Windows 10 users are complaining about missing desktop files after installing this month’s Patch Tuesday

2 min. read

Published on February 13, 2020

published on February 13, 2020

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Earlier this week, Microsoft released its usual Patch Tuesday updates, providing users with the usual performance and security improvements. However, it seems the patches for the November 2019 and May 2019 updates of Windows 10 also come with some potentially critical issues.

One issue reportedly causes desktop files to disappear, and settings such as the Start Menu layout and desktop wallpaper to reset to default. In a posting on the Microsoft Forums on the latest cumulative update for Windows 10, the first comment reads:

Hello. Sorry to post a random question here, but a bit new at this. Just installed the latest Feb 2020 Windows 10 updates. Upon completion it appears to have reset the display to default windows system. That is, all custom icons missing, background returned to windows logo, would not recognise my logon, set a temp logon.

The issue, according to BleepingComputer, seems to be from an bug in the update process. During the update, it appears that the system loads a temporary profile during the process. The problem, however, is that the user’s profile fails to load correctly after the process completes. Luckily, this means that the data hasn’t gone anywhere, just hidden somewhere else on the device.

Users have also reported issues causing them to get locked out of their PCs after installing the latest patches. Wccftech notes that these reports seem to be mostly coming from devices running on AMD chipsets. Other reports suggest the antivirus AVIRA as the potential cause.

Some users seem to be able to fix issues by performing a few restarts of their systems. However others report them to be more persistent, with the only possible solution being to uninstall the update manually.

Are you seeing issues on your machines with any the latest February patches? If so, feel free to leave a comment below and let us know which device and Windows 10 version you’re running.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.