My desktop suddenly disappeared. What happened and how to recover?

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

  1. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #11

    My desktop suddenly disappeared.  What happened and how to recover?-snap-2017-04-10-07.25.27.jpg

    See bottom right option

    (And I wouldn't regard Cortana as 'advanced'... especially as regards file search).
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 7
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #12

    Solved


    Success! I also thought ‘tablet mode’ might be the problem since the start menu screen covers the entire screen when in tablet mode. I had previously checked everywhere that told me if I was in tablet mode. The answer was always no. Then you told me your opinion that tablet mode might be my problem. I checked again and found on ‘settings - tablet mode - When I sign In - use the appropriate mode for my hardware’. I assumed that meant leave it alone and the appropriate selection would automatically be made. WRONG! Changed it to ‘Use desktop mode’ and like magic everything was back to normal. What’s so strange is the problem only showed up a couple of weeks ago. It had been working fine since I “upgraded” to Windows 10 last Summer. The second user account on my machine has been and still is working fine. This problem has no affect, yet. I hate Windows 10!

    dalchina, navy, and others, thank you so much for helping me through this problem.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #13

    Good thing it was simple.. just wait 'til you get to the hard ones some people experience.

    I'd hold off on the Creator's upgrade- I'm waiting until they bring out the first big update after this release.

    Meanwhile, please consider this- it can save you so much pain when things go wrong: this is how to act defensively and potentially save you a great deal of time and difficulty:

    Here's my write-up on the value of disk imaging.

    Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your imaged disks and partitions to a previous working state from compressed copies you have created and kept updated on external storage media, quickly and probably without technical help.

    You can recover from:
    - a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
    - ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
    - user error
    - unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
    - unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

    Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

    You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.
    Can be used with Laplink software to transfer your build automatically to another PC

    Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

    Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
    - more feature rich
    - more flexible
    - more reliable
    than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

    It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

    There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

    How long does it take?
    SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
    HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
    That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
    - of course, depends how much you have on C:
    (You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

    Once you've created your first image, keep it updated with e.g. differential imaging- which images just changes from the first image, more quickly, and creates a smaller image file.

    You need a backup medium - say- twice as large as the total amount of data you are imaging to keep a reasonable number of differential images. This will vary dependent on the number of images you keep, so is only a rough practical guide.

    Some comment that system restore isn't always reliable; if it works and solves the problem, great. But sometimes restores won't work or fail. And of course a restore point only covers a limited number of aspects of the system. That’s where disk imaging comes in.

    (There's a tutorial on Macrium in the Tutorials section, and a couple of videos in the user videos section on this forum)
    Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect - Windows 10 Backup Restore Tutorials
    https://www.tenforums.com/general-su...tml#post355809
    Here's my write-up on the value of disk imaging.

    Creating disk images lets you restore Windows and all your imaged disks and partitions to a previous working state from compressed copies you have created and kept updated on external storage media, quickly and probably without technical help.

    You can recover from:
    - a failed disk drive (restore to a new one)
    - ransomware (which encrypts your disk)
    - user error
    - unrecoverable problems from failed updates to problem programs
    - unbootable PC (hardware faults aside)

    Images also act as a full backup- you can extract files too.

    You can even use images to help you move more easily and quickly to a new PC.
    Can be used with Laplink software to transfer your build automatically to another PC

    Imaging can even help you sleep at night knowing you have a second chance.

    Many here recommend Macrium Reflect (free) as a good robust solution and more reliable than some others. It’s
    - more feature rich
    - more flexible
    - more reliable
    than Windows Backup and Restore system images.

    It's well supported with videos, help and a responsive forum.

    There are other such programs, free/commercial, some with simpler interfaces, but Macrium R is one of the most robust and reliable.

    How long does it take?
    SSD+ USB3 - maybe 15 mins for the first system image, less thereafter
    HDD + USB2 - maybe 40-50 mins
    That’s with little personal data, few programs installed.
    - of course, depends how much you have on C:
    (You can and should image all your partitions and disks)

    Once you've created your first image, keep it updated with e.g. differential imaging- which images just changes from the first image, more quickly, and creates a smaller image file.

    You need a backup medium - say- twice as large as the total amount of data you are imaging to keep a reasonable number of differential images. This will vary dependent on the number of images you keep, so is only a rough practical guide.

    Some comment that system restore isn't always reliable; if it works and solves the problem, great. But sometimes restores won't work or fail. And of course a restore point only covers a limited number of aspects of the system. That’s where disk imaging comes in.

    (There's a tutorial on Macrium in the Tutorials section, and a couple of videos in the user videos section on this forum)
    Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect - Windows 10 Backup Restore Tutorials
    https://www.tenforums.com/general-su...tml#post355809
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 7
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #14

    Thanks to TenForums


    Thank you again dalchini. I am of the old school, "KISS". Also, thank you for the heads-up about Macrium R. I plan to research it soon. I also implemented Classic Shell as recommended by NavyLCDR and it's working great. I like it very much. Meanwhile I am happy to get past yet another Win 10 attack, bloodied but alive. Oh, did I say I HATE WINDOWS 10.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #15

    I'm holding off on the Creator's update for a few months (with Pro you can defer features updates). If they do the same as previously, there'll be a big update or so 2-3 months after the public release.

    And creating or updating your disk image before upgrading is a wise defensive move.
      My Computers


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 22:04.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums