What to Do if Windows 10 Eats Your Files

If all your Windows 7 files have gone missing, open the Computer Management app from the Search box and see if your old Windows 7 Administrator account was disabled during the Windows 10 update.





Q. I am considering the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, but I have heard you can lose your files in the process. Is this true?

A. Any major software installation — especially operating-system updates — has the potential to move files around on your system (or worse), so it is important to fully back up your computer before you dive in. Backing up your computer regularly is a good idea anyway, as hardware failure, viruses and other unfortunate events have been known to destroy years of documents, photos and other important files.

As Windows 7 is an older version of the operating system, the jump from it to Windows 10 may be more problematic than upgrading a Windows 8.1 system to Windows 10. If things go awry and you cannot locate the files after searching the PC (and have made sure the files are not set to be hidden), you can try a few other things.

Although it may not cover every possible issue, Microsoft’s Windows 10 support site has a list of common problems that Windows 7 users may encounter after installing Windows 10. For example, after the Windows 10 upgrade has finished, you may not be able to find your familiar files because you are inadvertently signed into a temporary profile created at some point during the update. Restarting the computer and signing in with your regular user name and password should fix things in this case, but be sure to save any new files you created to an external drive to preserve them after you sign out of the temporary account.

Another reason your stuff seems to have vanished is because your old files are trapped in a disabled administrator account, which can happen if you created a new Microsoft account during the upgrade journey from Windows 7. To switch back to your old user account, go to the Windows 10 search box in the Start menu, type in “computer management” and hit the Enter key.

The Windows 10 Computer Management app should open. When it does, click on Local Users and Groups in the left column and open the Users folder. If you see a downward-pointing arrow on the administrator account name listed, you need to re-enable it. Double-click the Administrator icon so the Properties box opens, turn off the checkbox next to “Account is disabled” and click the Apply button before you click O.K. Log out of the PC and log back in again with your old account user name and password.

And if nothing else works to restore your files, go to the backup.