I have a touchscreen Vaio with Windows 8.1 installed.
Windows Updated failed with a few KB's (see attached). After that, several applications do not come up anymore. When clicked, they go down to the taskbar but do not show up on the desktop. When clicked when on the taskbar, the screen flashes but the app still does not open. My browser works OK, but the behavior described happens with Maps, Netflix, Calander, App Store, Camera…
Can you do a System Restore to before the updates were applied or attempted to be applied?
Yes, I have done a system restore and the most recent update was removed. No apparent change to my computer, same problems persist. Do not know how to do a system restore prior to attempted updates as no option to select an earlier date is given (which I would like to try). Thanks.
Hi. I'm a bit confused by your post, so I need to clarify something.
You said
After that, several applications do not come up anymore. When clicked, they go down to the taskbar but do not show up on the desktop. When clicked when on the taskbar, the screen flashes but the app still does not open.
Then you said
My browser works OK, but the behavior described happens with Maps, Netflix, Calander, App Store, Camera.
You mention applications won't open on your desktop and they just show up in the taskbar, but then the "applications" you mention are giving you trouble all sound like Windows 8 Apps that only open on the start page, not on the desktop.
Do you understand the difference between a desktop program / application (i.e. Microsoft Office) and a so called "App" (Maps, Travel, Store, etc.) that Microsoft blessed us with with the advent of Windows 8?
The apps you mentioned likely aren't going to open on your desktop at all nor show up on your taskbar. So, I'd just like to clarify that.
Because, I'm not sure if we are talking about Apps or actual desktop programs here are my suggestions:
Try to install all your windows updates again and keep checking and installing them until they are all installed. Make sure you have also installed all your app updates (described at the link in the next step). If the updates fail again we can look further. Maybe this is all it will take to fix the problem.
If its a problem with desktop applications, your problem sounds strikingly similar to an issue caused by running dual monitors and then changing that configuration. The applications could be opening on a screen that you technically can't see. To test this, open one of those problematic apps so it is shown on your taskbar then go into control panel on your computer and into display settings. You're in the right place if you see the screen resolution settings that you can change. See if #1, it shows a second monitor that you don't have connected (we should address that issue rather than moving forward), or #2 adjust the screen resolution to a different setting temporarily, click Apply, and see if that application shows up on the screen, then you can change the resolution back to its original setting.
Sorry if I was not clear with the nomenclature. I was referring to the Windows 8 Apps, as you describe, that are on the start page. However, when these "Apps" are minimized, their icon does appear on the taskbar on the desktop, when you bring up the desktop from the start page.
As instructed, we have tried and tried to install those updates. Each time we get the attached screen.
We followed the link associated with the error, which allowed us to download a "fixer" program from MS, which we ran. It claimed it fixed a registry entry and two other things I don't remember. But, we still come up with the same error when we try to install the updates. We ran the fix again and rebooted the machine. Still no luck. Same same.
Thanks for the info. I've done a ton of research on this issue. I suspect there are a few other things I could ask you to do to confirm this is the same problem, but I think it'll be a waste of time. And based on whats in your log (complete garbage) I think it also serves as confirmation.
So, here is what I think has happened. Your COMPONENTS registry hive has become corrupted.
I confused this thread a little bit with another one I'm working. So, lets start here.
Open an administrative command prompt and run the following command:
CHKDSK /F
You will be prompted to run the check after the next reboot, and you need to go ahead and answer Yes, and then reboot your computer. There may be some file system corruption that can easily be fixed. Not sure why I didn't ask you to do this right in the beginning.
Anyways, see if that can repair some trouble and then try to install the updates again, or try the DISM command again. If that fails still, then for the most part the thing I feel safest about is that this just requires a repair install, or system recovery to start over because of the corruption. But, I found one post that suggests deleting the COMPONENTS registry hive at which point Windows will rebuild it and then running the DISM command again to finish repairing. Doing this could hose the entire system as far as I know, so I'm a bit leery of suggesting it unless you are prepared to perform a system recovery and have all your data backed up.
Sigh. OK so none of that worked. Thank you very much for all your research and sweating this out with us.
We would like to try the component registry rebuild. I figure if that doesn't work we can always go back to the factory setting install or restore back to where we are right now.
Please post the instructions. Thanks!
HI there. Its been pretty busy around here, sorry about the delay.
I wanted to try what I was going to suggest in a controlled environment before promoting such a radical "idea." Unfortunately, it was a complete failure. I would maintain that deleting any of your registry files is not a good idea, and even though Windows did recreate the file it was completely broken.
Unfortunately, I have done more research and it really appears that because your registry is corrupt the only way to fix this problem is to start over fresh from a factory install. Sorry, I have no other recommendation other than to back up your data and reload the system from scratch. A system restore may have been able to help, but as you have stated there are none going back that far.
No worries. Thanks for checking things out in the sandbox first. We very much appreciate all your help. We will install from factory as you suggest and begin our journey to where we started. It's the "hosed registry, circle of life" right? You can close this topic. Take care.
As far as I know the files contained in the "Regback" folder are a copy of the registry that is made after each successful boot. In this way, the "Last Known Good" boot option can restore those files in the event the system fails to boot.
In this case, the system boots fine so any "good" copy of those files has already been overwritten with "bad" copies. Unless something has changed in Windows 8, restoring those files wouldn't make any difference.
Unfortunately, System Restore was probably our best hope and apparently there are no recovery points to go back to.
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