Preparing for Windows 10 updates

Question: I’m reading horror stories about the latest Windows update deleting files — what should I do to protect my system?

Answer: Microsoft recently started rolling out the Windows 10 October 2018 update (version 1809) that will start automatically installing itself for most systems starting next week.

In addition to some security and privacy enhancements, the update includes several helpful features that most users will likely appreciate.

The addition of a “clipboard history” will allow you to access multiple items from your clipboard instead of just the last item copied (Windows Logo key + V). You’ll also have the option to sync your clipboard across multiple devices.

The tool called “Snip & Sketch” is also being added to provide a lot more flexibility when taking screenshots and a slider control for making text bigger across the board is being included.

As usual when a substantial update first starts rolling out, some users experience issues.

One of the more serious issues being reported is major data loss, as large quantities of files that normally appear in the User folder are missing. The early diagnosis of this issue points to corrupted user profiles, which lead to a temporary user profile being used after the upgrade.

The good news is that the files are actually still on the machine — they just aren’t visible to the user profile that is being brought up after the upgrade. The bad news is that it require assistance to recreate your profile and retrieve the files if you’re not tech savvy.

A Windows 10 update can go awry for a number or reasons, ranging from active security programs to pre-existing issues that prevent the update process from properly executing.

It’s always best to take care of any error messages before any update tries to install.

It’s also a good idea to make sure you have a current backup of your critical data before this or any major update is performed.