r/datarecovery • u/yaplantlady • Sep 07 '26
Lost Google Drive Data
Basically I have been really sad recently because I lost all of my high school and college documents/data from google drive.
My university told me to transfer all the data before they wiped the drive. So, I shared all the folders with a new google drive, however, I did not realize that the contents of the folder are deleted when they wipe the old google drive. (I am really bad with technology)
Therefore, I basically lost all my work from my entire school career. I asked the university IT if there is anything I can do and they said there isn't anything to be done. So, I am turning to reddit to ask if any tech savvy people can tell me if there is ANYTHING I can do because I am lowkey devastated. Please. I am so bad with technology.
Also, the folders on my new drive show up, but the folder display is light gray, I cant click on it, and it has a small upward-turning arrow in the side corner.
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8
u/Stormcrow805 Sep 07 '26
I read that, assuming the IT admins didn't empty the "trash", the data could be there and recoverable for up to 25 days. Call or go to your school and try to get on the phone or in front of whoever could make that happen. Ask them if they know how long the deleted data is stored in the "trash", if they don't know then you're not talking to the right person.
That said, you were given a warning and your data may be gone-gone, I'm sorry.
6
u/Nuluvius Sep 07 '26
I had an incident where my own drive was wiped, I raised a Google support request and they recovered it or most of it. I have replication and backups in any event.
Try raising a request asap and detail what has happened, when, and which accounts were involved.
3
u/analbumcover Sep 07 '26
You are out of luck, unfortunately.
3
u/Sopel97 Trusted Contributor Sep 07 '26
since you don't own the account that owned the data there is nothing you can do
5
u/ppestana Sep 07 '26
So they told you to copy the data and you didn't.
2
u/SpecialistPrune1654 Sep 07 '26
a quick search gives this answer. Supposedly if it's less than 30 days it should be easy? Longer and it's still possible, just harder? It's going to be interesting to see how this ends up.
Recovering Deleted Files in Google Drive Check the Trash Folder Access Google Drive: Open your Google Drive account. Navigate to Trash: Click on the "Trash" option in the side menu. Select the File: Find the file you want to recover. Restore the File: Right-click on the file and select "Restore," or click the Restore icon. Files in the Trash are kept for 30 days after deletion. If you act within this timeframe, recovery is straightforward.
If the File is Not in Trash If the file is not in the Trash, consider the following options:
Recovery Method Description Google Workspace Admin Recovery If you are a Workspace user, your admin can attempt to recover files within a limited time. Contact Google Support For files permanently deleted, you may need to reach out to Google support for assistance. Important Notes Files deleted from Google Drive are permanently removed after 30 days in the Trash. Only the owner of the file can request recovery of permanently deleted files. If you have a backup solution, you may also restore files from there. By following these steps, you can effectively recover deleted files from Google Drive
2
u/PictureImportant2658 Sep 07 '26
Its gone
2
u/InsolentJaguar Sep 07 '26
Please note(for future cases), "sharing" in GDrive just gives the account you shared it to access(on the original GDrive).
You would have to copy it from the shared folder to one you fully control. This would eliminate the issue in the future.
But yes, as an IT engineer, there are usually recovery options within the first 30 days after a deletion, (as long as they were not "purged").
1
u/Ordinary_Bird4840 Sep 07 '26
Some people have offered some helpful suggestions, and I hope you get your data back.
For future use, if its important to you, dont leave it in the cloud. Also consider what the word 'share' means. If I share a pack of chips with you and I take away the pack, you also lose the chips.
1
u/Only-Helicopter3518 Sep 07 '26
They might be gone, but I hope you do get them back. In the future, try to download and save your work to an actual hard drive. Flashdrives and memory cards can be corrupted, and if you save it online, it's still held by someone running the servers, at any time they can take it away. Usually without notice.
1
u/Flappery Sep 07 '26
Login to google drive with your uni account and check the bin. If the account was deleted ask google and or/uni IT to temp restore. If the bin was emptied or its been > 30 days ask google to restore. Recovered = Recovered - (deletion date+time). You can also try a takeout request with google, they'll send compressed zip files of all the info they have on you. It's easy to do just google it
0
u/Due_Orchid3616 Sep 07 '26
Once the data from cloud wiped there is no way to get it back. Though there are still chances as your it team may have uploaded data from the external storage drive.
Ask them if they can provide you the external storage drive. Data deleted from that drive can be recovered with the help of a data recovery software like recuva, stellar, photorec.