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Using an OS for many years can feel like marriage: there are good and bad times and you adapt to get along. Your partner may no longer be the love of your life but you've become intimately familiar and know each other's quirks. However, once updates are forced down your throat, errors get ignored and customer service is next to nonexistent, the relationship quickly cools off and you start taking precautions. In other words: Get your act together, Microsoft!
The Windows 10 October update nearly gave millions of users a heart attack because, depending on their configuration, it deleted all of their personal files! And that was just the beginning. Many customers experienced massive audio issues, flaky internet connections and even blue screens. Sure, errors happen but it goes deeper than that - they were already known beforehand! Thanks to the Windows Insider program, Microsoft now has an army of roughly 10 million beta testers who receive software pre-release builds - with a proviso that the software might not behave as expected, of course. At least participants know what they're in for.
But what good is an army of free testers, if reported issues are ignored? Weeks before the update was released, Microsoft had received a plethora of reports pointing to data loss in users' home directories (C:\Users). This affected personal documents, game states and streaming profiles. To make matters worse, the update disabled system restore for some users. So not only were their files deleted, but the update also took away their ability to revert their machines to a previous state. Many malware authors must have gone green with envy! How did the update make it past quality assurance? Is Windows Insider just a fig leaf to feign extensive testing or are Microsoft unable to cope with the huge amounts of feedback they receive?
The moment of truth
You might think this a golden opportunity for Microsoft's support team to spring into action and save the day. Well, think again! Apologies were plenty, solutions were not. They did point out the latest update build no longer had the issue though - terrific! Doesn't Microsoft have an undeleter tool somewhere to help users restore their affected files? Apparently not. Instead, users are advised to seek help from third party data recovery specialists or accept that their data is lost - disgraceful for a company of this size. All of this would be easier to accept if it was an isolated incident, but 2018 has been a nightmare for Windows 10 users.
The October update already sabotaged many machines. Aside from 68 security updates, users were treated to various issues surrounding VPN tools, Chrome and even Microsoft's own software like Cortana, who became deaf and dumb, or Edge, that forgot all its settings. In March, many older PCs got stuck in a loop when the update began, failed and then began anew, only to fail again. And not only that but the update process was automatically triggered on machines that had automatic updates disabled. Microsoft's reasoning was that security risks outweigh user rights and thus ignored their settings, rendering many working PCs unusable in the process. They could have just ramrodded the security updates and leave out "feature improvements" but they didn't. This is especially bad for companies, right?
You and I: guinea pigs for Microsoft
Nope, when it comes to potentially system-breaking updates, it's private consumers first, companies second. You don't have to be a cynic to feel like a guinea pig here. The telemetric data Microsoft collects from us not only serves to personalize ads but also helps them fix bugs and optimize the OS. This means their software goes through two test phases before it's rolled out to businesses: first Windows Insider participants then private consumers. Only when the update has successfully been rolled out to the aforementioned user groups and major issues have been fixed will it become available to businesses. No wonder private consumers feel a little unloved.
In the past, Windows Updates used to be smooth sailing for most, now, it's a question of will my system still work afterwards? This uncertainty causes many users to reject automatic updates altogether, with some even deliberately filling their drives to the brim to prevent Windows from updating! That's not a viable long-term solution though. Secure systems need regular updates to fix newly discovered vulnerabilities. Once again, a decent backup strategy pays off. That's why I regularly back up my system to an external drive to mitigate unwanted side effects of Windows updates. As one of the world's biggest software developers, this is certainly not a glorious chapter in Microsoft's history!
What I would like to know: How satisfied are you with Microsoft's update policy? Have you experienced any issues afterwards?
The October update was a costly nightmare - not only data loss, but new and quite severe incompatibilities with several mission critical programs. The data loss was mitigated by daily backups. The real problem becomes the loss of critical programs. Unless the entire disk is backed up, these programs cannot be recovered. Is there anyway, individual programs, including extensions, etc., be backed up? Subsequent updates have not provided a clean path to re-installation of the programs in those cases in which a backup installation disk is available.
Does Ashampoo offer a Data Recovery tool?
