The problem of Start Menu not working on a Windows computer can occur after installing a new software program and other reasons.
Start Menu Not Working in Windows 10
As you can imagine, it can be really difficult to get anything done if the Start button is not working on your Windows computer.
Luckily, it is not difficult to fix this problem and you should be able to fix the problem of Start button not working in Windows 10 using any of the following methods.
1. Restart the Computer
Start by simply restarting the computer to rule out the possibility of this problem being caused due a stuck App or process.
Shutdown the computer > Wait for 60 seconds and Restart the computer.
2. Restart Windows Explorer
Follow the steps below to restart explorer.exe file on your computer.
1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run command.
2. Type explorer.exe in the Run Command window and click on OK.
After running this command, click on the Start button and see if it is working.
3. Disconnect Windows Account
Sometimes, the problem of Start Menu not working in Windows 10 can be fixed by delinking your Windows Account from the computer.
1. Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options.
On the sign-in options screen, scroll down to “Privacy” section and turn OFF Use my sign in info to automatically finish setting up my device option.
2. Restart your computer and see if the Start Menu is now working on your computer.
4. Run System File Checker
Follow the steps below to find and repair corrupted system files on your computer (if any)
1. Open Run Command by pressing Windows + R keys on the Keyboard of your computer.
2. On the Run Command Window, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to open the Command Prompt Windows as an Admin.
Note: You can also click on OK button, if you are already logged into Admin Account or your User Account has Admin Privileges.
3. On the Command Prompt Window, type sfc /scannow and hit the enter key.
4. Wait for the Scan to be completed, Restart your computer and see if the problem has been fixed.
5. Repair Windows Image
Follow the steps below to repair Windows System image and see if this helps in fixing the problem.
1. Open Command Prompt (Admin) and type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and hit the Enter Key
2. Once the process is completed, restart your computer and see if the Start Menu is now working on your computer.
6. Reinstall Settings App
The problem could be due to a Microsoft Store App not being properly registered or the Settings App itself become faulty.
1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run command.
2. Type CMD in the Run Command window and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open Command Prompt As Admin.
3. On the Command prompt screen, type the following command and press the Enter key.
Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}
This command will Reinstall all Native Windows Apps on your device, including the Settings App.
7. Enter Safe Mode
If you have reason to believe that the Start Menu is not working on your computer after installing a new software problem, start your computer in Safe Mode and see if the problem gets fixed.
If the Start menu works in Safe Mode, it confirms that the new software program is responsible for Start Menu problems on your computer.
8. Uninstall Dropbox
In certain cases, the problem of Start Menu not working in Windows 10 could be due to Dropbox interfering with Windows processes.
To fix this issue, you can either uninstall Dropbox from your computer or make the following changes in the registry of your computer.
1. Open the Run command by pressing Windows + R keys on the keyboard of your computer.
2. On the Run Command Window, type regedit and click on OK.
3. Next, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService. and double-click on Start Dword on the right pane.
4. On the Edit Dword pop-up, set Value data to 4 and click OK.
After making these changes, restart your PC and check if the problem is resolved.