I ran CCleaner for the first time and it has wiped a couple of Excel spreadsheets containing valuable financial data, the spreadsheets are now completely blank, can these be recovered??
CCleaner removes cookies and temp files but does not inspect or touch the actual contents of files.
If you have overwritten one of your Excel files somehow and you had it stored on OneDrive you may be able to recover the previous version with a right-click > version history > restore. If you are trying to recover deleted files from your local hard drive I would recommend Recuva - available as a free download from https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva.
On 16/02/2021 at 10:44, Dave CCleaner said:<div class="ipsQuote_contents"> <p> CCleaner removes cookies and temp files but does not inspect or touch the actual contents of files. </p> <p> If you have overwritten one of your Excel files somehow and you had it stored on OneDrive you may be able to recover the previous version with a right-click > version history > restore. If you are trying to recover deleted files from your local hard drive I would recommend Recuva - available as a free download from <a href="https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva" rel="external">https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva</a>. </p> <p> </p> </div>
Just noticed that a folder containing family photo's and a folder with all my music have also disappeared and a folder containing saved TV movies also, i won't be using CCleaner again?
Where were these folders located on your disc?
As Dave rightly says CCleaner would not touch a users normal files or folders.
But I have seen one case where a user was storing all their files under the recycle bin for some strange reason. Obviously emptying the bin deleted all their files.
TBH what you are describing sounds more like the actions of a ransomware infection gradually encrypting your files over time. (or possibly some other malware)
Have any strangely named files/folders been appearing on your disc? (Change File Explorers 'View' to show hidden files).
You may want to run a scan with something like Malwarebytes to make sure you are not infected.
Or have your machine checked over for free by an expert.
We are not alowed to do that here but can point you to where to get it done - see section 10 of the forum rules here for six websites who will check your machine for you:
(Only use one at any time or the help may start to clash, many of the experts work on more than one of these sites so which you choose is up to you).
https://community.ccleaner.com/announcement/15-forum-rules%20/
Your machine may well be clean, but when strange things start to happen it's a good idea to have it checked over.