14 DAY TRIAL // The upgrade to Windows 10 April 2018 Update (also known as version 1803) has proved to be quite a nightmare for some users, as their computers were eventually rendered useless due to bugs that nobody would have expected in the first place.
One of these issues was acknowledged by Microsoft itself, and it is pushing system to a blank desktop that has basically nothing else than a Recycle Bin icon, a taskbar, and a mouse cursor that’s pretty much useless.
The only thing that can be done at this point is launch Task Manager with the classic CTRL + Alt + Del key combination, only that this won’t make any difference either. Killing explorer.exe and relaunching it won’t have any effect, leaving the system in the same state as before.
If you don’t want to wait for Microsoft to ship a fix, which basically means that you need to leave your computer in this broken-down condition for God knows how long, there are two options that you can turn two. And needless to say, you’re not going to like them. Not at all.
Microsoft has confirmed that if your system is hitting this bug, what you can do is either try to return to the previous Windows 10 version or reinstall Windows completely.
Restoring the previous Windows 10 version
While at first glance this might seem an easy thing to do, it certain isn’t, and it’s all because without access to Windows, you can’t reach the restoring feature.
Fortunately (if this term can still be used given how frustrating the whole experience becomes due to this issue), you can access the Troubleshooting menu by rebooting your system three times in a row by simply using the power button. This will eventually load the blue recovery screens, letting you start the process of downgrading.
Once you’ve reached the recovery UI, head over to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Go back to the previous version and begin the process by following the instructions on the screen.
If the process completes successfully, because not even Microsoft can guarantee this would work correctly, you should avoid upgrading to the April 2018 Update once again.
This solution only works if the upgrade was performed within the last 10 days and the previous Windows installation wasn’t removed (either manually or with the system cleaning option).
Reinstalling Windows 10
While this is the most extreme workaround for any Windows 10 bug, Microsoft itself says it might be the only way to go if you can’t use the previous solution.
In this case, however, you’re going to need installation media for Windows 10, and if you haven’t created one already, you have to do it on a working computer right away. In other words, without installation media and a secondary system that can boot to desktop and connect to the Internet, this method is totally useless.
What you have to do is download the Media Creation Tool and then create a USB drive that lets you launch the Windows 10 installer. Follow the on-screen instructions in the Media Creation Tool to complete this first step and then plug the USB drive in your system.
Reboot the machine from the blank desktop and change the BIOS settings accordingly to boot from the USB drive. Click the option that reads Install now and follow the steps on the screen to complete the Windows 10 reinstall.
Keep in mind that reinstalling Windows 10 means that you are going to lose all your files and apps, so make sure that you create a backup before anything else.
Also, once you reinstall Windows 10 and everything works correctly, you are once again recommended to avoid upgrading to the April 2018 Update once again.