User claims Redmond turns to System Restore for the task

Oct 9, 2018 05:50 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft pulled Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018 Update) last week after it discovered a bug removing user files placed in libraries.

The software giant recommended customers to use their PCs as little as possible and to get in touch with Microsoft Support for assistance over recovering their files.

As it turns out, what Microsoft does to recover the deleted files is running a System Restore, as a restore point was automatically created before the upgrade to Windows 10 version 1809.

A reddit user who contacted Microsoft Support to resolve the issue explains that this is how Level 1 agents attempt to save your files, though if you’ve manually disabled System Restore, you are transferred to Level 2 support.

“The Level 1 agents just tell you to run System Restore which relies on a restore point being created prior to the upgrade. Creating a restore point before upgrade is the default behavior, so it looks like if you have a restore point, you're good to go. The only cases where this will be broken is if you had previously manually disabled the system restore feature,” user SurfaceDockGuy explains.

Version 1809 no longer up for grabs

As I told you recently, data recovery applications can lend you a hand in the attempt to bring back deleted files, and Recuva is one particular example.

Level 2 support appears to be trying a mix of recovery methods, though it’s not clear if software like Recuva is being used.

“Tech support escalates to L2 who can then do a variety of things including remoting into your system, seeing if backups exist, and potentially stepping through the NTFS file record restoration process. Success of this process relies on freed sectors of the HD not being overwritten so presumably this is the reason for advising folks to not use the system,” the post also reads.

In the meantime, Windows 10 version 1803 is no longer available for download, and Microsoft says the rollout would only resume when a fix is ready.

Thanks for the tip, Josh! Via WL