The return of the Start menu is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Windows 10 operating system. But the Start menu comes with its share of problems. The Start menu in Windows 10, although it works great most of the time, at times, doesn’t open at all when you press the Windows logo key or click the Start button on the taskbar.
The Start menu’s search doesn’t work at times, and live tiles on the Start menu show blank tiles many times. You might also see randomly popping up the Start menu at times for no reason.
PC users have been complaining about the Start menu ever since the release of Windows 10. While Microsoft has fixed many of the common issues, many users still encounter problems with the Start menu.
Start menu troubleshooter for Windows 10
Microsoft is well aware of issues with the Start menu, and it has released a troubleshooting or repair tool to fix many of the common Start menu issues in Windows 10.
Start menu troubleshooter is a free utility for Windows 10 to troubleshoot and fix Start menu issues. With this, you can fix common problems like the Start menu not opening, apps not showing in the Start menu, and blank tiles.
When you run the troubleshooter on your Windows 10 PC, it checks if required applications such as Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost and Microsoft.Windows.Cortana applications are installed correctly, and checks for permission issues with registry keys checks if the tile database is corrupt, and, finally, checks if the application manifest is corrupt.
If the Start menu troubleshooter detects an issue, it tries to fix it automatically.
Using the Start menu troubleshooter in Windows 10
Step 1: Click this link to download the Start menu troubleshooter or repair tool onto your PC.
UPDATE on October 9th, 2018: Microsoft has pulled the Start menu troubleshooter for some reason. However, you can download it from third-party sites. Here is the download link to get it from Softpedia.
Step 2: Once downloaded, double-click on the downloaded file to run the troubleshooter.
Step 3: Once the troubleshooter is launched, click the Next button to let the troubleshooter search for Start menu problems.
Step 4: If there is an issue with the Start menu, it will fix it automatically. If there are no issues, you will see the “Troubleshooting couldn’t identify the problem” message.
Re-register Start menu to fix Start menu issues in Windows 10
Did you know that you do not need the Start menu troubleshooter to fix the Start menu issues? You might be able to resolve the Start menu problems by re-registering it. Here is how to do that.
Step 1: Open PowerShell as administrator.
Step 2: Copy and paste the following command and then press the Enter key to execute it.
Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}
Step 3: Once the command is executed, restart your Windows 10 PC once.
You might also like to download Store apps troubleshooter and printer troubleshooter for Windows 10.
Edward says
Works
Sidney says
I have been searching for over a week for the fix for Cortana /Start Menu/ Task Bar. None of these work. I downloaded and ran that StartMenu diagnostics and it showed an error.
“Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost” and Micorsoft.Windows.Cortana” applications need to be installed correctly.
Installing the applications might fix the Start Menu problems.
How do I install those 2 applications?
Name last says
Can you provide the link to the Microsoft webpage that talks about the repair tool? A direct link from your website is a little sketchy.