Unable to enter Control Panel, Devices & Printers et al

[geometer]

Running Windows 10 Pro 64 bit, latest version

Unable to enter "This PC", Control Panel, Devices & Printers etc.

SFC /scannow fixed corrupted files, bu no help.

Ran windows repair AIO, no help.

[Boggin]

I would normally access Devices & Printers through the Control Panel - there is no access to those in my Win 10 through This PC.

Go Start - type control panel and right click on it when it comes up and select Pin to Taskbar where you can open it.

[geometer]

Sorry I did not make it more clear.

Cannot access Control Panel, Download Folder, PC Settings etc. FROM Start or any other way I can think of.

I keep getting "Application Not Found."

Besides SFC and Windows Repair AIO, I used RollBackPro (using snapshot or image from previous days.)

Nothing works!

[Boggin]

So do you mean that the Start menu doesn't work ?

This article has some suggestions in how to fix that - https://www.itpro.co.uk/operating-systems/34614/how-to-fix-the-windows-10-start-menu-if-its-frozen

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No, I don't mean that the Start menu doesn't work!

In lieu of the Windows Start menu, I use ClassicalShell which merely lists the items rather than presenting desktop squares. (I have "repaired" the ClassicShell program with no solution of the problem. 

On the ClassicalShell, when I click on the listed item "Control Panel" or "Settings" or "This PC" or typing in the search box, "Windows Defender," none of these commands are executed, rather evoking the message "Application Not Found.

I trust this adequately describes the problem.

[Boggin]

If you don't have Win 10 install media, can you create it after reading - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

You don't need a product key.

As you can't open This PC then you will be unable to perform a repair install, so we'll try it this way.

Boot up with the install media - if using an USB then insert that before tapping F12 as you switch on to select that option with the cursor keys and press Enter.

When the install media has loaded, navigate to the Install screen and click on Repair your computer/Troubleshoot and select Command Prompt.

At the prompt 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 exampled, enter -

dism /image:x:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth

You can usually disregard what it says about the scratch directory and wait for the cmd to complete.

Follow that with, again using your partition letter instead of the X I have exampled, enter -

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

Enter exit to close the cmd window, remove the install media and restart to see if they have resolved the problem.

[geometer]

Sorry for the delayed response.

Your fix reported "image not found."

I tried to use Windows Creation Tool, but I cannot access the USB because Acronis Recovery Manager precludes booting into it.  Acronis True Image 2019 does not provide option (that I can find) to deactivate Recovery Manager!!!  Even uninstalling it doesn't remove it! 

Egads!

[Boggin]

This article has links for various Uninstaller utilities for Acronis products - https://kb.acronis.com/search?ap=All&s=Acronis%20Backup%20%26%20Recovery%2011%20Cleanup%20Utility

Clicking on either will take you the page with a link for the utility to download with instructions in how to use it.

It could be similar to uninstalling an antivirus program where the standard uninstall a program doesn't get rid of all of the registry residue which can conflict when you try to install another antivirus program.