After a lot of reports were made by people that are going through this error, we have decided to take a deeper look into it to see what can cause this issue. Here is a short list that contains all the potential causes: Now that you know what can cause this issue, here is a list of all the methods that players recommend you to use in order to fix this issue on both Windows 10 and 11:
1. Make sure that the taskbar is not hidden
The first thing you should do when the Start Menu is not responding after the latest update is to check if your taskbar is not hidden. If that’s the case, the taskbar is inaccessible because you can’t see it on the screen. This could be a side effect of the latest update that you’ve installed. In this case, all you have to do is to go to the Windows Settings. There you will be able to go to the taskbar settings, where you need to change the behavior of it and disable the option. In case you don’t know how to do this, here are the steps you need to follow: If the option was already unchecked and you still can’t use the Start Menu, go to the next method below.
2. Make sure your Windows is up to date
The second thing you need to do when the Start Menu is not responding is to make sure that your Windows has the last update available installed. If you are encountering this issue after installing an update, you should check if there are newer updates available. You might be able to find Windows updates available because the devs might have released an update that should fix this issue. The only thing you have to do is visit Windows Update to see if any updates are available, and if so, make sure you install them. Inside your computer’s Settings, you can find the Windows Update. In case you don’t know how to check for updates, here’s how you can do it: Check the following possible solution below if the Start Menu is still not responding.
3. Restart the Windows File Explorer
People that have gone through this problem have managed to fix this by restarting the Windows File Explorer. The Windows File Explorer could make the Start Menu not work because of a problem that is happening. All you have to do to fix the Start Menu error is to restart the Windows File Explorer. You can do this from the Task Manager, where you will be able to see the option that restarts it. In case you don’t know how to do this, here is a guide that will help you restart File Explorer: If the error still persists even after doing this, go to the next possible fix below.
4. Use the Command Prompt to fix the registry
If the methods before didn’t help, this one has been suggested by many to be efficient in fixing your Start Menu not responding error. A lot of people have managed to make their Start Menu work again by using the Command Prompt to fix the registry Note: The command line interpreter program Command Prompt is available in the majority of Windows operating systems. It is employed to carry out entered orders. The majority of those commands execute complex administrative activities, automate tasks using scripts and batch files, and troubleshoot or resolve particular types of Windows errors. One of the errors that can be fixed with the Command Prompt is this one. To do this, all you have to do is to open the Command Prompt and insert a code that will automatically fix your Start Menu issue. But you have to use the Command Prompt with administrator privileges for this method to work. Here is a guide that will show you step by step how to use to Command Prompt to fix your Start Menu not responding error: In case this method didn’t work as well and you are still encountering the Start Menu not responding after the latest update error, go to the last one below.
5. Use Powershell to refresh dependencies
The last thing you should try is to use the Powershell utility to enter some different commands. This method has been highly recommended by users that are going through this issue, fixing the error for a lot of them. This method is similar to the one before, but the difference is we will use an elevated Powershell command to fresh every dependency that is used to achieve the functionality of the Start menu. There are more chances that this one will do the job and fix your Start Menu, as people report. Here are the steps you need to follow in order to do this:
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