Windows keeps your personal files in several standard folders, including Documents. However, this folder can be moved, redirected, or affected by OneDrive settings, making it difficult to find. Fortunately, you can usually locate or restore it with a few simple steps.
Where Is My Documents Folder in Windows 10?
In Windows 10, My Documents folder is renamed Documents. To access the Documents folder in Windows 10, you can use the following three ways:
Way 1: Using File Explorer
- Click on the Folder looking icon on the Taskbar to open File Explorer.
- Under Quick access on the left side, there must be a folder with name Documents. Click on it, and it will show all the documents you earlier had or have saved recently.
Way 2: Using Commands
- Press “Windows + R” keys simultaneously to open Run dialog box.
- In the Run box, type “%userprofile%Documents” and hit the Enter
Way 3: Using Start Menu
Click on the Start menu, and look for Documents feature with a file looking icon on the left side. Click to open it.
How to Move and Restore My Documents Folder Path?
Sometimes, you may want to move My Documents folder to another location. In this case, you can refer to the following steps to complete that work:
- Open File Explorer and navigate to C:UsersUsernameDocuments.
- Right-click on this folder and choose Properties.
- Skip to Location tab and click Move
- Select a path to place this folder.
If you want to restore the default My Documents folder path later, you just need to open the Properties window again and click Restore Default button under the Location tab.
What If Files Are Missing From the Documents Folder
If your Documents folder is there but some files are missing, first check the Recycle Bin, OneDrive, File History, or another location where the Documents folder may have been moved.
If the files were permanently deleted and no backup is available, avoid saving new data to the affected drive to prevent overwriting them.
You can then use MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro to scan the drive for recoverable documents. Its Data Recovery feature can help find deleted or lost files and recover them to another safe location.
MiniTool Partition Wizard DemoClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1: Click the above button to buy MiniTool Partition Wizard and then launch it to get its main interface. Click Data Recovery.
Step 2: Select the partition or entire hard drive where the My Documents folder was lost, then click Scan.
Step 3: Once the scan is complete, locate the files you want to recover, select the required items, and click Save.
Lost Desktop File Recovery: You Can Recover Desktop Files Easily
Through the above steps, you can find the My Documents folder back. But if you don’t need the files in My Documents folder, you can recreate a new My Documents folder under Users directory. Here is the tutorial:
- Open File Explorer and navigate to C:UsersUsername.
- Under this directory, create a folder named Documents.
- Open Run box, type “regedit“, and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
- Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders.
- Check the name and data of Documents folder, which should be Personal, %USERPROFILE%Documents. Make sure they are correct. If not, you can manually change the name and data value.
- Run CMD as administrator. Type “attrib +r -s -h %USERPROFILE%Documents /S /D” and press Enter to set folder attributions.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Cecilia has been an editor at MiniTool for two years. She primarily focuses on disk and partition-related content, with particular expertise in disk cloning, partition recovery, and PDF document conversion. She is dedicated to providing users with clear and accurate solutions to help them efficiently resolve common computer problems.
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