Of course! Just take a look here: https://www.ashampoo.com/uk/eur/pin/0959/sicherheitssoftware/backup-pro-12
Yes my windows 10 machine has suffered from windows updates on several occasions. Luckily I have good backups and managed to "Rescue" my settings and data. However I am still stuck with a failed update from way back in march 2018 !!
QUOTE
Your device is missing important security and quality fixes.
"Some update files are missing or have problems. We’ll try to download the update again later."
Error code: (0x80073712)
ENDQUOTE
I have used ashampoo winoptimizer 2018 and also ashampoo winoptimizer 16 which have improved things, but still have not resolved this issue.
I have tried several options to try to resolve this issue but to no avail, so if anyone has a "Fix" for this I would be happy to know about it!!
Geoff Lord
Windows 10 is history for me. I am back on Windows 7 with updates disabled. Enough is enough. I'll even purchase a copy of Windows 7 for my new laptop so no more putting up with this garbage. I tried Linux Umbuntu in a sandbox and found it to be cumbersome, so that did not work. Windows 7 is the way to relatively trouble free computing. Naturally with some virus and malware protection installed.
My wife complained to me yesterday that she lost audio on her HP laptop running Microsucks Windows10(th failed attempt). I duly went in to the audio setting, devices etc, everything appeared normal, even testing the platform sounds....NADA! Also she says her external hard drive lost all her photos and videos last month. Tried to blame the internet security program, which I'm running on my PC, laptop, Android phone, daughter's PC and laptop with no issues. Then the penny dropped, she is the only one running Windows 10. Now I know why. Wonder if the restore feature has been wiped too? Here comes a drive reformat and install Windows 7 Ultimate!! Bill and your team SUCK!!!
I wouldn't say that people who mention Linux are missing the point. The point seems to be that despite many 'Insiders' and all of the elementary data that is taken from maybe all but a small percentage of systems, and possibly collaboration with hardware manufacturers and other 3rd parties, all offering a vast array of Big Data info on systems out in the wild, the company went ahead and bricked a lot of them. Microsoft have a huge responsibility to ensure that updates will not delete user data, especially when the user has no choice in the matter. Ah, there is a choice: never power down your computer to apply updates.
Yes, users should backup their systems, but I think many of them just expect their computer to work the way it did when they bought it.
At least with Linux, you can see what the updates are before going ahead with them. When I used Mint, it had a traffic light system that shows which updates could be risky before the user decides to update.
Back to all that telemetry and data collection. If it does not work to improve the OS, which is evident in this case, then what is it for?
Thanks for the enlightening report I thought it was just me.I'm presently using my phone for my access. Because my computer is affected I can't restore it even from 2nd per are backup devices and won't accept my user or my Ashampoo passwords.maybe it's a ploy to make us buy new Microsoft software .Linux here I come .Good luck everyone ...
Bye fore now Rob Smith in New Zealand.
To me any update capable of deleting user files is indeed more than a little problem. It is unacceptable. I have been a Windows Insider since in inception and even on the fast ring have only had one video issue about 18 months back that was quickly fixed with a restore. I repair computers for a living and see very few instances where update problems occur. I certainly read a lot about them so I am a little sceptable of those yelling the loudest. There have always been MS haters and I get it. Those that are upset at losing XP or Vista, or promoting Linux are mising the point. Also, to me, the answers are clear, back up your system, make a mirror image and you don't ever have to worry again. At the very least you should be backing up your personal files. MS even offers the "file history" feature to continually secure your everyday files. Even with multiple free image backup programs availabe most people are unaware of them or believe they are too difficult to understand. To end the bad experiences of updating an extreamly complicated OS, Microsoft should release a onetime update that includes not only an automatic image cloning program but a flash screen describing the process. That way MS can protect its clients and still release important updates.
Thank goodness I have auto-updates turned off in my system. Much of my personal data is backed-up, but I am behind several months. I had to figure it out for myself and go into the admin settings to turn it off, but I am glad I did. I was tired of the updates coming when I least want it and also the possible risks involved in updating once the computer is set up the way you want it.
If ever there was confirmation of the importance of backups, this is it.
I have a system of external backup drives, but like most users (I suspect) in the day-to-day bustle of computer work it's all too easy to tell yourself that the backup can wait until tomorrow.... and tomorrow.... and tomorrow.... etc.!
