Is My Windows 10 Corrupt - Settings Not Being Saved And Possibly More

CT71 · 06 Mar 2018

Holy crap. Gimme time to digest this please, this is a bit overwhelming at the moment.

CT71 · 07 Mar 2018

Ok, if you don't mind I'd really like to ask a bunch of questions. None of them are out of disrespect, I sincerely promise, it's just there was alot to take in all at one time. I came here for help because I wouldn't have a clue otherwise, so please don't take these questions as disrespectful in any way in you trying to help me.

1. Is there anyway that we know what may have caused the BSOD from the logs I provided? I only ask that because the only issue I've ever had with this computer is with front panel USB port errors every now and then. And when my computer rebooted suddenly the other day, I did have a thumb drive copying files in there at the time. I ran the Windows USB Troubleshooter and it said this: "The USB Controller is in a failed state or is not currently installed". Not sure why it said that - I did try the thumbdrive since and it did work.

2. Does every last step need to be done all at once? Like right down to the end about uninstalling Avast and Malwarebytes............or is this a step by step process where everything could possibly be fixed before we get to the end. I ask this because I'm fairly positive I don't have the latest drivers installed because I know that I recently got a pop up from Dell about newer ones available. The reason I didn't install them was because I was once told that if your computer runs perfectly fine without any bugs there's really no need to update drivers. And since I've never had anything like this happen in 20 years, I didn't want to do something as drastic (for me anyways) as that.

3. Except for the few bugs I've noticed (taskbar settings not saving at reboot, etc.) - is there any actual internal harm from using my computer right now, and will it get deterioratingly worse with use. Ok, so the reason I ask this one is because I have two different sets of speakers and an amplifier on order from Amazon which need to be auditioned on my computer. This really absolutely needs to be done - I live on an island, and counting on having Amazon to be able to order things is a must financially. Since I order so many things, and return so many things - returning too many things is not good - and these speakers weigh a ton - I cannot return them only to reorder them again. So I really need my computer for the next month.

Thanks again.

CT71 · 07 Mar 2018

Also, what is "The drive file system is corrupt. The master file table is corrupt (MFT)"

I've read a little bit about it online and I keep seeing "unable to access your files" in all the mentioned articles. I'm pretty sure I can still do that, unless I'm getting that statement confused with something different.

zbook · 07 Mar 2018

In the post there were many reports listed so that you could read the findings.
There is corruption of the drive file system.
There is corruption involving Avast.
On computers there should only be one always on antivirus product as the antivirus products can compete with each other making the computer vulnerable to malware.
All AV products use drivers.
Drivers misbehave and cause BSOD. The BSOD are to protect the computer and they need to be troubleshooted.
There was a BSOD just a day before the post and you may not be seeing them due to the computer settings.

If a car drives well for 5 years and then all of a sudden needs a new engine, chassis, transmission etc one may wonder what could have happened if there was better preventative maintenance?
In a similar fashion a friend could be hospitalized and one may wonder what could have been done if there was better preventative care.
Apply this to the computer.
You can continue to use this computer and disregard the findings or you could act upon them.
At some point there will be a decrease in performance and then there will be boot problems. Then there may be anxiety or distress until the problems are fixed.

The troubleshooting steps are organized to:
1) check the windows operating system
2) improve the computer performance
3) find the source(s) of the BSOD and fix the underlying problem
4) backup the files on the computer so that you have safety in case there is boot failure, operating system or registry corruption, malware, etc
5) improve the settings so you get a warning or earlier warning for some computer problems
6) prevent the loss of files that are needed for troubleshooting
7) evaluate the hardware that may be related to the current problems ( drive file system corruption and BSOD)

So it takes time and effort to perform the preventative steps. And you now know there are problems. The problems are likely to turn into bigger problems if they are not addressed in a timely fashion.

The steps were posted in a comprehensive fashion.
You can take your time to complete the steps.
Some of the steps can be done overnight.

These are the steps that can be done while sleeping:
1) chkdsk /x /f /r
2) HD Tune full error scan
3) Memtest86+ version 5.01

CT71 · 07 Mar 2018

Ok, thanks. I'll get started tonight and do the best I can.

CT71 · 08 Mar 2018

So I filled out the Computer specs as best I could for now. There were some things that I just couldn't get to at the moment. If you absolutely need some of these things I'll get 'em, but I just couldn't take apart the computer tonight.

As for the BIOS. What you wrote looks to be correct. I was informed about version 3.5.2 on February 6th by Dells support pop up. By the way, as of 5 minutes ago I couldn't even find half the things for my computer specs, and then I brought up Dell's Support Assist app - and damn if that thing doesn't have everything listed and handy! There's also something called a Chipset update where the BIOS info was (Intel AMT HECI ME Driver). Obviously, I'm not sure what that is. I can look it up tomorrow. It's getting late, and updating the BIOS and possibly driver scares me a little, so I don't want to tackle that one tonight.

Here are the logs from the first round:

C:\Users\CT\Desktop>sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

C:\Users\CT\Desktop>dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.16299.15

Image Version: 10.0.16299.125

[==========================100.0%==========================] No component store corruption detected.
The operation completed successfully.

C:\Users\CT\Desktop>dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.16299.15

Image Version: 10.0.16299.125

[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.

C:\Users\CT\Desktop>

zbook · 08 Mar 2018

The above commands and results displayed that the operating system is ok and this was expected.

These are preventative maintenance commands that can be run as much as you want to check the integrity of and repair the operating system.

Once the drive file system is repaired there will be another command that you can use as much as you want to check the integrity of the drive file system.

CT71 · 08 Mar 2018

Tonight I'll update the BIOS. It doesn't seem that by doing that you lose anything in terms of files, programs, music, etc - is that correct? It just says that things will be set back to factory default, but only if you've changed things in the BIOS, which I don't "think" I ever have. I mean, I know I've never entered the BIOS.

As far as #16 goes, I'm not really sure what that is. Does that have anything to do with the Chipset Update - Intel AMT HECI ME Driver? If so I can do that too. But if #16 is something different then I'm not to sure. The Chipset update was the other update, along with the BIOS update that the Dell System Update App was telling me to do. I looked at the detailed report about it, but it was a little too generic for me to understand what exactly it was, or did.

Continued thanks.

zbook · 08 Mar 2018

Step # 16 is for you to enter the product or serial number and display the drivers and BIOS.
This produces the reference for the computer. (URL or hyperlink)
All viewers will be able to see the computer manufacturer supported drivers and BIOS for the computer.

All drivers/firmware should be up to date and come directly from the computer manufacturer.

Resetting the BIOS will ensure that there are no improper settings.
There should be no loss of files.
Sometimes though there are unexpected results.
So for prevention you are to backup all files to another drive or to the cloud and to make a backup image using Macrium:
Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free

CT71 · 08 Mar 2018

Ok, so I won't be able to do this tonight then, I'm gonna have to figure out what I need to back up first. It may take me through the weekend but I will do it.