Windows Start button not working

Anonymous
2010-11-11T12:49:00+00:00

The Windows start button is not working. When I press it nothing happens. SO I cannot shut down the computer in the normal manner or access any programs other than ones with desktop icons.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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Anonymous
2015-02-14T05:42:28+00:00

Hi,

I faced a similar issue! The following worked for me

  1. Right click on the Start Button and select "Run"
  2. Type "regedit"
  3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER>Software>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Explorer>Advance
  4. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value, call it "EnableXamlStartMenu"
  5. Restart Explorer​ from task manager.

Hope this helps!

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Anonymous
2010-11-11T15:34:40+00:00

Hi nickthomp.

Does start menu open if you press the windows key on the keyboard?.

Can you right click the start menu orb and choose properties, if so

In the Customize Start Menu dialog box, click Use Default Settings, clickOK, and then clickOK again.

Also try.

1 .   Press Ctrl + Alt+ delete on the keyboard and click on task manager.

2 .   Click on the Process tab and locate explorer.exe in the windows and click on end task.

3 .   Click on File and then click on New.

4.   Type explorer.exe and press enter.

Hope his helps.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-10-27T14:14:18+00:00

    The Windows start button is not working. When I press it nothing happens. SO I cannot shut down the computer in the normal manner or access any programs other than ones with desktop icons.

    All of a sudden, after a windows update (i'm sure) my start button would not work. It would try to start, I would see the little hourglass for a split second, then nothing. I looked all over online and tried all of the fixes I could find to try to resolve the issue. Nothing worked. 

    I even "reset" my computer with the option to leave the files alone. That did not work either.

    The only thing that worked for me was to "reset" the computer completely, which wipes out your files. To do that you have to save your files somewhere, like on a jump drive or external hard drive. 

    After I reset Windows 10 completely, and recopied my files back in, everything works fine. In fact, many little annoyances that I had before were gone as well. I reset my other computer too. 

    I would recommend resetting your computer completely to anyone who has upgraded. It solves a lot of problems. Just save your important files somewhere and type "reset this PC" into cortana. It is very easy. Just takes a while. You also have to reinstall programs that did not come with Windows 10.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-02-04T04:06:35+00:00

    THANK you so much - great instructions -It's back and working

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-02-13T09:58:38+00:00

    its not working for me what should i do now

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