Solved Partial Connection Issues / Tried Fixing [see inside] / Really don't want to re-image / Looking for other options?

Currently running Windows 11 22H2 [Windows updates states nothing to update]

Didn't know if this would be 'General Support' or 'Network and Internet' so opt'd for General Support as it covers a few things.

I'm having partial connection issues, with some applications (that work on my Windows 10 Desktop) when it comes to connectivity/activation/displaying websites.

Connectify activation page, which goes to 'd1.connectify.me' which works if I view it in a browser, reports OK, also currently working with their support about this.
Kindle SendTo application, won't display the default amazon login mini browser page to complete install.
Windows Store
AmiKit, Activation

These are the things I'm aware about.

I've tried connecting the laptop to my cell phone, so I can eliminate my router/isp connection issues.

I've tried self troubleshooting steps shown in websites like 'thewindowsclub.com/how-to-fix-network-internet-connection-problems-in-windows' which tell me to reset the IP, DNS, various other things.

I've run sfc /scannow and it returned no errors.

I've run all the possible troubleshooters the system offers me, even the ones that are telling me they'll be depreciated soon.

I've downloaded/installed/fullscan (and then uninstalled), Malwarebytes, Avast One Essentials, none report anything of issue (wondered if I'd got a rootkit or something)

I've used msconfig and disabled everything to try to Windows Store open.

I've tried the Reset/Repair choice to try to get the MS store going again, but I still get "Lets try that again" with Code: 0x80131500

I really don't want to go down the windows re-image yet, there 'might' be an option I've not tried (sometimes google can be a minefield)

Can anybody offer any other possible suggestions to try? Any logs you might need, any programs I can run to give me 'errors', etc? I can provide if needed.

Thanks in advance.
Regards
Paul.

pjghangouts said:

I really don't want to go down the windows re-image yet, there 'might' be an option I've not tried (sometimes google can be a minefield)

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

There is a repair option that's almost, but not quite, a full reinstall. An in-place repair upgrade will reinstall Windows while letting you keep all your installed apps and files.


Note that with 23H2 about to be released, if you do an in-place upgrade while on-line and let let it check for updates, then it will also find and install the 23H2 Enablement Package and you'll be on 22631.2428 when it has completed. If you don't want this, then make sure you select 'Not right now' at Option One, Step 10 in that tutorial. You can then check for updates in Window Update which will get you the current latest 22H2 build 22621.2428.

Bree said:

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

Click to expand...

Thank You.

Bree said:

There is a repair option that's almost, but not quite, a full reinstall. An in-place repair upgrade will reinstall Windows while letting you keep all your installed apps and files.

Click to expand...

I had a look at that thread, and while I see a mention of someone asking if it would leave Office in place, I also have seen the words 'Apps' and files.

I will be doing a full backup of my C and D drive (just in case) but I have to ask. [oh, tip of the day, don't use the Lenovo restore if you have two drives in your machine, I did, and Lenovo took the liberty of using my D drive as temp, wiping it, lesson learned about 6 months ago, I did a 2nd install and double checked the installer to see it didn't warn me]

With a heavily tweaked windows 11, like I use Start 11, and Display Fusion and other items like iDrive, Steam, Syncthing, Discord, Password Manager, etc.

Will all those stay in place?

Or just "Windows" Apps and Files?

It is supposed to leave all apps, and as the tutorial is written, it's pretty sure that you will not lose anything.

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.

Click to expand...

Thank You.

I'm doing a backup right now. Fingers crossed by the end of the night I'll be back to normal.

Weirdly even EaseUS Todo Backup couldn't reach the activation server, I had to manually activate on their offline web portal (even though I'm online) .... I'd really really love to know what is broken.

I'll post back here at the end, just in case anybody else stumbles across this thread from a internet search.

Appreciate your input.

So, getting to step 3 after doing my backup has put the brakes on.

I don't have "Fix problems using Windows Update"

further research shows this was available in the 'Insider' build and then subsequently removed from that also.

I tried using "ViVeTool" but I'm guessing that only puts it back if it was there to start with.



I'm a little stumped now, all the other options of resetting Windows 11 appear to involve wiping everything.

So use Option 2. That is the traditional in-place upgrade / repair that we've used for years, going back to at least Windows 10.

Well, it looks like it's going to be a re-image, as Option 2 didn't fix the issue, it went through the motions, created the Windows.old folder, etc, etc.

I then tested the apps that had failed their connections, like Send to Kindle and Amikit, including the Windows Store, but it still failed.

Really has me stumped, but, like I said, a re-image (fresh) is probably the only way.

Hmmm. Before you do a clean install, since it seems to be related to the Store itself, let's try a few other tutorials:

Start with this:


If that does not work fix it, then do this one:


Finally, if it still isn't working, try this one:


Be sure to note the introductory warning in the first one, too:

Make sure you have the correct time zone, date, and time set to avoid Microsoft Store syncing issues.

You will need to have the Storage Service service running and set to Automatic for Microsoft Store updates to work properly.

Click to expand...

None of those things worked.... But, read on.

So, turns out I found the problem. A setting that was on, but I'd never turned it on, although turning it off, everything I couldn't access (even the MS Store) now works.

Unsure why this being on caused the issue, turning it back on, all the items still work... so, don't know what turning it off and back on again did?

Thoughts?

FWIW, that setting is normally enabled by default. You'd have had to disable it for it to be off.

However, it sure seems like, based upon what you're saying, that something somewhere (on your network) is trying to set a proxy server. I highly advise that you scan your machine and any other machines on your network for malware at this point, just for piece of mind.

Yeah, I'm going too, while I'm generally on top of stuff like that, like auto scans on all my machines (all windows bar my NAS) and I do run all my stuff through a PiHole on my NAS, so I get less stuff via the web.

I'll still do a manual forced scan on all machines, one each over night (as I know it will take a while).

OK, you're obviously doing a lot more than most people do, so I'm downgrading my advice lol. But it is strange that the proxy server config never gave you any hiccups before this - unless you had previously disabled it and a recent update enabled it again.

That would make the most sense here.