Solved Laptop "Forgets"?

Mr Mo · Wednesday at 8:24 PM

This is strange. My laptop doesn't remember any changes from one session to the next.

I'm preparing to donate it to a local charity so I cleaned up my personal data:

Deleted all files from the Documents folder.
Deleted all files from the Pictures folder.
Deleted all files from the Music folder.
Deleted all files from the Downloads folder.
Deleted all shortcuts from the desktop.
Changed the background to a generic image.
Uninstalled several programs.
Emptied Recycle Bin.

When I rebooted, I was shocked to see that all these things had been restored to their original condition -- as if I had never touched them!

The laptop is an HP ProBook 650 G1 with 12.0 GB of RAM and 477 GB of storage. It has an Intel Core i5-4210M CPU.

If you can give me some insights, I would really appreciate it.

XxXxX · Wednesday at 9:00 PM

do you have onedrive enabled?

if you giving the computer away i would format the whole drive
and then reinstall Windows. that way you know there is no data on the system.

best of luck, Steve ..

antspants · Wednesday at 9:37 PM

2nd advocate for reinstalling Windows option.
At the very least, use the reset setting in Windows. But a format and reinstallation is more secure.

idgat · Wednesday at 9:56 PM

Mr Mo said:
I'm preparing to donate it to a local charity so I cleaned up my personal data:

Deleted all files from the Documents folder.

Deleted all files from the Pictures folder.

Deleted all files from the Music folder.

Deleted all files from the Downloads folder.

Deleted all shortcuts from the desktop.

Changed the background to a generic image.

Uninstalled several programs.

Emptied Recycle Bin.

NO NO NO
No way. Always recoverable

If files are being returned, yeh, it's probably that well-known synco-maniac OneDrive which probably means MS Office, the license for which you own. MS EULA probably says it's not transferable anyway.

Options
- you do a clean install of Windows ONLY (SATA SSD and/or Nvme)
or
- replace your drive with a blank drive (license to re-install comes/goes with the machine, they can do the re-install) (SATA SSD)

Hazel123 · Wednesday at 10:06 PM

I would at least wipe the drive and then install windows - if not replace it completely. Is it a sata ssd or nvme? If it's a sata you can get one for £20. Crucial BX500. Even wiping the drive isn't completely bulletproof.

I usually use parted magic to wipe them. (It's a program you need to download to usb stick and then boot from the usb stick) and then reinstall Windows. Also downloaded to usb stick via Windows media creation tool. There are probably other ways to wipe the drive.

If your laptop fell into the wrong hands, someone could easily recover your files even if you delete them fully. Your email address and bank details could be on the drive.

Or just donate it without the drive. But if you want to donate a laptop set up and ready to go then it's best to buy a new drive for it really.

glasskuter · Wednesday at 10:20 PM

Reset and remove everything/with clean data. When it resets it will boot up to out of box state so it can be sold or donated

Reset your PC - Microsoft Support

Learn about the different reset options in Windows and how to reset your device.

support.microsoft.com

wabbit · Wednesday at 10:53 PM

I'm with everyone suggesting a clean install of Windows. I also recommend you back up any important data to an external drive. Replacing the system drive is also a good idea.

Hazel123 · Wednesday at 11:05 PM

Looked up your laptop and it has a sata hdd. You could just replace it with this (and it would be a bit faster as well). Are you ok with installing Windows? It reminds me how much easier it was in the days when laptops came with a recovery dvd and had a dvd drive built in.

Amazon.co.uk

Or you could just replace it with a standard hard drive for £11.

Amazon.co.uk

Mr Mo · Thursday at 7:39 AM

Thank you, everyone, for that excellent advice! But the mystery remains...

This morning I created a simple text file (test.txt) using Windows Notepad.
I saved it carefully in the Documents folder, and checked to make sure it was there.
Rebooted.
The file was gone, vanished as if it had never existed.

What is going on?
This laptop is not remembering anything.

antspants · Thursday at 7:54 AM

Mr Mo said:
View attachment 136073Thank you, everyone, for that excellent advice! But the mystery remains...

This morning I created a simple text file (test.txt) using Windows Notepad.
I saved it carefully in the Documents folder, and checked to make sure it was there.
Rebooted.
The file was gone, vanished as if it had never existed.

What is going on?
This laptop is not remembering anything.

