Post by Admin on Jul 29, 2018 9:09:17 GMT
This vid helps fix Fix Location is not available (aka, C:\windows\system32\config\systemprofile\desktop Is Unavailable) on Windows 10 1803. Learn more?
FYI:
1. An early theory suggested it could be Avast anti-virus software. It's not that. Non-Avast users are having this problem too.
2. Microsoft is investigating this issue. There is no a working solution but more of workarounds until the company comes up with a final fix. Or you may consider performing a clean install of Windows 10.
For Windows 10 April Update users, try some troubleshooting tips here:
1. Open Windows File Explorer.
On the View Ribbon, check the box marked 'Hidden Items'.
Go to C:\users\Default\.
Right click and copy the Desktop folder contained in the Default Folder.
Navigate to: C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile .
Right click and Paste the Desktop folder into the systemprofile folder.
Restart (not shut sown) your PC.
2. Download the latest version of Windows 10 media creation tool from the Windows website@ goo.gl/hQDxmk, and prepare a bootable flash drive (Here's how@ goo.gl/mfAicV "How to install Windows 10 from USB with UEFI support?").
Note: you will need a 16GB flash drive.
Boot your problem PC with 1803.
Put your own flash drive and start a new installation, then you chose to save your data and continue, it will take some time. Wait with patients (It's important!) until the setup will then update your Windows properly this time. See the Part 3 in the following troubleshooting vid@ youtu.be/7onb4aXVrnU "Fix black screen issues on 1803".
Note: please skip Step 2, Step 3, Step 4, Step 5 and Step 6 in that Part 3.
3. Start Windows key + R.
Run cmd as administrator by pressing CTRL + Shift + Enter.
In the cmd, type "shutdown -L" to log out current problem Windows/Microsoft account.
Enter your system passwords correctly.
Use the command "control userpasswords2" and create a new local user account with admin rights.
Check whether the Explorer.exe works or not, in your new system account.
Note: If the Explorer.exe crashes on your new user just go to Task Manager and restart the process explorer.exe.
Run the Media Creation Tool you download from Microsoft@ goo.gl/hQDxmk to automatically detect & install some Windows updates.
Note: You may need to reboot your PC a few times as asked by Windows.
4. Use Command Prompt to repair Windows Rollback.
4.1 At the “Choose your keyboard layout” screen, select a keyboard (such as US).
4.2 At the “Choose an option screen”, verify that the top left tile reads “Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback”.
NOTE: If this is not the case, please do not proceed further and use Method 5 instead.
4.3 Select Troubleshoot, then Advanced options.
4.4 Select Command Prompt.
4.5 In the cmd.exe window, type bcdedit and press Enter.
Note: There should be 4 entries displayed. Ignore the first entry, called {bootmgr}. The next entries should all have an attribute called “device” or “bootstatdevice”, which will have a value similar to partition=E:
4.6 In the cmd.exe window, switch to the drive letter you noted in the previous step. In this example, you would type E: and press Enter.
4.7 Type the following command and then press Enter:
copy \Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform\SetupPlatform.exe \$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources
4.8 When completed, you should see the output, “1 file(s) copied”. If you see any other output, please do not proceed further and instead use Method 5.
4.9 In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the "Choose an option" screen. Select "Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback".
Note: Your device should restart and Windows Rollback should then successfully restore your system to the previous version of Windows. Once you are successfully restored, Microsoft currently recommends that you do not attempt to manually install the April Update – please wait until Windows notifies you that the update is ready for your device.
Method 5: Perform an in-place upgrade.
5.1 create a Windows 10 installation media on your USB drive.
5.1 On the computer that is experiencing the problem, use the power button to restart until it boots to the blue recovery screens.
5.2 At the Choose your keyboard layout screen, choose your keyboard layout (e.g., US).
5.3 At the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot.
5.4 Select Command Prompt.
5.5 In the cmd.exe window, type C: and press Enter.
Note: If your Windows was saved to a drive other than the C: drive, type the appropriate drive letter.
5.6 Run the following command Ren Windows.old Windows.old.bak and press Enter.
5.7 In the cmd.exe window, type exit.
5.8 Select "Use another operating system".
5.9 Select the second option, “Windows 10 on volume X”.
Note: where “X” will be a number.
5.10 Wait for your Windows to load the desktop.
5.11 Once your desktop attempts to load, close any error messages that appear.
5.12 insert Windows 10 installation disk you made.
5.13 Right-click any blank area on the taskbar, and then select Task Manager.
5.14 If necessary, select More details.
5.15 Select File, then "Run new task".
5.16 In the dialog box that appears, check the box for "Create this task with administrator privileges".
5.17 Select "Browse…".
5.18 Navigate to Windows 10 USB drive and select setup.exe.
5.19 Run the setup.exe file and follow the steps to “upgrade” Windows.
Note: check the boxes for “check for new updates” and disable “help make this version better”. If you are asked what you want to keep, make sure you tell it to keep everything!
And, f you lost any personal files during the upgrade process, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows.old.bak (refer to the following img). Select the Users folder, and then your precious user account name. Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve and copy & paste the files into a desired location.
Method 6:
6.1 Right click on the Windows Start menu > choose "Windows Powershell (Admin)".
6.2 Run following (or copy and paste following commands) one by one and Enter:
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
Ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
Ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
6.3 Type following in Windows Start Search box and hit Enter: %systemroot%\Logs\CBS.
6.4 Rename CBS.Log to something else.
Note: If it doesn't allow you to rename - Type services in Windows Search box > Click Services > Scroll down to find the Windows Modules Installer service and double-click on it > Set its startup type to Manual > Reboot your computer.
6.5 Go to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS > Rename CBS.Log > Reboot your computer > Then go back into the Services App and set Windows Modules Installer Service back to Automatic Startup.
6.6. You can go to Microsoft's "Download Windows 10" page@ goo.gl/hQDxmk.
6.71 Click "Update now" to update to 1803 through Upgrade Assistant.
OR
6.72 You can download the latest Windows 10 package by running the latest Media creation tool and follow the instructions there to upgrade.
Method 7:
Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile and check if it has the Desktop folder there.
Note 1: If the Desktop folder does not exist, then create a new folder and rename it as Desktop or copy it from C:\users\Default\Desktop.
Note 2: By default, C:\Users\Default is hidden. To unhide click on the View tab and check the Hidden Items box.
Right click on the Desktop folder, select Properties then click on the Security tab.
Click on Edit.
On the Permissions for Desktop window, select Everyone and then click on Add.
In the Enter the object names to select dialog box, type Everyone and click on Check Names.
Click OK.
Method 8: Create a new user account and check.
If the issue does not persists in new user account then, try to fix the corrupted profile.
a) Press Windows and X together and select Windows Explorer.
b) Click on View tab and Click on Options at the top right corner.
c) Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
d) Uncheck the box which states Hide protected operating system files.
e) Click Yes to confirm, and then click Ok.
f) Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
g) Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
Ntuser.dat
Ntuser.dat.log
Ntuser.ini
h) Right click and Select Copy.
i) Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New Username is the name of the new user profile you created.
j) Right click inside the folder and select Paste.
k) Restart your computer and check.
Method 9: Restore your PC (here's how@ goo.gl/Wcsg4J "How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC?").
Note: Do not Reset or Refresh the PC.
Other voices on the web:
1.
1.1 Reset or install your system with 1803:
Press Alt + Control + Delete, look to the bottom right, and select 'Restart'.
Please keep holding down the 'Shift' key which restarts your PC - This allow you to land on the Advanced Startup Options later.
Click Troubleshoot.
Click "Reset your PC".
WARNING: Resetting your PC (not to be confused with rebooting your PC) resets it to its factory state. Any personal files and settings on your computer will be deleted.
Then I chose the "Reset this PC" option and selected the "Keep my files" option.
1.2 then disable Windows from installing updates temporarily:
Press Windows key + R" and, type " services.msc".
click on Windows Update, right click 'properties'.
Under startup type, select 'disabled'.
2. The possible fix currently is to uninstall Avast (if any) - see more info Point 3 below and run an InPlace upgrade (Here's how@ goo.gl/eNkqwZ "Microsoft Forum Step-by-Step Article: How to perform an In-place Upgrade with Windows 10?".).
3. Download Avast removal tool in a USB disk, refer to & follow troubleshooting vid@ youtu.be/7onb4aXVrnU "Fix black screen issues on 1803" to run Avast removal tool on your problem system with 1803.
Hint: You need to navigate to the USB drive and, select & run Avast cleanup utility.
4. Change desktop location through Registry Editor.
Press Windows + R, type regedit in the Run box and press Enter.
Find and expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER section in the left pane. Click on Software, then navigate to Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
Make sure User Shell Folders is highlighted and in the left pane, then double click Desktop. Make sure under Value data: the value is either %USERPROFILE%\Desktop or C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Desktop is the value. Click OK. Close the registry editor.
Restart your system.
5. Terminate and re-run explorer.exe in Task Manager.
Last resolution: reinstall of your Windows, 10.
1. An early theory suggested it could be Avast anti-virus software. It's not that. Non-Avast users are having this problem too.
2. Microsoft is investigating this issue. There is no a working solution but more of workarounds until the company comes up with a final fix. Or you may consider performing a clean install of Windows 10.
For Windows 10 April Update users, try some troubleshooting tips here:
1. Open Windows File Explorer.
On the View Ribbon, check the box marked 'Hidden Items'.
Go to C:\users\Default\.
Right click and copy the Desktop folder contained in the Default Folder.
Navigate to: C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile .
Right click and Paste the Desktop folder into the systemprofile folder.
Restart (not shut sown) your PC.
2. Download the latest version of Windows 10 media creation tool from the Windows website@ goo.gl/hQDxmk, and prepare a bootable flash drive (Here's how@ goo.gl/mfAicV "How to install Windows 10 from USB with UEFI support?").
Note: you will need a 16GB flash drive.
Boot your problem PC with 1803.
Put your own flash drive and start a new installation, then you chose to save your data and continue, it will take some time. Wait with patients (It's important!) until the setup will then update your Windows properly this time. See the Part 3 in the following troubleshooting vid@ youtu.be/7onb4aXVrnU "Fix black screen issues on 1803".
Note: please skip Step 2, Step 3, Step 4, Step 5 and Step 6 in that Part 3.
3. Start Windows key + R.
Run cmd as administrator by pressing CTRL + Shift + Enter.
In the cmd, type "shutdown -L" to log out current problem Windows/Microsoft account.
Enter your system passwords correctly.
Use the command "control userpasswords2" and create a new local user account with admin rights.
Check whether the Explorer.exe works or not, in your new system account.
Note: If the Explorer.exe crashes on your new user just go to Task Manager and restart the process explorer.exe.
Run the Media Creation Tool you download from Microsoft@ goo.gl/hQDxmk to automatically detect & install some Windows updates.
Note: You may need to reboot your PC a few times as asked by Windows.
4. Use Command Prompt to repair Windows Rollback.
4.1 At the “Choose your keyboard layout” screen, select a keyboard (such as US).
4.2 At the “Choose an option screen”, verify that the top left tile reads “Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback”.
NOTE: If this is not the case, please do not proceed further and use Method 5 instead.
4.3 Select Troubleshoot, then Advanced options.
4.4 Select Command Prompt.
4.5 In the cmd.exe window, type bcdedit and press Enter.
Note: There should be 4 entries displayed. Ignore the first entry, called {bootmgr}. The next entries should all have an attribute called “device” or “bootstatdevice”, which will have a value similar to partition=E:
4.6 In the cmd.exe window, switch to the drive letter you noted in the previous step. In this example, you would type E: and press Enter.
4.7 Type the following command and then press Enter:
copy \Windows.old\Windows\System32\OOBE\SetupPlatform\SetupPlatform.exe \$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources
4.8 When completed, you should see the output, “1 file(s) copied”. If you see any other output, please do not proceed further and instead use Method 5.
4.9 In the cmd.exe window, type exit and press Enter. This should return you to the "Choose an option" screen. Select "Continue – Exit and continue to Windows Rollback".
Note: Your device should restart and Windows Rollback should then successfully restore your system to the previous version of Windows. Once you are successfully restored, Microsoft currently recommends that you do not attempt to manually install the April Update – please wait until Windows notifies you that the update is ready for your device.
Method 5: Perform an in-place upgrade.
5.1 create a Windows 10 installation media on your USB drive.
5.1 On the computer that is experiencing the problem, use the power button to restart until it boots to the blue recovery screens.
5.2 At the Choose your keyboard layout screen, choose your keyboard layout (e.g., US).
5.3 At the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot.
5.4 Select Command Prompt.
5.5 In the cmd.exe window, type C: and press Enter.
Note: If your Windows was saved to a drive other than the C: drive, type the appropriate drive letter.
5.6 Run the following command Ren Windows.old Windows.old.bak and press Enter.
5.7 In the cmd.exe window, type exit.
5.8 Select "Use another operating system".
5.9 Select the second option, “Windows 10 on volume X”.
Note: where “X” will be a number.
5.10 Wait for your Windows to load the desktop.
5.11 Once your desktop attempts to load, close any error messages that appear.
5.12 insert Windows 10 installation disk you made.
5.13 Right-click any blank area on the taskbar, and then select Task Manager.
5.14 If necessary, select More details.
5.15 Select File, then "Run new task".
5.16 In the dialog box that appears, check the box for "Create this task with administrator privileges".
5.17 Select "Browse…".
5.18 Navigate to Windows 10 USB drive and select setup.exe.
5.19 Run the setup.exe file and follow the steps to “upgrade” Windows.
Note: check the boxes for “check for new updates” and disable “help make this version better”. If you are asked what you want to keep, make sure you tell it to keep everything!
