Windows 10 anniversary issue

[Nova Vishy]

Hi all, so I've been having this problem since the 11th of August. I upgraded to the anniversary build of windows and after the installation, I couldn't access settings, cortana, other windows apps and some third party programs. SFC scan and DISM doesn't work, my restore points got deleted after the upgrade, reverting back to previous build doesn't work, re-installing apps via powershell doesn't work, creating new account won't work, and the media creation tool just gets stuck on "restarting your computer in a moment" for 10+ hours. Can anyone offer any insight on to why this might be happening?

[holdum333]

Hi @Nova Vishy Welcome to the forum! I'm thinking you need the media creation tool and you may have a corrupt MCT. There are some brand of flash drives that the MCT doesn't like.

I would suggest you try a PNY. I suggest at least 8 GB. I prefer the 16 GB. I have several and they work just fine. If you had W10 working, then the MCT should get you back up and running. It's always best to create a backup image before performing any major task. To late for that now.

Go here and create a MCT flash. I recommend a PYN flash. Give that a try and post back. You may get more replies from other forum members latter!

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

[holdum333]

Hi ! Here's a blog by @adacosta explaining three ways to upgrade the anniversary addition! Also a blog how to ensure-a-smooth-upgrade.

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/3-ways-to-upgrade-to-windows-10-anniversary-update/

http://windows10forum.com/blogs/entry/3-how-to-ensure-a-smooth-upgrade-to-windows-10-anniversary-update/

 

[Nova Vishy]

Thanks for the quick response! when I used the media creation tool, I just used the ISO image and mounted that to the hard drive, I didn't use a flash drive ore anything of that nature. Troubleshooting says there's nothing wrong with the drive.  I'll look into backing up my hard drive, its just hard finding 1TB external HD lol.

[holdum333]

Hi friend! I'm not sure where you are. If you can boot into windows, have you tried reset or refresh.

If you're having problems with Windows 10 on your PC, you could use push-button reset to refresh or reset Windows.

Refresh your PC Fixes software problems by reinstalling the OS while preserving the user data, user accounts, and important settings. All other preinstalled customizations are restored to their factory state. In Windows 10, this feature no longer preserves user-acquired Windows apps.

Reset your PC prepares the PC for recycling or for transfer of ownership by reinstalling the OS, removing all user accounts and contents (e.g. data, Classic Windows applications, and Universal Windows apps), and restoring preinstalled customizations to their factory state.

I would still create a back up image before attempting the above. Are you familiar with 3rd party imaging programs? I like Macrium Reflect, but there are several good free programs out there! 

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/windows-10-reset-your-pc-feature/

[holdum333]

Heya friend! If you need further help, I will do my best to try and suggest helpful information. There may be other forum members replying latter.

I'll check your thread latter tomorrow !

 

[holdum333]

10 hours ago, Nova Vishy said:

when I used the media creation tool, I just used the ISO image and mounted that to the hard drive,

That really confuses me. Did you burn the ISO image to a DVD and use it to try and fix your issues? If so, how did you use the ISO image??

[Nova Vishy]

On 8/20/2016 at 1:15 AM, holdum333 said:

That really confuses me. Did you burn the ISO image to a DVD and use it to try and fix your issues? If so, how did you use the ISO image??

What i meant was, i mounted the ISO image to a virtual DVD drive on the computer, no physical dvd or anything like that. But i have a flash drive that i'll use to burn the installation files to and try to run it when my computer first boots up. I've just been waiting to get a 1TB hard drive so i can back up all my data and programs because im not sure if there is a refresh option that keeps all my files.

 any other ideas would be appreciated! thanks!    also, how well do the 3rd party imaging programs work?

[holdum333]

Hi @Nova Vishy The staff here on the forum like "Ask Leo" I also like Leo Here's good read about creating a back up image of your Operating System. It is my understanding that the forum approves links by Leo.

What other ideas would you like?? If you can boot into windows, you don't need to run the flash on boot up. You can attach the flash to a USB port and click on "Set Up" You may get more replies from other forum members latter! If you have more questions, I will try my best to answer them!

