Well, geoffwba7, regarding your question about rolling back your W10 version to pre-1703, no matter what you do there, we recommend that you should first backup all your personal data on that computer to external media to avoid irretrievable data loss before proceeding!
Not sure if the Creators Update made the same 30-day uninstall provision that was in earlier versions of W10 (v1607, v1511, v10240) or not. Others here may have tried it or heard about whether or not it's still available in the new version (v1703). If it's available, and you haven't deleted the windows.old directories, that option might work for you. ;)
Really, the most important thing is to realize that the entire upgrade process is "sketchy" at best as kemicaly rightly states it. Many hundreds of us W10 Insider Testers have seen this over and over again in all versions of W10 going back to 2014 prior to it's release, and Microsoft has a cleaner upgrade process, but it is certainly less than perfect, and often causes more problems than it fixes.:headache: Clean Install is still the way to go.:up: In the future you may wish to turn off your WU and WUDO settings or change to a metered connection so that future major updates don't cause problems with your computer.
If at some point, you take all the necessary precautions for data backup and you wish to upgrade to the latest version of W10, you have the ability to undo the problems coming from a faulty upgrade and not lose stuff. Bear in mind too, that if the PC you have is not a clean-running machine and you've not thoroughly tested your hardware, the Upgrade process often fails in either or both cases. For most users, this is the case and very very few home users have a clean running PC or have paid a Tech to go through it right before attempting the W10 upgrade.

Some thoughts for you to consider.
Best of luck,:teeth:

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
 
I was trying to add a dark theme a few days back. I'm still not sure what went wrong but I ended up breaking my O/S to where it wouldn't run. I was able to restore it with System Recovery though and it runs at least.

I'm going to clean install it now but I have a question. Since I run Windows on an SSD and use the original Mechanical drive as storage will it install to the SSD and leave the storage drive alone.
 
Well, geoffwba7, regarding your question about rolling back your W10 version to pre-1703, no matter what you do there, we recommend that you should first backup all your personal data on that computer to external media to avoid irretrievable data loss before proceeding!
Not sure if the Creators Update made the same 30-day uninstall provision that was in earlier versions of W10 (v1607, v1511, v10240) or not. Others here may have tried it or heard about whether or not it's still available in the new version (v1703). If it's available, and you haven't deleted the windows.old directories, that option might work for you. ;)
Really, the most important thing is to realize that the entire upgrade process is "sketchy" at best as kemicaly rightly states it. Many hundreds of us W10 Insider Testers have seen this over and over again in all versions of W10 going back to 2014 prior to it's release, and Microsoft has a cleaner upgrade process, but it is certainly less than perfect, and often causes more problems than it fixes.:headache: Clean Install is still the way to go.:up: In the future you may wish to turn off your WU and WUDO settings or change to a metered connection so that future major updates don't cause problems with your computer.
If at some point, you take all the necessary precautions for data backup and you wish to upgrade to the latest version of W10, you have the ability to undo the problems coming from a faulty upgrade and not lose stuff. Bear in mind too, that if the PC you have is not a clean-running machine and you've not thoroughly tested your hardware, the Upgrade process often fails in either or both cases. For most users, this is the case and very very few home users have a clean running PC or have paid a Tech to go through it right before attempting the W10 upgrade.

Some thoughts for you to consider.
Best of luck,:teeth:

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

Before I read your post I tried a system restore which failed, then I reverted to the previous build of Windows 10, which has worked and the PC now shuts down immediately, as it did before. A few days ago I took the precaution of backing up all my files, just in case. Which WU settings do I need to change to avoid future problems?
 
Tried this 1703-version with the official Windows-upgrade tool first, all went smooth untill I switched off and made a new boot after few hours; BSOD with ACPI.sys error. Same repeated following days , only after shutdown and reboot ,after a wile ,with different errors ;NETIO.sys,IRQL not less or equal , nonpaged area.
Every BSOD with one of these errors. Tried everything , even clean install with formatting SSD, same problem !!
So went back to my good 1607 again, no troubles with BSODs.
Will wait few weeks, maybe some months,till all bugs are removed............
 
BBJ is spot on here as I personally have reverted or reinstalled over 100 machines who did upgrades by choice or claimed they "have no clue how upgrade occurred" during the Free install period. I can't think of a single unit that upgraded to Windows 10 from 7 or 8 that survived with the possible exception of some who installed 7 or 8 and then immediately upgraded, there are a few of those still running.

I just noticed another startling wrinkle which is MS Office 2013 Word works within itself but will not work with html or inside Outlook and I have tried repair install and other ways to fix this. Any attempt to use a Word file freezes the entire desktop and alt/ctrl/del will not work. I am going to look at my other pcs to see if this problem occurs anywhere else and if it does I will go back with Macrium image files to before to see if that clears it up.

