Reinstalling Windows 10

Having had a power outage and corrupting files during an update, I feel I have gone as far as I can trying to repair my Windows install. I have done all the scf's, Dism's chkdisk's, all say nothing is wrong, but my Windows is really messed up. I have no working Start Button, it takes ages to load, I can't view a .png file without some weird error message, my Message button on my taskbar won't open....which is just a few of the bugs I'm aware of and doubtless there is a load more stuff which doesn't work.

I do have the Windows Image ISO which I downloaded in vein effort to sort this mess out, but that was a waste of time. Tired of trying to repair it, I would like to trash it and reinstall, from scratch if necessary. MY Win10 install was originally derived from a Win 7 install. What do I need to do to make a fresh start? The only program I have is Lightroom which I would prefer not to reinstall if I can help it.

Any ideas please?

Thanks in advance.

"I do have the Windows Image ISO which I downloaded in vein effort to sort this mess out, but that was a waste of time. "

What specifically was the problem with the ISO ? Did you use a usb or just mount it from your desktop ?
Did you follow this tutorial ? Watch the video to understand the process. You'll have the option to keep your files and programs. I just did this myself to repair an update issue and I use this to do all version upgrades, as well. -
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade | Tutorials

mrgeek said:

"I do have the Windows Image ISO which I downloaded in vein effort to sort this mess out, but that was a waste of time. "

What specifically was the problem with the ISO ? Did you use a usb or just mount it from your desktop ?
Did you follow this tutorial ? Watch the video to understand the process. You'll have the option to keep your files and programs. I just did this myself to repair an update issue and I use this to do all version upgrades, as well. -
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade | Tutorials

There was nothing wrong with the ISO, I used it as a source for DISM to RestoreHealth. Even though it ran and reported that it was a success, it didn't change or appear to do anything, which seemed a waste of time. Even if I run it now, it will say there is nothing wrong. Regardless, how can I use the ISO to reinstall Win10 as I've given up with the mess I have now.

Have you been able to save any important files? That would be a priority assuming you haven't a backup strategy in place.

Clean installing is normally straightforward:
Clean Install Windows 10

and this is an ideal opportunity to set everything as you want and with no bloatware. Remember to click the 'I don't have a product key' option as your PC will already be logged with Microsoft. Its all in the TUT.

Graham9 said:

There was nothing wrong with the ISO, I used it as a source for DISM to RestoreHealth. Even though it ran and reported that it was a success, it didn't change or appear to do anything, which seemed a waste of time. Even if I run it now, it will say there is nothing wrong. Regardless, how can I use the ISO to reinstall Win10 as I've given up with the mess I have now.

You are confusing the scannow or Restore Health command with the purpose of the ISO which is a mountable copy of a Win10 install DVD. If you follow the linked tutorial, you'll probably see screens that you never saw and it wouldn't end with a 'no issues found' message, like scannow but a series of screens saying These Updates keep you secure in an online world, etc. Again, see the video and see if it corresponds to what you did before. I'm guessing it does not. Good Luck

Mooly said:

Clean installing is normally straightforward: ... and this is an ideal opportunity to set everything as you want and with no bloatware. Remember to click the 'I don't have a product key' option as your PC will already be logged with Microsoft. Its all in the TUT.

He indicated that he wishes to keep his programs, hence Repair Install vs Clean Install

I decided to do a Repair Install from the ISO image, which also involved downloading updates. All went well at the end, until I tried to use the Settings button on the Start menu - which didn't work. There was something on Microsoft.net about some patch which is run from Admin Powershell, which didn't work, in fact it made it worse, and I was back to the old problem of having to wait a considerable time from Welcome screen to Desktop (about 5 mins). Thinking it was a sudden profile problem, I ran the Profile fix program which someone sent me the link to - and that has virtually totally screwed my installation up, with no Desktop at all (black screen), the Start Menu appears when I press the Windows key, but nothing works.

I really, really did not want to lose my personal data, but I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and do a clean reinstall as well as reformatting the hard drive to make an absolutely fresh installation, via the Windows ISO/USB boot.

I would create a new user account first and see if the problems carry over to the new user account.

Which windows version / build is installed?
Would a reset save files (reinstall drivers and applications) be a viable fix?