Windows desktop is fine, but nothing happens when I press START

[Tinderbox-70]

Problems may have originated after automatic update

START button does not work - nothing at all, so can't access Settings and there are no apps at all.

Tried to perform a clean boot in Windows 10 - failed, error code 0xc0000221 file CLFS.SYS couldn't be found.

'Start up repair couldn't repair your PC' C\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\srtTrail.txt

Windows 8 was pre installed.  upgraded to 8.1 and then W10, with automatic regular updates since.

Pre - installed means no disks to revert to if  need to reinstall windows.

If file CLFS.SYS is now missing, can I download it from somewhere and will it make all the difference?

I've struggled with this for days now and I've tried everything microsoft suggestsvia safemode etc.  Nothing seems to work!

[WAWood]

@Tinderbox-70

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

You said you Upgraded to Win10 from Win8.1 -- and that poses serious problems for doing any kind of HP recovery or reset.  The Win10 Upgrade is know to corrupt the Recovery partition stored there by the OEM that built the original machine. This pretty much guarantees that no HP Recovery is going to work: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Video-Display-and-Touch/HP-Recovery-Manager-Blocked-After-Windo...

This means that RESET no longer works on your laptop due to your doing the Win10 Upgrade.

To actually restore your PC to its original condition, you need something known as HP Recovery Media.

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities. In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update". If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Service:

If you live in the US or Canada, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/phone-assist.html#section1

If you live elsewhere, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-contact-us.html

NOTE: After you get through, stay on the line until you are finally able to talk to some one -- it can take a while!

If you have trouble finding a phone number, then try: 1 (800) 474-6836

If HP no longer provides Recovery Media for your model, a couple of other sites you can check are: http://www.computersurgeons.com/ and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Before using the media, read through this: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00006110

Good Luck

[Tinderbox-70]

I'm grateful for the detailed reply.  I've created a second user name and hope to set up in a similar way as a work round, rather than a solution which was becoming increasingly complicated

[WAWood]

You said the Start button does not work, but if you can get into your Windows desktop, what MIGHT work is something known as a Repair-Install. 

This is the least destructive of all the Windows recovery functions and rewrites the Windows system files, including the drivers, leaving your data, settings, and applications intact.

To do this, you will need to use the link to download Win10 installation media and either burn a DVD or create a USB stick: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/media-creation-tool-install?ocid=ms_wol_win10

Note that when you go do download and build install media, the tool defaults to matching what is already installed on your PC (as in, Home for Home, 64-bit for 64-bit). Make sure you select the same version as needed for your PC. If you do not, the resulting media will be different and will force you to enter a NEW product code!

Once you have that media, follow the instructions in the link: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/16397-repair-install-windows-10-place-upgrade.html

Good Luck