Back it up before you lose it!Īny time you make major changes to a Windows system, such as installing a major application suite like Microsoft Office or performing an OS upgrade or repair, it’s a good idea to begin that process with a complete backup. Thus, the most important bit of advice I can dispense for those who must venture beyond Step 1 is this: make a complete backup of your system to provide a source for files and information that might otherwise go missing.
Some steps involve additional work to restore the prior state of your PC more or less back to where it was prior to taking that step. The amount of time and effort required for each step goes up incrementally.
(The only remaining step at that point would be to replace the system on which the software is running, and that’s outside the scope of this story.) Keep working through the steps in order until you reach the end, and you are bound to fix the vast majority of problems. If that doesn’t fix what’s broken, advance to the next step. The idea is to first try the initial step in the sequence.
That said, most of these approaches also work with Windows 7 and 8 (with slight variations), and the advice here applies almost identically to Windows 11, which Microsoft is gradually rolling out to Windows 10 users whose hardware can support the new OS via Windows Update from October 2021 into early 2022. I’ve now updated it for the latest versions of Windows 10. I initially wrote this story in 2016, but as Windows 10 has evolved over time, some of the steps have changed a bit. When that happens, users would be well advised to break out the following routine to help them set things back to rights. This often takes the form of worsening performance or stability, and can originate from damage to, loss of, or corruption of Windows system files typically found in the C:\Windows folder hierarchy. Memes, concepts, and help posts are only allowed on Mondays (UTC timezone) and they will be removed any other day of the week.Sometimes a Windows 10 system starts misbehaving to the point where repair is needed. Only post memes, concepts, and help posts on Mondays All posts and answers that can easily be found by searching this subreddit or by using a search engine will be removed at the moderator's discretion.ġ0. Do not submit reposts or low-effort posts The relevancy of submissions' titles will be judged at the moderator's discretion.ĩ. Irrelevant, sensationalized, or vague titles that have the pure intent of misleading or dramatizing a topic are not allowed. Encouraging or hinting at the use of sellers of grey market keys is not allowed. Do not promote pirated content or grey market keysĭo not post pirated content or promote it in any way. This is not a marketplace subreddit, selling anything is prohibited.ħ. Include as much relevant information as you can in both the modmail and the post. If you want to promote your app or website, you must send us a modmail to request permission. Do not advertise a 3 rd party software without permission Do not engage in blatant trolling or flaming.Ħ. Posts or comments containing or seeking any identifying personal information are also prohibited. Personal attacks, bigotry, fighting words, inappropriate behavior and comments that insult or demean a specific user or group of users are not allowed.
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