Salutations, everyone!
I'm sharing this everywhere because I want to make sure people have their files backed up. I've already posted this announcement to my subs across multiple platforms but, I figure forums are a great way to get this news out there as well. So I'll get to the heart of it: The most recent Windows 10 October update (1809) has been deleting files on users computers and those deletions so far, for those who have lost files, have been permanent. Now context: it hasn't happened to EVERYONE using Windows 10, however it's happened to enough people that everyone should back up their works just in case.
TIP: Don't take the chance that it won't be you, if you have important documents on your computer that you don't otherwise have anywhere else. I know this site is chock full of artists that all work hard on their art and writing and a lot of it has been purely digital. Guys, BACK UP YOUR WORK ASAP. DO NOT UPDATE YOUR COMPUTER IF YOU'RE ON WINDOWS 10 BEFORE BACKING UP YOUR WORK. Grab your SD cards, Flash Drives, External Hard-drives, whatever you have to, burn to disc if you've got to, but back up your work and important documents!
Also,not updating Windows 10 until Microsoft resolves the issue might be something you want to consider if you're concerned. It's just an option that's available for those who haven't done the update yet. I'm not sure if this update is one you would have to perform manually but, Windows 10 usually pops up with a prompt asking if you want to update your computer and you can put it off from there. If your computer doesn't do that, there is a section in Settings that allows you to require the system to ask you permission for updates first. I'd enable that for the time being. Here are some tips to get Windows 10 to ask for permission before updating.
NOTE: Rolling back the update will NOT resolve the issue, the deleted files will remain deleted (and One Drive isn't very reliable, as it may sync with the 'new' state of your PC and thus any files you backed up there might get deleted on the drive as well so, look out for that issue!). I'll post a video in here as well so everyone can see what's been going on and hopefully you all see this in time to make backups of your work. Share this information far and wide, make sure your watchers/subs/followers/friends know about this so they can safeguard their stuff as well. Like I said, though it isn't happening to everyone using Windows 10 it's still been pretty broad so far and you don't want to chance that something you've worked hard on gets deleted out from under you.
Also! The first article above that I linked has some solutions to try for deleted files. However, if those don't work for you or you find another solution (if you're one of those who lost files) please post your fixes or solutions. They might help someone else who has run into the same issue. I know there are lots of digital artists with years of their hard work stored on their PC's and it'd be a shame for anyone to lose that. Microsoft IS looking into the situation so we'll see what they do to fix the update for others who haven't done it yet. Here is the promised video about the issue:
Here's another vid about it (and it only talks about the Windows 10 issue for the first minute or so, the rest of the vid is about other products).
Cheers my fellow artists and writers, keep your hard work safe!
Edit Saturday October 6th: So it looks like Microsoft is putting a hold on the roll out of its new update while they investigate the data loss problem. They recommend if you've manually downloaded the update files but have not used them yet, to not install it until after they're done investigating the issue. Here's hoping they get this resolved. In the mean time I still recommend that everyone make backups of their work just in case.