When I right-click an app icon pinned to the taskbar, the jump list doesn't appear.

I too am seeing what appears to be a reproducible regression affecting pinned taskbar apps on one Windows 11 25H2 desktop.

Symptom: Right-clicking any pinned taskbar app causes Explorer to hang for about 30 seconds and the Jump List never appears. Left-clicking works normally. Right-click on the Start menu and normal Explorer context menus also work normally.

I’ve tested multiple builds:

• 26200.8037 - works normally
• 26200.8875 (KB5101650) - problem appears
• 26200.8894 - same
• 26200.8973 (KB5101684 Preview) - same

Rolling back to 26200.8037 immediately resolves the issue every time.

I also have a laptop running 26200.8973 that does not have this problem, so it seems to be specific to this desktop.

Has anyone experienced pinned taskbar right-click/Jump List freezes after these updates or identified a conflicting shell extension, driver, or application?

I have what appears to be a reproducible regression affecting the taskbar Jump List/right-click menu on one Windows 11 25H2 desktop.

Symptom:
Right-clicking any pinned taskbar application causes Explorer to freeze for approximately 30 seconds. During the freeze, the Jump List does not appear (or appears only after a long delay). Left-clicking the pinned app generally works normally.

What does work normally:

• Right-click on the Start menu.
• Normal Explorer context menus (desktop/files/folders).
• General system stability.

Testing performed:

• Build 26200.8037: problem does not occur.
• Build 26200.8875 (KB5101650): problem occurs immediately.
• Build 26200.8894: same problem.
• Build 26200.8973 (KB5101684 Preview): same problem, despite release notes mentioning Explorer/Jump List reliability improvements.
• Rolling back to 26200.8037 restores normal operation every time.

Comparison with another PC:
I have a second Windows 11 machine (laptop) running 26200.8973. It does not exhibit this problem. Right-clicking pinned taskbar apps works normally there.

Other observations:

• Restarting Explorer does not permanently resolve the issue.
• Armoury Crate has been removed/reinstalled without changing the behaviour.
• The problem is isolated to the desktop PC and is reproducible across multiple post-8037 cumulative updates.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour, particularly where only the pinned taskbar right-click/Jump List freezes while the rest of Explorer functions normally? If so, were you able to identify a particular shell extension, driver, or application that conflicts with the newer Windows builds?

This issue is 100% reproducible on my desktop and 100% reversible by rolling back from 8875/8894/8973 to 8037.

You’re losing the recent-file Jump List when right-clicking pinned taskbar apps, and restarting Explorer restores it only temporarily. The taskbar can build the menu, but the recent-items setting, an app-specific list, policy, or Windows component may be interfering. Open Settings > Personalization > Start and enable Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer. If already enabled, turn it off, restart Windows, then enable it and open several files in an affected app. Test multiple apps: if only one fails, use Settings > Apps > Installed apps > that app > Advanced options > Repair, where available. If every app fails, install Windows updates, restart, then run DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth followed by sfc /scannow in an administrator Command Prompt. On managed PCs, ask IT whether Hide recent jumplists policy is applied. If it returns, report it in Feedback Hub with the Windows build and reproduction steps.