Windows 11 Start Button not working

Copper Contributor

I have upgraded to windows 11 using the insider feature. my task bar is still the old windows 10 one and I cant use the start menu. I have gone back to windows 10 for now. Any fix or fix coming to this issue?

let me know if anyone else is having this issue

43 Replies
Same issue here. Just upgraded, still old W10 task, start menu not working, search field not working (doing Ctrl+R doesn't change anything), and the Windows key does not focus the search bar anymore.
I have the same problem. After upgrading to Win 11, still old not working Windows 10 start menu.

Removed Antivirus and Start menu worked again.
Start menu was working until i installed our Antivirus program

Yes. Same problem. If I click on the task list button the shell crashes.

Thomas1975 mentions AV - I don't have any besides defender on this machine.

Maybe some other app that connects to explorer.exe in a way that is no longer supported is the culprit.

I did have StartIsBack installed, and had some issues having uninstalled on 11, then rolling back to 10 and it breaking lots of things. Reinstalled SiB, uninstalled it which should in theory get me back to stock.

The only other app I have on startup that somehow might connect to explorer.exe is Paddy Xu's QuickLook.

Waiting on a job to complete then re-attempting an 11 update.
Same for me on the last two builds, it was working fine on the original release.
It's a major bug that should be fixed first....
yes.. and still not fixed yet...

I have the same problem except this is with a work laptop that accidentally got the update. Now I can’t perform any work, waiting for helpdesk to re-image another laptop because I can’t even get into settings to perform a recovery. Wipe and reinstall is the only way out for us. Thank Microsoft, we love you so much.

Same issue here, still on the old windows 10 taskbar, start menu doesn't even open, when I use windows key and when I click on it. Hope this gets a fix soon!

@AccurateIsaiah wrote:

I have upgraded to windows 11 using the insider feature. my task bar is still the old windows 10 one and I cant use the start menu. I have gone back to windows 10 for now. Any fix or fix coming to this issue?

let me know if anyone else is having this issue


Hello,

 

See if this video fix helps you:

 

 

If issue still persists, please provide your feedback to Windows engineering team via Feedback hub app. You can launch the app by pressing Windows key + F.

 

Regards.

 

*This reply was updated to make sure it is valid.

Hey guys, I haven't found the solution to this problem, but there is a workaround by installing third-party launchers. 

 

Press cmd + R then type powershell, then enter winget install powertoys. Then launch powertoys. This is the search bar tool released by Microsoft last year, which is similar to Spotlight search on a Mac. 

 

Alternatively, you can download Listary, which is another search-based launcher. I tried both and they work fine on my Windows 11 machine. Peace!

I am having the same problem with no search solution. Then downloaded Open Shell.exe from https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7103-open-shell.html and run C:\Program Files\Open-Shell\Start Menu Settings,, choose any 1 of 3 style.. Windos7 Style. At least relief for now.

same problem!
01.08 and still have the same problem with an extra thing not working. I can't click on the network button. No supposed solution is working...

@Mahmoodsy 

 

Still not working for me either.  It seems to be a bigger issue than originally thought.  I cannot run the start button, the search button, nor the Microsoft Store.

same for me

At least one other person mentioned installing Windows 11, reverting to Windows 10, then reinstalling 11.  This is exactly my situation.  I installed the first dev build, uninstalled it, and am now trying .100

 

I noticed that when I booted into 11 this time, it didn't run the OOBE at all.  I have my start menu locked to the left side, and I noticed that in taskbar personalization the alignment option is completely missing.  taskbar.jpg

 

I did however note that enabling then logging in with the local Administrator account, OOBE runs.. and the start menu and all proper taskbar settings are where they should be.

 

I'm testing, but I'm using a gaming machine... I don't really want to have to reset my user account if I can help it, but that might be the fix. 

did anyone get a solution? I went back to windows 10 and today I the updated forced itself on my laptop and still the menu doesn't work and is still the old windows 10 looking menu...
Same!