I just wanted to send you a thank you note. It really helped me out to have this information.  Cheers Heather

"Blindness is a characteristic, not a handicap!" Dr. Kenneth Jernigan
e-mail:
kd5cbl@...
sites:
National Federation of The Blind:
www.nfb.org
An Accessible Online Library:
www.bookshare.org

There are times it becomes exhausting repeating the same thing, but I'll do so here again because it really is important to know how to make fixes under Windows 10 from the least difficult methods, which will often work, through to when more extreme measures are required.



1.  One should start with Using SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Imaging Servicing and Management) to Repair Windows 8 & 10.

2.  If that doesn't work, then move along to one of these two sets of instructions:

Non Destructive Repair of Windows 10 - Answers to commonly asked questions

Doing an In-place "Upgrade" to Reinstall Windows 10 Keeping Apps/Programs and User Files

both of which accomplish the same thing, reinstalling Windows 10 as close to completely as possible, while still retaining not only your files but also your apps/programs.

3. Use the built in Reset this PC feature under Update & Security, Recovery Pane.   
           a)  If you use the Keep my files option at least your personal user data (for all user accounts) will be kept.
           b)  If you use the Wipe everything (and I can't recall the precise descriptor) option, you lose everything and get a fresh copy of Windows 10, but all of the other partitions like the factory reset partition are still kept.

4.  Doing a Completely Clean Install of Windows 10, which is a "when all else fails" last resort.  It wipes the computer completely, including all existing partitions, and gives you a perfectly clean slate.  I personally prefer this if Step 2 fails, because I'd rather have an absolutely clean and minimal installation of WIndows 10 with no bloatware associated with it.

It is also essential, if you value your data and your system as a whole, to have an external backup drive and a regular backup schedule.  This, by far, is the most convenient way to recovering a system to fully functioning with everything you put all the work into installing and creating coming back as part of the recovery.
 
--

Brian - Windows 10 Home, 64-Bit, Version 1809, Build 17763  

     The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life.

                ~ Andrew Brown (1938-1994)