When critical Windows system files are missing or corrupted, your operating system may begin to malfunction. Common symptoms include Windows features not working properly, system errors, or Windows becoming unresponsive or freezing.

Learn about the different reset options in Windows and how to reset your device.

Windows provides several recovery tools to help you troubleshoot and restore your PC when issues occur, such as startup failures, update problems, or malware infections. If you're having problems with your Windows device, the following table can help you decide which recovery option to use: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Fixes an issue in which you cannot use the "Refresh your PC" feature or the "Reset your PC" feature to restore a Windows RT-based, Windows 8-based, or Windows Server 2012-based computer.

Windows RE provides a set of tools to help diagnose and repair issues that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. These tools include: Reset this PC: Allows you to reset your computer to its factory settings, with options to keep or remove personal files. To learn more, see Reset your PC.

To return your computer to a normal startup, follow the steps in the section, Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting. If the installation or uninstallation still fails, that means this issue is not caused by interference from a service or an app.

Learn how you can go back to the previous version of Windows you had installed.

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website. You can import this update into WSUS manually. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions topic on the Microsoft Update Catalog website for instructions. Prerequisites. There are no prerequisites to apply this update. Restart information.

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website. You can manually import these updates into Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager. For WSUS instructions, see WSUS and the Catalog Site.

Get Help has troubleshooters, or diagnostic tests, that can check your system configuration for anything that might be causing issues using your devices. View troubleshooter results. After you run any troubleshooter, Get Help provides details on any findings and suggestions for possible remedies.