Microsoft has hit the pause button in its rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 update while it investigates reports of users having their files deleted: while many users have installed the upgrade with no problems, some early adopters have found files going missing from their Documents and Pictures folders.
"We have paused the rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) for all users as we investigate isolated reports of users missing some files after updating," says Microsoft on the updated support page for the new software upgrade.
If you've experienced problems with erased files after applying the update then you're encouraged to get in touch with Microsoft directly, so its engineers can get to the bottom of what's been happening (contact details here). If you've manually downloaded the update, Microsoft advises not installing it for the time being.
Not the smoothest of updates
At the moment it's difficult to gauge the scale of the problem, but there are now enough threads and forum posts to suggest something is happening for at least a few unlucky users. Files from documents and the desktop can be among those affected, though different users seem to be affected differently.
Rolling back the update doesn't seem to bring the files back, while dedicated file recovery software isn't guaranteed to work either. The full automatic rollout isn't scheduled until October 9, so that may now get pushed back.
It's not been the smoothest of update processes for Microsoft, even though the October 2018 has been extensively tested as part of the Windows Insider program beforehand. Users have also reported post-update problems with the Microsoft Edge browser and some newer Intel processors and the associated display audio driver.
Via Engadget
