Windows 10: Why has an important Win10 "Critical Error" thread been shut down when the real solution...

I believe throwing of "Critical Error" message in Win10 was a mistake. The presumed fix that Windows is supposed to effect on restart does not usually work. There is, in my judgment, no permanent fix yet forthcoming from Microsoft. In this sense, the whole business of operating system reliability is reminiscent of Vista.


Here's a real-time "solution" (but not a permanent) fix. It works on three of my Win 10 machines. When the OS throws this error DO NOT FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE CRITICAL ERROR DIALOG...i.e., don 't allow it to do the restart. Instead, the trick is to get an instance of file Explorer open. This can be done while the error dialog is thrown because you still have the ability to launch or open an existing app. The second step is to open Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del which may be the only thing that consistently works in a Microsoft OS!), and use it to examine the Explorer application process. If you are lucky, you will find the "End Task" button will instead be reading "Restart." Just press that, and the OS will fix itself without rebooting and without pulling down your open apps.


And, if the Explorer app in Task Manager's Applications doesn't show "Restart," you can orderly closed down apps until eventually only Explorer is left, and at that point the button in Task Manager will be "Restart." Of course, you could pull down open apps yourself while the Critical Error message is displayed, and then you could fire its restart button. This may, or may not, work. In any event, you are guaranteed to see the Critical Error message again at some point in the future when you try to use Cortana or type in the Start field.


Sure, this workaround is a bit ugly, but at least open processes will in all likelihood be preserved which during a force restart would be lost.


Microsoft, if you are listening, you better fix this Win10 problem. It's enough to make folks like me switch to something better. And, don't ever lock up a thread until a problem is permanently fixed. In this case, a fix in the form of an OS update hasn't occurred. Otherwise, this nonsense wouldn't be in my face all the time. Ugly...very, very ugly.

:)

 

Win10 - Start and/or Cortana Critical Errors. An urgent appeal to our Moderator

There are many problems with Windows 10, whether with an upgrade or a new PC – just take a look at all of the complaint threads in this forum.

The one that I chose to join is this thread:

“Critical Error – Start menu and Cortana aren’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.”

because it was created by Ravinath P, the Forum’s Moderator.

But I have two specific question for Ravinath P, hence this new thread:

[1] You begin that thread with three Critical Errors relating to Start Menu and/or Cortana not working.

Are these Critical Errors hitting only Win10 Upgrades, or New PCs, or both?

[2] Do your workarounds apply to Win10 Upgrades, or New PCs, or both?

[3] Some who have upgraded say that the workarounds didn’t work. One solution suggested by GuyHoward_634 22-Dec is this:

Re-install Windows 10 using MediaCreator: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

But that Microsoft article says it applies to Win7 SP1 & Win 8.1 PCs.

(A) But if you’ve upgraded, you have Win10 so should we (a) just download it or (b) roll back our PC from Win10 to Win 7 or Win 8.1 and then install it.

(B) If you have a New Wwin10 PC will that suggested way out work?

[4] DenisLacasseRQ today posted that he did a system restore to the date of the critical update.
Does Microsoft approve that we try this?

The issue has completely screwed up my pre-Christmas preparations time as I need my PCs – one an Upgrade and the other a new Win10 to be set up when the problems have been resolved. Other users, as you will have seen, are businessman
– most have said they’ll move to Apple.

I appreciate that you will not be able to comment on criticisms of Microsoft for their failure to get it right, their subsequent failure to put it right and their complete lack of formal responses/interest but can you at least
help us by answering these four queries?

Thank you.

 

Critical Error Popup

Hi QUENDALEWARD,

Corrupted system files may be the possible cause why you received a critical error. To provide you the accurate resolution, kindly answer the following questions:

• Have you made any recent changes prior to this issue?
• What is the exact error message you received?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

Meanwhile, I suggest that you follow the steps in this article on how to troubleshoot
Start menu.

Keep us posted if you need further assistance.

 

Is there still no solution to the W10 critical error where the start menu won't open?

Hi,


Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community. I understand that you are getting an error message “Critical Error – Cortana isn’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.”. I will surely help you to fix this issue.



I suggest you to try the steps suggested by Ravinath P in the following thread. Check if it helps.

“Critical Error – Start menu and Cortana aren’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.”



Also, see: Troubleshoot problems opening the Start menu or Cortana

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/get-help-windows-start-menu



Hope it helps.



Let us know the status, we are glad to assist you further.