After having to embarrassingly halt the rollout of its big new October 2018 Update for Windows 10 late last week – just days after its original release – Microsoft has today said that it’s squashed the file-deleting bug that was the cause for the pause, and is preparing to redeploy the update pending testing by Windows Insiders.

Under specific conditions, the bug resulted in the deletion of predefined user folders, such as Documents and Pictures, when a feature called Known Folder Redirection (KFR) was also in use. KFR allows users to change the location of those predefined Windows folders – so they can be moved to other drives, for example – but to be affected by the bug, users also needed to have kept the original (old) versions of these predefined files and folders in place.  

In an official blog post, the tech giant has stated that only a small number of Windows users were affected by the problem – specifically, less than one one-hundredth of 1% (or 0.0001%) of all installs. At the time the bug was discovered, the October 2018 Update was only being offered to users who had manually clicked the ‘Check for updates’ button within Windows settings, which Microsoft credits with helping to minimize its impact.

Tentative steps to re-release

At present, the revised version of the October 2018 Update is only being made available to users who’ve signed up to the Windows Insider program, and Microsoft says it will monitor their feedback and data diagnostics.

A wider release will follow once the company is sure that the issue has been fully resolved, although a specific date for the rollout has not yet been announced.

Microsoft recommends that any users affected by the bug should call their local Microsoft support number, and technicians will be able to assist users with recovering any data that’s been lost.