Windows 10: Major Update Problems

The last major update (early December) downloaded and installed without errors or problems. Upon starting the PC the following day, I found extra icons on my desktop, start menu with extra icons, and many apps that I had previous remove reinstalled. But worst of all, all my privacy options had been reset to what appeared to be the default setting, i.e. all apps having full access to everthing listed in the "Settings" "Privacy" page. In one account after logon everything on my desktop was removed.

Any ideas what happened? It took so long to get Win10 configured like I wanted it and am wondering if this might happen again. If so I believe I will have to return to Windows 7 as I can't reconfigure Window 10 after all major updates.

:)

 

start menu stopped working

Cannot get start menu to pop up. Worked till yesterday, now won't. Turned off computer and back on - still won't work

 

MAJOR, MAJOR OPERATING PROBLEMS

1. I interpret 'fully patched' to simply mean that all of the Windows (&Office) Updates have been allowed to install.

In Task Manager the main fields that you'd want to monitor are CPU usage and Hard disk activity. Any processes which are using a high percentage of either of those during one of your "not responding" episodes would be implicated in the issue. I presume you
would be using the extended Task Manager screen, not the default abbreviated one.

As far as the problems you've described, they mostly seem to be centered on a single suite of applications, which implies that something (files, services) that is used in common by those applications, or is interacting with them, could be the (or a) cause
of the problem. MS Edge is not necessarily excluded from that scenario however it suggests that another common factor may be involved, which is the computer's network connection. Interruptions or delays in network communications during file operations could
cause the software using that file to stall (stop responding) even while other programs continue to function normally.

Topping my list of usual suspects for causing network or file loading delays would be Defender or any other antivirus product. Next would be any application or process that "calls home" periodically, ie. makes spontaneous network connections to report to
or transfer data with external websites. First off make sure that only one antivirus product is running on the computer. Few of them can coexist with each other without causing problems. Hypothetically, AV's that continuously scan the inbound and outbound
data streams, especially if the AV is also constantly interacting with its own Cloud based functions while scanning, could possibly introduce enough delay in data transfer to interfere with the application being used.

 

Hi, it looks like you're talking about the 10586 'November upgrade' TH2 (or build 1511) upgrade. That's the first time MS has implemented a major update after the manner of installing Windows. You'll have a Windows.old folder, so .... if you actually wished to .. you could revert to the previous build via the Settings menu.

However, that's not going to take you forward, and MS will be releasing probably another two such upgrades next year... part of how they are now managing the product.

You will find (e.g.)
- your set file associations have been reset to default
- system restore is probably off
- a number of settings reverted to default

This is extremely annoying. One update subsequent to 1511 is supposed to restore the associations you formerly had.
Note that all change of assocations has to be done through the new Settings or the old Control panel- not through individual desktop programs' GUI. (That from Win 8).

We can only hope that MS will learn from the problems and improve the process.

Note this by contrast:
An in place upgrade repair install using a 10586 iso does NOT have detrimental effects as above.
So in one way, you get a complete refresh of your Windows with these upgrades.. potentially resolving problems. If MS can get this working painlessly (and 10586 caused a number a lot of pain) it will be advantageous.

For interest and future reference, and to act defensively:
O&O shutup offers to set privacy settings to their recommended configuration
Also it has an Import and Export feature, so you can save your settings and restore them

Note that you can also save and restore your associations:
Default App Associations - Export and Import for New Users in Windows - Windows 10 Forums

 

Thanks for the reply. I believe I'll wait for the next upgrade build and see what happens. If it is another fiasco, I'll go back to Win 7 until MS gets Windows 10 together.

 

Windows 10 has moved to service model and expect similar upgrades every 4 or 6 months.They say it was users demand !

 

Uninstalling universal apps is really rather pointless given the way MS will refresh the standard set on each major upgrade (not the minor windows updates). Further, if you do a repair install, they will be refreshed.

You can turn off some background activities in Settings. However, there is the question of which settings MS resets to default on the above events.

Considerable caution in changing privacy settings is needed, as Cortana is easily offended and not easily placated. (Sure, you may well choose not to use Cortana... but fiddling with apparently innocuous Settings can have side effects. A typical message resulting in Settings: 'Some settings are managed by your organisation' - in red as shown. Which is disconcerting and unobvious.

Recommendation:
- ignore most of the modern apps, ignore Windows search, replace the start menu with Classic Shell, turn on System Restore (and turn it on again after each major upgrade), use Win 10 as a classic desktop, and use disk imaging assiduously.

In place repair install can be really useful when all else fails and is relatively painless.