Running Windows 10 on BootCamp. Have had system for 2 years and only recently experienced problem described below.
Upon booting the computer and working on it, everything seems fine. After a while (often after a period of inactivity) it acts very strangely and symptoms are not always the same. Symptoms include: (1) MS File Explorer (FE) will not open. Clicking FE on the app-bar will reveal a translucent-but-empty pop-up. When using Alt-Tab to get to FE, it only shows a generic icon instead of a window with detail file/folder imagery, (2) clock in app-bar is not registering correct date / time, but if you double-click on the clock settings, they are correct, (3) Many icons on the desktop (but not all) will have white boxes instead of names (and the affected icons don't seem to have anything in common e.g., all being apps or all file shortcuts, etc.), (3) right mouse clicks are ineffective, so attempts to 'refresh' the desktop are fruitless, (4) Search box next to Start icon will often have "shadow" icons overlaid on top it. Sometimes, the Search box won't accept text input. When it does receive text input, the pop-up is only a translucent box with nothing in it.
Strangely, other apps (e.g., MS Word) seem to work fine when - even when this problem is occurring. If I am inside, say, MS Word, the right-click/context menu is accessible. I can use the application's Open / Save functions to access the list of folders and files to retrieve or save documents. If the app can find files/folders, why is FE unable to show the same? This makes me doubt any problems with the graphics card.
The range of symptoms are so diverse and inconsistent from occasion-to-occasion, it's hard to determine a vector. Attempts to run 'scannow' reveal no corruptions. My best guess is some sort of Shell Extension problem or perhaps an Indexing problem of some sort. Thanks to anyone and everyone attempting to assist.
Upon booting the computer and working on it, everything seems fine. After a while (often after a period of inactivity) it acts very strangely and symptoms are not always the same. Symptoms include: (1) MS File Explorer (FE) will not open. Clicking FE on the app-bar will reveal a translucent-but-empty pop-up. When using Alt-Tab to get to FE, it only shows a generic icon instead of a window with detail file/folder imagery, (2) clock in app-bar is not registering correct date / time, but if you double-click on the clock settings, they are correct, (3) Many icons on the desktop (but not all) will have white boxes instead of names (and the affected icons don't seem to have anything in common e.g., all being apps or all file shortcuts, etc.), (3) right mouse clicks are ineffective, so attempts to 'refresh' the desktop are fruitless, (4) Search box next to Start icon will often have "shadow" icons overlaid on top it. Sometimes, the Search box won't accept text input. When it does receive text input, the pop-up is only a translucent box with nothing in it.
Strangely, other apps (e.g., MS Word) seem to work fine when - even when this problem is occurring. If I am inside, say, MS Word, the right-click/context menu is accessible. I can use the application's Open / Save functions to access the list of folders and files to retrieve or save documents. If the app can find files/folders, why is FE unable to show the same? This makes me doubt any problems with the graphics card.
The range of symptoms are so diverse and inconsistent from occasion-to-occasion, it's hard to determine a vector. Attempts to run 'scannow' reveal no corruptions. My best guess is some sort of Shell Extension problem or perhaps an Indexing problem of some sort. Thanks to anyone and everyone attempting to assist.