Windows cannot find files on desktop

How to Fix the “Windows Cannot Find” Error on Windows 10 [MiniTool News]

By Daisy | Follow | Last Updated March 19, 2020

Summary :

Many people report that they have received the error message — “Windows cannot find” or “Windows cannot find. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again” when they try to open an application. If you are one of them, read this post from MiniTool to find some methods to fix it.

When you open File Explorer by pressing the Windows and E hotkey at the same time, the “Windows cannot find” error may appear. It can also exist when you open an application. Now, you can find some fixes to get rid of it. Keep on your reading.

Method 1: Select the This PC Option in File Explorer

First, you can fix the Windows cannot find file error by selecting the This PC option in File Explorer. You can follow the steps below:

Step 1: Type File Explorer in the Search menu to open it. Then, click the View tab.

Step 2: Click the Options button, and select Change folder and search options.

Step 3: Select This PC from the Open File Explorer to the drop-down menu and click OK.

Then, you can check to see if the Windows cannot find file Windows 10 error has been fixed. If not, you can try the following methods.

You may encounter the issue that File Explorer keeps opening. This post shows 4 solutions to fix the File Explorer keeps popping up.

Method 2: Re-register Windows 10 Applications

You can also try to re-register Windows 10 applications to fix the “Windows cannot find” issue. The steps are as follows:

Step 1: Open Task Manager and click File > Run new task to open the window directly below.

Step 2: Type Powershell in the box and check the Create this task with administrative privileges box. Then click OK.

Step 3: Input Get-AppXPackage | Foreach and press the Enter key. Or you can copy and paste it directly to avoid errors.

After that, check to see if the “Windows cannot find” issue has gone.

Is Task Manager not responding in Windows 10/8/7? Now get the full solutions to fix Task Manager if you can’t open it.

Method 3: Run Windows Store App Troubleshooter

The Windows Store App troubleshooter might also help fix the “Windows cannot find” issue for apps. Now, follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I key at the same time to open the Settings application.

Step 2: Click the Troubleshoot tab and click the Windows Store Apps part. Then, click Run the troubleshooter.

Then, it will start to troubleshoot and fix the issue. When it is finished, you can check to see if the “Windows cannot find” issue still exists. If it still exists, here is the last solution for you.

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Method 4: Rename the Exe Files

Renaming the exe files is one resolution for “Windows cannot find” issue. Here is how to that.

Step 1: Browse to the folder location of the program that’s showing the “Windows cannot find” issue in File Explorer. If the software has a desktop shortcut, you can right-click the icon and select Open file location.

Step 2: Select the program’s exe file in File Explorer, and press the F2 key. Then type another title for the file, and press the Return key. Then, the issue should be fixed.

Final Words

How to fix the “Windows cannot find” error in Windows 10? Now after reading this post, you know 4 methods to get rid of it. Just choose one based on your actual situations to fix the annoying issue.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

She was graduated from the major in English. She has been the MiniTool editor since she was graduated from university. She specializes in writing articles about backing up data & systems, cloning disks, and syncing files, etc. She is also good at writing articles about computer knowledge and computer issues. In daily life, she likes running and going to the amusement park with friends to play some exciting items.

Solved: Files Saved to Desktop Not Visible in Windows 10/8/7

The problem of files saved to desktop not visible or showing up in Windows 10 has now been perfectly solved. Follow this tutorial which shows you how to easily make your saved and downloaded files appear normally on the desktop. For the case that files and folders not found anywhere on your computer, try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to get them back before applying all fixes here.

Table of Contents

About the Author

Reviews and Awards

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Search for Missing Files Open Windows File Explorer by double-clicking «This PC». Follow the paths. Full steps
Fix 2. Show Hidden Files Open Windows Explorer > Go to Views > Options > Folder Options > Go to View Tab. Full steps
Fix 3. Recover Desktop Saved Files Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select location to scan lost folder. Full steps
Fix 4. Switch User Account Click the Windows icon and click your username at the top. Select the other visible account. Full steps
Fix 5. Check Hard Drive Errors Run SFC CMD to fix file system error and run Disk Error Check. Full steps

Files and Folders Saved to Desktop Not Visible in Windows 10

«I saved lots of files and folders on the desktop but some of them did not appear on the actual desktop (even there is space). They are only seen in the Windows Explorer. Does someone have the same problem?»

«I saved a modified PDF and Excel documents to the desktop in Windows 10. But they are not there when I revert back to the desktop. What’s worse, I could neither find the saved files elsewhere on the computer hard drive. How I can get the disappeared files back?»

In general, the problem of files saved to desktop not visible can be divided into two symptoms:

  1. 1. Files are still intact in the Windows Explorer, in the C drive (Desktop files are originally in the C drive), you don’t lose them at all.
  2. 2. The saved files are showing up neither on the specified location nor anywhere on the entire computer hard drive. They are completely lost.

To completely resolve this issue, you should first learn the causes of why the saved files not showing up on the desktop and then try the related solution to restore the invisible files.

Reasons for Files Saved on Desktop Are Not Showing Up

Since the symptoms are not unique, the reasons and causes of this problem are varied. This issue might have been generated by the following factors:

  • Saved files were lost
  • Files and folders were hidden
  • Save path error
  • Logged into a wrong user account
  • Hard drive file system error
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Some of you may still don’t know how to get rid of this issue from these causes. Stay cool. Follow the provided solutions in the next part to bring your missing files on Windows 10/8/7 desktop right now.

5 Fixes for «Files Saved to Desktop Not Visible» Issue

In this part, we’ve collected several verified and practical solutions to help you find the missing files on Windows 10, 8 or 7 desktop. Follow to see how to find your saved files and folders back.

