Microsoft’s big Windows 10 Update version 1809 is here and it brings a wealth of welcome features like less interruptions and update nags during gaming (something Alienware nailed years ago by the way). It also takes an ambitious step toward making your PC and Android phone best friends. But (isn’t there always a “but?”) it’s also causing a serious problem. One that can’t be reversed. If you’re not enthusiastic about potentially losing every scrap of data in your user folder such as music, photos and documents, please read on.

Posting on the Microsoft Answers forum he says “I have just updated my windows using the October update (10, version 1809) it deleted all my files of 23 years in amount of 220gb. This is unbelievable, I have been using Microsoft products since 1995 and nothing like that ever happened to me.” After it was suggested he roll back the update, Ziko reports that his files are still missing.

“I have lost my work all the files for the last 2 months, due to the upgrade,” he says. It’s important to note that the documents weren’t hanging out in the recycle bin. The data was simply gone.

But Ziko’s is not an isolated case. In the same thread another user explains that his primary hard drive was “blown away” following the update and his SSD became corrupted. He also tried rolling back update 1809 to no avail. He writes that “[...] rollback failed since the drive that it was trying to roll back to was corrupted.”

I also found users complaining on Twitter.

Heads up to anyone updating windows. Apparently, if you have documents saved in your user directory, i.e. users/JohnDoe, and not one drive, the update will delete EVERYTHING in that location. So if your “Documents” or “Pictures” don’t have a one drive symbol, MIGRATE IMMEDIATELY! — Kevin Quintero (@coolKevinator) October 4, 2018

That resulting Twitter conversation also contains users chiming in with the same issue.

Aside from the looming threat of losing valuable data, I also spotted PC World editor Brad Chacos explaining some minor visual issues following the Windows 10 October update when combined with Nvidia’s latest GeForce driver:

Windows 10 Oct. Update + Nvidia’s driver is causing some weird display performance on my PC. Opening a new tab & quickly typing in the URL bar makes a stream on my 2nd monitor lag. Same if I try using my mouse scroll wheel on some sites. Occasional weirdness resizing windows too. — Brad Chacos (@BradChacos) October 4, 2018

Elsewhere, the update seems to be misreporting CPU usage and ZDNet reports that Microsoft is straight up blocking the update from executing on some systems due to compatibility issues with Intel Display Audio device drivers. “The issue causes ‘excessive processor demand and reduced battery life’ if the affected system is updated,” ZDNet writes.

That’s the story so far, and I fear that as the hours roll by more issues may surface.

Back It All Up Right Now

The first thing you should do is disable Windows updates temporarily, and Ed Bott has a fantastic guide on how to avoid this one.

Next, if you’re not syncing your data with OneDrive or following some other frequent backup regimen, grab yourself a beefy USB stick or external drive and back up all your important data right now. Fortunately Windows 10 makes that a simple process. But it’s a shame Microsoft doesn’t prompt users to do this before updating like Linux Mint does.

The reality is that most people feel their data is safe, even though hard drives fail and, apparently, Windows updates can sometimes introduce new features while destroying precious documents. If you’ve opted to disable Windows Updates, I strongly suggest leaving them disabled until Microsoft delivers a fix for this range of issues.

I’m not sure yet how widespread this is, but with users reporting problems across various platforms it’s prudent to be concerned. It’s a cold hard fact that you need to prepare for the worst when it comes to updating your Windows systems.

Since 2005 I've been entrenched in the video game and consumer tech industries, and fascinated with the rapid evolution of the technology surrounding them. In… MORE

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