In the past I have always done things this way and never had a problem. I don't use iCloud backup because I have a teenagers iPod on my iCloud account and she doesn't need to see all my pictures. Therefore I don't have iCloud or Photo Stream on my iPhone. I always have just downloaded my pics manually and then backed them up on my hard drive. I have contacted both Apple and Windows 8 support. Apple is telling me it is Windows' problem and Windows is telling me it's Apple's problem. So this is kind of a last resort.
This is what I did.
Step 1: Attached iPhone 4s (with iOS 7, completely updated) to computer using USB attachment.
Step 2: Stop sync with iTunes.
Step 3: Open my iPhone manually from Windows Explorer.
Step 4: Open DCIM folder to get to photos and videos.
Step 5: Manually cut and paste all photos on iPhone to newly created folder on desktop.
Step 6: Since I still want to be able to have some of my pics and vids on my iPhone, I attempt to transfer a few back to the folder they just came out of. I'm unable to do so.
Step 7: I hit Ctrl+Z to undo the transfer. The folder and files disappeared. I can't find them on my iPhone or my computer. I tried to hit redo… I tried to recopy them from the clipboard, and they aren't in the recycle bin. WTF happened? Where did they go?
These pics are from the first month and a half of my son's life and they are now gone. I'm desperate and I will try almost anything to get them back.