Delete automatic updates ... problem?

[nomadreid]

Windows 10 automatically updated my computer day before yesterday, and yesterday I woke up to find all my files missing. It took me a while, but I recovered all my files. However, now there are several important functions that either do not work, or are missing altogether. So, my main questions are: there were about 16 updates. Should I just delete them all? Is there any way to find out which one(s) are causing problems? (I intended to take a snip of the programs, but then found that even my snip function was no longer there.)
Related question: I used then "Do Your Data 6.1 (Professional)" to recover some other files (besides the ones I recovered by other means) that turned out to be things like dll and Code Integrity files. That did not seem to help. Should I just discard these additional files?
(Of course I will turn off automatic updates for the future. )

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Windows 10 does have a feature where you can roll back to a earlier version of Windows.
https://www.howtogeek.com/235474/how-to-roll-back-builds-and-uninstall-updates-on-windows-10/

 

[nomadreid]

Thanks, Greg, I saw that article in my efforts before posting, but one of the disruptions to my system was to eliminate or disable the functions needed to follow the recommendation in that article. It is as if the changed system had a sense of self-preservation ! This is why I am considering doing it manually, just like the manual solution to thwart HAL's self-preservation attempts in "2001: A Space Odyssey": So, my question still stands.

 

[rootone]

I think part of the problem may arise because of some incompatibility of whatever application software you are using.
You could try reinstalling your application software.
It also sounds somewhat characteristic of malware, so I would investigate that possibility too.
While Microsoft don't have an unblemished reputation, I have not heard of any previous incident where an upgrade resulted in users data getting deleted.

 

[nomadreid]

Thanks, rootone. When you say the application software, you mean all the apps I have on my computer? That's a lot of apps to reinstall. Anyway, I also thought of malware and did a scan, but it would be odd for the malware to have snuck in with the update. In any case, if you google something like "after update data disappeared windows 10", you will find that this has happened to a lot of people. (I have read the proposed solutions, but so far none of them have been able to solve my problem, often because the solutions proposed require some of the functions that were disabled on my computer.)

 

[rootone]

I was referring to whatever application is associated with the missing or corrupted files.
If these missing files are prevalent everywhere across your system, and even the apps that come with windows (like notepad say), can't read their own previous files, this sounds a lot more like malware to me than some kind of incompatibilty problem following an update.
Here is a link to a pretty good free malware scanner, (other than the standard windows scanner)
https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/
(Quite a lot of malware is capable of hiding from Windows defender and other standard AVs, while the virus is still new).
This product above uses a different kind of approach and I've heard occasions where it has dug out malware not seen by other AVs.

 

[nomadreid]

Thanks, rootone, but it wasn't malware. I was over 4 hours on the phone with Microsoft while I watched the technician by remote access investigate everything possible until she found the problem and fixed it. Thanks also for the recommendations of Malwarebytes, which I had for several years until it told me that I could no longer use the free version, I had to pay for the Pro. In general I was not too impressed by Malwarebytes, because I usually scanned with two scanners, first with Malwarebytes and then with Superantispyware (Free edition), and the latter would often come up with stuff that Malwarebytes missed. Anyway, my computer is now running again, so thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[rootone]

I am glad you got it sorted out,

 

[Tom.G]

I watched the technician by remote access investigate everything possible until she found the problem and fixed it.

And what was it that was found? The rest of us would like to know so we have a clue when we hit the same problem.

 

[rkolter]

Thanks, rootone, but it wasn't malware. I was over 4 hours on the phone with Microsoft while I watched the technician by remote access investigate everything possible until she found the problem and fixed it. Thanks also for the recommendations of Malwarebytes, which I had for several years until it told me that I could no longer use the free version, I had to pay for the Pro. In general I was not too impressed by Malwarebytes, because I usually scanned with two scanners, first with Malwarebytes and then with Superantispyware (Free edition), and the latter would often come up with stuff that Malwarebytes missed. Anyway, my computer is now running again, so thanks for all the suggestions.

I want to be sadly, brutally clear here:

Microsoft does not publish free technical support phone numbers nor do they provide technical support on an on-call basis for individuals nor do they proactively ask you to call them because they have identified an issue on your computer. They do not, ever, remote control a person's personal computing device, they do not provide personalized troubleshooting and they do not provide the use of a technician for several hours to resolve one user's problem. This is not how Microsoft works. Microsoft is not a support company and they do not provide public support in this manner. Period.

You let a scammer into your computer. What you are describing is a very common scam and almost EXACTLY what I've seen happen to other people. This scam is very popular. They may have even fixed your computer - but you have no idea what data they took along the way or what software they left behind.

Side note - MalwareBytes still offers a free version. I would get It and run it. Now.

 

[nomadreid]

Interesting, thanks, rkolter. I must say, this was the most elaborate scam I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of scams. (For example, they did not actively ask me to call them; I got hold of Microsoft in the country I am residing in following the recommendation of an Intel worker, and I was passed on from there. The technician on the other end was able to fix a problem that two other software professionals had not been able to fix.) It seems a lot of trouble to install something that could be removed by an antimalware app. Yes, they fixed the computer (rarely does one get anything positive out of a scam), and being a suspicious person by nature, I ran a scan immediately afterwards (although not with MalWareBytes, but rather with SuperAntiMalWare, which just came up with the usual advertising malware), but upon your recommendation I have just downloaded MalWareBytes and scanned my computer with it. [It only came up with three results, which were leftovers from programs which were put into my computer by a computer repairman without my asking for them, which he (and corresponding websites) said would do various things: one for keeping drivers up to date, another for improving boot-up time, and a third for ... you get the idea. Given the source of these programs, they were probably pirates, and I discarded them.] I was also recommended Zemana and Malwarebytes AdwCleaner; I may download them to and scan them. (A rather odd "notification" by MalWareBytes was, right after downloading, it told me that my Premium Free Trial had ended... OK, but it never began! They could have at least waited a little to be a bit more convincing.) I also changed my email password right after the session. I shall keep an eye out for any other possible consequences. So thanks again; a call to caution is always good.

 

[nomadreid]

And what was it that was found? The rest of us would like to know so we have a clue when we hit the same problem.

Sorry for the delay. So, what was wrong? The technician just said (and the follow-up report just said) that some elements of my Start Menu had been corrupted. Rather vague, and not much help. Precisely what had happened, I do not know, but a clue came as she was looking at my motherboard and asked me if I had a custom-made computer. Not to my knowledge, but then again I live in a country where, to put it mildly, intellectual property tends not to be the highest priority, and a lot of things are sold that are not necessarily the same as they came out of the factory. Not to mention that the computer has been around for a number of years. Or maybe she just noticed that the screen was of a different firm that the hard drive, I don't know. In any case, it is very possible that the dodgy hardware was responsible. Another possibility is that some malware got in and did some damage before being removed. (Or maybe it never got removed.) A third possibility is that it was something different that the technician didn't know and that was a cover-all term, since the first problem encountered was that a lot of functions on the Start Menu did not function, especially if the possibility in the previous post (see #10) was the case. I do not know, being a user with little practical knowledge in these realms. Which is why I seek advice here.