The Start menu is your primary way to navigate Windows 10, so when it starts to bug, if yours is stuck and no longer working then you’ve fallen into good hands.

In this tutorial we give you different techniques to solve this problem, we have organized them from the simplest to the most complicated.

Tip: First of all, back up your important files to a Cloud or to an external storage drive (HDD or SSD). If you don’t know the reason for the bug, it could be more serious than you think. The security of your files above all!

Explore the Contents

1 1. Power off and restart
2 2. Update Windows 10
3 3. Create a new user account
4 4. Command line utilities
- 4.1 Scan File System
5 5. Reinstall Windows apps

1. Power off and restart

In many cases, a simple restart is all that your computer needs to unlock itself. Hence the endless question from computer scientists: “Have you tried restarting your computer?”

Be aware that you can restart your computer multiple times. But if after two or three stimulus s , nothing suits, or if you must restart your computer frequently, so follow the methods below.

2. Update Windows 10

Microsoft is constantly making changes to its operating system to make it more efficient. So, with each update, Windows 10 improves and some bugs are fixed.

If your operating system doesn’t update automatically, you can do it manually, even without access to your Start menu.

To do this :

Open your Settings by pressing the Windows and i keys simultaneously .
If the first shortcut doesn’t work, press Windows and r , type ms-settings: in the command bar and click OK .
Once the Settings window opens, go to Update & Security , click Windows Update and then click Download or Fix problems .
If an update is available, install it and restart your computer.

3. Create a new user account

One way to temporarily work around the Start menu problem is to create a new user account, and from there resolve the bug.

Simultaneously press the Windows and R keys, then type Control Panel.

Select User accounts → Change account type → Add.

Several options are then available to you, you can either create a Family user account or a classic account.

When you sign in to a new account for the first time, Windows will create a new start menu for it.

Log out, log back in to the account whose start menu was damaged, it should now work. Note that any customizations you previously made to the menu will be lost.

Do remove not your account user home because you need a times the problem solved.

4. Command line utilities

Reminder : Don’t forget to back up your files before proceeding.

Scan File System

Scan File System is a utility that, as its name suggests, can scan your computer for problems and other bugs. You can access it from your Task Manager.

Press CTRL + Shift + Esc at the same time.
At the top left, click File and then click Run New Task.
In the window that opens type CMD, check create this task with administrative privileges , then click on OK.
This takes you to an administrator command page which displays c: \ windows \ system32>
Type the sfc / scannow command and press Enter.

If, after Windows has reviewed your files, the message “Windows Resource Protection found damaged files and was able to repair them”, close the window and restart your computer. Your Start menu should work again.

If, on the other hand, the message indicates that the damaged files could not be repaired, then you must issue another command.

In the window, type, respecting the spaces:

DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth

Note that this command can take a long time to execute, so don’t hesitate to go stretch your legs while you wait.

When the process is complete, you should get a message telling you that everything was fine. To make sure, you can redo the sfc / scannow command.

If, despite all the steps above, you still have problem s with your Start menu, then we must move to a more drastic measure.

5. Reinstall Windows apps

The process for reinstalling Windows apps is very similar to Scan File System.

Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to open Task Manager.
At the top left, click File, then Run New Task.
In the window that opens type CMD, check the case create this task with administrative privileges , then click OK.
This takes you to an administrator command page which displays c: \ windows \ system32>
Type the word powershell, and then press Enter.
Copy and paste the following command still on the same page: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$ ($ _. InstallLocation) \ AppXManifest.xml”}
Press Enter and let the process take place.