Hi. I feel your frustration. I had been exactly where you are now for a few trial and error months.
First off, from here on out use D.I.S.M. You start with your computer connected to the Internet.
Next dig out your "Command Prompt" open it with "Administrator"
You can use D.I.S.M. periodically to check for OS Corruption. You should every time before you make changes, or download the windows updates. I find Download Windows Updates Automatically works best for me, because I can then choose which ones I don't want.
Ok .
Number 2 is the first D.I.S.M. that you run.
Run it first every time and run it once a month . You always want to make sure your system is exactly running the way the Microsoft Engineers designed it to run, and this tool they created for us is perfect.
If your dism/online comes back with a corruption reading, then you run Number 3.
You don't try to fix windows update problems until you have run your dism/online check.
Next if your windows updates have not been installing and you have been getting error messages, then go out online and get the "Windows Update Trouble Shooter" Run that after you have squared away your OS with dism/online Number 2.
Ok, you run the updater and then it fixes all the errors, and might reset your windows update history to
zero updates. heh heh heh. no worries mate they are all there, however the Windows Update Trouble shooter sometimes erases the Windows Update Library. This is because some in the library are duplicates of the ones your OS is being currently advised that it's available to install, but it's already installed will often times cause a conflict of interest, and windows update will fail every time.
So now run the dism/online number 2, then fix if necessary with Number 3, and then run your Windows update trouble shooter and you are now through. Your OS on what ever machine it is, is just going to work seamlessly for the rest of it's entire life. So good, you will get bored without the constant error messages.
Always run the Command Prompt with Administrator Privileges while online otherwise, dism doesn't function. It's internet connected to a Microsoft server somewhere .
1 dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
2 dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth
3 dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
4 Windows Update Troubleshooter.
5. The last step to take after all the others have been.
Get a storage drive. I recommend only the External Hard Drive.
If you use a Solid State for Anything at all you will find out the hard way that your
photo collection will be subtly corrupted. All your photos will be ruined. This happens when you transfer the original photo image data to an external HD, or Solid State. My Solid State Experience is awfull
with my photos being stored with corrupted data that you won't see until a couple of weeks or months later. They are already corrupted, so don't bother copy them, they look perfect, but only for a little while.
To prevent data corruption, I over write all the photos at least three times and that goes for the rest of the data. It's takes a bit of time and effort, but you won't open up a favorite photo only to see it's been corrupted, you won't open up a saved document in word pad, and now i'ts scrambled.
OK
you have your External hard drive.
GoTo control panel, then find "File History"
Click on File History, and go to the bottom left of that window and click on "System Image Backup"
now, follow the steps looking to make sure you put that Image in a "Blank Partition'"
To do that you need to go to "diskManagement" or purchase a disk manager software, then partition your External and then address the Image to be created, the "System Image Backup" to the drive letter assigned that partition. OK, now you get to select the stuff you want to IMAGE. So if you got private stuff and you want to keep it that way, then back up all your Desktop files to another partition on the External, then come back and use EastTec Eraser and overwrite all the data in your files, thus making a Clean Image. You don't have to do that but the Image will copy everything perfectly.
Merry Christmas.
CharlieEvergreen,
"think of the forest without the trees"