WIN 10 repair after bad 1/15/25 update

Topic

I probably should have turned to this forum from the start so I hope the experts here can help me after I have probably messed things up so bad that I will need to reinstall Windows.

I am running WIN 10 Pro on a Dell XPS 8950 desktop.  Initially the 1/15/25 windows update seemed to disable my HP Officejet Pro 9025e printer using HP+.  I tried deleting the printer and reinstalling without success.  I then tried to uninstall the update.  My system showed 3 updates dated 1/15/25.  I foolishly only uninstalled 2.  After rebooting I still could not access or add my printer.  I also found that many of the programs I use failed to open beyond their flash screens.  I also found that a new update had been pushed, which I was unable to delete nor was I able to delete the third 1/15/25 update.

My operating system is on a 2T SSD.  I have a second 2T SSD where I recently (1/7/25) used AOMEI Backupper Pro to create a system backup.  I also created a boot disk at the same time from this program on an SD Card.  Unfortunately, one of the programs that will not open is AOMEI Backupper, where I could use it to restore my operating system from the backup.  I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program, but again it would not open.

I next tried to reboot using the SD card, but my computer would not boot from the card.  I examined the Boot options and could not find a way to set the SD card (or a USB) as a boot option.

I’m hoping I do not need to reinstall Windows as I suspect this will also require reinstalling all of my programs.  I would appreciate any suggestions from this group as to how I can proceed.  Thank you in advance.

Replies

MoonView wrote:

I recently (1/7/25) used AOMEI Backupper Pro to create a system backup

You could restore this system image.

MoonView wrote:

I’m hoping I do not need to reinstall Windows as I suspect this will also require reinstalling all of my programs.

You can avoid this with an over the top Windows 10 repair install from an ISO keeping your files and installed software. 

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/6000015-repair-install-of-windows-10-22h2/

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

Thank you for your reply and the link.  I used the link information to create the WIN 10 ISO on a USB flash drive from my laptop.  I then inserted the flash drive into the affected computer and attempted to run setup.exe.  I received a message asking if I wanted to let the program make changes to my device.  Upon clicking yes, the query screen disappeared and nothing further happened.  Some .exe files will execute and some will not.  Unfortunately, this one wouldn’t

I would start with either one of those two options first.  A full/clean install is my last option.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

Or a restore point prior to 1/15/2025?

Win 11 home - 24H2
Attitude is a choice...Choose wisely

Thank you for your reply.  I had created a restore point about a week before 1/15/25.  I don’t know if it is because of the update or what I did trying to first recover my printer, but I can no longer access system restore.  (I also cannot access Windows Update.  The page title appears but the page remains blank.)  Hindsight is 20/20. Instead of trying to uninstall the updates I should have merely used system restore to roll back to a version prior to the update.  This is the first problem I have ever encountered with updates and to my embarrassment I did not think of using the system restore.

Michael William Cetera wrote:

I then inserted the flash drive into the affected computer and attempted to run setup.exe.

For a REPAIR install (not clean install) put the ISO file right on your C: drive.  Then double click the ISO to mount it and view it’s contents.  Double click setup.exe.  Make certain you select “keep my files and apps”. 

You get several “getting things ready” messages on your screen. Be patient. The whole process will take some time. Keep your internet connection on.

 

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

I want to thank everyone who had suggestions as to how I could recover from the mess caused by the recent WIN 10 update and my subsequent actions.  For one reason or another all of the suggestions failed to let me do an over the top re-install.  I finally gave in and did a full reinstall.  I have just about finished reloading my critical programs and have been working through those nice-to-have-but-if-need-be-I-can-live-without programs.