It takes something like this to remind me NOT to put off to tomorrow a job I can do today.
Fortunately, the October update seems to have left my computer undamaged - so far as I have been able to tell. But who knows what horrors the next one might bring?
Shame on you, Microsoft. This is a disgraceful episode.
Of the several computers I operate regularly, the ones that I spend the most time with are Linux machines. I update them regularly, but the updates are on my schedule, not on the operating system's whim. I don't have the entire system slowing to a crawl in the middle of my session because of an update tarting up. I also need no antivirus with Linux, so I don't have the likes of Norton, McAfee, and Kaspersky running in the background, occupying a significant percentage of my resources. As I am able, I have been steadily converting all of my Windows computers to Linux and I have no issues with them.
It is a great shame that Microsoft is handling clients through Win 10. How would Bill Gates react to such a hamburg? Since then, I am still super OS Win XP, unless it is deliberately blocked by third-party software developers. Similar to its timeless Win Vista - the most beautiful Windows of all the OS! Successful Win 7 has replaced even better Win 8.1 (not Win 8 - it was a winner like Win Milenium), but it is sad that it is the last OS where the user is the user. And people do not know him the most, he mistakes him with a non-submarine "eight".
To r. By 2023 I will run on Win 8.1, maybe Microsoft will return to reason and then skips Win 10 to a reliable OS on behalf of its predecessors. Otherwise - Linux ...
There was once a time when a PC was a Personal Computer, PERSONAL! Now they are everything and everything but personal if Windows is installed, and I think that is the root of many problems. MS is surely adding as many hooks into parts of the system to grab as much data as possible, or even not possible.
I only use Windows for Office because my docs need to be fully compatible with other users, and have the full range of features. Often 3rd party office software never quite has the full range of PPT transitions or they render documents differently in MS Office.
Manjaro Linux serves the majority of my purposes, even running some programs written for Windows under WINE in Linux. Manjaro is a rolling release of Linux, which means it does get updated with cutting edge versions of installed packages fairly often, but you can see a list of what is going to be updated. When you do update, there's no need to stop what you're doing. It is all done in the background.
Manjaro does not collect masses of user data.
Some people say that Linux is hard to use, but if you really want to get away from MS Spy & Stalk, Linux is the way to go. And, to be honest, it's not that bad at all. Many people state that Linux Mint is a good start. It is not a rolling release, so there won't be lots of updates. Anyway, you can always choose not to update.
I installed Linux on an external drive as not to get into any issues dual-booting with Windows. After two years, I've not experienced any problems that the community has not been able to help with.
I changed to W10 from a W7 machine (when bought) and had few problems for some time. Eventually, after some updates the computer was running poorly and with problems. I had to go back to a clean start on two occasions, with all the problems of re-installing programs: fortunately, I had backed up all my data.
My technician advised going back to the original W7 system and have had no problems, even though I am offered an occasional update that I consider very carefully before agreeing. False promises often come to grief and sorry for those who are suffering and those who must be loosing money and business.
Up dated my wife Toshiba Laptop WIN7, apparently they tried to update the operating system to WIN 10 during the process now it can't find the operating system :(. Recovery disk no help. Thankfully i was able to install a Linux operating system via USB and it found everything. Regarding the forced updates...my wife does medical charting any time of the day or night as the need arises sooo there is no good random time for MS to do updates. Ive disabled the updates in Services and enable it when I choose to do the updates.
You are so focused on the Updates issue you have simply ignored the already disastrous situations that Microsoft has already so joyously created. It is by far the most hated company in history. Microsoft basically assaults computer users who have very little option other than Windows. Linux systems are just ridiculously complicated , Macintosh are so conservative, self focused, elitist and expensive beyond reason. Definitely no fun. So you would think Microsoft could not get away with the horrible existence it has forces on users. It ignores users pleas and complaints, and simply refuses to fix basic faults and openly insults the intelligence of the world. It has destroyed everything it takes over. Skype is a good example. So much software is going down a familiar "Microsoft" path one wonders if they are buying out the computer world, and god only knows what will happen in the future. They need a hell of a kick from Government. But lets face it, Government doesn't care anyway so long as they keep getting paid. There is so much money involved the principles of Ethics are simply non existent. With all the years of trouble with Windows, you would think that someone would come up with a better system. I gave up on the lot of them years ago.
