Accidentally deleted all files after running a batch synchronization – Need help locating RecycleBin~*.ffs_tmp folders

[ahmed]

Hello,

I need your help understanding what happened during a synchronization because I lost very important files.

I accidentally ran a FreeFileSync batch job, and after it completed, almost all files on my internal SSD drive E: were deleted.

My configuration
Source (Left): I:\backup_E
Target (Right): E:\
Internal SSD: Kingston SA400 (117 GB, NTFS)

The batch configuration contains:

<DeletionPolicy>RecycleBin</DeletionPolicy>

<FolderPairs>
<Pair>
<Left>I:\backup_E</Left>
<Right>E:\</Right>
</Pair>
</FolderPairs>

<Differences LeftOnly="right"
LeftNewer="right"
RightNewer="right"
RightOnly="right"/>
What happened
The folders on drive E: are still there.
Most of the files inside those folders disappeared.
The missing data is approximately 9 GB.
I did not intentionally delete these files.
I have not written any new data to the SSD after the incident.
I have not restarted the computer since it happened.
What I found
Windows Recycle Bin contains only a small portion of the deleted files.
Most of the missing files are not in the Recycle Bin.
R-Studio detects almost the complete original folder structure.
R-Studio also detects folders named:
RecycleBin~28e0.ffs_tmp
RecycleBin~b48b.ffs_tmp

However, I cannot find these folders anywhere in Windows Explorer or by searching the drives.

My questions
Are RecycleBin~*.ffs_tmp folders created by FreeFileSync?
Could these folders still contain the deleted files?
Are they temporary folders that are automatically removed?
Does FreeFileSync keep any log or metadata that can help locate the deleted files?
Is there any recovery method specific to FreeFileSync for this situation?

These files are extremely important to me.

Thank you very much for your time and any advice you can provide.

Best regards

[xCSxXenon]

viewtopic.php?t=12783&hilit=data+recovery#p49602

TLDR: Restore from a backup, that data is likely gone for good.
FFS uses those tmp folders temporarily before finalizing the action. It's to make sure the intended operation completes successfully before completely deleting them. The files that aren't in the recycle Bin probably weren't eligible to be recycled by the OS, thus leading to permanent deletion.
Recovering deleted data from an SSD is extremely unlikely.

[losduarte]

I am sorry this happened to you. EaseUS has a program that invariably RESTORES deleted files. Run Agent Ransack on the affected original drive to see if Free File Sync moved the folder to another place. Yesterday, August 30, 2026 Free File Sync did that to me: it tried to delete a folder from the originating drive, it failed to do so, and then moved the folder into a new folder that Free File Sync created without my direction. I ran Agent Ransack, which found the newly created folder. It was a frightening experience.