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/mount-burn-iso-images-windows-10/

https://askleo.com/how-should-i-back-up-my-computer-before-an-operating-system-upgrade/

 

 

[Nova Vishy]

Awesome , thanks! i'll try this.

[holdum333]

Hi! You're very welcome. I don't know your computer skills and there is a lot to be absorbed in my post. Please ask any question and I'll try my best to answer you. I spend a lot of time here on the forum, but I'm not on 24/7. I'll try to watch for your posts if you have a question!

PS Leo needs to make money like everyone else, and so you will find Leo promoting his books, but I haven't found any harmful PUPs or other malware on his site! If any staff or member here has a comment about that please comment; preferably with a PM.

[Rich-M]

Ok first of all do you really need a 1 Tb drive for backups? How much of the drive you are now using is unused?

You cannot backup programs only files and data and drivers as programs have to be installed into Windows each time which is why I was curious about the need for 1 Tb drive.

I have been using image making programs since the late 90's and have never lost a system to a bad file. Like Gary I am a big believer in Macrium but also Acronis True Image

and EaseUs ToDo Backup as well, another free program.

 

[holdum333]

1 hour ago, Rich-M said:

You cannot backup programs only files and data and drivers as programs have to be installed into Windows each time which is why I was curious about the need for 1 Tb drive.

Heya @Rich-M! Not sure where you're going here. If you create a back up image with Macrium Reflect, It will include all programs and every thing that's on the drive. The image will be restored just like it was the day you created it!. I agree that you probably don't need a 1TB drive. However they aren't that expensive these days and you can use it to back up other things along with images!

A system image is, as its name implies, an image of your system.

What that means is that the image contains a copy of everything on your system, including the current operating system, your installed applications, your settings and customizations, and all of your data.

The key word is here “everything”.

This is important, because by making a copy of everything, there’s no guesswork involved on what, exactly, needs to be backed up. You’ll have captured absolutely everything you could possibly need.

[Rich-M]

That is semantics Gary...if you look at the words it sounded as if the user thought he could copy programs and data and yes of course an image file

copies everything which is a lot more than just programs and files but that wasn't the statement I was answering.

Here was the sentence: " I've just been waiting to get a 1TB hard drive so i can back up all my data and programs because im not sure if there is a refresh option that keeps all my files. Literally backing up data and programs were all he mentioned so if he meant image file that is fine but he didn't say it that way and so many folks don't realize that they cannot copy programs, only files and data for the purpose of restoring. An image file does a lot more than just programs and data.

[holdum333]

I have no idea which statement you were answering @Rich-M Lets move on until the OP responds with more questions. Let's not confuse the OP any further! The OP needs to make a image of their OS that they can use to get back where they are now; in case the upgrade goes south, and Macrium and many other image programs will do that.

Thanks!

[Rich-M]

I quoted what I was answering but enough we'll let it go and move forward!

[holdum333]

21 minutes ago, Rich-M said:

I quoted what I was answering but enough we'll let it go and move forward!

A W10 refresh will keep your files and data, but all Apps will need to be reinstalled, and you will also have to reinstall all windows updates. Even though that's what MS states, I never make any major changes to my OS until I have a back up image of my OS, that will get me back to where I was. It'd just that simple!

A Windows reset will take you back to factory and you will need to reinstall all Apps, all data, and possibly all updates. You will be back to day one, and that is a very drastic way to go, and would be my last suggestion to any member having W10 issues! That would be what this old country boy would do if I was going to sell or give away the PC A window in-place reinstall upgrade will restore every thing but windows updates. I have covered that here in the forum several times. You can do a search if your interested in doing  that! Let's move on!

[Nova Vishy]

19 hours ago, Rich-M said:

Ok first of all do you really need a 1 Tb drive for backups? How much of the drive you are now using is unused?

You cannot backup programs only files and data and drivers as programs have to be installed into Windows each time which is why I was curious about the need for 1 Tb drive.

I have been using image making programs since the late 90's and have never lost a system to a bad file. Like Gary I am a big believer in Macrium but also Acronis True Image

and EaseUs ToDo Backup as well, another free program.

