Installing Service Pack 1 ruined everything

[Krackerjax]

So as you may all know, Windows 7 officially started to have Service Pack 1 start to automatically install on March 19. So it just installed for me last night (without my permission)... and It screwed me good and hard. I have lost pretty much every single preference on my computer.

Browser bookmarks, teamspeak bookmarks/preferences, wallpaper, every single desktop icon that isn't a shortcut to a game.

And, worst of all, every single file/folder I had on my desktop. Gone. Just gone. I was a lazy guy and my desktop was COVERED in files. Over 100GB I would wager.

Is there any way to reset any of this? Are the desktop files stored anywhere? Is Service Pack 1 supposed to do this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[clifford_cooley]

And, worst of all, every single file/folder I had on my desktop. Gone. Just gone. I was a lazy guy and my desktop was COVERED in files. Over 100GB I would wager.

Are you sure they have not just been hidden from view?

Right click desktop and go to view. Do you see where desktop icons and desktop gadgets can be hidden from view? If you want them visible, the option must be checked.

 

[Krackerjax]

Thanks for the reply.

They are not hidden from view. As I said in my original post, I still see other shortcuts to things. And I double checked and saw that I definitely have desktop icons not hidden.

 

[TrainableMan]

The desktop is just a folder in your C:\Users\userid\ directory and SP1 should have no more effect on that folder than it does to your documents, music, pictures, or videos. So you might look directly into C:\Users\Krackerjax\Desktop and see what is there.

 

[davehc]

You could try, in the right click on the desktop to go into personalize, - click on "change desk top icons" , un-tick the "Allow themes to change desktop icons", box. (It is at the bottom)

 

[Digerati]

Is Service Pack 1 supposed to do this?

Obviously not. And since millions and millions have successfully upgraded to SP1, it seems certain your problem is a fluke - not that that makes this any better or easier for you. Your file may have got corrupted during the download, or perhaps there was a power issue during the install, or perhaps you just have bad luck.

If the above suggestions don't help, you might try Uninstalling SP1, then follow these steps before trying again. And you should try again to ensure your computer is up to date, and secure.

Note too, if you have Windows Update set to automatically download AND install updates, then you did give Windows permission to install SP1. WU in Windows 7 is a vast improvement over past versions, and for the vast majority of users auto download and install works perfectly. But many (including me), prefer to have WU set to download, but prompt before installing. Typically, I just say okay and let the updates through. But when MS pushes something big (like IE 10, or a large service pack) I do it manually, and one update at a time so I can back out, if necessary. Or, if WU pushes something I don't need or want (like the Bing Desktop - which IMO, should NOT be pushed via WU! ) I can instruct WU to hide it and not bug me anymore about it.

Oh, BTW, it is not really a good idea to have tons of stuff on your desktop. While the desktop items are saved in a folder, unlike other folders, desktop items are "loaded" during boot up, taking up resources, and often significantly increasing boot times. So if you must have lots of things on your desktop, I recommend creating a couple folders on your desktop, then dragging most of your desktop objects into their. The folders will load, but not every object in them.