I pulled this Windows 10 recovery troubleshooting guide, links and all, directly from Microsoft’s website that is very helpful in determining what recovery option to pursue when Windows 10 starts to go belly up or has went belly up (and won’t start) .
If you’re having problems with your PC, the following table can help you decide which recovery option to use. For help with black screen or blue screen errors, see Troubleshoot black screen problems or Troubleshoot blue screen errors.
| Problem | See this section |
|---|---|
| Your PC isn’t working well and you recently installed an app. | Restore from a system restore point |
| Your PC isn’t working well and you recently installed an update. | Remove an installed Windows update |
| Your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. | Reset your PC |
| Your PC won’t start and you’ve created a recovery drive. | Use a recovery drive to restore or reset your PC |
| Your PC won’t start and you haven’t created a recovery drive. | Use installation media to restore or reset your PC |
| Your PC won’t start, you haven’t created a recovery drive, and resetting your PC didn’t work. | Use installation media to reinstall Windows 10 |
| You want to reinstall your previous operating system. | Go back to your previous version of Windows |
Source: Recovery options in Windows 10
