When it was discovered earlier this month that the 1809 build of Windows 10 was deleting user files just because, Microsoft halted the update until the problem was fixed. Shame, then, that another not-as-bad-but-still-bad file overwriting bug has now reared its head.

When's the last time you sat down and thought about how many apps automatically launch whenever you fire up Windows 10 on your desktop or laptop? You probably can't remember, because it's not really a thing most people do. But you should, because you don't need a bunch of unnecessary apps eating up your system's resources for no reason. If you have an underpowered PC, you're only making your situation worse. And, at minimum, having a bunch of background apps is going to make Windows 10 take longer to load.

It feels like Microsoft is ramping up its major system updates for Windows, with one now coming every six months or so. But the problem, apart from Redmond eating your files, is that Windows updates always leave a lot of temporary files and other space-stealing junk on your PC. This can accumulate over time and eat up many wasted gigabytes, which you may not be able to spare—nor should you have to.

No matter how careful you are, problems tend to crop up on Windows and macOS anyway — from little annoyances you can't get rid of to full-blown system-wide issues that make it hard to use your computer normally. We've got some good news for you though: You can find plenty of free apps to help at least ameliorate some of the problems, if not outright fix them.

Microsoft has announced the removal of the Windows 10 1809 release following numerous complaints about user files being deleted. Here's what to do if you've already begun an install.

Microsoft's big October update for Windows 10 is here. If Microsoft hasn't rolled it out to your Windows machine yet, you can force a manual update by simply clicking on your Start button, typing in the word "check," and selecting the "check for updates" option. Click on the grey "Check for updates" box under Windows Update, and it should appear.

We are scratching our collective heads as to how the Windows 10 October Update ever made it past Microsoft’s QA teams. According to numerous reports, something about the update could delete the contents of your Windows 10 user folders — you know, your documents, photos, music, videos and so on.

Windows: While you might be wedded to your desktop wallpaper — be it a picture of your family, your favourite Internet pet, or something else amazing — there's no reason you can't have a little variety each day. All those Apple fans might get macOS Mojave's dynamic wallpaper, but you can do even better in Windows, thanks to a fun little utility called Chameleon.

Microsoft plans to release Windows 10 version 1809 at the beginning of October, but thanks to a little trick, you can grab the update now and take it out for an early test drive.

The Lifehacker staff sifts through a ton of apps on a regular basis, but a few have stuck with us over the years. Some apps are simply nice to have, while others have become essential in our daily lives. From dealing with irate dragons to counting our mindfulness minutes, each app on this list has a special place in our hearts (and our homescreens). Best of all, they're completely free to download!

Linux users are likely familiar with Wine — a piece of software that allows Windows software to be run on Linux. But did you know you can download and run Linux on Windows natively, and through the Microsoft Store of all places? Yes, I'm serious. It's all thanks to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a feature that was first added to Windows 10 in 2016 as a beta feature for those in the Windows Insider program, and has since been released to the public.

Say what you will about Microsoft, it does a good job when it comes to system maintenance tools. Sure, apps like Check Disk and Defrag might be bare-bones, but they get the job done. Disk Cleanup is easily the best of bunch, reclaiming space even dedicated third-party programs can't. Now, Microsoft is putting DC out to pasture, in favour of something new.

There are plenty of reasons to run a virtual machine. The first, and most compelling, is that you want to play: Maybe there are some other operating system you want to dabble with (cough Linux cough), but you don’t want to deal with installing another hard drive, partitioning your existing drive, or setting up your system a different way.

There are so many Windows apps out there, that picking a list of the very best, most must-install software for your desktop or laptop feels daunting. We've pored over pages of recommendations, countless forum posts, and lots of comments to come up with this year's Lifehacker Pack for Windows, a list of software champions across four categories: productivity, internet/communications, music/photos/video and utilities.

Google rolled out a new version of Chrome on Tuesday, which changes its look and feel quite a bit. As with any change of this size, not everyone is happy. In fact, there’s a fair bit of grumbling about switching browsers, or at least reverting back to Chrome’s old look.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. Like stuffing Windows 95 inside a virtualised JavaScript wrapper so anyone can download it and run it like a regular desktop app. Why would you engage in such insanity? Your guess is as good as mine.

You've got friends coming round to watch a movie, or you need your family to watch this one really great YouTube video. Maybe you've just got a slideshow of photos to show off. Whatever the reason you'd rather put your computer's screen on the TV than have everyone huddle around your laptop.

Windows/Mac: In case you can’t remember the last time Windows 95 was cool, we’ll help: The Grateful Dead had performed their final show, Paul Keating was Prime Minister of Australia, and Telecom Australia changed its name to Telstra.

Perhaps receiving a kick in the pants from Apple with its new dark theme for macOS, Microsoft has added its own take for Windows 10's File Explorer, as part of a recent Insider build.