While the Start Menu works well most of the times on a Windows computer and provides quick access to apps, programs and System Settings, it can sometimes become unresponsive, get stuck or crash; mostly due the following reasons.
- Taskbar Settings: Accidentally or unknowingly enabling the option to Hide the Taskbar can make it appear as if the Start Menu has disappeared from the computer (while it is just hidden from view).
- Windows Explorer: The Start Menu runs under Explorer/Shell processes, which can result in the Star Menu freezing or crashing, if Windows Explorer is going through issues.
- Corrupted System Files: Missing or damaged system files can prevent the Start Menu from functioning properly on a Windows computer.
- Corrupted User Profile: Breakdown or corruption of files linked to User Account profile can prevent the Start Menu from working.
In addition to above, this issue can also be caused due to a third-party app or program interfering with proper functioning of the Start menu on your computer.
Start Menu is Not Working in Windows
If the Start menu is stuck or not working, simply restart the computer to rule out the possibility of this problem being caused due a stuck app or process. If this does not help, you should be able to fix the problem using troubleshooting steps as provided below in this guide.
1. Check Taskbar Settings
As mentioned above, you may have accidentally enabled the option to Automatically Hide the Taskbar. You can confirm this by moving the mouse to bottom of the screen; which should bring back the taskbar into view.
1. Press Windows + I keys to open the Settings Menu on your computer.
2. From the Settings screen, go to Personalization > Taskbar > open Taskbar Behaviours tab and Uncheck Automatically hide Taskbar option.
Windows 10: Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Disable Automatically Hide the Taskbar option for both Desktop & Tablet Modes.
2. Restart Windows Explorer
The start menu on a Windows computer is powered by Windows Explorer. Hence, restarting Windows explorer can help in fixing the problem.
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. Refresh Start Menu
The StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process, which is responsible for managing the Start Menu interface can get stuck or crash, leading to the Start menu becoming unresponsive or freezing.
1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. On the Task Manager screen, go to Details tab, right-click on StartMenuExperienceHost.exe and select the End Task option.
3. Click on the Start Menu to see if it working.
4. Re-registor Start Menu
Re-registering the Start menu by using a PowerShell command might help in fixing this issue.
1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run command.
2. Type PowerShell and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open PowerShell as Admin.
3. On the UAC interface, enter Admin password and click Yes.
4. On the PowerShell screen, Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”} and press the Enter key.
Note: You can ignore red text messages that appear while the command is being executed.
5. Check If Start Menu Works in Safe Mode
If the problem with Start Menu has started after installation of a third-party app, you can start the computer in Safe Mode and see if the problem gets fixed. If the Start menu works in Safe Mode, it confirms that the problem is due to the recently installed App on your computer.
In such a case, you can uninstall that particular App and this should help in fixing the problem.
6. Try Registry Fix
Here is a registry fix, which might help in fixing the start menu issue on your computer. Before going ahead with this step, it is good idea to backup the registry.
1. Press Windows + R keys.
2. Type Regedit and Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open Registry as an Administrator.
3. From the Registry screen, go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
4. Right-click on Advanced > select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the DWORD as EnableXamlStartMenu and set its value to 0.
6. Restart the computer and see if the Start menu is now working properly on your computer.
7. Re-Register Built-in Store Apps
If the problem is still not fixed, you can try a deeper command; which effectively reinstalls the Start menu by re-registering all the UWP/AppX apps installed on the User account, including Microsoft Store, built-in system apps, taskbar components and pre-installed utilities.
1. Close all the Browser tabs, open Apps and programs on your computer.
2. Press Windows + R keys to open Run command.
3. Type PowerShell and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open PowerShell As Admin.
4. On the PowerShell screen, type Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”} and press the Enter key.
5. Ignore the red text appearing on the screen and allow the command to run (can take anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes).
After the command stops, close the PowerShell screen and Restart the computer.
8. Run DISM Tool & SFC Scan
Running the DISM Tool followed by SFC scan can help in fixing the problem.
1. Press Windows + R keys to open Run Command.
2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to open Command prompt as administrator.
3. Type Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press the Enter Key
4. Patiently wait for the DISM tool to complete its process > After the DISM tool has finished running, type sfc /scannow and press the Enter key on the keyboard of your computer.
5. Wait for the SFC Scan process to be completed > restart the computer and see if the problem has now been fixed.
9. Reset the Computer
You can make use of Reset this PC option as available in Windows to reinstall the Operating System on your computer, while keeping all your personal files intact or removing them. This effectively results in the system being restored to its original factory default settings.
For the actual steps to Reset Windows to its original or default settings, you can refer to this guide: How to Factory Reset Windows Computer.