To be honest it really doesn’t matter. As the problem will be solved for the next person when you format and reinstall Windows. Anything less could very well put you at risk.

Winuser · Thursday at 9:36 AM

I agree with what @antspants said in post #10 and with what @glasskuter suggestion in post #6. If you go that route leave it at the OOBE. Let them setup the OS with their info.

abactuon · Thursday at 9:56 AM

1. A file system is the structure that organizes and manages your data on disk. If it is damaged due to power failure, improper extraction, or software errors, the connections between file records and actual data may be broken, making your files appear to be missing.
2. When Storage Sense is enabled Windows deletes files automatically if your computer runs out of disk space .
3. Windows Defender deletes your files when it detects that they are viruses.
4. Gremlins.

Bree · Thursday at 11:31 AM

Mr Mo said:
The file was gone, vanished as if it had never existed.

What is going on?
This laptop is not remembering anything.

You may be signed in with a temporary profile. The symptoms are consistent.

You've been signed in with a temporary profile.

You can't access your files, and files created in this profile will be deleted when you sign out. To fix this, sign out and try signing in later. Please see the event log for more details or contact your system administrator.

Temporary profile - Fix in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Mr Mo · Thursday at 1:11 PM

Thanks again to everyone on this forum! I'm happy to report that I took your advice and bought a replacement hard drive. The technicians at our local computer store did the installation for free since I'm donating the laptop to a charity tomorrow.

Case closed -- all is well.

Winuser · Thursday at 1:32 PM

Mr Mo said:
Thanks again to everyone on this forum! I'm happy to report that I took your advice and bought a replacement hard drive. The technicians at our local computer store did the installation for free since I'm donating the laptop to a charity tomorrow.

Case closed -- all is well.

As Hannibal from the A-Team use to say: I love it when a plan comes together!

AndreyT · Thursday at 3:13 PM

Mr Mo said:
Case closed -- all is well.

Not really. The case will be closed when we'll figure out the exact reason for the behavior you described in your posts. Unfortunately, you decided to destroy the technical possibility to perform any further investigation, so the case will never be truly closed. But the most reasonable explanation we'll probably have to settle for is the supplied by Bree above: a "computer club"-like functionality (e.g. temporary profile), when the machine resets itself to a pre-configured snapshotted state on each reboot.

How did it end up in this state is a separate question... (was it like that from the very moment you acquired the PC?)

Winuser · Thursday at 3:58 PM

AndreyT said:
Not really. The case will be closed when we'll figure out the exact reason for the behavior you described in your posts. Unfortunately, you decided to destroy the technical possibility to perform any further investigation, so the case will never be truly closed. But the most reasonable explanation we'll probably have to settle for is the supplied by Bree above: a "computer club"-like functionality (e.g. temporary profile), when the machine resets itself to a pre-configured snapshotted state on each reboot.

How did it end up in this state is a separate question... (was it like that from the very moment you acquired the PC?)

I see it differently. I could be wrong but I think the OP was looking for a solution and not the actual cause.

antspants · Thursday at 4:08 PM

Winuser said:
I see it differently. I could be wrong but I think the OP was looking for a solution and not the actual cause.

Correct

especially in this particular case, anything else is a waste of time. More so because the issue is gone with the install

Winuser · Thursday at 6:08 PM

antspants said:
Correct especially in this particular case, anything else is a waste of time. More so because the issue is gone with the install

Plus a needy person is going to get a laptop with a fresh Windows install. A Win, Win as the saying goes.

idgat · Thursday at 7:11 PM

AndreyT said:
Not really. The case will be closed when we'll figure out the exact reason for the behavior you described in your posts. Unfortunately, you decided to destroy the technical possibility to perform any further investigation, so the case will never be truly closed. But the most reasonable explanation we'll probably have to settle for is the supplied by Bree above: a "computer club"-like functionality (e.g. temporary profile), when the machine resets itself to a pre-configured snapshotted state on each reboot.

How did it end up in this state is a separate question... (was it like that from the very moment you acquired the PC?)

In a previous life when I ran my IT business (although computers were steam powered in those days) I used to spend hours trying to replicate a fault as part of the problem solving process. It didn't take long to realise what a waste of time that was when the problem/fault no longer existed, for whatever reason

If it ain't (no longer) broke ... Case absolutely and positively closed.

Well done to @Mr Mo

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