Does Storage Sense keep deleting your downloaded files in Windows 10? Store files and programs in your Download folder and keep losing them to this housekeeping tool? Today I’m going to show you how to stop that happening.
I like Storage Sense. We use it on our Windows 10 machines here at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey and it works fine. I do have a habit of storing things in my download folder though and sometimes they go missing. It took a little while for me to figure out what was going on and then I figured it was Storage Sense.
Storage Sense is a feature introduced in Windows 10 to automatically manage your disk space. It’s a great theory. It monitors your disks, files, downloads and folders and will automatically tidy them up for you. It deletes items from your recycle bin, temporary folders and browser cache to help keep things running smoothly.
Stop Storage Sense deleting downloaded files
It’s actually quite straightforward to stop Storage Sense deleting items in your Downloads folder.
- Right click the Windows Start button and select Settings.
- Select System and Storage.
- Select the ‘Change how we free up space automatically’ text link.
- Select Never where you see ‘Delete files in my Downloads folder’.
It’s such a simple fix for a very annoying feature. Sure it’s kind of my own fault for leaving things randomly in my Downloads folder but I, and is seems many other Windows 10 users, didn’t expect something to come along and delete them without alerting or asking us first!
While you’re in Storage Sense, you can also tweak it more to your liking or even turn it off completely if you prefer. If you have lots of disk space and will unlikely run out, you don’t need it to run. You can leave it to empty the trash or go through your system every few days, it is entirely up to you.
Change recycle bin deletion at the top of the Storage Sense page. Have it perform housekeeping on your OneDrive folder if you dare. I suggest not doing this as OneDrive is flaky enough as it is. You can also have it perform its cleanup right there and then if you prefer and include previous versions of Windows in the mix. This is the equivalent of going into the drive properties and cleaning it out manually.
Storage Sense is pretty good at what it does but it isn’t perfect. This is Microsoft after all so what do we expect. Aside from deleting the contents of your Downloads folder, it works well, does its work quietly and keeps your disks running more efficiently than before.
If you accidentally delete files or need the services of data recovery experts, contact Dave’s Computers in New Jersey today. We can help!
