Windows 10 October 2018 Update still having issues

If you read our post ‘How to fix problems with Windows 10 October Update’ you will already know that the most recent Windows update has been giving owners some trouble. After fixing one bug with the update, another has recently appeared. It’s a bug that can potentially delete files.

The good news is that this bug seems quite rare and not everyone has had issues with it. We run a few Windows 10 machines here at Dave’s Computers and have not seen this bug at all. We even tried to purposely replicate it just in case one of our New Jersey computer repair customers suffered the problem but we couldn’t get it to work. That said, we have heard about lots of people who have seen this problem first hand.

Windows 10 October 2018 Update bug

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update bug is a curious one. It does one of two things. It either overwrites an existing file without asking permission or it makes you think it has copied a file when it actually hasn’t.

The update removes the dialog box that asks permission to overwrite a file when you extract a compressed file to a file of the same name. If the same files exist already, rather than asking you if you want to overwrite it as Windows usually does, it goes ahead and overwrites it automatically. Other people have complained that when the file is moved, it doesn’t actually copy.

If the extraction overwrites a file you modified, your modifications will disappear. If you extract a file and then delete the compressed folder and Explorer didn’t actually copy it, you lose the original. Either way, it isn’t a great position to be in if you regularly use compressed files!

The Windows Feedback Hub has the bug listed and is actively being discussed and investigated by Microsoft but so far, no solution has been offered. This link takes you through the Feedback Hub app within Windows 10 to the discussion if you want to take a look.

Don’t download the Windows 10 October 2018 Update

Here at Dave’s Computers, we usually advocate keeping your computer up to date with all the latest patches and updates. This time we are changing that. For now, I do not recommend updating your Windows 10 computer to version 1809. Not until Microsoft have fixed this bug and no other bugs have been found.

If you have already installed the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, I suggest you create a backup of all critical files right now in case this bug affects you.

If you do lose files, don’t despair. Stop what you’re doing right away and bring your computer or hard drive to our New Jersey computer store. We are data recovery experts and may be able to recover your files.