With every release of a new Operating System there are always new quirky problems that spring up. One of the problems that we have been finding on some windows 10 machines is the inability to bring up the start menu after clicking on it. There is actually a real simple technique that can be used to fix the problem.

  1. Press Control + Shift + Escape
  2. Show Task Manager in More Details mode
  3.  Click on File then Run new taskTask Manager power Shell
  4. Type in powershell and tic the box that says create this task with administrative privileges then click ok.
  5. Copy and Paste this code into the powershell window and press enter.Powershell

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

6. Restart your computer.

 

I hope you find this technique useful.

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13 thoughts on “Windows 10 Start Menu Not working”

  1. Sorry did not work, I also tried remove dropbox, clean re-install was only thing that worked long term.

    1. Before you reset your pc. You may want to try disabling all startup items by going to the task manager ( by pressing ctr shift esc) and click on startup tab.

      Also press the windows key and r to get to the run menu. Type in msconfig. Click on services, tic the hide Microsoft Services Services box so you only see non-Microsoft services. Uncheck all the non Microsoft Services.

      ***Make sure you don’t uncheck Microsoft Services or you will have an even bigger issue.

      After this is done restart.

      If this works then you have a specific service or startup program that is interfering with the start menu from working properly. After following these steps it is only a matter of narrowing it down to see which one it is. This really is the only other thing that it could be.

      1. Finally!! After trying all, this is the best solution ever.
        I unchecked all the non Microsoft Services one by one to see which one was the issue. Updated that software. Done!
        Many thanks!

        1. Just out of curiosity, which software needed to be updated?

  2. Hi,

    Suddenly the Start button is not working on Windows 10 on my Toshiba Laptop.
    Based on the above advice ran the command, but got an error.

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

    this is giving me the following error
    PS C:\Users\Anand> Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallL
    ocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
    Get-AppXPackage : Access is denied.
    Access is denied.
    At line:1 char:1
    + Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopm …
    + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-AppxPackage], UnauthorizedAccessException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.UnauthorizedAccessException,Microsoft.Windows.Appx.PackageManager.Commands.GetApp
    xPackageCommand

    Please help.

    1. Did You “check the box that says create this task with administrative privileges then click ok.”?

      If you do not run Powershell as an administrator you will get that error.

  3. This didn’t work for me on a MS Surface Pro 3. I’ve tried every recommended solution over the past year when Win 10 was installed by Microsoft. Losing not only the Start Menu, but the functionality of most of the icons in the task bar. I’ve reinstalled Win 10 3 times…not upgrades or refreshes, but full, clean, re-installs…this last time the system worked for 2 weeks before losing the Start Menu.

    If this one is like the previous 2 times, then I’ll eventually lose the functionality of many of the programs themselves, which gradually lose some of their functions and utilities. Like in MS Word, losing the ability to create and/or edit tables.

    As others have said, this is a known bug since Win 10 was in beta testing. That’s a long time to go without a solid fix from Microsoft. I’ve had it with Win 10. Rolling back to Win 7 because I’ve got work to do and can’t waste any more time with this.

    Also strongly considering moving my entire office to Apple. Win 10 has been a complete waste of time and money.

    1. When you attempt to run this powershell command do you get any errors at the end of it or does it say that it has completed successful?

      Also I have noticed that you need to restart the computer afterwords.

      If for some reason you cannot get the windows 10 Start Menu to work, you may want to try to install classic shell.

      http://www.classicshell.net

      This replaces the windows 10 start menu with a menu that is more comparable to windows 7.

        1. I’ve been using it on customers machines for 5 years now. Pretty legit and a great software.

  4. It worked – Thank you so much. Son will be happy we can find his games again.

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