My Windows PC Can’t Open Anything – Need Help!

First things first, back up your data while you still can get into File Explorer. After that, reboot your PC, or you might want to try repairing it from recovery mode. Running a full virus scan is also a good idea since ransomware can cause similar issues. If you just updated Windows, you could try rolling back those updates too. It's tough to pinpoint the exact problem, so prioritize backing up your data.

It sounds like your explorer.exe or system file indexer is really hung up. Since you can access File Explorer, you can try going to C:WindowsSystem32 and finding taskmgr.exe. Right-click on it and select "Run as Administrator" to see if that gets around the lag. If that doesn't work, a hard restart (just hold down the power button) might be necessary. Once you're back, run a command prompt with 'sfc /scannow' to fix those broken icons and any corrupted system files. Good luck!

I believe this could be related to a file association failure. From an elevated command prompt, try these commands:

- DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- SFC /Scannow

The first command will fix Windows components, and the second will check the system file integrity and repair any corrupt files it finds. Make sure to run them in that order!

At this point, it might be a good time to consider switching to Linux! If you want a friendly and easy introduction, check out Zorin OS. It could be a fresh start!