ENGINEERING / COMPLETED / SEPTEMBER TO OCTOBER 2026
The files were there.
The structure hid them.
An author appeared to have lost about 1,000 files after a sharing change. I investigated without changing the original files or their dates.
Missing was a question. Not a verdict.
ENGINEERING / PROJECT STUDYThe concern
The files were part of a chronological book project. Preserving dates mattered, and a sharing change had made about 1,000 files appear to be missing.
Read before changing
I used read only OAuth access rather than a shared password. The inventory captured file IDs, parent folders and dates. I compared MD5 checksums and file sizes to distinguish duplicate content from different files.
What the audit found
The files had not been deleted. They were buried among about 23,000 duplicates in an account containing about 25,500 files. I also investigated the transcription application’s behavior.
The handoff
I delivered a beginner friendly guide and a technical handoff. The completed investigation is described here; requested ongoing support is separate.