Notebook upgraded from 8.1 to 10 last year, all worked fine. Having not used it for 3 months I opened it up today to update Norton and Windows.
Left click of Start button doesn't work and Windows doesn't recognize the command fix found online.
Windows Central is totally missing.
Settings doesn't work, hence no Update & Security can be found.
Is there a way to reinstall W10 given I got it free and have no copies?
Or is there a way to fix this with some kind of download?
And there are NO recoveries to be found.
Download the Media Creation Tool and create a USB installation disk. From there you can try a Repair Installation or if that does not work, a clean install. Get the Media Creation Tool and its instructions from here:
Windows 10
Check the Tutorials section for information on how to do a "Repair" installation or a "Clean" install.
JohnD
You should download and make a dvd of the installation media. It doesn't matter how you got it, Windows 10 can be reinstalled without need of any Product Key (and you should not enter one) because with Windows 10 the computer is registered as a Windows 10 device the first time Windows 10 is installed and activated. You are good to go.Notebook upgraded from 8.1 to 10 last year, all worked fine. Having not used it for 3 months I opened it up today to update Norton and Windows.
Left click of Start button doesn't work and Windows doesn't recognize the command fix found online.
Windows Central is totally missing.
Settings doesn't work, hence no Update & Security can be found.
Is there a way to reinstall W10 given I got it free and have no copies?
Or is there a way to fix this with some kind of download?
Thank you for not only suggesting the best solution, but also for providing the link to it. It worked!Download the Media Creation Tool and create a USB installation disk. From there you can try a Repair Installation or if that does not work, a clean install. Get the Media Creation Tool and its instructions from here:
Windows 10
Check the Tutorials section for information on how to do a "Repair" installation or a "Clean" install.
JohnD
Glad I could help. Keep that installation disk handy, you might need it again. I believe Windows 10 has some inherent instability that can jump up and grab you at any time. This is apparent from the many posts here and the thousands of posts on the Microsoft Community Forum for Windows 10.
I also suggest that if you do not have one now, get some backup software and make regular backups of your system. I strongly recommend Macrium Reflect. It has a free version that works well. The paid version has a few more options.
I personally do not like Norton or McAfee AVs. They tend to take over a system. I have seen them really mess systems up. I gave up on Norton long ago when I saw all the unnecessary pop-ups it kept generating. I don't know how good Microsoft's Windows Defender is. I have seen some complaints about it being the cause for 100% disk usage. I suppose it is better than nothing however. I have used ESET NOD32 for over 15 years. It is far less obtrusive, is very low on system resources, and otherwise does an excellent job. If you have had no problems with Norton, you could stick with it.
JohnD
I've been wishing I could find a way to backup all my documents regularly. Can you recommend a site where I can ask questions about this Macrium Reflect?
Just Google on Macrium Reflex for all kinds of articles. Macrium (even the free version) is excellent and you can set schedules for your backups quite easily.
