How to Recover Files from Temp Folder in Windows 11/10/8/7

Can you recover files from temp folder?

The temp folder, short for "temporary folder," is a location on your computer where temporary files are stored. These files are created by various applications and the operating system itself, usually as a means of caching data to improve performance or to store information temporarily during a task.

Files usually end up in the temp folder when a program or PC crashes or you're working on a document that hasn’t been saved yet. Programs like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop, for example, often create temp files as backups while you're editing a document.

You could find some features in the name of the temp files, which vary from the application.

Windows OS usually generates a temporary file with a ".tmp" extension, while some Microsoft apps, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., will create a temp file named with a "$" and "~" symbol.

However, these files aren't always deleted immediately, which means they can stick around for a while and can be your last chance to go back to your work if you know how to recover files from temp folder.

How to recover files from temp folder in Windows 11/10/8/7

On Windows, the temp folder can be found in a couple of different locations, depending on the version of the operating system you're using. Let’s look at how you can actually recover files from it in Windows 11/10/8/7.

First, locate the Temp Folder on Windows:

1. The easiest way to access it is by typing %temp% in the Run dialog (which you can open by pressing Win + R). This command will take you directly to the temp folder.

2. Alternatively, you can navigate to it manually by going to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Temp.

Then, recover files from Temp Folder:

Here we take Microsoft Office files as an example:

Step 1. Open the temp folder using the method described above.

Step 2. Look for files with the .tmp extension or with similar names to your original file.

Step 3. Once found, rename the file and change the extension to .docx, .xlsx, or the appropriate format, then try opening it with the corresponding Office application.

Note: If you want to find Adobe temp files, just look for files with extensions like .psb, .tmp, or .ai. and rename them to the right extension.

That’s all about how to recover file from AppData Local Temp. Although these files will linger in your local folder for a while, what should you do if you find they are gone after a long time later? Scroll down to find the

What to do if files are not in the temp folder?

If you’ve searched the temp folder and can’t find your files, there are three ways you can use:

Way 1. Check the Recycle Bin to restore temporary files

The deleted files on Windows will be thrown into the Recycle Bin and stay there before being empty or overwritten. Thus, it’s should be the first stop to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin:

Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin on your computer.

Step 2. Search for the temp file you want to restore. You can sort the content using the file name, deleted date, size, and type filters.

Step 3. Once you locate your target file, right-click on it. Choose "Restore".

Way 2. Recover deleted temp files via Windows File History

If the temp files are permanently deleted from the Recycle Bin, you can resort to utilizing a Microsoft official free tool – Windows File Recovery. It can help you draw back the lost or deleted files from hard drives in all situations. But please note that this tool is based on command lines and comes with a non-graphical user interface. Be careful with every step:

Step 1. Download Windows File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft Store and run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type in the command: winfr source-drive:destination-drive:[/mode][/switches].

For example, if you type: winfr C: D: /regular /n *.tmp, it will restore .tmp file from C Drive to D Drive.

Step 3. In the end, type y to continue the recovery process. After a few minutes, the file will be restored at the specific location on your PC.

Way 3. Recover temp file/folder with AOMEI FastRecovery

If the two methods above don’t work and you are still stuck in the temp file loss, you can read this part carefully. To recover permanently deleted or lost files with GUI, the easiest way is to use professional data recovery software like AOMEI FastRecocvery.

With this tool, you can easily recover temp files from internal and external drives, as well as Recycle Bin, SD cards, USB drives, and more. Here are some outstanding recovery features of AOMEI FastRecovery:

✔ Restore 1000+ types of data, including temp, documents, photos, video, and audio files.
✔ Retrieve files from hard drives in various cases such as recovery from formatted hard drive, digital camera drives, PS 3/4/5 disks, and virus-ridden storage devices.
✔ Recover data due to accidental deletion, formatting, Recycle Bin emptying, virus attack, system crash, etc.
✔ Offer two types of scanning modes: Quick Scan and Deep Scan to dig deeper for deleted temp files.
✔ Free preview before recovering data and some quota of free trial.

Now, let’s see how to use AOMEI FastRecovery to get temp files back after failing to recover files from temp folder:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your temp folder is lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Conclusion

Since a temp folder is a good place to store temporary files in Windows, it becomes valuable when you suffer from sudden data loss. This post has demonstrated detailed steps to recover files from temp folder and offered another three methods to restore temporary files from the (empty) Recycle Bin.

As you can see, a powerful file recovery utility called AOMEI FastRecovery can make a great different to effective temp file recovery. Its high data restoration rate and clear operation interface make it a reliable and popular choice for all users who want to get their lost files back.