Microsoft halted the Windows 10 October 2018 update after it deleted users' documents, but it still impacted many users, according to an Adduplex report.

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Millions of PCs received a flawed Windows 10 update that deleted some users' documents off of their machines, according to a report from AdDuplex.

AdDuplex data suggests that 2.3% of Windows 10 users who run Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps downloaded the October 2018 update, also known as Windows 10 1809. Considering a total install base of more than 700 million PCs, that would mean about 16 million people downloaded the flawed version, MSPowerUser reported.

While some say that AdDuplex numbers are not representative of regular Windows 10 users, it is still safe to assume that at least 10 million individuals have the October 2018 update installed, MSPowerUser noted.

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The October 2018 update began rolling out on October 4. Two days later, a number of users reported the update had wiped files from their Documents and Pictures folders--in some cases resulting in the loss of years of images and work, TechRepublic's Nick Heath reported. This led Microsoft to halt the rollout. Since then, several other problems have surfaced, some of which also led to data loss.

This isn't the first time a Windows update has gone wrong: The Windows 10 April 2018 Update was released about 20 days later than expected, after near-final builds had to be amended to resolve a blue-screen of death bug. Even then, the release version still included several bugs that appeared for some users.

The situation highlights the downfall of a powerful updating system like the one Microsoft has implemented for Windows 10, MSPowerUser noted. While the system makes it easy to keep a large install base of devices updated, buggy updates can impact millions of people before they are detected and mitigated.

Microsoft is working to fix these flaws, and the updated Windows 10 version will likely be released in November.

TechRepublic has reached out to Microsoft for comment, and will update this story with their response.

What about you?

Have you experienced any bug issues with any version of Windows 10? Tell us about it in the comments or on Twitter.

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

Millions of PCs received a flawed Windows 10 October 2018 update that deleted users' documents off of their machines.

Microsoft is expected to release a new Windows 10 update in November.

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