Windows 10: Desktop icons not responding on first click, opening other icons

Before the idea was to run the clean boot in Safe Mode, but since the icons work there now, is there a purpose to that? Instead, I've just run a clean boot using Brink's tutorial for selective startup in normal mode, and one click on icons gets the same results as before, i.e., 1-2 minutes to open. I'm not sure where to go from here short of a clean install except maybe running an in-place repair install and/or tweaking.com again and seeing if the second time is the charm.

 

Ok, so now you know something. Windows is not fundamentally damaged (Safe Mode ok).
Your clean boot => the same problem.

Now a clean boot is NOT the same thing as Safe Mode. For example, your graphics driver is running.
And if you inspect what is running, you will find a number of of other services as well.
So what you can do is reduce what starts up further.
Inspect the msconfig options, and see what other options there are.
Examine your running processes and services. What is not Windows- can you disable these?
Have you disabled context menu options?

No, as stated that's a misconception. 'run the clean boot in Safe Mode' doesn't mean anything.
You can set up a clean boot whilst in Safe mode, then restart.
Or you can set up the clean boot whilst in Normal mode, then restart.
Same result.

Now the other major clue was explorer's CPU use. So keep an eye on that.

Sysinternals Autoruns (run as admin) lets you disable many other things.

Take due care- best to create a restore point or even a disk image before making all these changes, so you can get back to where you were easily and definitively.

 

Oh yes, both restore point and system image made before starting.

Explorer.exe still churning away. One thing that I noticed in clean boot was that some things are running even after being turned off in start up, e.g., Fences, the desktop icon organizer. I'll have to use autoruns, which I do have (and use). At bottom, the apparent problem, given my other thread about the problems getting from 1511 to 1607, is that something(s) I use conflicts with 1607. Thanks,