SOLVED How can they do this?????

[Christopher5432]

I woke this morning to a "voiceless" computer. NO AUDIO. Spent much of the day trying to figure out the solution to the problem. My "computer guy" tried to help over the phone, but we accomplished nothing. So I kept searching all afternoon trying to find a solution. Then in the Device Manager there was a suggestion that reinstalling W10 might solve such problems. After an hour and a half waiting on Windows to "do it's thing", my computer came back on with a completely different look...................but it turns out that wasn't all that was different. There was a neat little icon on my desktop labeled "Removed Apps". Microsoft removed almost 140 of my programs, apps and drivers.........things I need and use daily and there's no way to get them back that I can figure out. (other than starting all over installing drivers and programs) I finally figured how to get the speakers to work, but my headset no longer "speaks to me". The driver for it is missing and I don't have any way to reinstall it. I've written the manufacturer, but haven't heard back from them. How can Microsoft just delete my stuff without so much as an option of re-installation????? Is this a known problem and is there any way I can get my stuff back?

 

[davehc]

If all went in the standard way, at the start of your fresh installation, there were a couple of "tick" boxes.. One was to keep your data, the other to keep your programs. ? You?
There should be a folder in you Windows explorer "Windows.old" This is for recovery from such problems as yours. Running the recovery option shoulf put you back to the original.

 

[Christopher5432]

Nope, nothing in "Windows.old", but thanks for responding. Guess I didn't note the "Save Data" boxes. My mistake.........and a bad one it was too!!!

 

[Bastet]

How did you reinstall Windows? It sounds like it’s upgraded to a newer version but the programs etc it’s removed weren’t compatible.
There should be a rollback option under Recovery.

 

[Christopher5432]

I'm pretty tech-illiterate so can't tell you exactly where I found it. But as I was going through device manager, I saw an option that would reinstall Windows and "supposedly" correct my "no audio" problem. It obviously didn't solve my problem but caused a whole lot more. You say to try Recovery. There's nothing there.........I mean, the only thing I've installed since the new installation of Windows was my VPN so when I went to Recovery, that was the only program listed.

On a side note, when I woke this morning the audio from the computer works............but only on my speakers. I didn't do anything to change it, it just "happened"!!! But my usb connected headset doesn't work. I've written the manufacturer to see if they'll send me another driver to see if that will fix that problem. God what a mess this is. If I don't have a heart attack over this, nothing will cause one!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bastet]

Most likely it was a reset which has the option to keep personal files but removes programs.
You could’ve done an in-place repair using the media creation tool which would’ve allowed you to keep everything.

 

[Christopher5432]

Yup, screw myself.................and that's hard to do! I've been on the phone with Carbonite and I "think" they can help some, but I just have the basic package which doesn't back up stuff on the Crive.

 

[Bastet]

I hope they can help.
Have you checked the PC’s manufacturer for any driver updates for USB?
What’s the make & model of the PC?

 

[davehc]

Fwiw. Just reading back through the thtead. I am not aware of any messages, such as yours, that would appear in the Device manager?

 

[Christopher5432]

Make and model of PC....................nada, it's custom built for my PhotoShop and overall office work.

Dave, I'm pretty tech-illiterate, so don't remember where I found it.............but it was within my searches inside the Windows 10 system. Makes no difference at this point.............I screwed myself and have no-one else to blame. Going to take a long time to repair/heal.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I screwed myself and have no-one else to blame. Going to take a long time to repair/heal.

To be fair to yourself. Something sent you down this rabbit hole. And I do feel your pain.

 

[Christopher5432]

Thanks, Clifford. I'm really too old to be crying...................but.......................this one has me on the verge. I've had so many people tell me my original problem was and "easy fix", so that hurts even more. I'm just sick. This is going to take literally forever to recover from. Don't know if I'll every have the time to get everything back the way it was.

 

[Bastet]

I can only further advise that once everything is back to normal with the PC that you begin using disk imaging software regularly. Then if something similar happens again you can easily roll back.

 

[Christopher5432]

I have Carbonite................isn't that enough?

 

[Bastet]

I have Carbonite................isn't that enough?

If you’re prepared to reinstall Windows & all your programs whenever there’s a problem & Carbonite can successfully recover your files then yes it is enough.
A Macrium restore would be quicker. I can undo or recover from a Windows problem within 20 minutes using Macrium’s delta restore.

 

[Christopher5432]

(Egg on my face here) I've never heard of anything like this Macrium. I've always depended on my Carbonite. Now that I've had a problem, you can believe me when I say I'm not happy...............especially for what it costs me each year. So, Virginia, how does this Macrium program work?

 

[Bastet]

In a nutshell it will take a ‘snapshot’ of your entire hard drive, compress it & save it as an .img file on an external hard drive. Should Windows stop working or the drive fails you can boot the PC using Macrium’s boot USB (or you can add Macrium boot to the PC’s boot menu & restore the image.
The free version is enough for most users - it can create full & differential backups. The paid version also has the same as the free but can also create incremental backups which are the changes since the full or differential backups, Image guardian which protects the backup drive from ransomeware & rapids delta clone & restore.
The usually option is to create a Grandfather (Full) backup once a month, the (Father) Differential a couple of times a week. The paid version also allows for Son (incremental) backup, so you can do a differential once a week & a incremental once a day.
The paid version is not a subscription but is a lifetime license for that version (currently ver 8) you’ll receive updates until ver 9 is released, you’ll then have the option to upgrade for a 50% reduction in update price or continuing to use the old version.
It was a few years between ver 7 & ver 8 so you do get your money’s worth.

Macrium Reflect Free Trials

Macrium Reflect - Incredibly powerful software that allows you to create and schedule effective backups

www.macrium.com

Their full knowledgebase here:
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

I’ve used Macrium for a few years now & couldn’t do without it.

 

[Christopher5432]

Wow, that looks interesting. Is my info stored on the cloud ?

 

[Christopher5432]

DUH!!! I just re-read your post and you said "on an external HD)

 

[Bastet]

If you have a NAS drive then it can be stored there or you can purchase/use an external hard drive to store the images.
The Boot media has to ‘see’ the backup drive in order to be able to restore so storing images in the cloud isn’t an option.
Knowledgebase here: https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/