A few days ago Microsoft released the latest Windows 10 October 2018 update but according to users, the update has a lot of issues, primary being files missing or deleted. The update was set to roll out automatically from 9th October but Microsoft pulled the update after the users’ reports.
Dona Sarkar, the head of the Windows Insider program later announced that Microsoft tech support has now the tools that can recover the missing files. In a tweet, she also suggested that those users who have been affected by this update should call Microsoft support +1-800-MICROSOFT for further assistance.
The agents only told them that the bug which caused the problem is still under investigation and they don’t know about any such tool. The agents also told them that they have to wait until the investigation is completed.
One of the users from Reddit had some luck with Microsoft Tech Support and he was told to simply use System Restore to roll back to a previous restore point. If that still doesn’t work then he was told to use NTFS File Recovery software.
There is no special tool to download.
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.
In that case, tech support escalates to L2 who will want to remote into your system, see if backups exist, and potentially step 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.