windows 10 (October 2018 update) (version 1809) deleted all my files

Thanks Sophie.

 If you want to report this to Microsoft use the Feedback Hub app in Start Menu where developers are tasked to process consumer feedback. They will not even see it here. This is a tech forums staffed mostly by volunteers trying to help others with your problems.

If you want to post back a Share link from your Feedback here others who see this thread can vote it up and add to it. I will also track the issue for you.

 

For what it is worth, I submitted the issue to the Feedback Hub; this is the link:

https://aka.ms/AA2s9fy

Thanks Sophie.

 If you want to report this to Microsoft use the Feedback Hub app in Start Menu where developers are tasked to process consumer feedback. They will not even see it here. This is a tech forums staffed mostly by volunteers trying to help others with your problems.

If you want to post back a Share link from your Feedback here others who see this thread can vote it up and add to it. I will also track the issue for you.

This almost caught me too - they've recently added the Download folder to the Disk Clean-up tool in Clean-up system files. So, either don't have any files in the Download folder or de-select that option in the tool.

This did catch me :(

The Download folder has been added to Disc Clean-up only since windows version 1809; and usually I tick off all the boxes - which is what I did again this time.

So I lost all contents in my download folder!!!

Tried to recover the contents using Shadow Explorer - but all the .pdf's, .mp4's, … which were recovered are corrupted! 

All "recovered" files are non-viewable and non-playable.

This is not an error or a miss on the part of Microsoft. I am certain I will not be the only person to lose files from the Download folder.

Why did Microsoft not warn us that the Download folder is now included in Disc Clean-up????

And so much for all those reviews of version 1809 - none mentioned the new "feature" of having the Downloads folder in Disk Clean-up (let alone the data deleted only upon installing 1809).

I'd be guessing it is hardware/driver compatibility issues. Just because the majority don't have a problem, does not mean it does not happen. Nor does it mean the user did something wrong.

I am still waiting for an update which actually allows me to install the fall update instead of being stuck in an endless install/reboot/recover loop due to a graphics driver incompatibility.

In my case, the laptop is getting old (6 years) but required hardware prevents me from updating, and since M$ forces me to update I have no option but to put up with the 8 hours of pain every couple of weeks.

Looks like there is a blog with more details explaining problem:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/10/09/updated-version-of-windows-10-october-2018-update-released-to-windows-insiders/#WBz2COz4pki59qMG.97