Windows 10: Start menu not working, nor search bar, jump lists, clock, etc

Fair point, I've always relied on backups, but I see what you mean.

Main problem is that I already have two drives on my PC (SSD which is C:, and a 1Tb HDD which I use for extra data), and Dell PCs don't seem to allow you to plug more than two drives in, so adding an extra wouldn't be easy.

I forgot, I already have FolderSize (similar to WinDirStat, but IMO easier to use). Ran that and remembered that 364Gb of my SSD is taken up by a virtual machine I created from my old PC! Don't need to back that up, as I still have the old machine around.

Thanks, will give that a go. Just doing a backup first.

 

- the backup disk for images is an external drive, preferably located remotely (like any backup). Putting your backup drive in your PC is an obvious risk...

"Recommended: Macrium Reflect (free/commercial) + boot disk/device + large enough external storage medium."

 

Point taken! Still not sure how I can do it though, as my other PC already has two drives, its main one, and the one that I use to back up my data, from where it gets backed up to the cloud).

How do you do it?

 

I use a USB 2Tb drive.

 

Good idea, will look into that.

Thanks again. Backup still going on, so not had chance to reinstall yet. Will let you know how it goes.

 

OK, tried to do an upgrade repair install, but got a bit stuck, and could do with some advice.

I inserted the USB stick and restarted the PC. It came up with the dialog where you choose your language, and I clicked Next, then "Install now." I got a message saying "Setup is starting" accepted the licence, and then chose "Upgrade" (as opposed to "Custom" which said it wouldn't move my files, settings and applications). However, this gave a message that the computer started with the Windows installation media, and that I should remove this, restart the computer, insert the installation media and restart the upgrade.

However, if I do that, nothing happens when I insert the installation media. I can see the files on the USB stick, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to restart the upgrade.

I tried running the support\setup.exe file, which is what the autorun.inf file uses, but if I added the "x64" command line option (as in that file), I got an error saying the parameter was invalid. If I run it without the parameter, when I try to upgrade, it says that the upgrade path is not supported. Please close Setup and relaunch from the root of the media (doesn't say how I am supposed to do this) or go back and pick a different installation choice.

The only other choice is "Custom" which, as I mentioned above, claims that it won't move the files, settings and applications.

Any ideas? Thanks again

 

Just a quick follow-up. On a whim, I decided to mount the .iso file directly, instead of using the USB stick, and I found that the file structure was different from what I saw on the USB. There was a setup.exe in the root (unlike on the USB), and clicking that took me through steps that looked like the ons described here.

However, when it got to the step where you choose what to keep, only the "Nothing" option was enabled, and at the bottom of the window, it said that I can't keep my settings, files and apps because my current version of Windows might be installed in an unsupported directory.

No idea why it thinks that, as I did a standard install, didn't attempt to change the directory, and have Windows installed in C:\Windows

Any ideas? I seem to be so close, and yet so far.

 

An in-place install repair (see the tutorial) is NOT started like that.

You boot to normal mode, then start the repair.

Ok, the message about not keeping stuff is because some system folder path has been changed and is not where Windows expects it to be.

 

Please see my follow-up post

 

Any idea how I would find out what? As I said, I did a normal installation, and didn't change the directory from C:\Windows

 

Not that one, but e.g. the program path where programs are installed, perhaps if you have used the Location tab to relocate folders...

Beyond that I can only suggest you find the relevant logs and see what has been recorded.

#26 gives instructions on how to do the in-place upgrade:

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade - Windows 10 Forums

 

Nope, didn't change anything. I was a good boy, and let Microsoft decide where to put everything *Smile

Do you mean the upgrade logs? Any idea where I would find them? If not, which logs did you mean (and where would I find them)?

I'm getting this sinking feeling, and wondering if I'm going to have to scrub the disk and start again. I've wasted three days already on this, and I could have started again in that time. No idea what went wrong or how, but I'm pretty miffed at this whole thing.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

For example, see this for discussion on this message:
DISM - Repair Windows 10 Image - Page 10 - Windows 10 Forums
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport...install_error/

Are you sure the installation medium/iso you are using is the same build and language as your installed OS?
ISO - See what Language, Edition, and Architecture of Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
Windows 10 Build Number - Find - Windows 10 Forums

 

Maybe I'm just getting punch-drunk here, but I didn't see anything there that helped me. As I said, all of my directories are the defaults, and yet the repair util thinks they aren't. I have no idea what log files you mean, nor where to find them.

Sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but I've had a very stressful three days of this, and am finding it hard to keep calm and think straight. If you could explain in words of one syllable it might help *chuckle

 

Sorry, I have limited time.
Windows thinks something isn't where it should be.
Or your installation medium doesn't match your OS - the above tells you how to find out.

If you don't know of any changes to paths or folder locations you've made, and the installation medium is correct, I can only suggest you research that error message for further ideas.

An important thing to learn from all of this is to start using disk imaging routinely, then you will generally have a quick and stress-free way to recover from problems.

If you can't get this to work, or find a technical friend, or someone here comes along with another idea, your only other option is a clean install.