>>Long winded, I know. you may not BA unless its really bugging you.
This time all the updates and been done well past the last time it broke. So to me it seems unlikely that an update could break it once and then work fine, and then do the same again at a later date. At least without causing some kerfuffle on the internet.
It means I have no Microsoft programs working other than Windows itself. Even Calculator doesn't work. Essentially all those programs that come with Windows do the same thing; start up a blank window of the appropriate size with the correct title and then literally 2 or 3 seconds later disappear again leaving no error behind them.
I tried so many different things last time including a reinstall but keep stuff and nothing fixed it. I did a full restore over the existing installation and that didn't work.
Only cleaning the disk and reinstalling resolved the issue. But it's such a pain in the a***. I won't lose anything, I have all the installation programs and data copies, but even in lock-down I have things I'd rather do.
Whilst I have no idea what could be breaking it, I am beginning to suspect that it is a problem in the registry.
Whatever I do to the files, directories, access, register, re-register, repair, reset, rebuild etc. etc. nothing works.
But even a system repair or a system reinstall keep the existing registry. They check that stuff is there relevant to the system itself, but that's it. And i don't have a problem with the system itself, it is the additional applications.
Now what I do with that thought is another matter. It's not like you can copy a good registry from somewhere else. Though now I think about it, System Restore points do replace the registry. that might be worth a fiddle except that I don;t really use restore points. Perhaps i should.
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