How to Fix the Start Menu Not Working in Windows 11

If your Windows 11 Start menu suddenly stops working, it can be very frustrating. Unfortunately, there's no single fix that works for everyone, but there are a handful of solutions you can try that actually work. In this article, we'll go over seven ways to fix the Windows 11 Start menu when it stops working. Keep reading to learn more.

Quick Fixes for the Windows 11 Start Menu

Try restarting Windows Explorer or the Start menu process in Task Manager.
If an update broke the Start menu, roll back to a previous update in WinRE.
Try reregistering the Start menu in the Terminal.
Run DISM and SFC to repair any corrupted system files.
Restart the taskbar search bar; if it gets into a crash loop, it can affect the Start menu.
If you have a restore point from before the issue started, use System Restore.

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Restart Windows Explorer

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Open the Task Manager. Restarting Windows Explorer is a quick fix that can resolve many issues with the taskbar. There are a few ways to open Task Manager:
- Right-click the taskbar, then click Task Manager.
- Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc.
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click Task Manager.
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Right-click on Windows Explorer and select Restart. The Windows Explorer process will be restarted, and during this process, the taskbar may disappear for a few seconds. This is normal.
- Since the list of processes is sorted alphabetically, Windows Explorer will appear near the bottom. Scroll all the way down to find it.
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If it still doesn't work, continue on to try the other troubleshooting methods in this article.

Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Roll Back to Previous Update

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Enter the Windows Recovery Environment. If your Start menu stopped working after a recent Windows update,^{[1]
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Research source} you can roll back that update to gain Start menu functionality again.^{[2]
X
Research source} The first step to doing this is to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, or WinRE.
- To enter WinRE, go to the login screen, click the Power icon in the bottom-right corner, and hold down ⇧ Shift while clicking Restart.
- You can also enter WinRE by pressing ⊞ Win+I and going to Update & security > Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart now.^{[3]
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  Research source}
When your computer restarts, you'll see a menu on a blue screen. The Troubleshoot menu option is the middle one, with an icon of a wrench and a screwdriver.
It's the bottom option with a checklist icon.
It's the top option in the second column, and it has a gear icon.
It's the top option.
This time, the button is smaller, and it's at the bottom of the screen. Once you click this button, your computer will begin rolling back the latest quality update. It may take some time for your computer to roll back the update.
Once you do, you will load back into Windows.^{[4]
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Check the Start menu. If it's still not working, continue on with the other troubleshooting methods in this article.
- If Windows can't uninstall the latest quality update, you can try to roll back to a system restore point.

Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Restart the Start Menu Process

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To do this, press ⊞ Win+R to open the Run menu, then type powershell and press ↵ Enter.
Copy and paste this command into PowerShell: Stop-Process -Name StartMenuExperienceHost -Force. Press ↵ Enter to run the command. This will force the Start process to stop.
The Start process should start back up on its own, but if it doesn't or if you want to be sure it starts back up, copy and paste the following command and press ↵ Enter to run it: Start-Process explorer.exe.^{[5]
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If it still doesn't work after restarting the process, try one of the other methods in this article.

Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Reregister Start Menu

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Open an elevated Terminal. If you can, right-click the Windows icon, then click Terminal (Admin). If you right-click on the Windows icon and nothing happens, do this:
- Press ⊞ Win+R to open the Run window.
- Type wt in the text box.
- Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↵ Enter to open an elevated Terminal.
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Run the command to reregister the Start menu. Copy and paste Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost into the Terminal, then press ↵ Enter to run it.
- You may see some red text while this command runs, but you can ignore it.
Copy and paste Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost in the Terminal, then press ↵ Enter to run it.^{[6]
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Check whether the Start menu works after your computer finishes rebooting. If not, try one of the other methods in this article.

Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Run DISM and SFC

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Open Command Prompt as an administrator. If there's an issue with your Start menu system files, there are two built-in Windows scans that can fix it: DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File Checker).
- To open Command Prompt as an administrator when the Start menu isn't working, press ⊞ Win+R. Then, type cmd in the text box and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+↵ Enter to run Command Prompt as an admin.
Microsoft suggests running DISM before SFC. To run the DISM command, copy and paste DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth into the Command Prompt window and press ↵ Enter.
If your Command Prompt window closed after running DISM, open a new one. Then copy and paste the SFC command and press ↵ Enter to run it: sfc /scannow.^{[7]
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Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

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If the Start menu still doesn't work, try one of the other troubleshooting methods in this article.

Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Fix the Search Service Loop

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1
Open the Task Manager. Sometimes, the search bar next to the Start menu stops working, which can cause the Start menu to stop working. If the search bar isn't working alongside Start, you can try the steps in this section.
- There are a few ways to open Task Manager:
  - Right-click the taskbar, then click Task Manager.
  - Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc.
  - Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click Task Manager.
You may see "Search" or "SearchHost.exe."
Click End Task to end it. Windows will restart the process automatically.^{[8]
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Try opening the Start menu again. If the Start menu still won't open, check out our article on fixing the Windows 11 search bar. It goes more in-depth about different ways to fix the search bar.
- If restarting the search process fixes the search bar but Start still won't work, try one of the other methods in this article.

Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Do a System Restore

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Open System Restore. If you have a system restore point from before your Start menu stopped working, you can restore from it.
- To open System Restore, press ⊞ Win+R, type rstrui.exe, and press ↵ Enter.
If you don't have a system restore point, you'll need to go back and try another method in this article to fix the Start menu.
If you don't see the restore point you want to choose, click Show more restore points to see more.
Windows will apply your chosen system restore point. Once it has rolled back to that point, your computer will restart automatically.^{[9]
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Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

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5
Check the Start menu again. If the Start menu still doesn't work, you'll need to go back and try another method in this article.
1. And if the steps above have been helpful, be sure to download this article as a PDF so you can print, read, or reference it any time.