Restore a Deleted File or an Earlier Version

♻️ Restore a Deleted File or an Earlier Version
Get back something you deleted, or undo a bad edit.
βœ… Before You Begin
  • You need an active NEO A&M College account with SSO access
  • An internet connection is required
  • The name of the file, or roughly when you last had it
  • πŸ• Estimated time: 10 minutes

πŸ—‘οΈ Restore a Deleted File πŸ• ~3 minutes  |  Act promptly
⚠️ Note: These steps come from Microsoft’s current published documentation rather than from a walkthrough on a NEO computer. The button names should match; if yours differ, tell the Help Desk so this article can be corrected.
  1. Go to onedrive.com and sign in with your NEO account.
  2. Select Recycle bin in the list on the left.
  3. Select the file, then Restore.
  4. It returns to the folder it was deleted from.
🚨 Warning: Deleted files do not stay in the recycle bin forever. Recover anything you need as soon as you notice β€” not next month.
πŸ’‘ Tip: Deleting a file on your computer deletes it from OneDrive everywhere, so the recycle bin on the website is where it goes regardless of which device you deleted it from.

πŸ• Go Back to an Earlier Version πŸ• ~3 minutes  |  For bad edits
OneDrive keeps previous versions of a document. If a change went wrong, you do not need a deleted-file recovery β€” you need this.
⚠️ Note: These steps come from Microsoft’s current published documentation rather than from a walkthrough on a NEO computer. The button names should match; if yours differ, tell the Help Desk so this article can be corrected.
  1. Right-click the file, in File Explorer or on the website.
  2. Select Version history.
  3. Pick a version by date and open it to check it is the one you want.
  4. Select Restore to make it the current version.
πŸ’‘ Tip: Restoring an old version does not lose the newer one β€” it is kept in the history too, so you can change your mind.
⚠️ Note: This is usually the answer when somebody says a colleague β€œdeleted half the document”. Nothing has been lost; it just needs rolling back.

πŸ”§ If You Cannot Find It πŸ• ~3 minutes
  1. Search OneDrive on the website rather than in File Explorer β€” it searches everything in your account.
  2. Check whether the file was in a Teams channel rather than your own OneDrive. Team files have their own recycle bin.
  3. Check whether somebody else owned it. A file shared with you lives in their storage, and only they can restore it.
  4. Contact the Help Desk with the file name and roughly when you last had it.
🚨 Warning: If a file was subject to a legal hold, an audit, or an open investigation, tell the Help Desk that when you report it. Recovery in that situation is handled differently.

πŸ“ž Still Need Help?
If you encounter any issues not covered in this guide, please contact the NEO A&M College IT Help Desk:

🌐 Helpdesk Portal: support.neo.edu
πŸ“ž Phone: (918) 540-6099
πŸ“§ Email: neosupport@neo.edu
πŸ“ Walk-in: I.T. Services, Library/Administration Building, 2nd Floor, Room 216
πŸ• Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM