Automatic Update deleted all my files!

If the pictures were in a folder on a drive/volume that was being monitored by Windows you might look at Restore Previous Version.

Here is an example of how that works:

Windows 7 has a Restore Previous Version feature that you can investigate.

Note that Restore Previous Version (RPV) can only be use on drives/volumes that are being monitored by Windows and sometimes the only volume that is being monitored is the C drive where Windows is usually installed:

In this example RPV would only be available on folders on the C drive or C volume:


If you attempt to use RPV for folders on volumes D or E (which are not being monitored) you would see a message like this:


Right click the folder the files were in before the cut (or permanent delete) and choose Restore Previous Version:

RPV keeps copies of your folders (even personal folders) and accumulates previous versions based on your System Restore and backup activity so there will be a previous version for every Restore Point (if the drive is being monitored) and every backup listed by date:

In the above example, the one marked Yesterday is when my system made a Restore Point at 1:09 AM and that matches up with the dates in my System Restore calendar.

Then click Restore and respond in the affirmative:

Depending on what RPV has to do and how big the folder is in content, it could take some time since the entire folder will be restored and not just some file(s):

If all goes well you should see this:

Read more about Restore Previous Version here:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/previous-versions-files-faq#1TC=windows-7

If anyone cares to see if it really works use a folder with a few files in it and make sure when you right click a folder that there are Previous Versions listed, then delete  a file in that folder and restore it to an earlier date/time.

Well I have talked to Microsoft and they say I'm not alone, so as far as they are concerned it must be a minor problem. We had no luck and they are going to call me back this morning. I'm not a computer noob and this is the first time I've had this type of problem that I couldn't solve myself. It is strange but I'm sorry to say that it did happen to me (and from what Microsoft says, a few others).

I actually just got lucky for once. I knew I'd backed up my music a couple of weeks ago so I checked my backup drive and I also backed up my pictures. So I'm good to go. Now I'll just change my wallpaper back to the way I had it set up before the update and everything will end up ok. My head hurts from trying to figure out what could have happened to that folder so since I did back them up, I'm not going to worry about it. I just hope the others that had this problem can get theirs back.

I don't suggest things to try (usually) - I suggest things to do :-)

If the application of some Windows Update resulted in an entire folder being emptied millions of people all over the world would be screaming - and they're not.

There must be something missing in the problem equation...

Actually I ran through all of what you provided and my profile is good to go. The command prompt opens to my user folder just like it should and everything else is in order. Something tells me that I won't see my pictures again and that's sooooo frustrating. Thanks for the help though, I've tried everything I've read on here and I'm stuck.