Have you upgraded your Windows OS and lost important files on your device?
Relax; you are at the right place. Usually, people prefer to upgrade their device operating system to get the latest updates or simply to experience new features.
Whenever you upgrade your device, the existing files on the C: drive get replace with the new files. However, this version update sometimes leads to data loss issues which make you unable to access your stored files.
No need to worry even if you have lost your files after the Windows update, there are multiple ways to recover your data easily and quickly.
In this article, we will describe several ways to answer – How to recover lost data after Windows update.
How do I Recover Files after Windows Update?
If you have lost files after the Windows update, don’t panic. Just go through the methods we have provided in this section to get them back.
Method 01: Remove the Temporary Account
You may be unable to access your files if you have been logged in to your older or temporary user account. Temporary files look like normal user accounts, but any changes done in your files while logging in to the temporary account will not reflect once you sign out. In such cases, you can remove your temporary account in order to regain access to those deleted files.
Go through the following steps to restore files after the Windows upgrade using this method:
- Launch the Settings app on your device and click Accounts and then Sync your settings.
- Now, will get a message indicating “You are signed in with a temporary profile. Roaming options are presently unavailable” at the top of your screen. Restart your device and sign in once again. This will sort out the problem and you will be able to access your document again.
- After that, check if your sync settings is ON.
- Restart your device and try logging in again and check if the “We can’t sign in to your account” message appears.
Once done with the above steps, log in again to your account and check if you are able to access all your files. If not, move to the next method.
Method 02: Recover the Administrator Account
When you upgrade your operating system, you may be asked to create a new Microsoft account. This new account may not carry the files from your local account. Therefore, when you sign in, you will be unable to access your data. In such a situation, you need to restore access to the built-in admin account.
Once you regain access, you can move your data to the newly created Microsoft user account by the following steps:
- Type Computer Manager in the search box located in the bottom-left corner. Select the Run as Administrator option.
- Now, click and expand Local Users and Groups, then click Users. This will display the list of accounts associated with your device.
- Double-click on the Administrator account to open it. Check if the box next to the Account is disabled option is unticked. Click Apply button followed by the OK button to save the changes.
Once you are done with the above steps, sign out of your Microsoft account and then sign in to the Admin account again. After that, make sure you are able to view all your data in the new account you created.
Method 03: Recover Lost Data after Windows Update from Backup
Windows’ in-built backup utility feature allows you to restore your files if data loss occurs. It is always advised to back up your data before you proceed to install a Windows update. If you have created any backup, you can go through the below-given steps to get your deleted files back:
- Press Windows + I keys to launch Settings on your device. Go to Update and Security from the left navigation pane and then select Backup.
- Now, click Restore files from a current backup to preview the data files that you can restore.
- Select all the files that you want to recover and click the green Recover button to save them on your device.
Method 04: Recover Files Using Windows Data Recovery Software
If you fail to recover your lost data files using the above methods, you can use a data recovery software. There are several free data recovery software available that you can try to get your deleted files back. Stellar Data Recovery Free tool is one of the best and most reliable data recovery tools that allows you to restore your files in no time. To get your deleted files using this software, you just need to go through the 3-step process, i.e., Select, Scan and Recover.
Before you start using this free data recovery software to restore your deleted files after the Windows update, check its amazing features. These features include:
- Supports recovery of data from any storage device, including your USB, SD Cards, HDDs, SSDs, etc.
- This data recovery software is compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 as well as macOS devices.
- Recover several types of data files, like photos, videos, audio files, documents, and many other file types.
- The software is completely secure and easy to use because of its simple user interface.
- Stellar Free Data Recovery software allows you to preview the recoverable files before you save them on your device.
Now, check the following steps to know how to recover the lost data after the Windows update using the Stellar Data Recovery Free tool:
- Download and install the Stellar Data Recovery Free tool on your Windows device.
- Launch the software and select the type of data that you need to recover.
- Now, select the storage drive from where you need to recover missing files and click the “Scan” button.
- After completion of the scanning process, select the files that you need to recover and click the “Recover” button to save them.
Wrapping Up
If you encounter issues like data loss after the Windows update, don’t worry as the aforementioned methods will help you to get your deleted data back. Such data loss issues generally occur if your system updates have moved your data to another area on your PC, or if it deleted the files.
This blog provides you with some quick and easy workarounds to recover files after the Windows update. If the manual methods fail to recover all the deleted items, you should use Stellar Data Recovery Free software to recover each deleted item. This amazing software will help you to restore your lost files only in a few simple clicks.