
Window 10 start menu problem windows#
So what finally did it for me is performing a repair installation of Windows 10. If you Google “Windows 10 start menu not working” you’ll find information about corrupted AppLocker files, Application Identity service, using the DISM command, re-registering packages through the powershell command, replacing the TileDataLayer database and so on and so forth, but none of these solutions worked for me.Īnyway, after having tried a number of things (that didn’t work) I promised myself that as soon as I found a solution I would document it and publish my findings online so it could help someone else. So what do you do when your Windows start menu will not open? If you search for a solution on the internet, you will find heaps of suggestions to fix the problem but to be honest, none of the ones I found worked for this computer (maybe I didn’t search properly).
Window 10 start menu problem windows 10#
The mail program (Mozilla Thunderbird) lost its profile so would come up with a “Do you want to set up an e-mail account” wizard when launched (although I’m not sure that this last symptom has anything to do with the Windows 10 start menu not working issue).I also tried system restore to revert the computer back to the last date when it was working properly, but system restore gave me a ntoskrnl.exe error message.Clicking the notifications icon (also bottom right corner) would also result in nothing.But when I hovered with the mouse over the space where it used to be, an empty square appeared on the taskbar When I clicked where it used to be: you guessed it, nothing. Before the disruption there used to be an icon for Microsoft Solitaire games on the taskbar.When clicking the wireless network connections icon (bottom right corner), nothing happens.Windows 10 start menu not working: nothing happens when you click the Windows 10 start button.

The symptoms that I encountered here are: So what I was dealing with was a computer on which apparently a number of things were out of order. I always try to keep that in mind when trying to help someone out). Sometimes even trying to describe the symptoms already requires some basic computer understanding. It’s not always what they appear to be saying. (Have you noticed how I got two different problem descriptions – mail program not working and not begin able to shut down the computer – for an issue that eventually turned out to be a non-functioning Windows 10 start menu? When on the phone with less experienced computer users it’s always very important to try and understand what really is going wrong on their system. That was of course because he would normally click the Windows 10 start button and then select “shutdown” from the start menu which was now impossible due to the irresponsive start menu. It was also only when I started working on the computer that Guido mentioned that “he could not shut down the computer”. It was only when I started working on his computer that I noticed that the start menu did not open either.

What does that mean – Windows 10 start menu not working? The reason why Guido eventually gave me a call was not so much that his Windows 10 start menu would not open, no he called me because his e-mail program (Mozilla Thunderbird) wasn’t working properly. The Situation: Windows 10 Start Menu Not Working Guido mainly uses his computer to send an occasional e-mail, surf the web a little bit and perform some electronic banking.

I’ve always known Guido as an optimistic and friendly senior who likes to think of himself as an individual with basic computer skills. Failing that, you can reset Windows 10 to return it to factory defaults.This all happened when I got a call from one of my loyal customers named Guido. If you’re still having issues you may want to try using the DISM and SFC tools to repair Windows 10. With that, your Windows 10 Start Menu should begin functioning as normal. Double-click this application to launch it. From the menu, select “Open file location”.Ī File Explorer window will open with various files and, importantly, StartMenuExperienceHost. With the Start section expanded, right-click the second Start heading below it. Open the file location of your Start process.Right-click it and press “Expand” and the top. Right-click your taskbar and select “Task Manager”, or press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.Ĭlick on any app in your Task Manager and press S on your keyboard until you find “Start”. If your Windows 10 Start Menu is not working and the above did not work, you may need to start it manually through File Explorer.
