Solved Modern UI Failure

FrustratedUser

New Member
Messages
12
I installed an update this morning (the little action center flag in the bottom corner of the desktop told me to), after which my start screen displays nothing except the background, whenever I search for anything it says "This app can't be searched". Nothing relating to the start screen can open, so I pressed 'Windows + r' to get myself to desktop. I can open IE in desktop but can't view in start. System Restore failed and no matter how many times I try it will not work. When I look through Control Panel at the recently installed updates I can't find the one I installed this morning. I have followed the steps on many different forums, and the next step is to do a system refresh - but there's a catch.

I can swipe in to bring up the charms bar (that's what it's called, right?), and I then click on settings. At the bottom i select "Change PC Settings", but along with every other part of Modern UI, nothing happens. As far as I know, from this menu that I cannot open is the only possible way to do a system refresh/reset, thus I am stuck with an inoperable operating system.

I am very frustrated with this, and am hoping anybody out there can help me. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I suggest a boot time scan with Avast or whatever Anti-virus program you have.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
have you tried SFC /SCANNOW on elevated command prompt?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
the next step is to do a system refresh - but there's a catch.

I can swipe in to bring up the charms bar (that's what it's called, right?), and I then click on settings. At the bottom i select "Change PC Settings", but along with every other part of Modern UI, nothing happens. As far as I know, from this menu that I cannot open is the only possible way to do a system refresh/reset, thus I am stuck with an inoperable operating system.
There's a couple of ways I can think of to make the computer do an advanced restart. Close any open applications,l and then What happens if you use {WindowsKey}-R (or a command prompt) and type this?:
shutdown /r /o

Alternatively, close everything on the desktop, click in some open space, try Alt-F4, select Restart, and then when the computer starts up again, don't sign in but instead use the Shift key with the "power button symbol" at the bottom of the screen, and (with the Shift key still held down) select Restart.

Incidentally as I was writing about holding keys down, it occurred to me that a stuck key on your keyboard might be a possible cause - you don't have a stuck key, do you? I reckon if one/some of Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Windows etc. were stuck, it would do strange things to you - it's caught me out before.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
First off, was this an upgrade install or a clean install?

Second, can you try this. Open up control panel (easiest way to go to the Desktop, open the Settings Charm, and hit Control Panel) and go to System and Security--Action Center--and at the bottom hit Recovery. From there hit the link that says If you're experiencing problems with your PC, you can refresh it in PC Settings. That should open the PC Settings panel.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Okay so thanks to everybody's help I've managed to get to the point of being able to get to the refresh part and I've come to one more problem. I bought this computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, and to refresh it I'm supposed to insert the Windows 8 disc, but I do not have a disc containing Windows 8 on it. For convenience sake, I would like to know if there is anyway around this, however, from the school I go to I get a free download of Windows 8 and can burn the image file to a disc if that would be the best option.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Okay so thanks to everybody's help I've managed to get to the point of being able to get to the refresh part and I've come to one more problem. I bought this computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, and to refresh it I'm supposed to insert the Windows 8 disc, but I do not have a disc containing Windows 8 on it. For convenience sake, I would like to know if there is anyway around this, however, from the school I go to I get a free download of Windows 8 and can burn the image file to a disc if that would be the best option.
You won't be able to refresh Windows 8 without the install media. You'll need to obtain an install disk of it. If your school provides Windows 8 Pro x64, you should be good to go and be able to use the DVD or USB drive without issue. I'd recommend a USB flash drive, a 4 gig one, if possible. It's just a bit faster than the DVD.

Or, if you so choose, you can probably start fresh altogether with a clean install of Windows 8 and just carry over the old user data files into the new folders.

Further info can be found on the link in my signature.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Okay so thanks to everybody's help I've managed to get to the point of being able to get to the refresh part and I've come to one more problem. I bought this computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, and to refresh it I'm supposed to insert the Windows 8 disc, but I do not have a disc containing Windows 8 on it. For convenience sake, I would like to know if there is anyway around this, however, from the school I go to I get a free download of Windows 8 and can burn the image file to a disc if that would be the best option.
If your computer came with Windows 8 pre-installed, then is there some sort of Recovery process built in?

I've not bought a recent computer with Windows 8 pre-installed, but my older computers would have a recovery method, usually on a hidden extra partition on the disk. So if you haven't already, I think it's worth looking at your computer's user manual to see if there is a Recovery solution for your computer. What sort of computer is it, by the way?

There is an option in Windows 8 to create a Recovery Drive, which may still work for you as it's available from Control Panel - does the option within these tutorials to "copy contents from the Recovery Partition" appear for you?
This tutorial shows how to make a bootable flash drive (note it erases everything on the drive, but USB may be easier than DVD if there's a big recovery partition on your computer):
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5132-recovery-drive-create-usb-flash-drive-windows-8-a.html
or this one is similar but burning to a DVD instead:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2855-system-repair-disc-create-windows-8-a.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
I installed an update this morning (the little action center flag in the bottom corner of the desktop told me to), after which my start screen displays nothing except the background, whenever I search for anything it says "This app can't be searched". Nothing relating to the start screen can open, so I pressed 'Windows + r' to get myself to desktop. I can open IE in desktop but can't view in start. System Restore failed and no matter how many times I try it will not work. When I look through Control Panel at the recently installed updates I can't find the one I installed this morning. I have followed the steps on many different forums, and the next step is to do a system refresh - but there's a catch.

I can swipe in to bring up the charms bar (that's what it's called, right?), and I then click on settings. At the bottom i select "Change PC Settings", but along with every other part of Modern UI, nothing happens. As far as I know, from this menu that I cannot open is the only possible way to do a system refresh/reset, thus I am stuck with an inoperable operating system.

I am very frustrated with this, and am hoping anybody out there can help me. :(
Do you have an install medium, e.g., any type of install DVD? or a system repair DVD? Do you have any of the things referred to in my sig?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I would like to thank everybody on this forum for their help. I ended up just burning the image file to a DVD and using that to refresh it. I will be back here next time I have a problem, because I know I can rely on the great community here.

To DavidY, I never looked for a recovery option, that idea never even crossed my mind. It's an Asus all-in-one desktop, I can't remember the model number off the top of my head though.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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