Issues have plagued Microsoft’s Start menu since its relaunch in Windows 10. With the right tips, users can fall back in love with the feature.
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The Windows 10 Start menu: We love it, but it doesn’t always return the love. Microsoft killed off the Start menu in Windows 8, only to bring it back in Windows 10 following many user laments. However, it hasn’t been a rosy reconciliation.
The Windows 10 Start menu has been plagued with issues since its 2014 relaunch. It all began in 2016 with reports that the search function no longer worked in the Start menu and in the Taskbar.
SEE: Windows 10 Start menu hacks (TechRepublic Premium)
Then in 2017, Microsoft changed the look and feel of the Windows 10 Start menu courtesy of the
Fall Creators Update
. The intention was to reduce the clicking and scrolling needed to access apps. Instead of creating a more efficient, user-friendly solution, the update, unfortunately,
opened a Pandora’s Box of issues for users
. While some users enjoyed a Start menu with a variety of new organizational and personalization features, others experienced a broken Start menu.
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Following an update in December 2018, there were numerous complaints about tiles for installed apps disappearing from the Start menu.
In September 2019 reports came in that the search no longer worked in the Start menu and in the Taskbar. Those affected
said searching for anything on the Start menu resulted in a blank window
. Other users reported getting a ‘Critical Error’ warning that ‘Your Start menu isn’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in’.
Fast forward to October 2019 and broken Start menu problems affecting Windows 10 users returned, yet again. According to ZDNet, users reported that the KB4524147 security update was causing printer problems, while others said they saw a “critical error” message stating that the Start menu isn’t working.
Microsoft released an optional update for Windows 10 version 1809 to fix the start menu problem, but not the “critical error” message. Further, the Start menu fix for version 1809 was aimed at users who upgraded to 1809 from an earlier version, but did not fix the issue for those users who had already upgraded to 1809. Those users still saw blank tiles in their Start menu.
The problems didn’t stop there. Windows 10 Version 1909 was released to the general public on November 12, 2019. According to ZDNet, Some Windows 10 users reported issues with the Windows 10 Start Menu after installing the KB4517389 on computer systems running the operating system.
Late October, Microsoft delivered an update for Windows 10 version 1903, its third update for version 1903, that fixes the broken Start menu issue.
Hopefully, the Start menu’s issues are a thing of the past, and users can return to loving this comeback feature.
The following Windows 10 Start menu hacks will help simplify a user’s experience and make them love the Start menu even more than they may already.