Windows 11 Home: Forced set up after booting up computer, all my files are gone

Question

Windows 11 Home: Forced set up after booting up computer, all my files are gone

Gregory Wong 0

I have recently wiped my OMEN Max 16 laptop and did a fresh windows installation to remove a malware, I went through the normal set up process afterwards and signed in my Microsoft profile on my laptop. It has been a week since the wipe and when I booted my laptop up this morning Windows made me go through the entire set up process again, and afterwards all my files are gone as if this was a clean laptop. Also note, during this set up process it asked me if I wanted to restore my files and settings from Sep 15, I agreed to that however there are no changes indicating files were restored and the laptop is completely clean.

I’m worried that this could be a malware issue, I ran some scans using windows defender, malwarebytes and bit defender but nothing came up. I’m confused over why this happened and I want to be sure that my laptop is actually functioning normally.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

DaveM121 934.5K Independent Advisor

No there is no working method to access the data what was on your drive before you reinstalled Windows.

Yes, it is safe to leave Bitlocker as it is, that is the default in Windows 11.

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Answer 2

DaveM121 934.5K Independent Advisor

This behavior is not indicative of a malware infection, more likely this is caused by an incomplete Windows installation.

Open File Explorer, then go to C:\Users.

In there, do you find more than one user folder that looks like your user folder, and if so, do you find your files in any user folder in there.

Also, you indicate you recently wiped your laptop, do you have a safe copy of your files somewhere or use OneDrive to sync your files online.

Gregory Wong 0 Reputation points

2026-09-18T15:51:53.5866667+00:00

I do not see any additional user folders besides the one that is linked to the new Microsoft login after the set up today.

To clarify, I intentionally not made back ups of my files when reinstalling because I’m afraid that the malware may exist in those files, some of my files are also saved on the OneDrive provided by my university institution, but I didn’t connect to that OneDrive after reinstallation over the same concern. What I’m referring to missing files is specifically the few antivirus softwares I have installed after reinstallation to check if the malware still persists. Those files are gone after the sudden set up today.
DaveM121 934.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-18T16:00:12.2466667+00:00

Thank you for that information.

It is a mystery how this happened, Windows should not have initiated a reset automatically.

Open the Settings App. Go to Accounts - Sign In Options.

Disable this setting - Use my Sign In info to automatically finish setting up after an update.

Then go to System - Notifications.

Scroll down to the bottom of that window, expand the Additional Settings.

Disable the two settings in that section.

That should ensure this will not happen again.
Gregory Wong 0 Reputation points

2026-09-18T16:04:18.8633333+00:00

Adding on to that, I just checked my bitlocker on Microsoft and it seems there are two keys registered under two device names under the same laptop, could this have something to do with this? How can I have two drives on one laptop?
DaveM121 934.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-18T16:07:40.0633333+00:00

Bitlocker would not cause the problem with Windows resetting.

If you do not have two physical drives on your laptop, then if you see two Bitlocker keys, when you reinstalled Windows that may have caused Windows to create a new Bitlocker Recovery Key, do not delete either of those keys, in case you need the Bitlocker Recovery key in the future, one of those will work for you.
Gregory Wong 0 Reputation points

2026-09-18T16:11:02.0333333+00:00

Thank you for your info, is there a way to access the older drive? I only have one physical drive on my computer by the way. I have checked the Account in Settings and can’t find other users. Also is it safe to leave a bitlocker I’m not using on my Microsoft account?