I am also noticing this forum runs like a snail all of a sudden and edit boxes in threads superimpose over thread (hard to explain) rather than create it's own box to work on. It also took me 5 minutes to open this thread so I am going to run some scans to be certain I don't have Malware issues but I doubt it.
 
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Yes, busy for two weeks with it, no result ,only back in three minutes with backup-software !
Lots of things are very annoying , no safe settings, UAC is really a disaster and worse ; these BSODs after a cold start,etc.
I really can advice everybody to wait with this " upgrade " ,for you will regret it, like I did.
Its just not yet finished , its still not offered by Windows-update !
Im on 1607 again, and its working like a charm,no BSODs ,fast and reliable.
 
Yup my scans showed little of any impact and I uninstalled a few perhaps troublesome programs i.e. "Crypto Prevent" which I have had issues with in the past and Cirtix and the problems remain so I will soon go back to an image file and escape this mess.
 
Yes, busy for two weeks with it, no result ,only back in three minutes with backup-software !
Lots of things are very annoying , no safe settings, UAC is really a disaster and worse ; these BSODs after a cold start,etc.
I really can advice everybody to wait with this " upgrade " ,for you will regret it, like I did.
Its just not yet finished , its still not offered by Windows-update !
Im on 1607 again, and its working like a charm,no BSODs ,fast and reliable.
Hi Bassie,
if you pop along to the thread here:
Windows 10 Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

We can read your dump files although i feel the moment may have passed?

Read the thread sticky (It has an application to help collect data needed) and post the dump files if you have any. If you don't then you may need to change your settings to like so:
Open the run application.
Type sysdm.cpl in the run box and click ok.
Look across the top of the system properties box for 'Advanced' and click that.
Look for 'Startup and Recovery' near the bottom and click 'settings'.
Near the bottom you'll see a drop down menu under the heading 'write debugging information'.
In the drop down menu choose ' small memory dump (256KB)'
Under 'small dump directory' make sure it says %SystemRoot%\Minidump.
Click ok and your good to go.

It's up to you anyway.. :)
 
Thank you kemical , I read your post too late ,coz I went already back to previous Win10 ( from 1703 to 1607 )
All these BSODs gave a different message , each time .
ACPI.sys , NETIO.sys , IRQL not LESS OR EQUAL , NONPAGED AREA .
Latest ,I discovered with special bsod-progam ; ntoskrnl.exe .
Maybe you know the reason of all these errors , anyway I decided to go back coz I could not find a solution.
Only thing ; I started with a good system, never BSODs (!), and after upgrade/fresh install , I got a BSOD after cold start .
My conclusion ; this new 1703-version is too early for installing, its not yet finished ................
 
Before I read your post I tried a system restore which failed, then I reverted to the previous build of Windows 10, which has worked and the PC now shuts down immediately, as it did before. A few days ago I took the precaution of backing up all my files, just in case. Which WU settings do I need to change to avoid future problems?
>>>>Hi Geoff: Glad you were able to get things working again by reverting to your earlier version of W10! :) And very good job of backing up your files prior to the Update! :up:
Here are 2 links to help you with minimizing updates from coming into your computer in W10 v1607:

How to temporarily prevent a driver update from reinstalling in Windows 10
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...from-reinstalling-in-windows-10#bookmark-1607

Windows Update Delivery Optimization: FAQ

Windows Update Delivery Optimization: FAQ

Bear in mind that in v1607, if you are running W10 Home, that version does not support the complete disabling of Updates coming into your computer nor will it let you reschedule a restart. This was a pain if you happened to be writing a Word document or an E-mail as the restart would occur without warning and could cause your windows to crash if it occurred during a write to the hard drive.:headache: If you are running W10 Pro, this still happens even though Microsoft told everyone it wouldn't--I personally tested it on several of my computers. The difference is, that with W10 Pro if you have your settings setup to reschedule your Update, you could at least tell it not to restart it until a later time and keep it from restarting while you are in the middle of working!:wink:
Another thing worth mentioning to you is that should you decided to install the v1703 CU update at a later time via Clean Install as we recommend or attempt to Upgrade again is that I was told by a tekky friend of mine that Microsoft has put back the ability to disable & reschedule the installation of new udpates coming into your computer if you have W10 Home now, just like W10 Pro has had since last August. My friend ran this on several of his computers, but I have neither heard of this, nor have had a chance to confirm whether or not it's true. Hopefully, some of our other W10 experts already participating on this thread will chime in. If you do have W10 Home, I would still suggest the settings I linked you to above, in any case until I can verify whether or not they are still needed for W10 Home v1703 or not.:andwhat: <<<<

