Windows Updates keep wiping personal files from my surface pro - please help.

Question

Windows Updates keep wiping personal files from my surface pro - please help.

Alexandra K 0

Hi

Please can someone help me with this issue, as it's causing me increasing stress and I've started to avoid using my surface pro because the anxiety of losing all my files?

Since the beginning of 2026, every few months my surface pro has demanded a Windows update. I do not always know when this will happen and I avoid downloading the updates if I do notice a new one is available, because on 3-4 occasions I've turned on my surface pro to find that all my files/documents are gone. These have been saved in different locations (i change where i save them in case it helps). Initially they were wiped from my surface pro personal documents and downloads, then from the desktop. I saved some of them to OneDrive but they are not on the OneDrive. I've lost important documents which I can't replace and which took hours/days to produce. I've lost excel spreadsheets with information I have no other way to gather. This really impacts my day-to-day life and I'm regretting buying a surface pro.

Can anyone help?

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Answer 1

Emma1-N 14,895 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Welcome Alexandra K,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Losing documents you worked hard on is stressful, and I understand why you've been avoiding your Surface Pro.

To narrow this down, could you tell me:

Which Windows version is your Surface Pro running? Go to Settings > System > About and share the Edition and Version under Windows specifications
Do you sign in to Windows with a Microsoft account (an email address) or a local account?
After the update, did your desktop look different (for example, the default wallpaper or a notification about a temporary profile)?
Was OneDrive backup or sync turned on for your Desktop, Documents or Pictures folders before the files disappeared?

In the meantime, please try these steps:

Step 1: Check which account and profile you are signed in to

Select Start > your profile icon, and check that you are signed in to the account you normally use. If a message says you are signed in with a temporary profile, restart the device and sign in again. You may need to restart more than once.
Open File Explorer > This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users. Check whether there is another folder with your usual user name, and look in its Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders.

Step 2: Search the whole device

In File Explorer, select This PC and type *.xlsx in the Search This PC box. Repeat with *.docx.
Go to Settings > System > Advanced > File Explorer (Windows 11) and turn on Show hidden and system files. On Windows 10, in File Explorer select View > Show > Hidden items
If you find a file, right-click it and select Open file location, then copy it to a safe place.

Step 3: Check OneDrive online and the Recycle Bin

Go to onedrive.com and sign in with the same Microsoft account you use on the Surface. Select "Recycle bin" in the left pane, look for your files and select "Restore". Personal accounts keep deleted items for 30 days.
Use "Search everything" at the top, and check any other Microsoft account you may have used.
On the Surface, open the "Recycle Bin" on the desktop and look for the files there too.

Step 4: Check for a previous Windows folder

In "File Explorer", open "Local Disk (C:)" and look for a folder named "Windows.old". If it's there, open "Users" > your user name and copy any files you find to a safe location. This folder is only kept for about 10 days after a major upgrade, so please check it soon.

Important: Please don't use "Reset this PC" or reinstall Windows for now, because that can permanently remove any files that can still be recovered. Also try to avoid saving new files to the Surface until we've checked these locations.

Looking forward to your update.

Emma1-N 14,895 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-24T07:15:44.0866667+00:00

Hello Alexandra K,

I just wanted to check if my previous response addressed your question correctly. If there is anything I may have misunderstood, I would truly appreciate it if you could provide a bit more detail to help me better understand your needs.
Alexandra K 0 Reputation points

2026-10-24T17:42:11.85+00:00

Hi there

Thanks for the response.

I'm using Surface Pro version = Windows 11 Home / 25H2.

I sign in using a gmail account, I don't really know what that means for having a Microsoft Account (all laptops i've had in the past didn't demand log-ins for everything, you just signed in using a profile).

The desktop didn't look different as i don't personalise it, but i do personalise my internet browser (tabs, favorites, etc) and that is being wiped everytime the surface pro updates.

Yes i think OneDrive sync/backup is switched on, but i don't want be forced to use or rely on that, I just want my localised files to stay on my laptop.

Step 1 = I only have one Profile. The only thing in Documents currently is OneDrive.

Step 2 = There is no File Explorer option in my Advanced Settings on Windows 11 to select this.

Step 3 = There are some documents on OneDrive but not the ones I was working on.

Step 4 = There is a Windows folder, but not Windows.old and there is no 'Users' folder within Windows.
Emma1-N 14,895 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-27T04:20:10.25+00:00
Hello Alexandra K,

Thank you for checking all of that and for confirming you're using Windows 11 Home 25H2.

Please try the next step:

Press Windows key + R.

Type %userprofile% and select OK

File Explorer should open directly to the profile Windows is currently using. Please tell me the folder path shown in the address bar. You don't need to provide your personal username; for privacy, you can replace it with "USERNAME".

In that folder, check "Desktop", "Documents" and "Downloads" and let me know whether your missing files appear there.

For example, you only need to tell me whether the path looks like "C:\Users\USERNAME" or whether it shows a different location.

You can also select "This PC" in File Explorer and search for the exact name of one missing document.

For now, please don't reset or reinstall Windows, as we're still checking whether the original files/profile can be located.
Emma1-N 14,895 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-28T08:08:36.4766667+00:00

Hello Alexandra K,

Is there any update from you? Please let me know, I will be here to assist you.