New
#1
Multiple issues out of nowhere
Hello,
I can typically solve problems on my own however this has completely blindsided me. I believe this is all related to an update but I cannot be certain. These problems did arise after a "restart and update" event a day or two ago.
Firstly my start menu is broken. If I click it or press the windows key to open it I am greeted with:
Secondly windows no longer remembers certain default programs. Every single time I open firefox I am greeted with "firefox is not your default browser would you like to set it as?" click yes, set as default. Next time I open it this repeats. I can set it as default close it immediately open it immediately and it's already forgotten. This is also happening with uTorrent. This continues to occur even after going into the default programs options via control panel.
Furthermore on a related note magnet links no longer work. I was being greeted with firefox informing me there was no known protocol for a magnet link, was able to 'fix' firefox into recognizing a magnet link again however windows still no longer recognizes them and I am forced into this:
Now if you'll notice I cannot actually do anything. I cannot select an app as none is listed. An option to search for apps is never given. If I click the box next to "always use this app" nothing happens and "Ok" remains greyed out.
Because I have no start menu I'm forced to do some tasks with Windows key + X however for some reason. Win+X and selecting 'search' does nothing now. The Win+X menu simply closes and no search box appears.
Lastly (as far as I know) all my folder view options have reset. Not only have they reset but if I change them they do not stick. I have a folder of videos I had displaying as large icons. They now display as a list. I can change them back to large icons but if I close the folder and open it again it's back to a list. I assure you I have not hit the 5,000 folder cap I've read about.
That last one as I went back to confirm has somehow fixed itself. The other problems remain.
Here is what I have done thusfar in attempts to fix these problems:
I have run SFC as an administrator and have turned up no errors.
I have rolled back the update I suspected caused the problems: kb3156421
I have attempted a system restore to 5/9. This failed multiple times as it could not access a file. I disabled my kaspersky total security for the second attempt and as it opened back up on reboot disabled it autorunning for the third attempt to no avail. I then attempted to restore back to a point in April and that too has failed. I tried restoring to the point before I rolled back the update suspecting that perhaps because I had rolled back the update system restore was screwing up trying to undo an update which no longer exists but that too failed.
I do not believe I will be able to use system restore to salvage this. I am aware I could reinstall windows but that is not ideal as it's a long and painful process.
If anyone has any ideas I could try I would greatly appreciate it. I have no start menu which blows...and the other problems are annoyances but ones which I have no reason to believe cannot be solved. Thank you.