Microsoft warned users of a new known issue that may cause Word for Windows to delete some documents instead of saving them.
As the company explains, this bug only impacts users of Word for Microsoft 365 version 2409, build 18025.20104. Furthermore, this problem only arises when users close Word after editing and are prompted to save. After saving their changes this way, the file may disappear.
On impacted systems, the known issue causes locally saved files to be deleted after saving if the filenames include the symbol # or have a capitalized file extension, such as .DOCX or .RTF.
Redmond confirmed the issue after widespread user reports complaining that Microsoft Word started deleting some of their saved files.
Microsoft's Word team is investigating the issue. Until a fix is available, affected users can take several steps to work around it, including checking the recycle bin, as the deleted file may be recoverable from there.
They can also manually save their documents before attempting to close Word. According to Redmond's tests, "the issue occurs after saving when prompted on clicking X to close Word. It does not currently reproduce when manually saving before close."
Additionally, those affected by this bug can enable the "Don't show the Backstage when opening or saving files with keyboard shortcuts" setting from File > Options > Save.
Another temporary fix is to revert to the previous version until a fix is rolled out by opening a new Command Prompt window with administrator privileges from the Windows search box, pasting the following commands, and hitting Enter after each:
cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=17928.20156
Last month, Redmond fixed another known issue that affected Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Word, Excel, and OneNote and caused them to crash while typing or spell-checking a text.
Microsoft also shared temporary workarounds in August for known issues triggering Gmail sign-in issues for classic Outlook users and causing Outlook to crash after opening.
Comments
Throwdown - 1 month ago
It appears you're using ChatGPT to help you you write this with proper English.
"Furthermore, this problem" and "Additionally, those affected by "
Nothing wrong with doing so imo opinion. I just recognize 2 obvious patterns of ChatGPT.
Lawrence Abrams - 1 month ago
I use furthermore all the time when writing and don't use ChatGPT.
I can assure you, we do not use AI-assisted writing.
ZeroYourHero - 1 month ago
FYI: I ran his article through an AI detector and it came up clean. I asked ChatGPT 4o1 to "improve the article" and submitted that to the AI detector and it came back +86% AI detected.
nauip - 1 month ago
ZeroGPT.com says you are incorrect.
NoneRain - 1 month ago
Are you new to BC? Because it seems you don't read its articles very often and don't know the redactors.
electrolite - 1 month ago
Nothing wrong with doing so imo opinion. I just recognize 2 obvious patterns of ChatGPT."
"imo opinion". You might want to read more books than reading social media postings to understand what formal English writing style is.
I am not the biggest fan of AI, but if ChatGPT is trained on formal English that is much better than the endless abbreviated nonsense out there. People these days do not even know to say 'have been' instead of 'of been' and it is only getting worse.
Throwdown - 1 month ago
I use ChatGPT regularly to correct my mistakes and sometimes rephrase sentences. I also use it to identify what I can add to documentation to ensure its completeness. A perfect example is my own mistake in my original comment. " imo opinion."
I was not indicating the entire article was written by ChatGPT.
FigLee - 1 month ago
@Lawerence , That is great, no AI, you should not use a knife while cooking and use a horse while riding. Wait a minute, shut the front door, you are using a computer and a keyboard. That would constitute a cheating in your small world. Not cool.
Lawrence Abrams - 1 month ago
Do you want to read from writers who understand a topic or AI that is commonly wrong?
I will stick to not using AI even though some other cybersecurity publishers are moving in that direction.
It's just not for us.
Using a tool like Grammarly to find spelling mistakes, missing commas etc, is fine. But I have no intention of allowing AI-written articles at BC.
nauip - 1 month ago
It's amusing that having good writing skills is tantamount to being AI.
NoneRain - 1 month ago
Thanks Lawrence. Keep the good work.
Sean133 - 1 month ago
Why are we complaining about AI being used in writing/proofreading articles? What about the fact that Microsoft software not being properly tested before releasing? Deleting files upon save and exit? That is beyond embarrassing.
Mahhn - 1 month ago
maybe they are MS staff, creating deflection from the blunder. err, feature.
JustinFlynn - 1 month ago
There is an update out. I tested with a file containing # and it didn't delete itself