It was recently discovered that the latest Windows 10 update had somehow deleted user files. The update has been out for over a week now, but Windows fans shouldn't worry.

Thanks to Windows Latest (via TechRadar), we now know how Windows is handling the issue. The site interviewed unnamed Microsoft support team staff and quotes one of them as saying: "Microsoft is aware of this known issue and our engineers are working diligently to find a solution. It is further reported that the Windows team has been able to reproduce this bug and find one possible way to recover lost files.

This nasty security update (officially named Windows 10 KB4532693) also caused users to reset their Start menu and desktop to defaults, and where did their familiar shortcuts, apps, and wallpapers disappear to? Users were puzzled as to where their familiar shortcuts, apps, and wallpapers had disappeared. But this is obviously trivial compared to the loss of data due to incorrect coding on Microsoft's part.

For Windows 10, 2020 got off to a rough start: in early February, Windows 10 update KB4532695 slowed users' Wi-Fi speeds and caused problems with audio devices, and in January, Windows 10 security update refused to install automatically and required users to install manually.

The problem appears to be caused, at least in some cases, by the operating system opening a new temporary user profile containing existing user data rather than deleting the affected files Windows staff discovered that setting up a new account and transferring the data from the temporary account solves the problem. Unfortunately, Windows does not explain the exact process used to do this, so unless you are familiar with how Windows 10 works, you should probably refrain from doing this.

Alternatively, you can uninstall the update that caused the problem in the first place. This can be found by:

[Settings] -> [Update and Security] -> [Windows Update] -> [Update History] -> [Uninstall Update]

Once there, find the update in question in the list (in this case KB 4532693) in the list, select it and choose Uninstall.

However, this did not seem to work for everyone, and some people were unable to find the file or successfully restore it to their new account. If you can afford it, you may want to wait until Microsoft releases an official fix.

Hearing stories of data loss like this may make you want to invest in an external hard drive or the best cloud backup service. If you're looking for physical storage, the Western Digital Elements portable hard drive is one of the best around.