CCleaner deleted my wordpad *rft file

[chashot]

I had a file created by WordPad which contained months of "THOUGHTS" which I would update at times with memories from the past. On 02-12-23, after about a year, I ran CCleaner and there were so many files to remove that I didn't bother to check the list. The next day, I went to WordPad to add another 'thought' and it was GONE. I checked the internet and installed RECUVA, and ran it a dozen times, using different settings, but NONE found the THOUGHTS file. I cannot express how HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED I am with this product. Yes, I did add *.rft to the CCleaner EXCLUSION list for future cleaning, but again, the loss of my year-long THOUGHTS is a personal disaster. BE WARNED!

[Andavari]

2 hours ago, chashot said:

I did add *.rft

MS Word / WordPad uses: .RTF

When scanning with recovery software it's important to use the correct file extensions.

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I'd recommend backing up important files regularly onto at least three external backup disks. Aside from accidental deletion; File corruption, OS crash/freeze, PC crash/freeze can corrupt and make files unusable even on modern SSDs, and SSDs can make recovery more difficult.

[APMichael]

3 hours ago, chashot said:

...The next day, I went to WordPad...

CCleaner only cleans the list of recently used files in WordPad. Did you therefore also search for the file with the "Explorer" in your "Documents" folder?

(CCleaner deletes files with the extension .rtf only from the folder "Downloads", if you have enabled the cleanup rule "Documents" under "Windows Downloads".)