PowerSpec G706 has gotten corrupted, likely a virus of some sort. HELP!

The Start button and Search field right next to it are disabled on my main user account. In other words, nothing happens when I click on them or enter a word to search. But, when I change to the Guest account, the Start button and Search field work really well, as does everything else. So, the issue is definitely account specific. Because it is the Guest account, I can only run those things that don't require elevated administrator privileges.

Hi Ian, just checking to see if you received my two replies to your message above. I need to go back to work tomorrow if at all possible, so I am desperate to find a fix. While waiting for you, I found at least a dozen Powerspec 706 owners and some earlier models who are having the exact same or nearly the same problem, so I'm wondering if it could be some inherent issue with Powerspec gear. Their descriptions of the problems are very similar, and I have tried almost all of the same things they have tried. One admin told me to update the bios on the motherboard CPU as well as the GPU. I'm afraid to try that because I heard that doing so can really mess things up. Plus, the CPU and GPU seem to be working great when I boot into the guest account instead of the main user account. Do you have any other magic up your sleeve that I can try. Since the issues is exclusive to the main user account, I ran three different anti-virus/malware apps on the main user account, i.e. MalwareBytes, Avast One Essential, and Webroot Secure Anywhere, and the first one found some issues that it quarantined. After doing that, all three are now saying the computer is clear. Perhaps they aren't digging deep enough into the OS to find the issue. Let me know that you think. Thanks a million, Paul

Hi Ian,

I ran Step 1 in freecodecamp.org's guide on how to reset the Start Menu in Windows 10. Since I was unable to run Task Manager from the main user account, I did this via the Guest Account I created. When I restarted Windows Explorer (File Explorer) from the guest account and also ran Step 2 (SFC /scannow), I switched back to the main user account and was able to open apps on the taskbar, open the Start menu, access tools like Device Manager, Command Prompt, Services, System, open Edge and Google, and most importantly I could run Sound Forge Pro 14 for the first time in three weeks, which is the most critical tool for my work. I was excited to see that much functionality again after experiencing almost nothing for the past three weeks. I even though I would contact my 8,000 plus database of clients to let them know that I was back in business again. Unfortunately, that breakthrough and momentary high was short lived. While tweaking Magix's Sound Forge Pro 14 and putting it through its paces for about two hours, the main account froze again, so I shut everything down and hit the sack around 1 am. Needless to say, I was really bummed, but it got even worse this morning, for the Powerspec G706 won't even boot up now. Instead, it gets locked in an endless reboot cycle with a fan running non-stop at maximum speed. In other words, the temporary fix ended with an even worse outcome. Do you have any thoughts on how I might be able to access the guest account during boot up, rather than the main user account? I will be entirely grateful for any guidance you might be able to share. Thanks, Paul