[SOLVED] Windows 10 Bugs and Fixes

Category: Windows-10

Windows 10 was released to the public on July 29, 2015. It’s seen one major update and dozens of minor bug patches as of November. It still isn’t 100% bug free - just like any other major piece of software with millions of lines of code. Here are some of the most common problems people are encountering with Win 10, and some suggestions for fixing them...

Fixing Windows 10 Flaws

Can’t upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1? Sometimes the infamous "Get Windows 10" (also known as GWX) app won’t allow a Windows 10 installation even when a PC meets all the upgrade specs; or the GWX app never appeared in your system tray; or the GWX installation routine stalls repeatedly.

Here's the solution: Don’t use GWX. Instead, download Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool, burn the Windows 10 installation files to a USB stick or DVD, and run the Setup.exe program locally.

If you still have trouble, make sure that any hardware-based “Disable Execution Prevention (DEP)” is switched on in the BIOS; refer to your system’s manual for instructions. Yes, I said “ON” because that disables prevention of execution of unknown programs like Win 10 installation files. You don’t want “disable” turned “off.”

Fixing Windows 10 problems

Some users never got that November major update, which fixes lots of problems in Windows 10. To see if you got it, type “winver” in the Search box on the Start menu and run it. The latest version is 10586.XX; if you have version 10240 you did not get the November update. The solution is the Media Creation Tool, again. Download it now, even if you downloaded it when you first installed Win 10. The latest version will install the latest, fully updated version of Windows. Just make sure you set it to keep personal files and apps.


Windows Update isn’t working? First, make sure you have the latest version of Win 10 installed, the update issued in November. If that doesn’t do the trick, download and run Microsoft’s Windows Update Troubleshooter.

Bring Back the Start Button!

In my Windows ebook survey, quite a few people complained that after upgrading to Windows 10, their Start Button sometimes went missing. Ironically, the removal of the Start button in the initial release of Windows 8 was the number one complaint. But that's not supposed to happen in Windows 10. If your Start button is doing a disappearing act, that could be another sign that you missed the November update. See the instructions above to fix that.


Can't find Safe Mode? Rebooting Windows into Safe mode has salvaged many a trashed computer. But you can no longer get into Safe Mode by pressing F8 while your system reboots. Instead, you are supposed to boot Windows 10, then either a) restart while holding the left Shift key or b) select the Safe Mode option within Update & Security in the Settings app. Neither method helps when you cannot boot Windows 10 in the first place!

Before you ever need Safe Mode, you should create a boot time Safe Mode option. The procedure is disturbingly complicated, but you only have to do it once. IntoWindows.com has a well-illustrated and clearly written tutorial. Once the Safe Mode option is created, your system reboot will pause during boot-up for a user-specified number of seconds, and you can choose to continue booting Windows 10 in normal or Safe mode.


Slow boot times are experienced by some Win 10 users. Like Win 8.1, Win 10 uses a hybrid shutdown process. When you shut down the system, apps and app processes are terminated, but the Windows kernel is hibernated; that should result in faster boot times, but on some systems it has the opposite effect.

To stop hibernation of the kernel, open the Power Options app and click “Choose what the power buttons do.” Then click “Change settings that are currently unavailable.” Scroll down and un-check “Turn on fast start-up,” then click “Save changes.” Windows 10 should boot faster now; in fact, users report that after re-enabling “fast start-up,” this fix still works.

Just Another Pretty Face?

The Lock Screen is pretty, but it’s an annoyance that you must click past in order to get to the login box. You can get rid of the Lock Screen by editing your registry. Type “regedit” in the Start menu search box and hit enter to open the Registry Editor. Navigate to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

If you don’t see a “Personalization” key in the right-hand window pane on that tree level, you’ll have to create one. Highlight the “Windows” key, right-click on it, and select New>Key from the dropdown menu. Rename the new key “Personalization.” You should now be at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization

Right-click on the “Personalization” key and select “DWORD (32-bit) Value.” Select “New Value #1” in the right-hand pane and use F2 to rename it “NoLockScreen.” Then double-click “NoLockScreen”, change the value data to 1 and click OK. After a reboot, the lock screen will be gone.

Have you experienced other Windows 10 glitches? Post your comment below, and include the fix if you've found one.

