ONE-STOP FIXIT TOOL

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WRT runs best in Safe mode—the quickest way to get there is to press Win + R, type msconfig then hit Enter, then switch to the Boot tab, tick ‘Safe boot’, and select Network. Click OK followed by Restart, and Windows will reboot into Safe mode (you’ll need to log in with your full password, not a PIN number or other form of ID). Once logged in, launch the Windows Repair Tool.

After the program has performed its start-up check, click ‘I Agree’ to go to the main screen. Work your way through various health checks, a power reset, plus scans of your Windows package files, system reparse points, and environment variables (you can ignore issues with reparse points, so skip the repair option).

There are also options to run full disk checks and a system file check—both are recommended. Reboot whenever prompted and you’ll come back to Safe mode to carry on where you left off.

Once the basic tests are complete, select Backup Tools and take both a Registry backup and a System Restore point. Now select the ‘Repairs—Main’ tab to view the choices. Five presets exist to perform specific repairs. Click any option and you’ll be shown a list of repairs with descriptive names like ‘repair icons’ or ‘reset file permissions’. Use the Repair Info to find out more about individual repairs.

Select ones you think are applicable, then click Start Repairs. After you’ve (hopefully) fixed your problems, open msconfig again, and untick ‘Safe boot’ under the Boot tab to allow you to reboot into Windows proper to verify things are working correctly.