Okay, I know, sounds crazy - but this morning I turn on my computer and I had no idea what was going on. My desktop was completely replaced by (what Seemed to be) a start up desktop. All my apps and data on the desktop were gone (including the wallpaper) although the start menu had some of them. I restarted my computer twice until it finally returned to a normal desktop (Pin screen is still just blue and not the normal picture background). Anyone have an idea of whats going on?
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit, Build 18363, Installed 20200107145237.000000-420
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-6100 CPU @ 3.70GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 94 Stepping 3, CPU Count: 4
Total Physical RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon(TM) R5 340X
Hard Drives: C: 931 GB (763 GB Free);
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0T7D40, ver A01, s/n /1JRXKB2/CN7220066401KR/
System: Dell Inc., ver DELL - 1072009, s/n 1JRXKB2
Antivirus: Norton Security, Enabled and Updated
That's what I did at restart. Scary-so, everything private on our computers (finances, Etc.) is stored somewhere else. Kind of explains why Microsoft was so demanding on the change to Windows 10.
Look at "C:\Users". Have you see folder "Temp" ? If yes, then run regedit.exe as administrator, expand the branch HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ ProfileList, find the line that ends with .back. It might look like this: S-1-5-21-3235300668-24567896685-1894676459-1001.bak. To be sure that everything is correct, first click on the line S-1-5-21-3235300668-24567896685-1894676459-1001.bak with the left mouse button. Check the ProfileImagePath parameter on the right side of the window, it must contain the name of the correct user. Below or above S-1-5-21-3235300668-24567896685-1894676459-1001.bak will be a record with exactly the same characters, but without .bak, it must be deleted. Then remove the .bak from the name of the string originally found. Reboot.
I followed your directions but I have no line that ends with back (bak) under "ProfileList". I do have a folder under "C:\users" named "Temp" but it is empty. So far, after the reboot, all has been normal.
As integrator74 was getting at, it sounds like you were signed into a temporary Windows profile since the operating system had trouble loading / signing you into your regular account.
This can happen for a number of reasons, but I would do the following:
Run a HDD S.M.A.R.T test on your system. There are several free and often built-in scanners capable of this, and this article suggests one of each for you to run. Here is an extra from PassMark in case the others give you trouble for some reason.
Ensure Windows is up-to-date (Start > Windows Update).
Run CHKDSK on your system (assuming you have a standard harddrive, not an SSD).
If your S.M.A.R.T. test reports errors, you should perform a backup immediately (these should be done regularly anyway) and purchase a new drive to perform a clean Windows 10 installation on.
If your S.M.A.R.T. test reports that everything is fine, you should still perform a backup, but no need to purchase a new harddrive. This may have been a one-off issue and is nothing to worry about, but running CHKDSK, ensuring Windows is up-to-date, and having a recent backup are all highly encouraged steps.
I run HDD S.M.A.R.T test often on my computer and back-up drive. Both drives are brand new and have good ratings. I back-up my primary drive regularly. CHKDSK runs automatically on Windows 10. This is why this problem was a mystery to me.
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