Windows 10 Fall Creator Update

[Silver]

Microsoft forced this update, and now Windows 10 Home operating system
will not start on my DH's PC. Anyone else having issues with this update?

 

[Katsmeow]

I did the update and did not have any issues.

 

[scrabbler1]

I did the update last week and had to add a few .exe programs to the default list of controlled access folders, a key new feature.

 

[jonat]

Hard restart the PC several times. After the third or so, you'll be given the option to roll back to the earlier version.

If this doesn't help, tell us what you see on the screen when it "will not start".

 

[W2R]

I did the update and did not have any issues.

+1

My only issue was that it changed one of my default programs, so I changed it back.

F has an older laptop, and on some of those you soon discover that you have to manually restart the wireless connection each time you shut it down and restart. There is an easy fix for that online somewhere so he fixed it.

 

[Car-Guy]

I got the update yesterday. Actually fixed a couple of things they broke with the previous update.

 

[Silver]

Thanks for the replies. This is what he is currently seeing;

Powers on system - Windows icon with gear and message says "preparing".

System then restarts. After several minutes it restarts again. Nothing on screen between these restarts.

Then a windows icon with spinning gear and a restart. Message that operating system did not shut down cleanly.

Then windows icon with spinning gear and another restart. This cycle continues non-stop and goes no further.

My DH has done many hard shut downs as the only way to end this cycle. He is a experienced software engineer (Microsoft certified) and is baffled why this is happening.
He has created a recovery disc on a usb drive and is trying that. It's bizzare.

All suggestions welcome, but he may need to toss this very expensive, 6 month old Dell system out and buy a new PC.

 

[jonat]

I ran into a similar behavior with an earlier update. The install offered to roll back, which I accepted. I then downloaded the full update from Microsoft and installed that (after deleting the temporary installer files it had created) - that worked. I don’t think a recovery disk will help here. If nothing else, restore from a backup (he DOES have a backup, right?)

 

[Silver]

Thanks Jonat. The roll back failed. The recovery disk failed. System reset failed. The disk drive is now empty. There is no windows system on the PC at all. Since the Windows 10 Home version has been so troublesome he is getting a Pro version today to install and try to better control these updates.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have had one minor problem with the Controlled Access Folders program within the Windows Defender options. If a friendly program tries to alter a protected folder, I get a notification which is fine. But, in the message, you don't get to see the entire folder name containing the program in question, just some incomplete name of the folder(s) before showing the name of the program. It's a considerable PITA to figure out the entire name so I can add it to the list of okay programs in Windows Defender's Controlled Access Folder.

 

[Sunset]

Thanks for the replies. This is what he is currently seeing;

Powers on system - Windows icon with gear and message says "preparing".

System then restarts. After several minutes it restarts again. Nothing on screen between these restarts.

Then a windows icon with spinning gear and a restart. Message that operating system did not shut down cleanly.

Then windows icon with spinning gear and another restart. This cycle continues non-stop and goes no further.

My DH has done many hard shut downs as the only way to end this cycle. He is a experienced software engineer (Microsoft certified) and is baffled why this is happening.
He has created a recovery disc on a usb drive and is trying that. It's bizzare.

All suggestions welcome, but he may need to toss this very expensive, 6 month old Dell system out and buy a new PC.

No, just download Ubuntu onto a usb stick, and try it out before throwing away a perfectly good computer.

He can install Ubuntu on a usb stick making it bootable, then on the computer bios select boot from usb. He will know what this means. He can then try out Ubuntu before making the switch.

Yes Ubuntu is linux based, but all these modern OS's are very similar to use. With desktops, icons, etc.

The biggest issue he will have is the "X" to close a window is on the left corner instead of the right corner.

 

[Sunset]

Thanks Jonat. The roll back failed. The recovery disk failed. System reset failed. The disk drive is now empty. There is no windows system on the PC at all. Since the Windows 10 Home version has been so troublesome he is getting a Pro version today to install and try to better control these updates.

I replied before I read further down.

Now is the perfect time for him to download and try Ubuntu. If the laptop has a cd drive, just use another computer to download it and burn the iso to the cd.

Then boot from the cd of the laptop and install it. It's FREE and great.

I switched about 3 yrs ago and no issues, update whenever I want, lots of free great programs come with the OS like LibreOffice suite that does MS Office files.

https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

 

[easysurfer]

Here's a stupid question ...

Is the Windows 10 Fall Creator Update an update to all Win 10 Home users? Or is that a different flavor of Win 10?

Win 10 didn't work with my old Dell desktop when I tried updating to the free update in 2016, so I've been on the sidelines until forced to give up my use Win 7 desktop.

 

[jim584672]

Windows 10 Fall Creator Update is for all Win 10 users.

 

[easysurfer]

Windows 10 Fall Creator Update is for all Win 10 users.

Thanks. So, just Microsoft's way to say "Hey, update time again!" but under a somewhat fancy name .

 

[W2R]

Thanks. So, just Microsoft's way to say "Hey, update time again!" but under a somewhat fancy name .

