Question Can’t open most things in Windows anymore, even sound not working ?

[ashtekaros]

Im really sorry for pestering the forum . but through the idiots of portuguese microsoft assistance, i may have really messed up my pc.

the windows assistant gave some "assistance" to mainline users (im not a tech) to mess with the HKEY REGISTRIES

i fear i may have EXCLUDED the user from permissions through the HKEY REGISTRY by mistake .

NO PERMISSION AND NO APP ASSOCIATED . when i click some icons.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Im ok with a windows and system reinstall now Program reinstallation and all that. DONE BY A TECH STORE, NOT MYSELF.



my concern now is if iits possiblt to SALVAGE THE MEMORY FROM THE HARD DISK.

 

[ashtekaros]

Now i may have really ruined my pc.

IM SCARED because i have many memory stored through years of job, university, configurations and games .

8 years stored on my computer memory

 

[ashtekaros]

Im ok with a windows and system reinstall now (By TECH STORE, im done for now doing this complex stuff myself) . Program reinstallation and all that


my concern now is "IF ITS POSSIBLE TO SALVAGE THE MEMORY FROM THE HARD DISK."

I REALLY DONT WANT TO BE FORCED TO FORMAT.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO MANTAIN THE MEMORY ?

If it is possible i will obviously send to a technician. not do it myself. i just want to know. I DONT WANT TO BE PERMANENTLY BLOCKED FROM ACESSING MY PROGRAMS.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Do NOT do anything right now if you want to save your data (memories). Take it to the shop you referenced and tell them what is going on. They can remove the drive and then do what you should have done (and now need to start) by backing up your drive. Once this is done and then the data is verified, have them fix your machine.

You should be fine, so don't stress out. But use this as a lesson. As they say, an ounce of prevention...

 

[ashtekaros]

Do NOT do anything right now if you want to save your data (memories). Take it to the shop you referenced and tell them what is going on. They can remove the drive and then do what you should have done (and now need to start) by backing up your drive. Once this is done and then the data is verified, have them fix your machine.

Thanks a lot ! im thankful at least its possible !

But can you instruct how it is the process to preserve the Data SO I CAN INFORM THE TECHNICIAN on how he should proceed to AVOID FORMATTING ?

What he should do ? How it Should be done ? what are the steps ?

 

[Rokinamerica]

If he is a PC tech he will know. If he doesn't, you need to find a new tech.

 

[ashtekaros]

If he is a PC tech he will know. If he doesn't, you need to find a new tech.

is it too complicated ? is it rare for techs to know ? or this backup is a simple process ?


he is obligated to copy the memory to other physical Hard Disk or something like that ?

 

[Rokinamerica]

No, if he is a tech (I know a few people that pass themselves off as, but don't really prove to be, "techs" or "genius's " or "geeks") he/she will know how to help you.

Never mess with the registry unless you are experienced with changing registry keys AND have a stringent backup policy in place.

The stringent backup policy really should be your biggest lesson learned here. If something had happened to your drive, you have forever lost those 8 years of memories. Your tech should also be able to help you out with this so that it is automated and minimal attention required.

 

[ashtekaros]

No, if he is a tech (I know a few people that pass themselves off as, but don't really prove to be, "techs" or "genius's " or "geeks") he/she will know how to help you.

Never mess with the registry unless you are experienced with changing registry keys AND have a stringent backup policy in place.

The stringent backup policy really should be your biggest lesson learned here. If something had happened to your drive, you have forever lost those 8 years of memories. Your tech should also be able to help you out with this so that it is automated and minimal attention required.

but when you say backup it is the simple backup that most techs know to do or is it something different and more complex than a regular backup ?

this tech did backups before. im worried the user removal from registry make it impossible for backups being done.

is there a way to see if my HDD memory is still preserved ? just for tranquility sake.

 

[Colif]

On another PC, download the Windows 10 media creation tool and use it to make a win 10 installer on USB
Boot from the installer

• on screen after languages, choose repair this pc, not install.
• choose troubleshoot
• choose advanced
• choose command prompt
• type notepad and press enter
• in notepad, select file>open
• Use file explorer to copy any files you need to save to USB or another hdd

Editing registry without backing it up first is playing with fire.

You probably need to clean install again, I wouldn't pay a shop to do something so easy to do:
follow this guide: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/

 

[TheFlash1300]

I didn't understand you very well. From what 8 understand, your system, not hardware, but the operating system is screwed up? If this is what happens, just use the sfc/ snannow command in PowerShell to check for corruption. You can also check the list of DISM commands and choose the command for online image repair.

but through the idiots of portuguese microsoft assistance, i may have really messed up my pc.

Why do you contact such people? When I have problems, I use forums or YouTube videos. Forums and YouTube videos will give you a better chance of successfully solving the problem.

IM SCARED because i have many memory stored through years of job, university, configurations and games .

Didn't you have back-ups? If you don't have back-ups, losing your data through one way or another will happen, it's 100% guaranteed by the Totalitarian Principe.

Having multiple copies will lower, but not eliminate, the chances of losing your data. It may require millions or billions of years for a failure to occur in multiple back-ups storage devices, but eventually, it will happen (the Totalitarian Principe).

Currently, I keep my data on on laptop, a cloud storage and two USB drives I turn on once per month to avoid data leaks.

my concern now is "IF ITS POSSIBLE TO SALVAGE THE MEMORY FROM THE HARD DISK."

I REALLY DONT WANT TO BE FORCED TO FORMAT.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO MANTAIN THE MEMORY ?

If it is possible i will obviously send to a technician. not do it myself. i just want to know. I DONT WANT TO BE PERMANENTLY BLOCKED FROM ACESSING MY PROGRAMS.

Data is never deleted; it just gets overwritten. If you choose the Repair option, then you can install the new windows without losing your data and files. You can find that option in:

Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC -> Get started

NOTE: Before you start doing something, read very carefully what the warning, the texts, the descriptions and the option say, so you make sure don't choose the wrong option.

This is the simples option. You can also make it by using a bootable USB drive that has Windows media installation, or by using the Media Creation Tool.

Here is an example:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwERjEBWBGE

If you get data lost, you can you the Recuva program to dig into the storage device and see if there is something that can be recovered. If it's overwritten, then it can't be recovered. A better and more effective, but paid, not free, method is to send the SSD/HDD to a professional who will try to extract data.

Don't try to extract data by yourself, because you won't succeed - it requires special skills and tools.

But can you instruct how it is the process to preserve the Data SO I CAN INFORM THE TECHNICIAN on how he should proceed to AVOID FORMATTING ?

In the above video, you can see 3 options:

1. Keep personal files and apps
2. Keep personal files only
3. Nothing

The options are self-descriptive. The 3rd options erases everything, formats, and makes a clean installation.

Also, read the following:

How to factory reset a Windows 10/11 PC: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/factory-reset-windows-10

Again: pay very careful attention to what the descriptions of the options say.

 

[ashtekaros]

I didn't understand you very well. From what 8 understand, your system, not hardware, but the operating system is screwed up? If this is what happens, just use the sfc/ snannow command in PowerShell to check for corruption. You can also check the list of DISM commands and choose the command for online image repair.

Why do you contact such people? When I have problems, I use forums or YouTube videos. Forums and YouTube videos will give you a better chance of successfully solving the problem.

Didn't you have back-ups? If you don't have back-ups, losing your data through one way or another will happen, it's 100% guaranteed by the Totalitarian Principe.

Having multiple copies will lower, but not eliminate, the chances of losing your data. It may require millions or billions of years for a failure to occur in multiple back-ups storage devices, but eventually, it will happen (the Totalitarian Principe).

Currently, I keep my data on on laptop, a cloud storage and two USB drives I turn on once per month to avoid data leaks.

Data is never deleted; it just gets overwritten. If you choose the Repair option, then you can install the new windows without losing your data and files. You can find that option in:

Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC -> Get started

NOTE: Before you start doing something, read very carefully what the warning, the texts, the descriptions and the option say, so you make sure don't choose the wrong option.

This is the simples option. You can also make it by using a bootable USB drive that has Windows media installation, or by using the Media Creation Tool.

Here is an example:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwERjEBWBGE

If you get data lost, you can you the Recuva program to dig into the storage device and see if there is something that can be recovered. If it's overwritten, then it can't be recovered. A better and more effective, but paid, not free, method is to send the SSD/HDD to a professional who will try to extract data.

Don't try to extract data by yourself, because you won't succeed - it requires special skills and tools.

In the above video, you can see 3 options:

1. Keep personal files and apps
2. Keep personal files only
3. Nothing

The options are self-descriptive. The 3rd options erases everything, formats, and makes a clean installation.

Also, read the following:

How to factory reset a Windows 10/11 PC: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/factory-reset-windows-10

Again: pay very careful attention to what the descriptions of the options say.

i DID NOT mess with the HDD configurations . i changed the HKEY registry and accidently removed permissions.

 

[Colif]

just use the sfc/ snannow command in PowerShell to check for corruption.

2 things...

1. He doesn't have any permissions so I doubt he can run anything as admin and you need to run a command very similar to that in Admin for it to work, and
2. The actual command is SFC /scannow , not what you have.

Data is never deleted; it just gets overwritten. If you choose the Repair option, then you can install the new windows without losing your data and files. You can find that option in:

Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC -> Get started

Reset this PC wouldn't work if you don't have permissions anyway. I would have suggested that if I thought there was a way to save install without it. But not having permissions means process won't run.

if you don't have backups, my steps of copying info off the PC is best you have as it ignores permissions
Can only save data, not programs. Will need to reisntall all of those.
Once you copied everything you want to keep, reinstall windows.

Did this all start from wanting to remove things from search?

 

[ashtekaros]

I didn't understand you very well. From what 8 understand, your system, not hardware, but the operating system is screwed up? If this is what happens, just use the sfc/ snannow command in PowerShell to check for corruption. You can also check the list of DISM commands and choose the command for online image repair.

Why do you contact such people? When I have problems, I use forums or YouTube videos. Forums and YouTube videos will give you a better chance of successfully solving the problem.

Didn't you have back-ups? If you don't have back-ups, losing your data through one way or another will happen, it's 100% guaranteed by the Totalitarian Principe.

Having multiple copies will lower, but not eliminate, the chances of losing your data. It may require millions or billions of years for a failure to occur in multiple back-ups storage devices, but eventually, it will happen (the Totalitarian Principe).

Currently, I keep my data on on laptop, a cloud storage and two USB drives I turn on once per month to avoid data leaks.

Data is never deleted; it just gets overwritten. If you choose the Repair option, then you can install the new windows without losing your data and files. You can find that option in:

Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC -> Get started

NOTE: Before you start doing something, read very carefully what the warning, the texts, the descriptions and the option say, so you make sure don't choose the wrong option.

This is the simples option. You can also make it by using a bootable USB drive that has Windows media installation, or by using the Media Creation Tool.

Here is an example:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwERjEBWBGE

If you get data lost, you can you the Recuva program to dig into the storage device and see if there is something that can be recovered. If it's overwritten, then it can't be recovered. A better and more effective, but paid, not free, method is to send the SSD/HDD to a professional who will try to extract data.

Don't try to extract data by yourself, because you won't succeed - it requires special skills and tools.

In the above video, you can see 3 options:

1. Keep personal files and apps
2. Keep personal files only
3. Nothing

The options are self-descriptive. The 3rd options erases everything, formats, and makes a clean installation.

Also, read the following:

How to factory reset a Windows 10/11 PC: https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/factory-reset-windows-10

Again: pay very careful attention to what the descriptions of the options say.

when you say data will be lost , you talk as a general precaution rule or are you talking about my specific case ?

as i said. i did NOT format the HDD or anything, i messed up user registry and permissions.

 

[ashtekaros]

2 things...

1. He doesn't have any permissions so I doubt he can run anything as admin and you need to run a command very similar to that in Admin for it to work, and
2. The actual command is SFC /scannow , not what you have.

Reset this PC wouldn't work if you don't have permissions anyway. I would have suggested that if I thought there was a way to save install without it. But not having permissions means process won't run.

if you don't have backups, my steps of copying info off the PC is best you have as it ignores permissions
Can only save data, not programs. Will need to reisntall all of those.
Once you copied everything you want to keep, reinstall windows.

Did this all start from wanting to remove things from search?

After pc returned from tech, many configurations from windows were not working properly, taskbar was bad and searches on files on the pc were not working while they were locked on microsoft edge. This was after motherboard was repaired and system reinstalled.
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
Now i have some questions :

1) from the methods you and forum user "TheFlash1300" presented , what is the SAFEST to mantain the HDD data ? and what is the LESS SAFE?

2) what i want to mantain is specially these :
-----
1: filles in the bigger user folder

2:documents

3:folders and filers in c:/downloads at "my computer folder" (also know as "this computer")

4:some other backup archives on "my computer" folder (also know as "this computer"). archives and files linked to user.

5:saved games ,files and documents

6:apps,icons,folders and programs on desktop area

--------

will these dissapear or be recovered through the methods mentioned?

should i avoid using my computer, specially the internet (notice i cant acess most stuff on it but i can still se files in the desktop and open a few, like notepads and firefox) ?
im presently using the notebook.

 

[Colif]

1) none of the methods he showed will work as your user lacks permissions and may not be able to run any of them.

what access do you have now? can you open file explorer (win + e key)

do you have any spare hard drives you copy info onto? or a USB drive

 

[ashtekaros]

1) none of the methods he showed will work as your user lacks permissions and may not be able to run any of them.

what access do you have now? can you open file explorer (win + e key)

do you have any spare hard drives you copy info onto?

1) But will the methods You presented above work ?

2) The tech certainly must have a spare HDD. But will i have to buy another windows 10 account acess key if he uses a new HDD and will i lose my old HDD ? or will he just copy and recopy into the old HDD?

 

[USAFRet]

Please!

Keep this problematic PC to ONE thread.

The backstory on this.
https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...-and-trending-searches.3784276/#post-22852441

Your other one is now closed.

 

[Colif]

i didn't notice you asked if mine will... they should. I have offered the copy info using notepad option to lots of people before.
Another way he can copy info off drive is booting from an Ubuntu live USB and copy info off drive using it. Or just put your drive in another PC and copy info from there.

2 - No, you don't need a new licence to install it on a new drive. Hdd isn't counted as a new PC, he should know that when he reaches screen asking for licence key, to just choose "I don't have key" and the Install will continue and reactivate windows once it reaches desktop. No need to buy a new drive.

3. If you getting a tech to fix it, don't really need win E

 

[ashtekaros]

1) none of the methods he showed will work as your user lacks permissions and may not be able to run any of them.

what access do you have now? can you open file explorer (win + e key)

do you have any spare hard drives you copy info onto? or a USB drive

3) (continuing my former message)

i can use the shortcut windows+r
but i cant use window+e

 

[USAFRet]

Stop messing with this system. Further messing around can make the situation worse than it already is.

Right now, you need to do TWO things.

1. Get all of your personal data copied off to some other drive.

2. A full wipe and reinstall of the OS and applications.


One or both of those may involve some paid assistance.

 

[Colif]

I wouldn't use pc until its fixed, Not cause you could do damage to it, more you can't do anything on it until its fixed.

which SPECIFIC instruction you provided you think will work ? both or just a specific one ?

tech should have some idea of his own but you could suggest either. Ubuntu works as it doesn't care about windows permissions, putting it into another windows PC would also work.

 

[ashtekaros]

i didn't notice you asked if mine will... they should. I have offered the copy info using notepad option to lots of people before.
Another way he can copy info off drive is booting from an Ubuntu live USB and copy info off drive using it. Or just put your drive in another PC and copy info from there.

2 - No, you don't need a new licence to install it on a new drive. Hdd isn't counted as a new PC, he should know that when he reaches screen asking for licence key, to just choose "I don't have key" and the Install will continue and reactivate windows once it reaches desktop. No need to buy a new drive.

3. If you getting a tech to fix it, don't really need win E

which SPECIFIC instruction you provided you think will work ? both or just a specific one ?

 

[Colif]

I answered that already, you then deleted it and now it looks like I am answering a question that doesn't exist

 

[ashtekaros]

I answered that already, you then deleted it and now it looks like I am answering a question that doesn't exist

sorry for that, was trying to organize better the posts . will avoid deleting on these posts . but you provided several methods i wanted to know the specific one which you think will work.

correct me if im wrong but is it the method from the Moderator
"USAFret" ?