What is CSC Folder?
CSC – Client Side Cache is a folder found in Windows computers that holds files for which offline feature is enabled. In simple, computers that open and edit files from the Server and then update them back in the Server again will save such files in the CSC folder.
Since this folder is considered as system file, user cannot see it in Windows Explorer. The files get stored on C:\ WindowsCSC folder.
How Do I Access The CSC Folder?
However, to view or open files from the CSC folder, one should enable the option ‘Show hidden files/folders’ under the Tools menu. The CSC folder located in the C drive contains subfolders with the names d1, d2, d3, till d8 and four tmp files to store metadata information of files in the folder.
These sub-folders hold cached files from shared networks for which offline feature is enabled. Hence, losing files on the client system from the CSC folder may cause severe data loss.
How files are lost from CSC folder?
Generally, the CSC folder eats up large free space on the computer hard drive due to which the user faces low memory issues. In the process of freeing memory space on a computer hard disk, one might accidentally erase necessary files from the CSC folder.
If not accidentally, one may erase cached files thinking that they are no longer required or it is being synced in the Server; but later finds it wrong. Also, the user might unintentionally format the CSC folder using a registry command that incurs the loss of essential files from it.
The only method to bring back files lost or deleted from the CSC folder in the Windows system is to employ a good file retrieval tool; files lost or deleted from the system drive will not be removed permanently.
It still resides in the same location, however, inaccessible by the OS. Hence, before using any file recovery tool, one should make sure that no new data is been added to the system hard drive after file loss from the CSC folder happens as it may lead to data overwriting.
Software for retrieving files from CSC folder:
One of the excellent software used to retrieve files from CSC folder is Yodot File Recovery tool. This software can extract all file types from computer hard drive after accidental deletion or unforeseen file loss scenarios.
The tool is capable of recovering multiple file formats like HTML files, PDF files, compressed files, program files, etc from your computer hard drive and other storage mediums like SSD, FireWire Drive, etc
Functional on: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 operating systems can surely use this amazing tool to retrieve files.
Guidelines to extract files from CSC folder on Windows PC:
- Download Deleted files recovery software on your Windows PC in to a new partition
- Install and run the software according to given instructions
- In the main screen click on ‘Deleted File Recovery’ or ‘Lost File Recovery’ according to the file loss scenario from the CSC folder
- Next, select the logical drive that holds the CSC folder i.e. C drive to restore files from it
- By clicking next, the software neatly scans the C drive to trace cached files that are lost or deleted
- After the scanning process is completed, the user will see all recovered files in the ‘Data View’ or ‘File Type’ view
- Toggle between the view types and preview any media file of your interest
- At last, save these extracted files to the desired destination location on the computer hard drive, but do not save them to the same CSC folder location
Other Ways to Recover Files from CSC Folders in Windows 10/11
If you have enabled backup utiles like File history that automatically stores backups of the files and folders, you can recover the available copies from there.
Simply Right-click on the CSC folder, select "Properties," go to the "Previous Versions" tab, and check if previous versions are available.
In case of disabling, you can re-enable the offline files which can build the CSC cache back from the network server OR access the original files from the network server.
Conclusion
We hope this article helped you recover files from the CSC folder, Ensure that your files are always protected through a backup strategy followed by using online storage solutions for secure management.
Necessary Tips:
- CSC folder holds all offline enable cached files from a shared network, so check twice before deleting any file from it
- Before deleting files from the CSC folder, synchronize these files with Server copies so that no information will be lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where is the CSC Cache located?
CSC cache is typically located at %systemroot%\CSC.
2. Can I change the location of the CSC folder?
Yes, but it is strongly recommended not to change the location of the CSC folder due to the complexity which could cause synchronization issues with network files and folders.
3. What can I do if my CSC folder takes up a lot of space?
Make changes in the Sync Center settings to specify the maximum limit of disk space that can be used by can be used by the cached files.