 
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This article was posted by on 4 Apr 2016


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Most recent comments on "[SOLVED] Windows 10 Bugs and Fixes"

(See all 40 comments for this article.)

Posted by:

Lloyd Collins
04 Apr 2016

This is why I wait to upgrade. I am tired of having problems, then waiting for a patch. When Windows 10 is declared fully functional, THEN I will upgrade. With Microsoft's track record, it don't look good.

And, now back to fixing my problems with Windows 7..(beats head against wall!)


Posted by:

Andrea
05 Apr 2016

I lost my favorite Solitaire games, which really made me unhappy. I do not WANT to play games online, I like to play games on my own computer. Had I known I would lose them, I would not have made the change....and I will be hanging on to my other Windows 7 machines until the bitter end, to maintain my access as long as possible.


Posted by:

derek
05 Apr 2016

Stuggling to try to use win 10.
Can't find winver (later I found the number in settings/system/about), can't find Search box on the Start menu, can't find command prompt.
As always, can't find anything useful in the Microsoft "help" pages.


Posted by:

Butch
05 Apr 2016

Dell is *not* going to have new versions of Drivers for my Dell computer so that I can run W-10 safely. Thus, on the basis of possible problems and all of the complaints I keep reading, I intend to stay with my W-7 as long as possible and _then_ I will switch to Mac. (I used Macs at work but had IBM-DOS/MS-DOS & Windows, later, at home. I would have had Mac at home except for the higher cost.) I loved W-XP and still love, best of all, W-7. So: for me, it's Goodbye MS when support for W-7 goes.


Posted by:

Bob K
05 Apr 2016

Tried your Safe Mode procedure. Options a) and b) worked fine. Also went thru the "intowindows.com"
operations which went smoothly, but when I try to boot in Safe Mode I get the following message:
THIS APP CAN'T OPEN --- Get Started can't be opened using the Built-in Administrator account. Sign in with a different account and try again.
I have no clue what it means --- I am the only user of this laptop and only have one account.
Please help.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I did some reading on that error and it seems you can safely ignore it.


Posted by:

Susan G
05 Apr 2016

I upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 on my desktop. It worked OK initially, until the first updates came through, then Airplane Mode turned on and would not turn off. So no internet access. I had to restore it to before the update in order to regain my access. In addition, Windows Explorer no longer had the very useful Recent Places function, the replacement looked for most heavily used folders instead, which is not how I typically work. And then when I downloaded an ebook app, it changed my Windows password to my Microsoft account password, which gave me a few bad moments the next time I logged in. Because I live in a rural area, the upgrade pushed me over my data limit for my MiFi (no good broadband service here) and seemed to suck up data resources at an alarming rate even after installed. So I reverted to Windows 7 and will resist further blandishments to upgrade.


Posted by:

Edward
05 Apr 2016

Windows10 does not leave the CD/DVD working. I downloaded a number of free drivers, VLC media and 5K, for media. They help but not with the one DVD I want to use. I tried this DVD on 7 Windows10 laptops, with no good results. The DVD works with Windows7. Wish I could get something working with the DVD


Posted by:

BILL
07 Apr 2016

I AM A COMPUTER IDIOT. I BOUGHT A NEW LAPTOP LOADED WITH WINDOWS 10. I HATE IT! I AM LEARNING MY WAY AROUND WINDOWS 10, BUT I STILL HATE IT. HOWEVER, I WAS ABLE TO DOWNLOAD MY WINDOWS 7 GAMES FILE FROM MICROSOFT. NOW I PLAY SOLITAIRE ON MY COMPUTER, NOT ON LINE! WORKS GREAT, TOO.


Posted by:

D Clark
08 Apr 2016

Some minor problems but fixed.
One software which I use all the time Acronis,
this looked liked it worked in win10 but there were errors.
Fixed it by running from dvd disc.


Posted by:

D Mimes
09 Apr 2016

When I downloaded and installed Windows 10, my cortana and edge were workig perfectly. A few weeks later both of them stop working. I just gave up on trying to re-install them. Is there an answer to this. My computer specs indicate I have Windows 10 install, but without Cortana and Edge.

EDITOR'S NOTE: What are the symptoms of Cortana and Edge not working?


