Start menu layout cannot be changed

Certainly looks that way!

I did manage to get the Start working again temporarily by resetting the Windows Store apps etc. by running the script below in an elevated PowerShell session

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Once the above is run you can then change the Start menu personalisation options as per normal through Settings and the changes apply, however, as soon as you log out and back in again it once again resets everything.

I have gone through 101 other steps including a full 'sfc /scannow' and 'dism /online' repair and yet the same issue occurs non-stop.

As soon as I restore the VM back to before it was promoted to to a domain controller it all works fine again, till I once again promote it and log back in with a domain account.

Ok, managed to 'hack around' this to some extent until Microsoft actually fix the core issue.

I built a Start Menu layout file (LayoutModification.xml) which I am then applying using the 'Local Group Policy' setting for 'Start Menu'

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > 'Start Layout'

I enabled the setting and specified my LayoutModification.xml file and then restarted.

At each restart this start layout file now gets applied and subsequently the start menu gets sets to the layout I specified.

Attached is a copy of my LayoutModification.xml file

If you do not know how to build these manually then you can export your own from a configured start menu, however, you will need to be able to edit the start menu first so run the below in an elevated PowerShell session:

1. Right-click 'Start' > Windows PowerShell (Admin)

2. Run the following command

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Once the command is run you can then go into 'Settings' and apply the Start options you require.  You can also then organise the layout of the start menu (pin apps etc.) as required.  Make sure to not log off or restart or you will lose this!

Once you have the layout set that you require do the following:

1. Right-click 'Start' > Windows PowerShell (Admin)

2. Run the following command

Export-StartLayout -Path C:\LayoutModification.xml

3. Navigate to your exported LayoutModification.xml and copy / move it into an easily accessible folder (I used 'C:\System\StartMenu\LayoutModification.xml')

4. Right-click 'Start' > Run

5. Enter: gpedit.msc

6. In the Local Group Policy editor navigate to

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

7. Edit the 'Start Layout' policy setting

8. Set it to 'Enabled' and enter the path to your exported layout file

9. Apply the changes

Now when you restart the server the layout file should be applied every time and should no longer reset back to the generic layout.

NOTE:  The 'Start' settings that you choose will be reset (curse you Microsoft!) but the actual layout of the pinned apps will stay as defined in the file.  I guess we can control the other aspects, such as Apps List visibility, via other policy settings in the local GPO so will continue to look into those.

Hi Cooper,

A few extra local policy settings you can edit under 'User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar'

- Remove All Programs list from the Start menu  :  Set to 'Collapsed'

- Remove "Recently added" list from Start menu  :  Enabled

Sadly it looks like editing the 'Choose which folders to appear on Start' requires a fair bit of registry editing so probably not worth it at the moment.

Hope this helps : )

Cooper Beutel 

If you add any file to the "c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu" folder (or in user profile Start Menu folder), it will cause the start menu to be updated. But this is a bug.