# 1. Search for Missing Files and Folders Manually

Due to Windows upgrade, sometimes, the saved files on desktop may disappear. In most cases, they are just moved to a different path.

If you are a Windows 10 user, you may refer to the below steps to manually search the not showing files or folders:

Step 1.В Open Windows File Explorer by double-clicking «This PC».

Step 2.В Follow the below two paths to open the folder where Windows stores the desktop files:

Step 3.В Open the listed folder to find your missing files or directly search the invisible files at the right search bar.

If you didn’t find the invisible saved files by searching on your PC, try the following methods for help.

# 2. Show Hidden Files

If you have set to hide files on Windows computer, you would not be able to view or see any saved files. So you can set to make the files show up with the following steps:

Step 1. Open Windows Explorer > Go to Views > Options > Folder Options > Go to View Tab.

Step 2. Check «show hidden files, folders and drives» (uncheck the option «Hide protected operating system files» if there is this option), and click «OK» to save all the changes.

Step 3.В Close the Folder Options window and then go back to the desktop to see if you can find the saved documents and files.

# 3. Recover Missing, Disappeared, Lost or Invisible Desktop Saved Files

Reliable file recovery software -В В EaseUS Data Recovery WizardВ specializes in fully scan selected devices, finding all lost, invisible or missing files saved on Windows hard drive, computer desktop or even external storage devices.

You can choose this data recovery software to scan C drive to find the not showing files on the desktop:

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select location to scan lost folder.

Under the Specify a location section,В click «Browse» on Select Folder toВ choose the location where you lost the folder and click «OK» to scan the lost folder.

Step 2. Find and preview found files in the lost folder.

You can find the lost folder withВ the «Search» feature to quickly find the lost folder by searching the folder name. Then open the found folder and double-click to preview lost files.

Step 3. Recover and save the lost folder with files.

Last, select the folder and files and click «Recover», browse to choose a new & secure spot on your PC and click «OK» to save it.

# 4. Switch User Account to Find Missing Files Saved on Desktop

Sometimes, when you have more than 2 user accounts and you logged in a wrong account, the saved files on Desktop may disappear.В

Step 1.В Click the Windows icon and click your username at the top.

Step 2.В Select the other visible account on the list, click to switch to it.

Step 3.В Sign in with the password of the other user account.

After this, your files and folders should be available again.

# 5. Check Hard Drive Errors

When the system hard drive contains file system error or bad sectors, the computer may have problems in accessing and showing desktop saved files, folders. To resolve this issue, you may try below two quick methods to check and repair hard disk errors on your own:

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Method 1. Run SFC CMD to Fix File System Error

Step 1.В TypeВ cmdВ in the search box in Windows 10.

From the result, right-click on the Command Prompt and choose «Run as Administrator».

Step 2.В TypeВ sfc /scannowВ in the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

Wait for the process to complete.

Method 2. Run Disk Error Check in File Explorer

Step 1.В Open My Computer/This PC, right-click the C: drive that your invisible Desktop files were saved on and click «Properties».

Step 2.В Click «Tools»В under Error-checking, select to scan existing errors in your drive.

  • On Windows 7, click «Check now» to continue.
  • On Windows 10/8.1/8, click «Check» to start the process.

Step 3.В Let the utility to scan and repair any found hard drive errors:

On Windows 7, select «Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of back sectors» and click «Start».

On Windows 10/8.1/8, click «Scan drive» to begin the scan.

When the scanning and repair process finishes, you can go back to your Desktop to check if the files have been found.В

Bonus Fixes for Missing or Disappeared Desktop Icons

Sometimes, when the Desktop icons disappeared on Windows PC, users may also have problems to access their saved files. Here are some bonus fixes for you to follow and restore the missing Windows icons on your own.

Fix 1. Show desktop icons

Step 1.В Right-click on the desktop, go to View and uncheckВ ShowВ desktop icons. Important! That’s not the end.В

Step 2.В Try multiple times repeatedly to re-check and uncheck the box.

Sometimes, the invisible desktop files would then appear after some refresh.

If this view option fails, try the other option in the same way in View — Auto arrange icons:

Step 1.В Right-click on your desktop, select «View».

Step 2.В Check or uncheck «Auto Arrange Icons».

It would make all files and folders appear on the left side. And you can drag and drop them where you need them to be.

Fix 2. Manually Check and Set Windows Icons to Show Up

This would reset your desktop icons and finally saved files show up.

Step 1. Open «Settings» and click on «Personalization».

Step 2. Click «Themes», then click «Desktop icons settings».

Step 3. Select the icons you want to see on the desktop, like Computer (This PC), User’s Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel.

Click «Apply», then «OK».

After this, you can view your Desktop icons and check the saved files again. If the saved files are still missing on the Desktop, go back to Method 3 in Part 1 and apply reliable EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to scan and restore all your missing files immediately.

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Author Jean has been writing tech articles since she was graduated from university. She has been part of the EaseUS team for over 5 years. Her special focuses are data recovery, disk partitioning, data space optimization, data backup and Mac OS. By the way, she’s an aviation fan!

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is a powerful system recovery software, designed to enable you to recover files you’ve deleted accidentally, potentially lost to malware or an entire hard drive partition.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is the best we have seen. It’s far from perfect, partly because today’s advanced disk technology makes data-recovery more difficult than it was with the simpler technology of the past.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Pro has a reputation as one of the best data recovery software programs on the market. It comes with a selection of advanced features, including partition recovery, formatted drive restoration, and corrupted file repair.

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