Windows 10: So many problems! Error messages. Please read and help if you can

Hi - I really really hope somebody can help

My monitor died the other day and I replaced it with a very old square monitor until the new one arrived (today)
I noticed that the Windows key had stopped working and the windows icon no longer opened the start menu but assumed it was just the old monitor. However, the new monitor is the same.

I tried to open a microsoft mouse and keyboard update but it presented me with an error message so I decided I would try and update the drivers in device manager.That is when I discovered that I can no longer get into device manager, nor most of the control panel icons. I am getting an error saying

"this file does not have a program associated with it" .

I cannot even get to Backup and rescue or Recovery or system as they all give the same error message, so I cannot do a system restore.

Once in a while, I use system mechanic - I know it updated the other day, but I have not run it since. I tried to run it just now in case that might sort this out and even that will not run. Instead, I am getting

" a device attached to this system is not functioning".

If I try and run things from right clicking "Run" , I get explorer.exe error messages. So THREE error messages all of a sudden!

I have no idea what has happened or what to do

Any help greatly appreciated!

Internet, email and Office programs work fine. I have Bitdefender which seems to be working fine. Firefox is getting update errors. Everything was working fine until last week when my monitor died.

:)

 

Please help if you can - is there a way to transfer your text message history from a Kin oneM phone to your computer?

thats too bad. thank you for helping, though

 

Please help if you can - is there a way to transfer your text message history from a Kin oneM phone to your computer?

Hello. Sorry but there is no way to do that. The KIN Studio service was supposed to do that but that service was shutdown long ago. Some people have resorted to taking a
screenshot
and emailing it back to themselves for the most important ones.

 

woah that's a lot of errors you're experiencing there. what version of windows 10 are you running specifically?

i wouldn't bother wasting my time finding solution if i were you. if system restore could not help then the option is becoming narrower and lesser.

i would however recommend you to reset your PC, and choose "Keep my files" selection, if you're open to it. would be simple enough instead of bothering yourself day and night finding a solution. your files will be there, and high possibility that your troublesome error would wave farewell aswell. that is if you want.

im suggesting this because i tried fixing my start menu button + taskbar which was not clicking for me, for 2-3 days and ended up with blue screen of death. system restore failed, startup fix failed and i was so pissed i just reset and slept. i woke up and windows was working like i wanted it to work in the first place.

good luck. other tech savvy would probably assist you in a more appropriate manner.

 

I would get the creators update and update the system you keep all your files and software and it gives you the latest Windows as well

 

Hi.
Do you have external devices connected to the system besides monitor/mouse/keyboard? If so, disconnect them for now.
Can you get into Control Panel? If so, go to Power Options, and select Choose what the power buttons do, then select Change settings that are currently unavailable, and turn Fast Startup OFF.
Shut the system down, start it up (not a reboot).

Download Kyhi's custom rescue media and save it to a flash drive; boot the system to the flash drive.
Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - - Windows 10 Forums
There is a collection of software on this media. Find HDTune and run it to check the health of your OS drive.
If you can't find HDTune, then run Speccy to check the SMART health of the OS drive.
Open File Explorer and run chkdsk on the OS drive.
While you're in there, copy all your important data over to a backup drive for safety, if you haven't already.

Just to be sure your system doesn't have anything "lurking" on it, you could also run Malwarebytes (yes, that's in there too).

If everything checks out and no problems are found:
Boot back into your normal operating system.
Download the latest MS ISO for the Creators Update, and save the ISO to your desktop.
(Make sure you download the same as what is currently on the system.)
Download Windows 10 ISO File - Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials
Once downloaded, right-click and select Mount. This will assign it a drive letter and you will be able to see the files inside the ISO.
Double-click setup.exe to perform an in-place repair install.
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade - Windows 10 Installation Upgrade Tutorials

Don't skip any steps. We need to be sure your drive and filesystem are in good shape before continuing.
Any questions, please ask.

 

Thanks so much guys. Thinking about this, when my monitor died I had to do a couple of hard shut downs as I could not see the screen anymore and I am thinking they probably corrupted my system in places. Because it all started when I plugged in my ancient monitor.

So I will look into the above like you suggest. First I will need to backup my email directory and other files and that will take me a few days to find time to do properly.

No I cannot open any of the icons in control panel - I get those error messages.

I wondered if it is possible to do a system restore by interrupting bootup? I have some vague recollection that this was possible pre Win 10?

Many thanks

 

Ok I did manage to search for settings and managed to get system restore to run from there, but I have tried all the available restore points and after going through the usual wait process, it is giving me an error message " unspecified error" each time. I just turned bitdefender off Tried with that off. Same issue.
I will need to follow some of your suggestions above, although I can't get into most icons on ctl panel including power shell. I suspect there may be other ways of getting to them as I did with system restore through settings?

 

One option it gives me is to "reset" windows. Is this a good idea to try? It says it keeps my data files but the following will be deleted:

Some of these are obviously easy to reinstall - Google earth, fitbit, Adblock etc ...and I need to make sure I have noted the reinstallation keys like for Photoshop elements, before I proceed, but it also includes things like Dell files. My computer is a DELL, but I am well out of warranty - it is a 7 year old machine. Do I actually need these files? What about the others? I have no idea what they are like Glance 2.9 and those Cisco files - what are they?

 

I also found this suggestion to use sfc / scannow from the command prompt but I cannot seem to run cmd.exe as an administrator - I have to run the file directly from c:/ windows/ system32/ cmd.exe and it says device not attached/ functioning. I can run the basic cmd.exe though, but need to be as administrator

Check and repair Windows system files and component store | Borns Tech and Windows World

 

Squibbler,
Please see my post #4. I asked you to boot into Kyhi's custom recovery media, and check the health of your hard drive. Anything else you try will fail if the drive is in bad shape.
The next thing would be to run CHKDSK on the OS drive while still in that environment.
I think it would be best if you follow my instructions instead of the other things you are doing.
The in-place repair install I am suggesting will repair your system without losing your programs and data, and avoid a clean install or reset.

 

Thanks simrick, I did read your post but fell at the first hurdle as I cannot access ctl panel which was your first step. You said not to leave out steps, so I was struggling.
I can back up my computer and try and follow the other steps if they are still viable without the first one?

 

There are 3 downloads on that link... Do I download the x64 or x86 version or the Modify Winpese download? Thanks

 

I just searched Power Options via search/cortana as an alternative route (the way I got into settings to try the restore) and I found it but am getting the "this file does not have a program associated with it" error message. I could try running it from the directory directly if you know which one it sits in?

 

Yes, booting to Kyhi's rescue media is next step. The Fast Startup is not mandatory, but you'll want to do that eventually, when we get you running properly.

If you have a 64-bit machine, you'd download that one. If not sure, download the 32-bit one.

Don't worry about it for now - we'll get that done later; it's not so important.