Windows 10: Broken Start Menu, Cortana, Edge and Action Center - any advice?

Powered on the desktop one day and Start Menu, Cortana, Edge, Windows Store and Action Center were all broken. For example, Edge seems to launch then just dies (no error message), and the usual left click on the menu button does nothing, (although right-click still gives me options).

I've tried the "usual" of SFC, followed by DISM, then that wierd Powershell script (all from the Ten Forums) but that hasn't solved the problem.

Since I've got separate OS, Apps and User data partitions I also tried recovering an earlier backup of the OS partition, but that made no difference.

This leaves me with three options - try a Refresh, try a Repair Install or erase my disks and do a fresh install (again). I've got faith in my Acronis backups, and the PC's only been built for two months, so a fresh install isn't the pain that it normal would be (although I'll still lose at least a night putting back all the apps - and their settings - that I've currently got installed). Although I'd make very sure that I got a fresh (separate) backup before I did any reimage or repair.

Repair Install would obviously be my first choice - so I don't have to reinstall all the apps - but I'm a little concerned it's not a completely "clean" solution. Fresh install is obviously the "cleanest" solution - but it'd be a pain to find the process I used last time to make my default user location a non-standard one.

Anyone (a) seen this before) and/or (b) any advice/gotcha's in what I'm proposing.

:)

 

Start menu, Cortana, edge, store and action center not working after update KB399986

What build are you using?

To check version and build;

Right click start, click Run, enter winver, hit enter

 

Start menu, Cortana, edge, store and action center not working after update KB399986

I have the problems with the Start menu, Cortana, edge, store and action center not working and couldn't fix it with all the recommendations: uninstalled dropbox, dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, sfc Scannow, PowerShell etc. I finally did
a full reinstall and it went away. Then I checked for updates, installed them and had the same start menu etc. problems again. This machine originally ran Windows 8.

 

My suggestion is to do a Repair Install as you have already mentioned.

Worse comes to worst, backup your personal files you want to keep, bite the bullet and do a Clean Install.
Start everything fresh.