How to Recover the Lost Data After Windows Update?

Windows update plays a very important role in maintaining your device’s security, stability, and performance. However, sometimes after the update process, you may encounter issues like sudden data loss or corruption. If you ever experience data loss scenario after a Windows update, don’t panic. There are several methods and tools available that you can try to find lost or missing files on windows. In this guide, we’ll explore the steps you can take to learn how to recover lost data after Windows update and minimize the impact of the issue.

Common Causes for Data Loss after Windows Update

Before diving into data recovery methods, it’s important to understand why data loss may occur after a Windows update. There are several reasons why files get deleted after installing the latest Windows update, some of them are:

• Update Errors: There may be some error during the installation process which may lead to incomplete updates or system crashes. These errors can result in the loss or corruption of files.
• System Restores: Sometimes, you may select to perform a system restore to revert your device to a previous state before the update. While system restores can help fix issues caused by updates, they may also cause the deletion of data if not performed correctly.
• Software Incompatibility: After a Windows update, certain software apps or drivers may become incompatible with the updated device OS, resulting in data loss or system instability.
• Disk Errors: Problems on the hard drive or storage device, like bad sectors or file system corruption, can affect the data stored on your device and lead to sudden loss during or after a Windows update.

Quick Methods to Recover Lost Data After Windows Update

There are several methods and professional data recovery software available that you can try to restore lost data on Windows devices after installing the latest OS updates. Some popular workarounds to help you learn how to recover the lost data after Windows update are as follows:

Method 01: Recover Deleted Data using Backup and Restore Option

If you have a habit of creating backups of important files on Windows devices, you can use these backups in case of data loss scenario. Windows OS provides an in-built Backup and Restore utility which allows you to create backup and restore all your files by going back to the previous version. For this: 

• Type CP in the search box of your device and then launch the Control Panel. Then, click on Backup and Restore option.
• Now, click on the “Restore My Files” button and select the files that you need to restore.
• Search for missing files using the Browse for files or Browse for folders options.
• Lastly, select your required files and tap the Restore button to save them back to your device.

Method 02: Recover Files from Windows.old Folder

If you are upgrading your Windows OS using the Custom upgrade, the setup will create a backup of your file in the Windows.old folder. This backup folder stores deleted data only for ten days after completion of the upgrade process. Therefore, it is good to check the Windows.old backup folder after upgrading your Windows OS to restore deleted data. 

Here’s how to recover the lost data after Windows update from the Windows.old Folder:

• Launch Windows Explorer and go to Local Disk C. 
• Now, locate the Windows.old folder in the C: drive. 
• From the Windows.old folder, locate the files you want to restore, choose the files and move them to the desired location in the current Windows installation. 

Note: As mentioned above, this method to recover lost data after Windows update will only work within ten days after the upgrade. After that, the folder will get automatically deleted from your “Local Disk C:” drive. 

Method 03: Recover Lost Data by Enabling Administrator Account 

When data gets deleted on Windows devices after upgrading OS, there’s a possibility that the Administrator account has been disabled. In such cases, you can access these disappeared files or folders by enabling built-in Windows 10 Administrator Account. All you have to do is: 

• Firstly, search Computer Management in the search box of your Windows device and click to open it.
• From the “Computer Management” window, click on “Local Users and Groups” from the left navigation pane. 
• Double-click on the Users icon from the right pane followed by double-clicking on Administrator to open Properties. 
• Now, uncheck the box “Account is disabled” if it is checked already.
• Click the Apply button and then the OK button. 
• Log out the current account and again sign in with this Administrator account. 
• Once done, try to find your lost documents and save them back to your device.

Method 04: Use Data Recovery Software to Recover Data After Windows Update

Instances may occur when the above-mentioned data recovery methods fail to recover your lost data after installing the latest Windows update. In such cases, you can try recovering those lost data using a professional data recovery software. To easily recover your lost data, you can use the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool, which can restore your files deleted from any location on your device. This all-in-one data recovery tool can easily restore lost files from removable devices including USB, SD card, external devices, etc.

Not only this, the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool supports the recovery of files from both Windows as well as Mac devices. Even it supports the recovery of lost files from crashed systems. The software is easy and secure to download and use. You can recover your lost data using this tool in just three simple clicks. 

To know how to recover the lost data after Windows update using the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool, you need to follow the below-given steps: 

Step 1: After installing the Stellar Data Recovery Professional software on your Windows device, launch it. From the homepage of the software, select the type of file you need to restore and click Next.

Step 2: Now, select the storage location or drive volume where your deleted file was earlier stored and tap Scan to begin the scanning process. 

Step 3: After successful completion of the scanning, preview the recoverable files and click the Recover button to save them at the desired location. 

Conclusion:

If you experience data loss on Windows device after upgrading the device OS, just go with the above-mentioned methods to restore your lost data. Whether you are using manual approach or professional data recovery software, the key is to act promptly. Also, maintain regular backups of your files to help you in such data loss scenarios. When manual methods fail to recover all the deleted files, you can try using the Stellar Data Recovery Professional tool, which can easily restore your lost data and that too in no time.