the left side of the window. Click the "All files and folder" option to search for a lost file within the My Documents folder.
- 3). Enter the file name in the top text box if you believe the lost file was accidentally saved to a different folder or you changed a portion of the file name while saving. Enter a word or phrase you know appears within the lost document if you believe you accidentally saved the file using a different file name.
- 4). Click the arrow appearing next to the words "More advanced options" in the Search Companion pane. Click the check box next to the option to "Search hidden files and folders." This will include folders not normally visible in the My Documents folder during the scan.
- 5). Click "Search" at the bottom of the Search Companion pane to begin the scan. If you entered words or phrases to search for within your files, the scanning process will take much longer since Windows will be looking through the contents of all the files in the My Documents folder.
