Windows won't boot, or boots but the Start menu doesn't work

[CUNL2]

Have you ever played in the BIOS zone, this is something common to UEFI. Can you access the BIOS screen on boot up or are you UEFI meaning it normally just goes to windows on start up.

 

[Yossu]

OK, here's where I get out of my depth! I don't really understand all this BIOS stuff. However, I can give you some answers, as someone else did suggest looking in the BIOS.

When I go into the BIOS, I look under Settings -> General -> Boot Sequence, there is a section titled Boot List Option, which has two radio buttons, Legacy and UEFI. The Legacy one is checked, so I guess it's not in UEFI mode.

I did try clicking UEFI and reinstalling at one point during my long and sorry saga, but it was a disaster. The main drive wasn't recognised, and nothing worked. I ended up reverting the BIOS settings back to their defaults and reinstalling.

Don't know if that helps or makes things even less clear! Thanks for the reply.

 

[Macs R We]

2) It boots to Windows, but the Start menu, search box (on the task bar), Cortana, etc don't work. This makes working with the machine almost impossible, as I can't start anything not pinned to the Task bar.

I have reinstalled Windows about four times since this problem began, and the same thing always happens.

You're playing my song. I've encountered multiple machines with this exact syndrome, and tried everything from simple fixes to complete network reinstalls (preserving customer files). I've never been able to beat it, and I've never been able to find anyone on the web who has beat it, either.

 

[Yossu]

You're playing my song. I've encountered multiple machines with this exact syndrome, and tried everything from simple fixes to complete network reinstalls (preserving customer files). I've never been able to beat it, and I've never been able to find anyone on the web who has beat it, either.

Oh, that's depressing! This machine used to work fine, and then gave problems after a reinstall (for a different reason). Since then, it's been problem after problem.

As it happens, I started it up today,and all seems fine. I reckon it all depends on how many buckets of goat's entrails you've sacrificed to the Great God Of Computers that morning