Sounds like what they did to Skype...
Now Skype for windows 7 will auto-update. There is no option to turn it off. First it started with no option to logoff. Now, and most brilliant of all - it auto-updates , and wants a reboot of your PC when you want to use Skype. You can't use Skype before a reboot.
Microsoft was a company I admired for its user interfaces, but seriously, this is rubbish.
one must always read netween the lines. US collects worldwide data. Win 10 is win 8.1 with a lot of program lines added, in order to collect personal users data and habbits to home center. A reason good enough to change OS right away, to show that you do not accept that. Getting problems with data, regardless of Microsoft advance knoledge of that, means they are testing possibility to remotely delete your data, having in mind that a lot of world companies are using windows OS in their business, so they can be immediate victim in potential need of whatever the reason might be, along with remote reading of substance on your disks.
30 years ago, for a programmer, the data safety was number one, than data safety, than data safety, and then some profit. Where did this dissapear ? Probably accompanying human dignity, fairness, humanity and honesty. However, the Windows that became to, is just a choice (thank God).
It is up to each of us (the choice, I mean..).
Been trying for months not working and causing a lot of problems no response from Microsoft at all after sending detail report/screen shots and every requested info disgusted !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
Transferring files over to new mac computer also was giving problems ,today a blank screen suddenly appears,back up/rescue disk not working .If it is related to M/S update and i am not at all sure but really suspicious.Will take into Mac engineer to find out and fix (t/phone call to engineer indicates that i am not alone in this respect when transferring files)
I did lose everything in my Documents folder - which was a surprise but not the end of the world because I back-up daily. Then I noticed that the OneDrive version of documents was untouched and I wondered if this was deliberate. Having two versions of my Documents folder, which I had to synch daily to ensure they were the same, was always a pain and this seemed to be a decent solution.
It was only when I also applied the update to my laptop and none of the above happened that I realised the deletion was probably an error. I've kept the single Documents folder on my desktop machine though.
I use Win 7 Pro with Office 2003, because this system usually works OK for me. Which is important because (a) I paid for it and (b) I use it. Can you hear that, Microsoft? I have the updates option set to advise me but never to auto-instal anything, because almost every time I used to instal an "update" the changes managed to wreck some part of my system. But still the buggers sometimes sneak in a change that I did not authorize, and I discover it when some legacy or third-party program no longer works, or all the icons on my desktop have been scrambled.
The medical system in Australasia only recently switched from XP. The reason? They need a STABLE SYSTEM, that does not pull different tricks and changed layouts every few weeks. That's all most people want. So why not offer changes, innovations, and general bling in a manner that lets customers try each offering first, then they can pay for it and download it for permanent use if they like it.
Hi Sven;
So far so good have only had a few niggles
nothing major as yet but give it time.
Keep up the great articles very helpful
This seems to be the reason many no longer use Windows based computers. There are reasons why I still maintain a Windows computer but most of my computing is done on my cellphone.
Microsoft only have themselves to blame and that is possibly why their foray into the cellphone market was a failure. Windows based computers are marvelous when going well but deeply disappointing and frustrating when updates make them play up.
Great article Sven
Sven, you're 1000% right (if there's something like that). I installed the October 2018 edition of Windows 10, that is, Red Stone 5 on my wife new PC. Almost every restart shows blue screen! I didn't really understand what was happening though, I had read unconsciously that the "new guy on the block" is a bit "rubble rouser"! Let collect a billion signatures around the globe and march straight away to Redmond and bare all our teeth at Bill Gates that we can no longer accept this imposition! C'est fini!
Bought a new laptop some months ago with windows 10 being foisted on me. Found it out to be the absolute worst operating system I have ever come across.
Have used DOS, 3.1, windows 95 and windows XP. Took me a while to switch from 95 to XP and find XP is great from a user perspective.
My partner has windows 7 which is not great but no where as bad as windows 10. Microsoft, why Oh why can't you leave a good operating system alone(XP) and just make updates/improvements as needed.
Windows 10 has a terrible screen layout and terrible navigation through screens.let alone the uncontrolled updates. To put it into one word "RUBBISH". Devised by a bunch of primary school kids as a joke!