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Q: I have an HP laptop Omen with Windows 10 version1607 installed. It froze up (had a black screen). I waited 10 minutes and powered it down. I ran System Restore to go back to an earlier date, and it failed with the error

System Restore failed while Restoring the directory from the restore point. Source: AppxStaging Destination: %ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps An unspecified error occurred during System Restore. (0x80070091).

I went online for Microsoft help and learned that many others have same problem, but I did not learn how to correct it.

– Scottie W.
Shalimar, Florida

A:  This is actually a fairly recently reported error, Scottie.  I had an interesting time locating information on it, as you misquoted quite a bit of the error message, but I was able to find enough that I should be able to point you to a solution.  For anybody else who may be searching for information on this message, I took the liberty of correcting the message text for publication, so it is accurate as shown above.

Unfortunately, Scottie, there is no Microsoft FixIt to run, or any other simple automated way to deal with this.  In fact, the moderator of the forum where I found information first said “We are currently investigating the issue and will update this thread when we have more information.”  He then went on to supply two options to get resolution.  The information he provided is given procedurally, in numbered and bulleted steps that don’t lend well to publication, so rather than try and list them here, I will simply refer you to the forum itself, which can be linked via TinyURL.com/IGTM-0516A, and wish you luck with your problem.

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 Q: I read that some new computers are being shipped with Windows 10S and I’ve read that 10S is a deliberately crippled version of Windows 10 that will only run applications that have been obtained through the Windows store. True?

– James Y.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida

A:  This is absolutely true, James, and when you say it that way, it sounds like a very bad thing for Windows users.  However, as I mentioned a couple of issues ago (I.G.T.M #514, May 28, 2017) Windows 10 S is intended for a rather narrow focus of customers.  For example, it is ideal for use in learning environments where a certain amount of uniformity is desirable among the systems, and the ability to load any piece of software from any source is most decidedly undesirable.

Although some vendors are beginning to ship PCs with Windows 10 S, there’s nothing that is forcing you onto that platform.  If you simply cannot avoid purchasing a PC that comes equipped with Windows 10 S, you can upgrade to Windows 10 Pro at any time by going to the Windows store.  As you might expect, there will be a fee for such an upgrade.

 There is plenty of information on Windows 10-S available online, and more is appearing every day.  Perhaps one of the best places to begin is to read about what none other than Microsoft itself has to say about its new offering.  You can go to TinyURL.com/IGTM-0516B for Microsoft’s list of Frequently Asked Questions about Windows 10 S.  There are also plenty of 3^rd-party articles that only are a simple Google search away.