Windows 10: Apps not working (surprise)

Hi,
Need some advice here for my Pro installation. On my ordinary user account, 5 apps simply stopped working. Nothing happens when I try to start them, nothing in the Event Log either. In my admin account one app is dead. I have tried just about everything to get them going but no luck. I created a new user account and everything works fine in that one. I changed the failing user account to an admin account and tried to re-register the apps. Process went fine but the apps stayed dead. This time, I got errors in the event log from the registering attempt. The errors were for some of the faulty apps but not for all; instead I got some errors for some other stuff than the apps, like the immersive control panel, miracast, devices flow and print dialog. They could of course be related to some settings. From an error I now get when starting windows, it seems that the path to the calculator is incorrect, so I guess the file system is involved in the problem. I strongly suspect the problems have been caused by a Windows update.

Anyway, I am at roads end and need to do something more drastic and is looking to make a repair install with an in-place upgrade. I am still on build 10240, which means I should be able to use the original purchased USB installation stick for this. I noticed build 10586 went public in November and 11082 was released to the fast ring somewhat later.

Anybody heard these later releases fix the problems with the apps and restore them to functionality again? If so, perhaps it is a better option to install 10586 (or 11082 if necessary) than to make a repair install. If no-one heard of this, probably better to make the repair install, as I otherwise have to go through all the trouble with creating installation media for the new build to be able to repair install. Thoughts?

:)

 

N73 PROBLEM (SURPRISE SURPRISE)

My N73 has started coming up with the message "Phone start-up failed. Contact retailer" some times when I turn it on? But on other occasions it boots up OK. Any ideas??

 

N73 PROBLEM (SURPRISE SURPRISE)

that happened to me when i was still using 6680, what corrected the issue was hard reset. It turned out that my phone had some corrupted files...

 

Did a repair install and it appears all work just fine. A couple of icons disappeared from my desktop, but I have no clue what they were. At least, basics work fine and my programs too.

Any reason I should defer the upgrade to build 10586?

 

Hi, I would advise creating a disk image as a belt and braces approach prior to the 10586 update.
(Disk imaging should be used regularly by anyone wishing to back up and preserve the state of their PC so it can easily be restored without technical help, and to preserve their sanity).

Note that some have reported losing desktop files in this upgrade.
10586 was released in November.

You will
- find all associations are reset to MS default (an MS mistake, I assume)
- find system restore is turned off
- lose custom/added fonts
- lose any customised system icons

You therefore might find this of interest:
Default App Associations - Export and Import for New Users in Windows - Windows 10 Forums

The upgrade uses the same mechanism as a Windows installation, but keeps all programs, and creates a windows.old folder.

It is definitely worth using a downloaded iso for this as you can reuse the disk/usb device later if you want to do an in-place repair install.

 

Thanks, excellent response! Much appreciated. Made an image. Not sure how to find out if I should download an ISO for Windows 10 N or Windows 10. I would expect I should have a "N" version, but there is nothing indicating this what I can see. I have Media Player but not Skype, making it a bit confusing. Purchased an English version of Pro for this computer. How can I find out?

 

The N version of Windows is for other countries than the USA or North America. It should show which version you have in the Properties of This PC. I get to it quickly by opening File Explorer then right-clicking This PC. As far as I can recall the issue between N and the other has to do with lawsuits against Microsoft by some countries concerning features built into Windows that some said were non-competitive. I have seen the N version on one computer in my area of the USA, didn't seem to be a problem and since it was in a business probably didn't need the feature/s involved.
This page probably applies to later versions:
What is a Windows 7 N edition? - Microsoft Windows

 

Thanks! There is nothing there saying it is a N version. My Media Player is version 12. I guess I just have to consider myself a lucky owner of a US copy. Reason some of the other apps are not there is probably the regional settings. Just hoping this is not an explanation for why some of my apps stopped working.

 

Learned something new today. I was under the belief all W10 sold in Europe were "N" versions. Apparently they are not. I have a Swedish version on another computer, which temporarily is placed aside. Packed it up, and this one too was without "N".