This a very basic tip that we often forget about when investigating a sudden change in our system.
What Was Just Added to My PC
What
Information to determine what files have been added (created) to your PC during a specific time period by using the Datecreated feature of File Explorer.
Why
Investigating a sudden change in your system not related to any updates or finding files that may have downloaded (created), both of which if you don’t know the name of the file can be difficult. That investigation can be made a lot easier by reviewing only those files that were created when the sudden change or download occurred. Example: You noticed the change just a few minutes ago, then search for all files created within the last 2 hours should include the file that caused the change; or you downloaded a file and want to see what other files were downloaded (created) at the same time period.
Note: The following instructions were created using Windows 10 but should work for other Windows versions.
How
o Open File Explorer
o Use the navigation pane on the left to select where to search. If you have more than one drive and the change involves Windows, then select the Windows drive (usually C:). Selecting This PC will search all drives and take much longer. Whatever you select to be searched will appear in the Address bar and right pane.
o Place the pointer in the Search bar to the right of the Address bar and click to activate for text entry. Enter Datecreated: which will open the Date created date/range box. You can select a date or preselected date ranges. For a more customized time range or a range in hours or minutes you can specify the date/time created range. Example: I want to see only those files created 9/1/2024 between 9:00 am and 10:00 am. I would enter the following in the Search bar:
Datecreated:9/1/2024 9:00 AM..9/1/2024 10:00 AM
Note the .. (2 dots) between the date/times. This tells File Explorer that the two dates with times is a range and in the above case the range is one hour.
o Press the Enter key after entering the range.
o The Date and time format (month/day/year) must match the format File Explorer uses and the above example is the default format.
HTH, Dana:))
