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#51
You're off to a flying start.
Remembering that the goal here is to conquer the magenta color shift problem, this is really just a path to that end with (in my opinion) a 100% chance of success. I'm convinced there's just something corrupted in your current system that cannot be undone using rational reasonable methods. As such, a clean cold reinstall of Windows is really the only remaining method you can go with, painful and time consuming as it might be when you have lots of 3rd-party software products which must be reinstalled.This week I hope to figure-out how to use the Partition Wizard and Macrium then attempt to complete the "nuclear option". Your work outline has been very helpful and it will be followed as I continue the path to enlightenment. Steve
However smart use of backup software like Macrium Standard (which can take BOTH (a) "system image" backups, as well as (b) folder/file backups) to preserve your current \Users folder on your new external USB drive as well as any other data folders/files you have which are not in \Users, as well as your \ProgramData folder as well as your \Program Files and \Program Files (x86), all of this before you wipe your C-partition to begin the OS reinstall process... well you can now copy back selectively from the external USB drive back to C before you reinstall install software which (if you're lucky) could then detect the pre-existence of a previously installed setup so that you won't have to go through all the re-customization from scratch. This is if you're lucky, else you'll just have to recustomize manually.
But for sure, you will NOT LOSE ANY DATA. And you will learn how to use Macrium, setting up a proper schedule for regular backups to the USB drive. My recommendation would be to build a schedule consisting of:
(1) weekly "system image" backups of the C-drive, with space management (i.e. retention policy) of say a maximum of 6 generations (scheduled to run say early every Sunday morning).
(2) monthly FULL backups (scheduled to run on the 1st of each month, at a different time than your weekly "system image" backup) of all folders/files on the C-drive except for the \Windows folder which (in my opinion) you don't need to backup because the "system image" backup will be used for a RESTORE is you really did have corruption to Windows that required the extreme recovery method of restoring a working "system image". You can retain 5 generations, which is really really conservative and will give you the ability to recover any folder/file that existed on your system from any day in the past 5 months. Obviously you can specify more or less than 5 depending on your paranoia about how valuable your data is, and how important it is for you to have recovery capability for lost/corrupted files going back however far you want.
(3) daily INCREMENTAL backups of all folders/files on the C-drive except for the \Windows folder. Macrium relates each of these daily INCREMENTAL backups to the preceding FULL backup and considers them a "set" which are inseparable to provide proper recovery capability. The space management will purge the FULL + related INCREMENTAL backups together as a "set", once you pass the max generations you've specified.
Feel free to ask questions here on this thread, although you might find answers already present in another sub-forum (e.g. the backup software forum, etc.).