Bizarre vanishing of multiple programs after update?!

[Amraam]

So I've spent the last hour or clearing files of an SSD, using TreeSizeFree to scan for large files and removing what I don't need. I then used DISM to capture a wim of the SSD before formatting it.

After that was all done, KB4559309 popped up so I installed it. Earlier, I had noticed that TrackIR wouldn't run, but it very occasionally can be finicky. I restarted my PC to apply the update and errors all over the place... Steam moaning about steam service, EVGA precisionX, Chrome won't load, Office 2019 won't open, start menu is blank... WTAF? It's not just broken icons, or a weird temp profile either... the program files are gone, not even empty folders. It's like Windows Defender suddenly decided it didn't like them and said get rid, but decided to keep the app data.

The symptoms are as if DISM has somehow rolled back my PC to a lighter image, or that core files have been uninstalled from the wrong drive. I know how it sounds, but I am 100% certain I was working on the correct disk and the DISM command I ran was this:

DISM /capture-image /imagefile:c:\wim\samsung.wim /capturedir:f:\ /name:samsung240

I opened the wim with 7zip to inspect it but there is zero chance that that has some how caused this. I'm thinking potential malware that was on the old image, but I highly doubt it.

Still trawling through to see what has gone and what might have caused it, but so far the following programs have simply vanished from my PC:

Office 2019
Logitech Gaming Software
Nvidia control panel
Chrome
Aura
Spotify
Thrustmaster Cougar Control Panel etc.
Plex
Origin
Flawless Widescreen
SoundBlaster software

Note that I don't appear to have lost any drivers or appdata.
EDIT: GPU driver is gone too. Definitely feeling like Windows has done some sort of roll back or there's been some malware at play. Logs don't show anything useful yet.

Anyone had anything like this before? It's truly bizarre.

 

[Amraam]

So I think I have a lead. I instalelled FU 2004 on 18th before MSFS2020. All went fine. Tonight, I removed the 'previous versions' using the system files disk clean up. I wonder if many of these programs were in there? I know it sounds stupid, but it's literally the only thing I can think of. Either removing that got rid of a load of programs it somehow deemed weren't compatible, or the Edge update I just installed did it. I cannot workout how else indivual programs have been removed. They aren't broken, there are no half installs with missing files; the whole damn program ceased to exist in program files. It's like someone or some part of windows selectively remove a load of files, yet they still appear in programs and features. I'd wipe my PC and start from scratch if it wasn't for the 400 hour Skyrim LOTD save I've yet to complete

 

[Amraam]

If they were in there, you would have gotten those errors after you updated to version 2004 as it moves all the files that are considered unnecessary into another folder called windows.old as it is only kept if you need to roll back to the previous version and files that aren't a part of the update (like all the applications you mentioned) wouldn't be moved there as they would be inaccessible by the programs that need them.

Yeah that's how I understood it.

I'd have to hazard a guess that there was some issue either during the imaging process or during the restoration that caused garbage collection to go haywire and after the edge chromium update it went mad and cleaned out files that it shouldn't have.

You can back up your skyrim save files if you either aren't using steam or steams cloud save system as the folder should be in the my games folder in documents since this is likely to require a full reinstall of the OS since I can't be certain that garbage collection will still be removing necessary files when it shouldn't (best to start with a clean sheet).

It certainly feels that way, but I literally only used DISM to capture drive F to a wim file, I wasn't actually applying the wim to anything. Windows certainly never booted up or did any form of install, so I simply cannot explain it.I hope I don't have to backup Skyrim, as it's a monstrous task to get all the programs/scripts involved set up again. I think I might just have to play through as much as I can before it breaks, and rebuild Windows again. It's a huge risk, but the risk of breaking that 400 hour save is much higher if I attempt to transplant the install to new Windows installation.

 

[Amraam]

You've used treesize and probably removed a load of files from programdata, localappdata etc, thinking you were clearing up and actually all those files are needed by the programs you use. Don't forget some programs install to programdata.

It won't be the update and it won't be DISM.

It would appear that way, but I am 100% sure I was on F, the 240GB ssd from the old system. I would never go through a live system and casually remove program files/data to save space.