Windows 10 Start Button Not Working: 9 Ways to Enable It

If your Windows 10 Start button is not working, you might have some issues accessing certain features on your PC.

Start Menu is an integral part of Windows, but unfortunately, many reported that Start Menu isn’t working at all for them.

This can be a major problem, and in today’s guide, we’re going to tackle this issue and show you how to fix it properly.

Why is the Start button not working on Windows 10?

There are several reasons why the Start menu isn’t working on Windows 10, and here are the most common ones:

• System glitches – If Start menu has disappeared or you’re having any other issue with it, it’s possible that there’s a glitch on your system.
• Issues with the Windows Explorer process – In case this happens, you just need to open Task Manager and end restart the process.
• Corrupted registry – Sometimes corrupted registry can cause this issue. You can use Registry Editor to fix the issue.

Start Menu is integral to Windows, but many users reported various issues. Speaking of issues, here are some common problems that users reported:

• Windows 10: Start Menu and Cortana not working
  • Start Menu and Cortana are closely related, and if one of those features isn’t working, try installing the latest updates and check if that helps.
• Windows Start button not working on Windows 10, quit working on Windows 10
  • Many users reported that the Start button stopped working on their Windows 10 PC.
  • To fix this problem, you might have to use Powershell and re-register all preinstalled applications.
• Start Menu button is frozen, won’t open on Windows 10
  • This is another common problem with Start Menu; a temporary glitch usually causes it.
  • Sign out of your account and log back in to fix the problem.
• Start Menu crashing in Windows 10, missing in Windows 10
  • According to users, sometimes Start Menu could be crashing or even missing on your PC.
  • You might have to create a new user account and switch to it to fix the problem.

What to do if Start Menu and Taskbar are not working on Windows 10?

There are all sorts of issues that can occur with the Start Menu, and many reported an unresponsive Taskbar in Windows 10.

This can be a problem, but it can be fixed by restarting the Windows Explorer process.

In some rare instances, you might get a Critical error in Start Menu, and if this happens, it’s advised to repair your profile or installation.

Luckily for you, fixing these issues isn’t hard, and in today’s guide, we’ll show you how to do it.

What can I do when the Start button is not working in Windows 10?

1. Check for Windows updates

1. Press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.
2. Now go to the Update & Security section.
   
3. In the right pane, click the Check for updates button.
   

Updates will be downloaded automatically in the background if any updates are available. Once your system is up to date, check if Windows 10 Start button and search are still not working.

2. Use the PowerShell to fix this issue

1. Press Windows key + X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
   
2. Paste this into PowerShell:
   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml"}
3. Press Enter to run it.

That would be all, and your Start button should be working now.

You can try this workaround if your Windows button is not working. This isn’t a permanent solution, but it gets the job done and fixes the issue temporarily, so if the problem manifests itself again, you might need to repeat this process.

For the permanent solution, make sure that you check for the latest Windows 10 updates regularly.

3. Sign out of your account

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Del.
2. Now click the Sign out button.
   
3. Wait for a few moments and sign back into your account.

After signing back in, check if the problem is still there.

Sometimes, Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar are not working due to glitches. But, according to users, the simplest way to fix this problem is to sign out of your account and log back in.

Since your Start Menu and Start button aren’t working, you’ll need to sign out using the steps we mentioned

4. Restart Windows Explorer

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Locate Windows Explorer on the list.
3. Right-click it and choose Restart from the menu.
   

Once Windows Explorer restarts, check if Windows 10 Start Menu is still not working. Remember that this is a temporary solution, so you’ll have to repeat it once the problem reappears.

Many users reported that you could fix the problem with the Start Menu button simply by restarting Windows Explorer.

The Start Menu is a part of Windows Explorer, and by restarting Windows Explorer, you’ll force Start Menu to restart as well.

Read more about this topic

• Windows 10/11 taskbar not working / responding
• Windows 11’s Start menu is not working? Here’s what to do
• How to Fix MFReadWrite.dll is Missing on Windows N
• DWMAPI.DLL Missing/Loading Errors – Fix-it Guide

5. End certain processes

1. Press Windows Key + X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin) from the menu.
   
2. When PowerShell starts, run the command below and hit Enter. cd C:\Users\Your_username_here\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy
3. Next, type the following two commands and hit Enter after each one.
   Taskkill /F /IM SearchUI.exe
RD /S /Q Settings

After the commands execute, the damaged files will be rebuilt, and you should be able to use Start Menu again without issues.

Sometimes Windows 10 can’t open Start Menu or Search due to certain Cortana files. According to users, you can fix this problem simply by deleting these files from PowerShell.

These are just temporary files; your PC will recreate them, so there’s no need to worry.

6. Modify your registry

1. Press Windows key + R and enter regedit. Press Enter or click OK.
   
2. In the left pane, navigate to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService
   
3. In the right pane, double-click Start DWORD, set Value data to 4, and click OK.
   

After making these changes, restart your PC and check if the problem is resolved.

Occasionally, issues with the Start Menu button can occur due to Dropbox. Note that Dropbox can sometimes interfere with Windows processes, leading to this and many other problems.

However, you should be able to fix this problem by making a few changes to your registry.

7. Create new values in your registry

1. Start Registry Editor.
2. In the left pane, navigate to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. In the right pane, right-click the empty space and choose New and then DWORD (32-bit) value.
   
4. Enter EnableXamlStartMenu as the name of the new DWORD.

After doing that, close Registry Editor and restart Windows Explorer from the Task Manager. Once the Explorer restarts, your Start Menu should be working again.

The problem might be related to your registry if you’re having issues with the Start Menu button. According to users, they managed to fix this problem simply by creating new value in their registry.

8. Enter Safe Mode

1. Open the Settings app and go to the Update & Security section.
   
2. From the menu on the left, choose Recovery. In the right pane, click Restart now button in the Advanced startup section.
   
3. A list of options will appear. Choose Troubleshoot and then choose Advanced options. 
   
4. Next select Startup Settings, and click the Restart button.
   
5. Once your PC restarts, select any version of Safe Mode by pressing the appropriate key.

Once you enter Safe Mode, check if everything is working. If so, restart your PC, boot back to your account, and check if the issue is resolved.

According to users, you might be able to solve this problem simply by entering Safe Mode. This is quite simple to do, following the above steps.

9. Create a new user account

1. Open the Settings app and go to the Accounts section.
   
2. Navigate to Family & other people in the left pane. In the right pane, click Add someone else to this PC.
   
3. Choose I don’t have this person’s sign-in information, then Add a user without a Microsoft account.
4. Enter the desired user name and click Next.
   

After creating a new user account, switch to it, and check if that solves your problem.

If the problem doesn’t appear on the new account, you’ll need to move your files to the new account and check if that solves your problem.

We believe you must have repaired the Start Menu button not working issue by now. Note that these solutions are not written in any particular order, and we recommend starting with whatever solution looks most appropriate to your situation.

Remember that this isn’t the only issue you can encounter, and many reported that Windows Tiles won’t show in Start Menu.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or maybe some other solutions for this problem, write them down in the comments section.