 

@Rich-M @holdum333 I have about 136 Gigs left out of 1TB on my computer, I have a lot of digital audio workstation programs as well as photoshop and other graphic related programs and over 400 gigs of files that go along with those programs , so I just stated that I wanted a 1TB hard drive to make sure i get everything important because some files are located in the c-drive / program files directory and not just in my documents. I've never had to use virtual backups so i'm not to familiar with the subject, but i'll look into the ones you mentioned.

I am proficient with computers but ive never been in a situation like this so excuse my ignorance , but i was under the impression that an "image" was exactly that; an image of everything on your computer at that moment ( including programs) . If you say I will need to reinstall ALL my programs, that's fine but its going to be a real hassle to do so, which is why im trying to avoid that route if possible.

[Rich-M]

No OK then I misread what you said as Gary indicated....an image file is the full complete hard drive or partition with Windows, MBR and all programs, drivers and files and boots up to what you had on the old drive as if nothing had changed. A clone of the drive is the same thing though it restores a bit differently so no need to installprograms as I said before. I was trying to distinguish between an image file which is the operating system and its files and data in its entirety and someone thinking they can backup programs and files and place them on another drive which we are occasionally asked. Yes as an image file or clone you copy everything as it was and restore it so but I might caution you as well if the hard drive is at all corrupted or with bad sectors, the image file may not restore and neither will a clone. In other words you are better off trying Gary's refresh first because if the drive is bad or Windows is badly corrupted, cloning or restoring an image file made after the problem occurred, usually won't fix it. Acronis and Macrium require the drive you are copying to be in near perfect condition. EaseUs Todo Backup on the otherhand I have seen copy a bad drive on occasion successfully. That is about the best advice we can give you.

[Rich-M]

If you can't restore the image file successfully, you can still use it as a source to restore files and data though so it will not be a wasted effort I should have added to the last post. There are programs that can save out your drivers as well like Driver Max but I have never used it so I cannot recommend it myself.

[holdum333]

Hi My suggestion would to create a back up image of your OS with Macrium or another image program. That way you will be able to get back exactly where you are right now. If you have that much data on your PC and don't have a back up, you're waiting for a Hard drive crash and starting over from day one. Once you have a image, then you can try some of W10 recovery options. They are explained below. My chose is the in-place repair upgrade! When you have a image of your OS, you can be fearless! This is a tutorial by Shawn Brinks who is well know in the computer world. If you have further questions, please feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them!

If you're having problems with Windows 10 on your PC, you could use push-button reset to refresh or reset Windows.

Refresh your PC Fixes software problems by reinstalling the OS while preserving the user data, user accounts, and important settings. All other preinstalled customizations are restored to their factory state. In Windows 10, this feature no longer preserves user-acquired Windows apps.

Reset your PC prepares the PC for recycling or for transfer of ownership by reinstalling the OS, removing all user accounts and contents (e.g. data, Classic Windows applications, and Universal Windows apps), and restoring preinstalled customizations to their factory state.

The options above are great for what they are intended for, but you could also do a repair install of Windows 10 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything other than all installed Windows Updates.

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 10 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.
http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do a repair install of Windows 10.

[holdum333]

Hi @Nova Vishy It would take me for ever to post all the information that I have attached on this thread. That's why I use well know authors to do that for me.

There should be enough information for you to create a back up image and then figure out which W10 recovery option you want to use.

Ask Leo does a great job explaining Macrium Reflect, but if you get stuck or have a question, I have been using Macrium for nearly 12 years and I know it pretty well!

Happy computering my friend! I will check back latter. We do our best here to solve W10 issues for our members and we do it with a smile

[Nova Vishy]

ok cool, thanks for the advice, downloading Macrium right now

[holdum333]

Hi Macrium Reflect has made several up dates to the free version sense Leo made his video and we can talk about them later.

The main thing for now is getting the image created on a external drive.

[holdum333]

10 minutes ago, Nova Vishy said:

ok cool, thanks for the advice, downloading Macrium right now

Here is the down load site I use when helping my senior citizens !

An award winning disk cloning and imaging solution for free. Protect your personal documents, photos, music and e-mails. Upgrade your hard disk or try new operating systems in the safe knowledge that everything is securely saved in an easily recovered backup file. Macrium Reflect supports backup to local, network and USB drives as well as burning to all DVD formats. This version is for non-commercial home use.

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx