I have just yesterday (and into today) encountered another update that nearly ended in catastrophe for me. Compared to the optional update that just a few days ago broke my Cortana/Taskbar Search (KB 4512941) but took "only" an hour or so to remove,
this one (KB 4515384) was not optional. It not only broke Cortana/Search and the tooltip context feature for icons, but replaced the Latin alphabet with some sort of ASCII machine code! All desktop icons, taskbar information, and key Windows apps like Task
Manager, Msconfig and Install/Uninstall became unreadable! I shut down and rebooted several times, without any change.
The only thing that saved the day was my long familiarity with Msconfig. I launched it with the Run box (called up using the Windows Key+ R key combination), clicked on the second tab in Msconfig and checked the box at the top of the left column that
I knew from experience represented Safe Mode. Then I clicked what I knew must be the Restart button, followed by the Restart Now button. Remember, NONE of these were readable. They all contained nothing but ASCII characters!
Once in Safe Mode, everything was readable again. I launched Settings, got to Programs & Features, and selected KB 451384 for removal. It actually failed to uninstall (a first for me with Win 10), and when my PC reverted and finally rebooted about
an hour later, it produced a desktop that resembled the default version from the earliest days of Win 10. My desktop was nowhere in sight. And Cortana/Search still didn't work!
At this point, I was tempted to use System Restore (I've never used the new "File History" feature to restore things like the desktop, but this experience has convinced me I better start!). Instead, I decided to try uninstalling KB 451384 one more
time. This time, after another hour, my PC was back to normal, with a workable Cortana/Search and my current desktop and taskbar fully restored!
This awful experience ranks right up there with the worst moments of updating Win 95/98, ME, Vista and Win 8.x. Windows 10 is beginning to resemble the worst days of being tethered to MS.
I can no longer conceive of going along and getting along with Win 10. For me, this is just another strong warning (read: kick in the backside) to get away from MS Windows as fast as I can.
In the meantime, what are the takeaways from this hours-long uncertainty and struggle?
1. Start using File History in tandem with an external drive to protect my desktop and other settings
2. Make a manual System Restore point before allowing any Windows update to proceed.
3. Use 7-day delay and metred network options to stop Windows Update from operating automatically.
4. If feasible, stop all updates except security updates from loading until I get word on the Internet that it is reasonably safe to allow them to go ahead.
5. Keep working on switching to Chromebook as my primary PC, with a Linux dual-boot option and Wine layer to run the few Windows apps I cannot find replacements for in the Chrome and Linux worlds. Like I said before, I'm nearly there! I can turn
my Windows laptop into a Linux dual-boot (maybe with Chrome OS as a third option) and pretty much leave Windows behind.