Windows 10: Pictures and Documents Folders/Files disappeared after Windows 10 Cumulative Update

Hello. My first time here. I'm using a 4 year old LAPTOP-FKFCM15G HP Laptop 17-bs0xx with Windows 10. It's all up to date. On Thursday I restarted after installing the Cumulative Update KB5020687 and all the contents of My Pictures and Documents folders have vanished. The folders are empty. However, if I search for individual files, folders, images etc the search results say the items are all still in their C Drive folders where they should be! But when I click on the search result or copy and enter the pathname it says 'its unavailable'. Even the disc usage reflects that the files and fol

:)

 

Quick Access not searching Pictures folder

Summary, that last suggestion didn't work.

• I moved the pictures to another folder temporarily.

• Then I tried to remove the Pictures folder with option one at Add or Remove Folders from This PC in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials. Even after rebooting, the Pictures folder remained.
• So I tried using option two. Same thing: reboot >> Pictures folder still there.

• Since there were no troubleshooting steps for this scenario, just for the heck of it, I ran through the restore steps. Copied some pictures into the Pictures folder, ran a Quick Access search and initial problem remains: Searching all of QA doesn't find any files in Pictures folder, running search on just the Pictures folder does. I want to run a global search and find matching files in any/all of the Documents, Music, Videos, and Pictures folders.

That article dates from 2015 and I'm guessing is out of date. I hope it didn't create potential future problems in my registry.

Bottom line: I'm still looking for a fix.

 

?? How do I PW protect Folders in windows

hmmm?
Sharing files and folders overview You can share the files and folders stored on your computer, on a network, and on the Web. The method you choose depends on whom you want to share files with, and what computer they will use to access the files.

When you share files or folders, they are not as protected as they are when you do not share them. People with access to your computer or your network might be able to read, copy, or change files that are in a shared folder. You should always be aware that the files and folders that you share are available to other people and be sure to monitor your shared files and folders on a regular basis.

Important

If your computer is not joined to a domain, you can use the Network Setup Wizard to automatically turn file and printer sharing on or off. To start the Network Setup Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Setup Wizard.
If you both use the same computer

You can put the files you want to share in the Shared Documents folder. Files stored in the Shared Documents folder or its subfolders are always available to other users on your computer.

Step-by-step procedure
Note

If you are connected to a network domain, the Shared Documents, Shared Pictures, and Shared Music folders are not available.
If both computers are on the same network

You can share a folder or drive on your computer with others on the network. You can also control whether the files in the shared folder can be modified by other users.

If your computer is connected to a network domain, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
If your computer is connected to a workgroup, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
Note

If you are connected to a network domain, you will need to set the Access control for the folder or drive after sharing it. For more information, go to To set, view, change, or remove file and folder permissions.
If you want to share your files online

You can publish pictures and documents on the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard. The files will be stored in a private, online folder that you manage.

Step-by-step procedure

If you don't want others to access your files

You can prevent other users from accessing your folders and the files they contain. When your computer is connected to a domain, this is called setting permissions for your file or folder. When your computer is connected to a workgroup, this is called making your folders private.

If your computer is connected to a network domain, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
If your computer is connected to a workgroup, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure

'HELP' it can be your friend *Smile

 

Disappearing folder

I've encountered a strange problem in windows 10 where I tried to delete a file in a folder, but ended up deleting the whole directory. It did so without the usual pop-up to confirm delete or say it was too big for the recycle bin. It was my Videos folder, so pretty big, but the disk allocation has also remained the same.

I've always had a problem with 'double icons' for the different user folders, including videos, and so I'm thinking it could have something to do with the whole thing, especially as now one of the two video folders has disappeared from the users folders.

The first thing i tried was 'Undo delete', but it just bought the folder back with non of the contents. Then, I went straight to Recuva, but it came up blank (there must have been over 50 videos in the folder)

I'm at a little bit of a loss as where to start looking for this disappeared folder and was hoping someone might have some suggestions?

Screenshots below: