Ran Tweaking.com, now Win10 won't accept PIN or PW

[Mister_One]

My Win10 computer had been running very slowly. I decided to run Tweaking.com to see if anything had been corrupted. After following the prompts, the computer would not start in Safe Mode. Instead, the log in screen prompted for "Password," instead of PIN. Nothing I tried allowed me to log in. HELP!

[Boggin]

Win 10 in Safe Mode prompts for a password and not a pin number.

If the fault is with the program not restarting in Safe Mode with Networking, then if you can boot up and get in normally, try pressing and holding SHIFT throughout a Restart.

This should take you to the advanced boot options to select Startup Settings then follow the prompts and after the restart, press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

You will need to Ethernet connect as Win 10 disables wireless in that mode, but you can manually connect to your SSID if it isn't practical to Ethernet connect.

If you don't have Win 10 install media but access to another computer if you can't get into yours, you can create Win 10 install media after reading the instructions at https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

This will give you the ISO for version 1809.

When you've done that, if using an USB, with the machine switched off, insert the USB and tap F12 as you switch on.

This will give you a one off change of boot order.

Use the cursor keys to select the USB drive and press enter then wait for it to load.

If using a DVD then insert the disk after tapping F12 and select the CD/DVD drive and press enter.

Tap any key when prompted to boot from CD or DVD and you may be presented with an inverse window with Windows Setup [EMS Enabled] highlighted - just press enter and wait for the disk to load.

In both cases, change/confirm the time and currency format - Next - and on the install screen click on Repair your computer.

Click on Troubleshoot and select Command Prompt then enter bcdedit |find "osdevice"

For clarity, that is a Pipe symbol before find and is the uppercase of \

Using your partition letter instead of the x I have used, enter chkdsk x: /f

Note if it reports any KBs in bad sectors - if so, then perform a chkdsk x: /r - again using your partition letter instead of my x

That cmd will take some time if required, but follow the chkdsk with the following cmd, again using your partition letter instead of my exampled X

Note there's a space before each /

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=X:\ /offwindir=X:\Windows

Hopefully that will either report no integrity violations or that it has repaired all files.

Enter exit to close the cmd window, remove the install media and reboot to see if there's any improvement.

If not, boot up with the install media again and this time select the Restore Point option to see if you have any restore points you can use.

Let me know if either of those options resolves.

[Mister_One]

Boggin, you've given me hope! I won't be able to attempt your suggestions until tomorrow, but I'll keep you posted. I'm almost 85, so everything takes me a little longer than it used to!

[Boggin]

Okay

[Mister_One]

Success! After I tried everything else, I downloaded the ISO for version 1809 from your link, saving it to a USB drive. I ran it and tried a restore to four days ago, but the restore failed! I tried Restore TWO MORE TIMES and it finally took. (Einstein would have suggested that I give up, but I just couldn't. So much for insanity.) When I booted, the login screen asked for my PIN, and it worked. I'm very much relieved, thanks to you. 

[Boggin]

Well that's one thing fixed.

What about performance - is the machine still slow ?

[Boggin]

New Win 10 updates can impact start up times but it may also be because of what is in your Start up menu.

Right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.

If this is the first time you have accessed Task Manager then you'll be presented with a blank window - just click on More details bottom left.

Click on Start-up where you will see all of the items that are enabled and their impact from Low to High.

I have all but my Realtek HD Audio Manager disabled in there.

Click on each and then on Disable - click File/Exit and reboot to see if that improves your start up times.

One thing that can slow a computer's performance is a build up of Temp files.

I use CCleaner at the end of each session but you can also go Start - type %temp% and press enter when it comes up.

If that is highly populated then press CTRL a to highlight then CTRL d to delete.

Click on Yes to confirm then check the box and click on Skip then empty the Recycle Bin.

You will see the size of each file and while they may only be in kbs each, they can mount up.

[Mister_One]

The plot thickens. When I run Tweaking.com, at the first screen that checks MD4 Hash, the Hash doesn't match in two files: WinDefend.reg and Repair_Windows.exe. I've tried to reinstall Win!0 four times, using different media. I've used Windows Assistant, two different CD Win10 ISOs, and a USB-based ISO. Each time, after more than an hour of installation, I get "The Win10 installation has failed"! I've managed to speed up boot to about 50 sec., using Task Manager, and I regularly use CCleaner to get rid of temp files and other junk. Is there another way to reinstall Win10 that might succeed where other attempts have failed? (My Dell came with Win10 Pro already installed, sans disks.) Suggestions?

[Boggin]

When the repair program's file check fails you simply reinstall the program.

I'm not sure if a cold boot would help before attempting to reinstall Win 10, but it's worth a shot.

If your Dell is a laptop, shutdown then remove the battery and AC then hold the power button in for 30 - 60 secs and then boot up with the install media and try the reinstall again.

If it's a desktop model then just switch off at the wall.

Alternatively, you could contact Dell for a recovery disk which will factory reset your computer when you boot up with that.

There's usually a charge for these.