Solved: Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar Not Working

User Case: Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar Not Working

"My computer is running Windows 10 and has been running fine since the upgrade. I turned it on today and now when I click the start button the mouse stays in loading and the taskbar keeps blinking but nothing appears. I can't use the search bar or right click on an app pinned to the taskbar. Can anyone help me with the start menu and taskbar icons not working in Windows 10"

Windows 10 has come a long way since it first launched in 2015. Each update brings a lot of new features. But, like any operating system, there are bugs that keep popping up, and one of the more common bugs that people running Windows 10 face is when the Start Menu or Taskbar suddenly stops working.

Sometimes when you open Start Menu or Taskbar programs they freeze, don't respond, or when you click the Start Menu button it doesn't open at all. No matter what specific problem you are experiencing with the Windows 10 Start Menu or Taskbar, we will cover some quick fixes in this article.

How to Fix Start Menu and Taskbar Icons Not Working in Windows 10

Before trying any of the following methods to fix the said error, you can first try restarting Windows 10. As this has a chance to fix the Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar not working error. If it doesn't help, then try these methods below.

Method 1. Restart Windows File Explorer

The role of Windows Explorer is to make sure that all the programs are running efficiently on the system. If you are experiencing problems with any system program, such as the Windows 10 Start Menu not working or Taskbar not working, try restarting Windows Explorer to see if you can fix it.

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box, type taskmgr.exe, and then press the OK button to start the Task Manager.
2. Once the Task Manager window opens, find Windows Explorer and right-click it, then select Restart.

3. You will notice that your taskbar disappears for a minute and then comes back. This is normal, and when it comes back, hopefully your Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar will be functioning properly.

Method 2. Check for Windows Updates

If you are experiencing problems with the Windows 10 Start Menu or Taskbar not working, you can try checking for updates. Windows users have fed back that some system updates contain fixes for these bugs. So make sure you update your Windows to the latest version.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings and find Update & Security.
2. Then switch to Windows Update and click on "Check for updates" to install the update.

3. Restart Windows 10 after the update is complete and check if your Start Menu and Taskbar not working issue is resolved.

Method 3. Repair Corrupt or Missing Windows System Files

System File Checker is a command prompt utility that comes with Microsoft to repair corrupt and missing files on your system. Running this scan may help correct problems with the Start Menu and Taskbar not working in Windows 10.

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box and type cmd in the box. Click OK to open the Command Prompt window.

2. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter to start running this command.

3. The scan will take some time to find the corrupted and missing files and then repair them accordingly. Once the repair is complete, restart your computer to see if the problem with the Taskbar icons not working is solved.

Method 4. Malware Scan

If your files are infected with malware, various errors will occur in your system. It causes various service failures in your system and Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar not working is one of them. Therefore, you must scan your system regularly to make sure that no malware is present in your system.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings and find Update & Security.
2. Then switch to the Windows Security tab, and click on Virus & threat protection.

3. Then, click Quick Scan to start the malware scan.

4. Perform a Windows 10 reboot immediately after the scan is complete and try to check if the problem is resolved.

Method 5. Reset Your PC

If none of the previous options work, try resetting your PC using the Recovery option in Windows to fix the Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar not working issue.

Backup Windows 10 Computer to Prevent Any System Problems

I believe the above methods can help you to solve the problem of Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar not working. After your computer is back to normal, it is recommended that you make regular backups of your computer so that if you encounter similar system problems again, you can use the backups to quickly restore your computer to its previous working state.

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free Windows backup software that helps you easily create backups of Windows, including Windows 11/10/8.1/8/8/7/Vista/XP. It also allows you to create bootable media to restore data and system if your computer does not boot properly. You can refer to the following steps to use this free software to backup your Windows 10 system.

1. Click the Download button above to install AOMEI Backupper on your computer. Then open this program, click Backup in the left panel and select System Backup on the right.

2. Source data is automatically selected and you only need to specify a destination to save your system images. For better security, you can select an external hard drive, USB drive, cloud drive, etc.

3. Then click Start Backup to back up your Windows 10 system. Wait for the process to complete and click Finish to exit.

💥 Other useful features:

💫 Schedule Backup: You can create an automatic system backup task to keep all the latest changes to your system with this feature. You can choose between daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers and USB plug in. The last two advanced features are available in the Professional version.

💫 Backup Scheme: By default, scheduled backups will create one full backup and 6 incremental backups. This may cause backup disks to be full for a long time, so it is recommended to enable automatic backup cleanup in the Backup Scheme.

Final Words

This article provides you with five ways to fix the Windows 10 Start Menu and Taskbar not working issue. I believe you can get your computer back to normal by these methods anyway. While using a computer, we cannot predict what system problems will happen in the future. Start menu and taskbar not working are just some of the simple problems. Some users even encounter some blue screen errors, such as CRITICAL PROCESS DIED, Windows Update 0x80080005 Error, etc.

Therefore, it is recommended that you make regular backups of your computer system so that you can quickly restore your computer to its previous state in the event of an unforeseen situation. Download and try AOMEI Backupper now!