Windows 10 May Update breaks shortcuts in Start Menu list

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broken shortcuts windows 10 v1903

Microsoft rolled out the Windows 10 v1903 update and by now a lot of users are trying the new set of features and options included in the OS.

But with the OS installation there came a weird bug in the form of a broken shortcut in the Start Menu.

Here’s how some users describes it:

At least one of these has shown up at the bottom of my Start menu when upgrading to 1803, 1809, and now 1903. […]. MS support is clueless.
I noticed this a while ago on mine too and was really confused how it got there. Doesn’t surprise me it’s from a lovely Windows update […]

Oddly enough, one or more of these broken shortcuts appear at the end of the Apps list in the Start Menu. The issue is that they can’t be accessed and more importantly, can’t be removed or deleted.

The OP also uploaded a screenshot of the broken shortcut.Windows 10 May Update broken shortcuts

Leftovers from a previous app package may cause the issue

It seems like the problem is caused by a previous appx package that was left over from a previous version, or the current account is corrupted. Microsoft didn’t address the problem, so the exact cause isn’t known.

Although is kind of a vague bug, there are a couple of things that you could do to get rid of it:

  • The first step you can take is to the app that corresponds to the shortcut and completely remove it.
  • Copy and paste the following into a .txt file and save it as a batch file. Then run it:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
taskkill /f /im shellexperiencehost.exe
timeout /t 3 /NOBREAK > nul
del %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\TempState\* /q
timeout /t 1 /NOBREAK > nul
start explorer

  • Because your user account may be corrupted, delete and recreate it. This should give you a fresh new account without any app leftovers.
  • As a last resort, you can reinstall Windows 10. That surely will get rid of the broken shortcut.

There are a lot of issues in the Windows 10 v1903 update, but this is one of the weirdest. We hope that one of the above solutions helps you to fix it.

If you encountered the same problem, tell us how you solved it in the comments section below.

[wl_navigator]

More about the topics: bugs, Fix Start Menu, Windows 10 May 2019 Update, windows 10 news