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No programs or apps after upgrading to Windows 10

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Symptoms

After upgrading to Windows 10, none of the apps you had prior to upgrading are available or listed in Start.

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Cause

This can happen if, prior to upgrading:

  • The "Program Files" directory is not located on the system drive.
  • The "Program Files (x86)" directory is not located on the system drive.
  • The "ProgramData" directory was relocated from the default location on the "%systemdrive%" drive (the drive that contains the Windows directory). 

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Resolution

You will need to go back to your previous version, backup your data, and then reset or re-install Windows and your Apps, so that the “ProgramData” and “Program Files / x86" folders are located on the System drive.

Relocation of the "ProgramData," “Program Files” or "Program Files / x86" directory is not supported in Windows.   In order to upgrade to Windows 10 these folder must be on the system drive.

Backup information:
Reset and Restore information:

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More Information

Redirecting ProgramData or Program Files causes different issues in Windows 8 or 8.1, and redirecting “Users” folders causes other issues in both Windows 10 and 8/8.1 . For more information about that, see Knowledge Base article 2876597.

For more information about the Microsoft policy on relocating the "Users" and "ProgramData" directories, see Knowledge Base article 949977.

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Keywords: kb

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Article Info
Article ID : 3086105
Revision : 1
Created on : 1/7/2017
Published on : 8/4/2015
Exists online : False
Views : 233