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
    2016-01-10T14:07:21+00:00

    This worked BUT the HELP button (most useful) is not working, so I believe that this issue is related to Start Menu AND Cortana not working  (although my critical error message never mentioned Cortana).

    Now I would appreciate how to fix Help/Cortana now working in Windows 10...

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-11T08:37:01+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for posting your question on Microsoft community.

    Start and Cortana may not work due to corrupt system files.

    I would suggest you to run system file checker(SFC) and see if it helps.

    Refer this article:

    Does System File Checker work in Windows 10?

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/does-system-file-checker-work-in-windows-10

    System file checker is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files.

    For Cortana, you may also follow these steps and check the issue.

    a. Press Windows + R keys, type regedit in run window and press Enter.

    b. Navigate to the following registry location:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/Advanced

    c. Create a new "DWORD(32-bit)" value, type "EnableXamlStartMenu" and click ok.

    d. Open task Manager and close Microsoft Edge from there(if it is open ).

    e. Restart the computer and check Cortana.

    Note: Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/322756

    I hope this information helps.

    Please do let us know if you need any further assistance.

    Thank you

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-16T19:45:09+00:00

    I feel your pain.  

    I've tried all of the solutions in this thread, and spent hours on a Live Chat with a Microsoft tech who wound up re-installing Windows 10 Pro.

    The only solution I've found that works for me is creating a new user ID.  So far I'm on my third user ID on this computer.  But this is probably not a long-term solution.  The Microsoft tech created a new ID for me, and that worked for a few weeks.  But then this past week, I found that suddenly the Windows key no longer worked, and left-clicking on the Windows icon on the left side of the taskbar also no longer worked.  

    But when I created a new user ID, I found that when I left-click on the Windows icon on the taskbar, the Start Menu shows, but only for the new user ID.

    Very frustrating experience.  I'm regretting "upgrading" to Windows 10.  I'm hoping that Microsoft is taking this issue seriously.

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