Windows 10: Computer boots but can't launch any programs

My brother's computer, which is running Windows 10, has got major problems. It boots up okay but he can't launch any programs after the boot cycle is finished. When he tries to launch an app from his desktop, nothing happens. He can right-click and see Task Manager but it won't launch. He can right-click on the Windows icon and get the context menu but he can't get the Windows menu to come up.

He installed a hidden objects game a day or two back. He said it worked but it wasn't very good. The problem began shortly after that. I'm guessing he picked up some kind of malware in that download. The computer - it's an Acer desktop - came with Windows pre-installed. He has no Windows media and is not in the habit of taking a regular backup.

How can we fix this problem? I was going to run a thorough anti-virus scan, probably MalwareBytes, but I'm not sure how to do that when we can't install anything. I would have uninstalled his hidden objects game if I could have gotten to Control Panel but I'm not sure how to do that either since we can't get to Control Panel in the normal way.

I'm hoping there's something we can do short of sending it out to the local computer store....

:)

 

Windows 10 boots but wont run any programs.

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

I understand your concern regarding the issue that you are facing.

1. Are you getting any error message?

Install any pending updates on the pc to check if that helps. Updates are additions to software that can help prevent or fix problems, improve how your computer works, or enhance your computing experience.

I would suggest you to check these Methods:

Method 1: Perform Clean Boot by referring the below link.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135.

Note: After clean boot troubleshooting step, follow the section "How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot" in the provided link to return your computer to Normal startup mode.



Method 2: If you are still facing the issue, I suggest you to reset your windows 10. Refer the section reset your
PC from the following Microsoft help article and check if it helps.

Recovery options in Windows 10.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/windows-10-recovery-options

Note: Select save files and folders before you reset your PC.

Hope it helps. Do let us know if the issue is resolved. For any further information, feel free to contact us.

 

Windows 10 boots but wont run any programs.

Hi,

I have had windows 10 for a while and I dual boot wih ubuntu if that matters. About a month ago after booting into windows it would not launch any programs or even pull up the start menu. The only thing I could get to launch is task manager and it just displayed
0 for everything. It eventually went away after some time waiting, but it got progressively worse evrytime I restarted until it no long successfully boot and just hang. All the while, I could boot into ubuntu just fine.

After a system refresh that kept my files, it seemed to work, but I should mention that the system restores to a week prior got to the end and then failed.

Now its doing it again I want to solve the problem.

Anything that might help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

Hi, are there any system restore points you can use? (Note: you will only have restore points if you enabled system restore: it's off by default in Win 10). Best to run AV scans as below first before using one.

Otherwise, has he been using disk imaging routinely as we constantly and strongly recommend? A lesson for the future. If he had, he could simply restore an image of the PC and have it back working as it was when he created the image, without technical help. (Macrium Reflect (free) + its boot medium + external storage for image sets).

Failing those basic precautions, you face a challenge.

You can run malware scans by downloading and running them from a bootable disk.

You can run malwarebytes from Kyhi's very useful bootable disk:
Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

Other bootable AV disks are available.
15 Free Bootable Antivirus Tools (July 2017)

 

Hi RhinoCan.

Could you please boot to safe mode and see if control panel or malwarebytes runs there. CP for the uninstall, MB for the bugs.

Hold the shift key down and click restart. Tutorial provided so you see screen shots. You can get to Restore points suggested above using these menus.

Boot to Advanced Startup Options in Windows 10

Malwarebytes has a version called Chameleon that you can use if malware is blocking certain executables.

Chameleon - Free Malware Removal Tool

You may wish to first gets his data off machine. You can boot with Kyhi's recovery disk. Be careful of data until you can absolutely confirm 110% that Mr. Crap didn't tag along.


Ken

 

Dalchina and Caledon Ken,

We managed to get my brother's computer working to the extent that we could launch programs again. I was trying to figure out how to boot into Safe Mode with Networking and goofed it up but when we got to the desktop, we found that the Windows Icon would accept a (double-)click and we could even launch Task Manager and other programs via double-clicks. (He can't remember if he normally needs single- or double-clicks.)

Task Manager showed no obvious issues. I downloaded Malware Bytes and got a 14 day trial of the Premium version; we ran that and it showed only 3 P.U.P.s which I quarantined. My brother buys System Mechanic Pro every year so we ran its quick scan and found nothing of any obvious significance. The full anti-virus scan is running now. (Do you have any thoughts on the quality/value of System Mechanic? Wouldn't he do just as well with a free antivirus like Avast?)

I was going to uninstall the new game he'd put on but it doesn't have a normal uninstall technique. It was part of "Free Ride" - he has lots of their other games - and all that appears in Programs and Features is "Free Ride Player"; removing that would presumably mean losing ALL of their games and he doesn't want to do that. But he found a way to remove it from their interface so I *think* it is gone now.

I realize he should probably have a backup-recovery plan in place involving recovery points and regular backups so I will given him "the talk". If I know him, he will choose not to spend money - or significant time - on it but maybe I'm wrong.

Is there anything else we should do *now* to make sure the machine is free of malware?

 

- that should be a single click

S. Mechanic: anything that's advertised thus:
Download System Checkup™ – FREE

In just minutes you’ll know exactly what is slowing your computer down. You’ll get a customized report detailing all your computer’s errors plus how to fix them!

-reminds me of the PC scammers that want to scare you by showing you error reports in the event viewer.

Rated as expensive:
System Mechanic Pro Review | NotebookReview.com
- it includes registry cleaning (don't do it!- see above...)
- doesn't offer an advanced firewall
- alerts you to things you don't need to worry about:
When I first installed SMP on my Windows 7 Ultimate-based test machines, the analysis gadget it added to each Desktop pulsed orange like Dr. McCoy’s sickbay scanner (“Jim, this man is dying!”). Quantitatively, the number of “problems” uncovered during the initial detection seemed bewildering, including from the fresh-from-the-farm Windows 7 test machine.

Basically you can do better.
Test antivirus software for Windows 10 - June 2017 | AV-TEST

Personally I use Avast (free) + Windows Firewall, + a couple of anti-ransomware tools:
Cybereason RansomFree, Bitdefender AntiRansomware (free)


System Restore: you just have to enable this. Some restore points are created automatically.

Suggest you run a couple of routine checks while you are looking at this as it's not a maintained system:
Download and run Hard Disk Sentinel (trial) and make sure all disks are reported as good.
If not, do not continue, and post back .

Then this in case sthg has happened to your file system:

From an admin command prompt
[Windows key + X, click command prompt (admin)]
chkdsk C: /F
Your PC will need to restart.
Post back the result, which you can get after a restart as follows:
Read Chkdsk Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials
or
How to read Event Viewer log for Chkdsk in Windows 10 [Tip] | Reviews, news, tips, and tricks | dotTechdotTech
or
How do I see the results of a CHKDSK that ran on boot? - Ask Leo!

 

I had exactly the same fault before Easter. A black screen with all my icons on it (which I could move around) and the Taskbar fully populated but everything was unresponsive. I was up and running again in about 15 minutes after using my Macrium Rescue Media dvd to boot and then copy a 15-hour old daily Macrium image from my ext. USB HDD to the C: drive. Sorted.

ADDED: Of course, my problem was clearly not caused by a virus etc. which might have been alive in the backup image. In that case, I would use on of my backups of C: (an SSD) made every day for a week.

 

Note: as you can now launch programs, you can now run
sfc /scannow
from an admin command prompt. Try that for starters after the above, and report the result.

If ok, try creating a new user for test purposes, and see if you see the same symptoms when logged in as that user.