Yeah, only this time Microsoft is saying, "(...) but this is not just a normal update. It is one of those humungous ones and it's going to take all afternoon, so might as well think of something else to do today."

 

[Silver]

Thanks again for all the great replies. He has a disc with Ubuntu, but he needs to run Visual Studio 2017 and create Windows applications, and he does not think he can do this easily under a Linux environment. But thank you and good to know.

DH e-mailed Dell customer service yesterday (Sunday...so no reply....not surprising) and he got an email back this morning. The tech said (and I quote)
"Many innocent machines have been destroyed with Microsoft updates." Apparently this is not their first time hearing this.

They are sending out a tech who will be here Wednesday of this week to replace the hard drive with Windows pre-installed. Free of charge. His PC is a custom build Dell under warranty, but he didn't think Dell would cover Microsoft updates gone wrong.....but apparently they will because it is happening so often.

Thanks again all. Appreciate the help very much.

 

[W2R]

Thanks again for all the great replies. He has a disc with Ubuntu, but he needs to run Visual Studio 2017 and create Windows applications, and he does not think he can do this easily under a Linux environment. But thank you and good to know.

DH e-mailed Dell customer service yesterday (Sunday...so no reply....not surprising) and he got an email back this morning. The tech said (and I quote)
"Many innocent machines have been destroyed with Microsoft updates." Apparently this is not their first time hearing this.

They are sending out a tech who will be here Wednesday of this week to replace the hard drive with Windows pre-installed. Free of charge. His PC is a custom build Dell under warranty, but he didn't think Dell would cover Microsoft updates gone wrong.....but apparently they will because it is happening so often.

Thanks again all. Appreciate the help very much.

What a wonderful ending to the story!!! Wow, that is very impressive customer service. I am so glad for both of you that Dell is installing a free hard drive with Windows pre-installed.

 

[jim584672]

Win 10 didn't work with my old Dell desktop when I tried updating to the free update in 2016, so I've been on the sidelines until forced to give up my use Win 7 desktop.

You have until 12/31/17 to get the update.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade

But you might have a hardware issue preventing it from accepting the update.

 

[meierlde]

Thanks again for all the great replies. He has a disc with Ubuntu, but he needs to run Visual Studio 2017 and create Windows applications, and he does not think he can do this easily under a Linux environment. But thank you and good to know.

DH e-mailed Dell customer service yesterday (Sunday...so no reply....not surprising) and he got an email back this morning. The tech said (and I quote)
"Many innocent machines have been destroyed with Microsoft updates." Apparently this is not their first time hearing this.

They are sending out a tech who will be here Wednesday of this week to replace the hard drive with Windows pre-installed. Free of charge. His PC is a custom build Dell under warranty, but he didn't think Dell would cover Microsoft updates gone wrong.....but apparently they will because it is happening so often.

Thanks again all. Appreciate the help very much.

Depending on how much memory the system has, you can use the virtual machine tech in ubuntu to boot up windows 10 inside ubuntu You would need to buy a windows 10 disk and install windows 10 into the virtual machine. (linux gives you a choice of the virtual machine manager) I do use virtual box to run windows xp in a constrained environment.

 

[jonat]

I would strongly recommend that everyone do periodic full backups of their computer's disk. I use Macrium Reflect for this (there is a free version), and Windows has its own built-in backup facility. Easiest is a USB-connected hard drive, but safer is a Network Attached Storage box. Set it up so that it is automatic.

 

[Another Reader]

Off topic, the last time my Windows 8 computer got hit with a big Microsoft update (maybe September?), both the printers stopped working. The older Epson inkjet prints garbage and the Brother laser is "offline" and I can't seem to find it. I'm thinking this computer is about four years old. Maybe it's time to start over with a new one. Or power up the Windows 7 machine...

 

[easysurfer]

I would strongly recommend that everyone do periodic full backups of their computer's disk. I use Macrium Reflect for this (there is a free version), and Windows has its own built-in backup facility. Easiest is a USB-connected hard drive, but safer is a Network Attached Storage box. Set it up so that it is automatic.

Macrium Reflect saved my bacon today. Not from a Win 10 update but for some unknown reason caused by (I think) anti-virus software, upon restarting after a quarantine, my desktop was replaced by a temporary profile upon restarting. Luckily, Marcrium is scheduled for me to automatically do a backup before I start my day.

 

[GrayHare]

Off topic, the last time my Windows 8 computer got hit with a big Microsoft update (maybe September?), both the printers stopped working. The older Epson inkjet prints garbage and the Brother laser is "offline" and I can't seem to find it. I'm thinking this computer is about four years old. Maybe it's time to start over with a new one. Or power up the Windows 7 machine...

Just four years old? Isn't it easier and less expensive to turn off the updates? I still run 20 year old equipment, no printer problems, no virii, works fine, what's not to like?

 

[Another Reader]

Just four years old? Isn't it easier and less expensive to turn off the updates? I still run 20 year old equipment, no printer problems, no virii, works fine, what's not to like?

I have never had this serious of a problem before. But rejecting "improvements" from Microsoft seems like an effective approach...