5 Easy Ways to Fix Files Appearing After Deleting

Why files appearing after deleting?

File deletion is a simple operation to help free up disk space in Windows 10. When you don’t need a file or folder, just press the Delete button to delete it or use the Shift + Delete keys to achieve permanent deletion. However, some users complained that they find their files appearing after deleting. Although this issue does not affect your computer experience, it is still a problem that needs fixing.

Many factors are responsible for why deleted files keep coming back without you recovering them. To put it briefly, it’s related to these causes:

★ Corrupted Recycle Bin. If there is something wrong with Recycle Bin, chances are that files keep reappearing after deletion Windows 10.
★ Incorrect system permissions. You may need permission to remove a specific file or folder. So, if you perform the deletion without permission, the operation will not work.
★ Virus or malware infection. Oftentimes, the problem arises due to the presence of viruses and malware.
★ Enabled cloud storage service or cloud sync. When you are using a cloud storage service with sync feature enabled, the deleted files may show up again.
★ The system file is corrupted. It is hard to notice this. If your deleted files keep coming back Windows 10, you can consider the damaged system file as the culprit.

How to fix files appearing after deleting on Windows 11/10/8/7?

After you have understood the cause of the problem, the five methods demonstrated in this part can help solve it with ease. You can begin with one by one and check if the issue exists.

Method 1. Fix a corrupted Recycle Bin

If the files and folders reappear again after being thrown to the Recycle Bin, it’s most likely that the Recycle Bin gets corrupted. Thus, you can try fixing the Bin to stop files and folders from keeping coming back.

Step 1. Run "Command Prompt" as an administrator in Windows 10.

Step 2. Type the command rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin in the Command Prompt window and press "Enter".

Step 3. Close the Command Prompt window and check if the files appearing after deleting error is gone.

Method 2. Change system permissions

As we described above, if you have incorrect permissions or have no permissions, you are not allowed to change or delete files, which probably causes deleted files keep coming back Windows 10. Therefore, it is worth fixing this problem by changing system permissions.

Step 1. Select the file that you deleted but reappeared, right-click it, and select "Properties" in the expanded menu.

Step 2. Click the "Security" tab and choose "Advanced" at the bottom.

Step 3. At the top of the Advanced Security Settings window, click the "Change" button next to Owner.

Step 4. Enter Everyone in the box and click "OK".

Step 5. Go back to the "Security" tab and click "Edit".

Step 6. Find the System Permissions section, choose "Allow" for all permissions, and tap the "OK" button.

Method 3. Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

"Files appearing after deleting" can also be caused by viruses or malware. Microsoft Safety Scanner is a Windows malware removal tool that can be used to scan and remove possible viruses or malware. You can follow the instructions below to solve the problem of files keep reappearing after deletion Windows 10.

Step 1. Download Microsoft Safety Scanner from the official Microsoft website and install it on your computer.

Step 2. Run Microsoft Security Scan and select the type of scan you want to use: Quick Scan, Full Scan, and Customized Scan. Then click "Next" when you are done.

Step 3. Wait for the scanning process to complete. Then you will be told there is no virus found or it has removed the scanned viruses and malware. After that, go to see if the deleted files keep coming back Windows 10.

Method 4. Turn off cloud sync service

If you are currently using a cloud syncing service, the problem is there. At some point, it automatically re-add files that have been deleted to their original location, which is the main cause of files appearing after deleting on Windows 10. Therefore, you should turn off the syncing service to restore the deletion function to a normal state. (Here we take OneDrive as an example.)

Step 1. Tap the arrow icon in the notification area on the far right of the taskbar and tap the OneDrive icon.

Step 2. In the OneDrive window, tap the "More" button.

Step 3. Click "Pause syncing" in the expanded menu, and select how long to pause according to your actual needs, including 2 hours, 8 hours and 24 hours.

Method 5. Delete files using specialized software

If the deleted files keep coming back after applying all the above methods, the reason may lie in the Windows deletion feature itself. In such a case, you can resort to a professional third-party tool to force delete a file in Windows 10.

For example, AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard is a free and popular file shredder on the market that can help you delete a file or folder forcibly. Only with four steps, you can solve the removed files coming back problem.

By the way, this software is also available to force delete corrupted files or delete used partitions.

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. In the main console, click "All Tools" and select "Shred Files".

Step 2. In the small window, click "Add Files" or "Add Folder" to choose the file or folder you want to delete forcibly.

Step 3. Here we can only choose "Write Zero"as the shredding method.

Step 4. Click "Shred" button and you will be mentioned a confirmation note, click "Yes".

Now, the problem of files appearing after deleting will be well fixed.

Bonus tip: How to recover deleted files in Windows 11/10/8/7

What if you regret deleting some files and want to find them back after permanent deletion? All you need is to use reliable data recovery software. When you upgrade AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard to its Professional edition, its "Recover Data" feature is what exactly you want.

It can recover 200+ types of data from both internal and external hard drive. No matter under what circumstances you delete the file, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can always help you find it back.

Here is a demo version for you to have a free trial of file recovery:

Step 1. Launch AOMEI software and click "Recover" > "Recover Data" on the taskbar.

Step 2. Then, the inbuilt Recover Windows Data tool will pop up. Select the partition from which you want to recover the data and click "Start Scan".

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

Step 4. Then, select a folder path for your recovered files and wait patiently for the recovery process to complete.

Conclusion

Deleting files should be an easy task on Windows 10. However, it is so frustrating when files appearing after deleting. This article has explained the most possible reasons and offered the respective solutions. So, you can choose the most suitable one based on your needs to solve the deleted files keep coming back Windows 10.