Posted by:

Garito37
11 Apr 2016

I simply despise W10!!! How can I go back to W7?

Bottom line: I hate Microsoft. Wish I'd switched to Apple several years ago.


Posted by:

Sandi
11 Apr 2016

I have an HP W7 upgraded to W10 with automatic updates. It worked okay for awhile but then the cursor would stick and not move, freeze in place with the little blue circle spinning around. The only way to shut it down was to hold the 'on' button down until it shuts off. Restarting it, I was able to move cursor for a while but then again it would freeze with the spinning blue circle. Did a chkdsk, got an 'error on hard drive' and unable to perform chkdsk. I need a guru to fix it so that I can use my older computer. Is there any one who can help?


Posted by:

Bruce
12 Apr 2016

Thanks Bob, but 90% of what you wrote here is geek-speak. I don't understand a word of it.


Posted by:

Bill
13 Apr 2016

Haters!
You do not have to use Windows 10! You don't have to use your hated enemy, Microsoft's, OS!

You can use Ubuntu, or 1000 other flavours of Linux. Or FreeBSD... or OpenSolaris, or ChromeOS, or SteamOS (oh wait those last two are just Linux), Mac (uh... that's pretty much Copyrighted Linux... but is really Unix based).

Hmm... FreeDOS?

However, as much as you gripe and whine about your free upgrade to a modern & very powerful operating system with extensive new security features and pretty bells and whistles, and hot, sexy, personal assistant (you'll have to play Halo to see her though), remember that all those other systems (save Mac OS, and Ubuntu...kinda) are a massive learning curve for anyone that has only used Windows.

Enjoy and reap what the great Gates has given!


Posted by:

Ed J
14 Apr 2016

From windows10forums.com, this worked for me to enable safe mode at startup:
Right click start button
Click Command Prompt (Admin)
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Reverse the process with
bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard


Posted by:

SkeeterVT
14 Apr 2016

I downloaded Windows 10 to my laptop -- a Dell Latitude D630 -- and almost immediately after installation, I could not connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

Being a rather stingy SOB who refuses to shell out $50 a month to phone and cable companies for wired Internet service, Windows 10's cutoff of my Wi-Fi was unacceptable, so I reverted back to Windows 7 (Professional, Service Pack 1).

Fed up with those annoying "Get Windows 10" pop-ups whenever I started my laptop, I downloaded the anti-GWX app to get rid of those pop-ups and block installation of the GWX app in Windows Update.

I've chosen to stick with Windows 7 until Microsoft stops supporting it in 2020.


Posted by:

Sandy Papavasiliou
23 Apr 2016

I don't have a SEARCH in the Start menu. So! Where is it? Used to have this SEARCH ability in Windows 7. I'm in Windows 10 and it aint there.


Posted by:

MmeMoxie
30 Apr 2016

Well, for those who know me - I have not been an advocate for Windows 10! I had upgraded twice with lousy results, like losing all of my Casual Games and other programs I particularly like.

In March, I upgraded my daughter's PC to Windows 10. She is not computer savvy but, still wanted to learn the new OS. I simply could NOT believe how easy to upgrade went. I was adding the Anti-Virus program, CCleaner, Privazer, Glary Utilities, Malwarebytes plus, other important programs for security, the feel of Windows 10 seemed more like Win 7. The games she had, stay on the desktop. I was able to get the "Apps" down to what she would really need.

This was a completely different experience than I had before. Her computer had not been used in months. So, the first thing I did was to update all of the security issues from Microsoft. I knew how important that is. I also made sure that all programs were up to date. After that, it went smoothly. I realized that the November major update, something was changed dramatically.

Next, I did my Hubby's upgrade to Win 10.

The last one I did was my own PC. The primary one for all our business in my household, finances, game playing, emails and so forth. So far, so good. I am pleased and have only had a couple of small issues with Win 10. I do feel more comfortable with Win 10, than I did the past 2 times I tried to upgrade.


Posted by:

Ken Drasen
05 Mar 2017

Much like my favorites keep disappearing, seems windows 10 has a mind of it's own and wants to shuttle you back to there welcome page.


Posted by:

George Gubko Jr.
07 May 2017

Bob, thanks for your tips.


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