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

Thanks, but I think I'm going to have to scrub and reinstall. I definitely didn't change anything when installing, and I definitely have the right installation media.

If I do reinstall, I guess I'm going back to Windows 7. Can't say that Windows 10 offered me many benefits, and Windows 7 worked solid for years.

Thanks again for all the help, but I just don't have the head for scouring yet more articles offering the same advice that doesn't work for me. I might see how much Microsoft will charge me to look at it. Given the amount of money I'm losing my not working, and the extra amount I would lose by having to reinstall, it might be worth it.

Or maybe I'll just go and get a job as a checkout girl in Tesco. Might be less stressful!

 

First off, thanks for recommending Macrium. I'd looked at it before, but never really used it much. I just installed it, created an image of my C: drive, and am impressed at how you can just mount it and browser. Very useful.

Second, I discovered something interesting, or odd depending on how you look at it. I had a look at the version of Windows on the .iso file that I used to create my USB install media, and it was later than the version of Windows I have installed. I could understand if the installed version were later, as an update may have changed it, but I can't understand how the installed instance has an earlier version number than the install media.

Believe me that I don't have multiple copies of Windows DVDs hanging around, so I can't have installed it from anything else, apart from which it's the same USB that I haven't touched. I have no way of explaining this, but I guess this would be why the upgrade thought it was a different installation media.

Any comments?

 

Hmm, well, that probably explains that message as I suggested- from many months back I seemed to recall that was one possible cause. Criticise MS as much as you like for blooming unhelpful misleading error messages.

I'd suggest now you know it's version difference it is at least worth trying to get a matching version to do the in-place upgrade, then see which way you want to play it.

As to why the versions differ- MS typically DOESN'T update the iso by minor build number, so I guess you are saying you've 1511 installed and a 1607 iso or DVD. Sounds very odd if you used it to install '10.

Now if you need 1511 for an in-place upgrade, you can get it.
MS has an archive site (I don't know the URL, but have seen it mentioned) where you can get any version, but this tool
Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool
gives convenient access to a whole range of them.

Other folk get them via their subscription to MSDN, or from MS's techbench, two other sites.

My personal experience of '10 after a few stumbles with some of the newer bits has been generally trouble free. In the anniversary edition, 3 long standing minor bugs were fixed and a couple introduced, + all the widely reported issues for some people, some of which superficially seem to relate to some hardware.

I avoid the start menu as I did in Win 8, use Classic Shell, and avoid Cortana. Only 3 small programs of over 300 installed became incompatible with the AU- GUI related. As MS keeps tweaking the GUI, not surprising.

I suppose one day using a computer will require less maintenance than a TV- but a long long way to go. I commend you for your patience.

 

Up until this issue, I hadn't had any problems with 10. I can't day I felt it was much of an improvement over 7, which I still think was the best version of Windows ever, but it was good enough not to bother going back to 7 (although I was close to it today).

Does the anniversary edition come as an automatic upgrade, or do you need to install it actively? Main reason I ask is that quite a lot of the posts I saw with issues similar to mine were from people who had installed it. I'm not sure I'm so keen to install it after my experiences!

I rarely use the start menu, but I use the search box the whole time. I hit the Win key, type a few characters and hit Enter to start programs. Not having that ability was crippling.

Well, the good news is that it seems to be fixed. I decided to try MS support before scrubbing the disk, and to my surprise was given free support. The end result was the one thing I'd seen but not actually tried, which was to get the Windows 10 upgrade tool, and use that to "upgrade" my PC. This basically does the same as what you suggested, but instead of using your local installation media, it downloads the files from MS's servers. That meant that it got the right version.

It took about an hour, and restarted several times, but it seems to have worked. I'm not holding my breath, and will wait and see what happens over the next few days, but it's looking hopeful. Just annoying to have wasted three and a half days over this.

Anyway, I now have Macrium installed, and am going to set up a regular job to create a disk image. Do you have the paid-for version, or the free one? I started off with the free one, and am not clear if the paid-for one offers me any advantages.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

Hi, glad you found a way forward that worked for you. MS is probably keen to work thru customer problems given present publicity (albeit muted).

Check your current version- I'd think you will have the anniversary edition now (1607)
Windows key + R, winver

Note there are some updates after that, with one supposed fix for freezing.

Major builds are offered just like updates, except because of the download size, MS phases them to reduce server load.

Care needs to be taken regarding restarts related to some updates including the above. The new 'active hours' in the AU only allows 12 hrs. But if you download a small freeware program 'Don't sleep' and use it to block restarts, you won't be interrupted even after active hours.

Macrium: use the Windows Backup tab to back up all the partitions pertaining to Windows (they will be ticked in the graphic).
Macrium Reflect Free

- product comparison.

Major difference- no incremental imaging.

There are other such products - and with simpler GUI- but Macrium is generally found the most robust.
Good control over scheduling and backups to keep (if scheduling is useful). Not if as I do you use a USB disk which I disconnect.

Make sure you keep a Win 10 bootable medium to use for its recovery features if needed.

 

I do have the anniversary edition now. I'll see how it goes. It changed remarkably little, just a few tweaks I'd done, easy to redo.

I have made a bootable USB, and have set up Macrium to image my disk every night while I'm sleeping!

Thanks again for all the help.