And, f you lost any personal files during the upgrade process, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows.old.bak (refer to the following img). Select the Users folder, and then your precious user account name. Open the folders that contain the files you want to retrieve and copy & paste the files into a desired location.
Method 6:
6.1 Right click on the Windows Start menu > choose "Windows Powershell (Admin)".
6.2 Run following (or copy and paste following commands) one by one and Enter:
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
Ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
Ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 Catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
6.3 Type following in Windows Start Search box and hit Enter: %systemroot%\Logs\CBS.
6.4 Rename CBS.Log to something else.
Note: If it doesn't allow you to rename - Type services in Windows Search box > Click Services > Scroll down to find the Windows Modules Installer service and double-click on it > Set its startup type to Manual > Reboot your computer.
6.5 Go to C:\Windows\Logs\CBS > Rename CBS.Log > Reboot your computer > Then go back into the Services App and set Windows Modules Installer Service back to Automatic Startup.
6.6. You can go to Microsoft's "Download Windows 10" page@ goo.gl/hQDxmk.
6.71 Click "Update now" to update to 1803 through Upgrade Assistant.
OR
6.72 You can download the latest Windows 10 package by running the latest Media creation tool and follow the instructions there to upgrade.
Method 7:
Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile and check if it has the Desktop folder there.
Note 1: If the Desktop folder does not exist, then create a new folder and rename it as Desktop or copy it from C:\users\Default\Desktop.
Note 2: By default, C:\Users\Default is hidden. To unhide click on the View tab and check the Hidden Items box.
Right click on the Desktop folder, select Properties then click on the Security tab.
Click on Edit.
On the Permissions for Desktop window, select Everyone and then click on Add.
In the Enter the object names to select dialog box, type Everyone and click on Check Names.
Click OK.
Method 8: Create a new user account and check.
If the issue does not persists in new user account then, try to fix the corrupted profile.
a) Press Windows and X together and select Windows Explorer.
b) Click on View tab and Click on Options at the top right corner.
c) Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
d) Uncheck the box which states Hide protected operating system files.
e) Click Yes to confirm, and then click Ok.
f) Locate the C:\Users\Old_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and Old Username is the name of the profile you want to copy files from.
g) Select all of the files and folders in this folder, except the following files:
Ntuser.dat
Ntuser.dat.log
Ntuser.ini
h) Right click and Select Copy.
i) Locate the C:\Users\New_Username folder, where C is the drive that Windows is installed on, and New Username is the name of the new user profile you created.
j) Right click inside the folder and select Paste.
k) Restart your computer and check.
Method 9: Restore your PC (here's how@ goo.gl/Wcsg4J "How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC?").
Note: Do not Reset or Refresh the PC.
Other voices on the web:
1.
1.1 Reset or install your system with 1803:
Press Alt + Control + Delete, look to the bottom right, and select 'Restart'.
Please keep holding down the 'Shift' key which restarts your PC - This allow you to land on the Advanced Startup Options later.
Click Troubleshoot.
Click "Reset your PC".
WARNING: Resetting your PC (not to be confused with rebooting your PC) resets it to its factory state. Any personal files and settings on your computer will be deleted.
Then I chose the "Reset this PC" option and selected the "Keep my files" option.
1.2 then disable Windows from installing updates temporarily:
Press Windows key + R" and, type " services.msc".
click on Windows Update, right click 'properties'.
Under startup type, select 'disabled'.
2. The possible fix currently is to uninstall Avast (if any) - see more info Point 3 below and run an InPlace upgrade (Here's how@ goo.gl/eNkqwZ "Microsoft Forum Step-by-Step Article: How to perform an In-place Upgrade with Windows 10?".).
3. Download Avast removal tool in a USB disk, refer to & follow troubleshooting vid@ youtu.be/7onb4aXVrnU "Fix black screen issues on 1803" to run Avast removal tool on your problem system with 1803.
Hint: You need to navigate to the USB drive and, select & run Avast cleanup utility.
4. Change desktop location through Registry Editor.
Press Windows + R, type regedit in the Run box and press Enter.
Find and expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER section in the left pane. Click on Software, then navigate to Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
Make sure User Shell Folders is highlighted and in the left pane, then double click Desktop. Make sure under Value data: the value is either %USERPROFILE%\Desktop or C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Desktop is the value. Click OK. Close the registry editor.
Restart your system.
5. Terminate and re-run explorer.exe in Task Manager.
Last resolution: reinstall of your Windows, 10.