Outlook iCloud app: ALL my user files and folders completely vanished, how to fully recover them?

I have already posted this to Microsoft support pages. However, I received a response requesting I post it here since the app in question is one of Apple's. Please see all details below regarding this issue.



MS Outlook and iCloud email

I tried to see if I could access my email via iCloud through Outlook, by adding my iCloud account directly in the Outlook account interface. This returned the message that I needed to download the iCloud for PC app to achieve this, and invited me to go straight to the app within Microsoft Store to do this.


Problem: Downloading & Installing iCloud app - ALL User Files Suddenly Disappear En Masse

I did this, it downloaded and installed as iCloud Outlook version 14.2.0.108 under Programs & Features in Control Panel. Then I logged into my iCloud account successfully. Somewhere in the process from installing to navigating the iCloud app, all my personal files, folders and icons, a huge amount, vanished in a split second. They weren't uploaded to the iCloud, which I didn't want anyway, I checked. They are nowhere to be seen on my computer under normal use which is otherwise running normally, give or take. The few exceptions seem to be some taskbar icons for Windows Explorer and Task Manager, which also disappeared, replaced by folded corner portrait paper sheet icons, rendering the shortcuts unclickable to launch those programs. Similar occured under 'This PC' in Windows Explorer directory listings where the Downloads, 3D Objects, Video, and other 'special icon' directories threw up error messages, and also cannot be seen (nor their subfolders) within the folder heirarchy when navigating via Windows (C:)>Users>User Profile>.


Malwarebytes, sfc /scannow, and chkdisk

A scan of the computer did not reveal any trojans or other suspicious activity. sfc /scannow "did not find any integrity violations". chkdsk did not flag anything obvious up either. As said, the operating system seems to be working normally otherwise, including after a restart due to Windows updates.


MiniTools (Data Recovery app)

Instead, MiniTool hints that the iCloud app has affected the file system in the user area in such a way that the files, folders, etc are probably still there, just not readable by the operating system in the normal way. I have confirmed at least some of their presence via MiniTool's 'preview' function but cannot access them directly.


SSD Drive Capacity & Discrepancies

My SSD drive capacity is 1TB total. MiniTool shows >2 million 'Lost' files (possibly fragments), presumably my missing files, as well as around 500k unaffected files/folders and another 500k unaffected deleted files (e.g. recycle bin contents I hadn't emptied), together totalling 2.38TB, which, obviously, far exceeds my drive capacity and is technically impossible! Windows 10 OS reports only 245GB capacity used, whereas I believe I'd long used up more than half of the drive's capacity immediately prior to this incident. Bearing in mind these discrepancies, and as MiniTool doesn't recognise all my particular filetypes, I've not gone ahead to attempt data recovery using this tool.


Not sure how to proceed

Do I need data recovery software to put this right? Are there any Windows 10 tools embedded within the operating system I can use to complete recovery instead? Is this even the right or best way forward to ensure my files are recovered with minimal loss?


Please advise how to best fully recover all my files and folders safely, with appropriate software recommendations where possible, ideally in their original folder locations. Thank you.

Windows

Posted on Oct 15, 2023 9:42 PM

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Outlook iCloud app: ALL my user files and folders completely vanished, how to fully recover them?

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