In the meantime, that should keep you from having updates coming into your computer and messing things up! More or less anyway. :ahaha:
Best of luck,
:encouragement:
<<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>>
 
Thank you kemical , I read your post too late ,coz I went already back to previous Win10 ( from 1703 to 1607 )
All these BSODs gave a different message , each time .
ACPI.sys , NETIO.sys , IRQL not LESS OR EQUAL , NONPAGED AREA .
Latest ,I discovered with special bsod-progam ; ntoskrnl.exe .
Maybe you know the reason of all these errors , anyway I decided to go back coz I could not find a solution.
Only thing ; I started with a good system, never BSODs (!), and after upgrade/fresh install , I got a BSOD after cold start .
My conclusion ; this new 1703-version is too early for installing, its not yet finished ................
>>>>Hi Bassie; I think a lot has to do with the state of your hardware, and what kind of PC you have; I've noticed that folks with self-built PCs or custom-built PCs (especially Gamers) have a lot more problems with the W10 updates due to GPU card driver incompatibilities than if you are using an OEM PC (Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba). My 8-1/2 year old Dell Studio desktop PC had zero problems with the v1703 CU update, it finished in 2 hours no problems.:applaud: Also, as I mentioned in my Post #122 above, your PC needs to be squeaky clean in order to run the update properly, as well as having no hardware failures (such as failed Hard Drive or RAM stick(s)). If you haven't tested your hardware, you should consider doing it, before the next W10 update comes out, as if that's your real problem, you are gonna be waiting forever for Microsoft to deliver an update that will run on a computer containing failed hardware!:down: Since you reverted to v1607 now and things are running with no BSODs, you'll probably stay there for awhile. If you do decided to follow my advice and test your hardware, take a look at my free TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE here which will give you step-by-step instructions to test your hardware here: Windows 10 - Unclickable Task Bar
<<<<

Best of luck,:encouragement:
<<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>> :brew:
 
>>>>Hi Geoff: Glad you were able to get things working again by reverting to your earlier version of W10! :) And very good job of backing up your files prior to the Update! :up:
Here are 2 links to help you with minimizing updates from coming into your computer in W10 v1607:

How to temporarily prevent a driver update from reinstalling in Windows 10
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...from-reinstalling-in-windows-10#bookmark-1607

Windows Update Delivery Optimization: FAQ

Windows Update Delivery Optimization: FAQ

Bear in mind that in v1607, if you are running W10 Home, that version does not support the complete disabling of Updates coming into your computer nor will it let you reschedule a restart. This was a pain if you happened to be writing a Word document or an E-mail as the restart would occur without warning and could cause your windows to crash if it occurred during a write to the hard drive.:headache: If you are running W10 Pro, this still happens even though Microsoft told everyone it wouldn't--I personally tested it on several of my computers. The difference is, that with W10 Pro if you have your settings setup to reschedule your Update, you could at least tell it not to restart it until a later time and keep it from restarting while you are in the middle of working!:wink:
Another thing worth mentioning to you is that should you decided to install the v1703 CU update at a later time via Clean Install as we recommend or attempt to Upgrade again is that I was told by a tekky friend of mine that Microsoft has put back the ability to disable & reschedule the installation of new udpates coming into your computer if you have W10 Home now, just like W10 Pro has had since last August. My friend ran this on several of his computers, but I have neither heard of this, nor have had a chance to confirm whether or not it's true. Hopefully, some of our other W10 experts already participating on this thread will chime in. If you do have W10 Home, I would still suggest the settings I linked you to above, in any case until I can verify whether or not they are still needed for W10 Home v1703 or not.:andwhat: <<<<

In the meantime, that should keep you from having updates coming into your computer and messing things up! More or less anyway. :ahaha:
Best of luck,
:encouragement:
<<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>>
Many thanks for your valued advice. My PC is now behaving normally thank goodness! When I did have the Creators Update installed I did notice that Windows startup was considerably faster, not that startup using the old build was terribly slow.
 
I just restored with Macrium to 1607 and every issue disappeared sorry to say. I wish I could turn updates off because I am going to give a wide berth to CU next time unless I read the issues have gone away.
 
