Forum Discussion
CRITICAL: Data Loss on Build 26200.8328 - AI Storage Sense deleted 160+ apps with 870GB free space.
Subject: CRITICAL BUG: Permanent Data Loss in x86 Applications via AI Storage Sense (Build 26200.8328)
Date of Incident: May 8, 2026
OS Version: Windows 11 Pro, Version 25H2
OS Build: 26200.8328
Hardware Status: 876 GB Free Disk Space on C:
Description of Issue:
On May 8, 2026, the Windows AI Storage Sense feature automatically offloaded 165 legacy x86 applications to the C:\AI_RecycleBin directory without explicit user confirmation, despite having nearly 900GB of free space.
During the restoration process, the "Cleanup Recommendations" UI failed to display the applications, claiming "No recommended apps for cleanup".
Manual restoration via script succeeded for some directories, but shortly after, the system performed an automatic purge. This resulted in the permanent deletion of various 32-bit productivity and multimedia applications
PowerShell searches (Get-ChildItem) confirm that the executable files have been completely removed from the drive.
Impact: Total loss of application data and binaries for over 160 programs.
Requested Action: Immediate investigation into why AI Storage Sense triggers on drives with massive free space and why it purges the recovery bin during active restoration.
1 Reply
Storage Sense should not run at all. The feature is designed for "when the drive is low on space" or on a schedule you set . Some OEMs enable it by default, but even then, it should not aggressively mark applications for cleanup.
