All OneNote documents erased- how to retrieve?

Hi @Wells, Taylor, 

Thank you for reaching out. I understand how concerning it can be to lose access to important notes, and I’d like to help clarify what may be happening and what steps you can take to recover your OneNote notebooks. 

Based on your description, it sounds like your OneNote notebooks were stored under your college-associated Microsoft 365 account. Even if you still have access to your college Outlook email, it’s possible that access to other services like OneNote or OneDrive has been restricted or changed by your institution. The issue could happen due to account access changes or storage and retention policies. 

To resolve the issue I would recommend trying these steps: 

1. Check the OneDrive Recycle Bin:  

• Sign in to OneDrive on the web at https://onedrive.live.com using your Microsoft 365 account.  
• Select Recycle bin from the left navigation pane.  
• If you see your missing files or folders, select them and choose Restore.  

• Once restored, allow OneDrive on your computer to sync again so the files download back to your local device.  

2. Restore your OneDrive  

• Sign into the [OneDrive website](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=251869.    
• At the top of the page, select Settings > Restore your OneDrive.   

• On the Restore your OneDrive page, select Custom date and time.   

• Select the last activity related to the OneNote file and select Restore.   

3. Contact IT admin 

If the issue persists after taking these steps, I recommend contacting your college’s IT admin to confirm whether your OneNote or OneDrive data is still available and if they can help restore access.  

They can also create a support ticket to Microsoft on your behalf if the issue appears to require a deeper investigation at the backend level. 

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow the steps above and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can continue working together to resolve the issue.  

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out so I can continue to support you. If you found the response useful, please consider marking it as accepted, as this may help other community members who are looking for similar guidance.  

I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

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