Did a lot of searching for the reason of the Creators-upgrade-failure.
It failed after upgrading and ; after a new ( format C !) install also.
Tested my RAM,32GB, SSD is two years old with motherboard ( ASUS Z97-K ) , everything works perfect in the Anniversary-version.
I just can not find the reason why I got these nasty BSODs , after every cold booting ! ( never after reboot or warm booting )
I also can not understand all these different messages appearing with each BSOD; ACPI.SYS , NETIO.SYS ,IRQL.SYS and NONPAGED AREA.
Could it be caused by the two other HDDs , next installed with the OS-SSD ??
I did not formatted them , and there is a lot of previous-Windows files on them ( system-restore and other backup-files )
Do I have to pull them off the PC ,before upgrade/fresh install ??
I do hope someone knows more and ,maybe, has encountered the same problems like me............
Appreciate some help !! :thumbs_up:
 
Since you reverted to v1607 now and things are running with no BSODs, you'll probably stay there for awhile. If you do decided to follow my advice and test your hardware, take a look at my free TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE here which will give you step-by-step instructions to test your hardware here: Windows 10 - Unclickable Task Bar

Just to be clear, the actual author of the two pages linked to are by a friend, a chap called John Carrona, If you haven't heard of John, is like the demigod of bsod debugging. He belongs to an excellent forum here:
Sysnative Forums
If you ever get truly stuck with a BSOD then John's forum or our's is the place to post.. :)

Best of luck :)
 
Did a lot of searching for the reason of the Creators-upgrade-failure.
It failed after upgrading and ; after a new ( format C !) install also.
Tested my RAM,32GB, SSD is two years old with motherboard ( ASUS Z97-K ) , everything works perfect in the Anniversary-version.
I just can not find the reason why I got these nasty BSODs , after every cold booting ! ( never after reboot or warm booting )
I also can not understand all these different messages appearing with each BSOD; ACPI.SYS , NETIO.SYS ,IRQL.SYS and NONPAGED AREA.
Could it be caused by the two other HDDs , next installed with the OS-SSD ??
I did not formatted them , and there is a lot of previous-Windows files on them ( system-restore and other backup-files )
Do I have to pull them off the PC ,before upgrade/fresh install ??
I do hope someone knows more and ,maybe, has encountered the same problems like me............
Appreciate some help !! :thumbs_up:

Bassie if you can access your desktop the remember my post above:

Hi Bassie,
if you pop along to the thread here:
Windows 10 Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

We can read your dump files although i feel the moment may have passed?

Read the thread sticky (It has an application to help collect data needed) and post the dump files if you have any. If you don't then you may need to change your settings to like so:
Open the run application.
Type sysdm.cpl in the run box and click ok.
Look across the top of the system properties box for 'Advanced' and click that.
Look for 'Startup and Recovery' near the bottom and click 'settings'.
Near the bottom you'll see a drop down menu under the heading 'write debugging information'.
In the drop down menu choose ' small memory dump (256KB)'
Under 'small dump directory' make sure it says %SystemRoot%\Minidump.
Click ok and your good to go.

These dumps can be found in a folder marked 'minidump' in the windows folder.

I' ll check back in an hour or so..
 
Thanks for the assist, kemical; Yes, John is the "Bomb" when it comes to hardware testing. I've been using his linked methods for years very successfully. I'd like to mention to you Geoff that professional Techs absolutely DO NOT perform Windows OS upgrades with external drives attached!! :ohno:That is verboten, forbidden, etc. Your suspicion that that could cause a problem is spot-on. This is rarely done, except for testing purposes, and unless you know EXACTLY the condition of each and every one of those hard drives BEFORE running the Windows Update, you are most likely going to fail, or run into serious problems such as BSODs or Black Screens!:headache:

This problem also extends to any other devices you may have plugged into your Mobo buss such as eSATA, SATA for storage devices and ANY USB devices such as printers, webcams, Drawing Pads, scanners, GPU cards, etc.:eek: Since we still have no HW specs on the computer you are using, we cannot really determine the exact cause of your BSODs unless you send us your mini-dumps. Even then, it can takes weeks or months to fix that problem.:headache: Since it's impossible for us to see what hardware you actually are experiencing the problem on (Make/Model of computer, desktop or laptop, or if self-built PC complete HW specs please!), we are left to guess. :andwhat: Since you didn't seem to be aware of doing a Windows update on a computer with multiple external drives plugged into your Mobo, you may also have 1 or more USB devices also plugged into that same Mobo.o_O You get the point; having multiple devices that were working on your old W10 is just a pandoras box of potential driver and hardware incompatibilities you are injecting into your computer's new W10 configuration. :down: Like I said, people never seem to think that following the KISS principle is necessary, usually because they never learned about it in school, or on the job, or just picked up along the way when repairing a broken system.

<<<BBJ>>>
 
The colour of that text is almost painful.. wow.
>>>The dark blue or the light blue? Or the purple? I usually use the lighter blue italicized on my quoted replies. Do you have a suggestion for a different color?
BBJ<<<
 
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