Windows 10 ok at first then issues appear

mpeill · 14 Mar 2018

Windows 10 Pro, version 1709
Everything OK from bootup for several minutes/an hour or two/perhaps all day, then:
Firefox browser won't start.
Chrome browser won't start.
Edge browser will start, but won't accept any keyboard input into any fields.
Other applications run but are very sluggish.
Starting task manager, both firefox and chrome are shown as running processes even though they haven't displayed on screen.
CPU load about 10%, memory usage about 4Gb of the installed 8Gb.
Any application that is minimised on the task bar now has a dormant icon which does nothing if clicked.
Clicking the start button once does nothing, but then clicking a second time opens up the tiles menu.
In task manager, selecting Windows Explorer process and restarting this clears the screen to black, apart from the task manager window which still shows.
Nothing further can be done apart from restarting the computer. All is then well again, symptoms gone for several minutes/an hour or two/all day, then back to square one, all the above.
Ran Malwarebytes scan which showed no problems.
Ran full scan with Windows Defender, no problems found.
Ran DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth from an elevated command prompt.
Ran sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt. No issues reported.

Help! (please)

EdTittel · 14 Mar 2018

Sounds both vexing and frustrating. When mysterious weirdness strikes my Win10 systems -- as it occasionally has, and probably will do again in the future -- if I can't readily diagnose and fix the problems, I usually try what Brink calls a "repair install" by performing what he also calls an "In-place Upgrade" of Windows 10. There's a peachy TenForums tutorial on this that he wrote called "Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-Place Upgrade." You probably want to give it a try.
HTH, and sorry for your troubles,
--Ed--

zbook · 14 Mar 2018

If the above works you are set. An additional option is to open the computers windows advanced troubleshooting menu > view available system restore points that predate the computer problems.

mpeill · 14 Mar 2018

I would have got to the point of doing a clean install, but have one particular application that cost me approx. $1000 that is licenced to the current build, and the last thing I want to do is loose that app installation.
Can you confirm that this In-place upgrade would preserve my apps?
Or anything else to try first......

zbook · 14 Mar 2018

Please read the link that EdTittel posted. All applications should be preserved.

EdTittel · 14 Mar 2018

Just to confirm, given your entirely justifiable concern about keeping an expensive app around. The in-place upgrade repair install leaves all applications and most user settings untouched, unchanged, and still available. Your application should still be usuable after trying this fix. And if I could've thought of something else to try first, I would most definitely have shared that with you already.
May you have a positive and workable outcome, whatever repairs you may try!
Best wishes,
--Ed--

Bree · 14 Mar 2018

mpeill said:

Can you confirm that this In-place upgrade would preserve my apps?
Or anything else to try first......

It says so in the tutorial...

...do a repair install of Windows 10 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything other than all installed Windows Updates...

~~You could first try sfc /scannow then Dism's 'retorehealth' - tutorials on those too...~~

Run SFC Command in Windows 10
Use DISM to Repair Windows 10 Image

Edit: I see you've already tried those.

But the very first thing to do is make an image of the current system so you can restore it should anything go wrong. Macrium Reflect (free) is often recommended for that.

EdTittel · 14 Mar 2018

Thanks for chiming in, Bree. It's always a good idea to make a backup before attempting repairs, especially those that involve a reboot (as the upgrade repair install involves several during the installation process, it's merely prudent to make an image backup of any system with such an install in its immediate future).
--Ed--

mpeill · 14 Mar 2018

I have already run the DISM and SFC without indicating any problem, so will have a go at the in-please upgrade. I'll take an image backup first with Acronis, then attempt the upgrade. All that will now be tomorrow after a good night's sleep any heart breakfast....I'm gonna need it!

mpeill · 14 Mar 2018

in-place that is, a typo..