✅ Windows 11 Start menu not working or responding issue

With the latest Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced a redesigned start menu that is aligned to the center of the screen. The new start menu ditches the live tiles in favor of traditional icons and introduces a new minimalistic design that includes pinned apps, recent files, and app recommendations, a handy search box at the top to look for anything, and the ability to shut down or restart the device quickly. Overall windows 11 start menu is much better and improved than the previous Windows 10 start menu, but one thing the two have in common is that they don’t always work. Few users report the Windows 11 start menu not working after update or The Start menu in Windows 11 sometimes stops responding or “flickers”, that is, it opens and closes rapidly when users press the Start button.

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If you also experience, the start menu not working or right-click on the start menu not working on Windows 11 Reboot your system first.

To restart windows 11 PC press the Alt + F4 on your keyboard to get the “Shut Down Windows” screen, now Click on the dropdown, select “Restart”, and press “OK”.

If the issue persists, check out the solutions below.

Restart the Windows Explorer

The Start menu is its own process from within Windows 11. Restart it and you may be able to fix the problem.

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Press Windows key + R, type taskmgr.exe and click ok or alternatively Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously to open task manager,
Under the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer right click on it select Restart,
Next Move to the details tab, and look here StartMenuExperienceHost.exe if you find such service right-click on it and select end task.

Note – Typically, the process will restart automatically, if not start then reboot your PC and check if the start menu problem is solved.

Install Windows Updates

Sometimes windows may not function properly because of some random bug in Windows, or due to outdated Windows. Microsoft regularly releases Windows updates with the latest bug fixes and security enhancements, lets check for and install the latest Windows 11 updates that may have bug fix for the Windows 11 start menu problem.

Windows 11 users have fixed the unresponsive Start menu by installing the update.

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To install the latest Windows updates on your device open settings using the Windows key + I
Click on Windows Update on the left panel, and hit the check for updates button,
If new updates are available or pending there Allow them downlaod and install them on your device,
Finally, you need to restart your PC to apply them and check if this helps fix the Windows 11 start menu problem.

Run DISM and SFC utility

Sometimes this problem may occur due to system file corruption, run the DISM restore health command and sfc utility that helps repair the system image and replace corrupted system files with the correct ones.

To run DISM or sfc command you need to run the command prompt as administrator. Hence start menu not working, We need to open the command prompt from task manager,

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc key to open task manager, Click on file -> Run new task
Next type cmd and check mark on create this task with administrative privileges,

The command prompt will open, Click yes if UAC (user account control) ask for permission,
Now run DISM command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Let the scanning process complete 100% once done run the command sfc /scannow to check if integrity violation with the system,
The sfc utility scans for errors if found it will automatically replace them with the correct one.

Once the scanning process is complete 100% close the command prompt and reboot your PC. Now check whether the Windows 11 start menu problem is solved or not.

Rebuild search index

Windows search and start menu are closely integrated, So if the Windows search has any issue it could also stop working. So building the Windows search index could help you.

Open task manager using Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultensly
Click on the file menu then run new task, type control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions and click ok,

This will open the indexing options dialog, Click on modify then show all locations, and uncheck all locations here, and click ok

Now click on the Advanced button, Then click on Rebuild the process

The process is going to take some time, once done reboot your system and check if the start menu problem is solved.

Update the graphics driver

Sometimes outdated graphics drivers might interfere with Windows UI elements such as the Start menu and result the Start menu not working or not responding. Few users report, updating the graphics driver. help them fix the unresponsive start menu in Windows 11.

Press Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc and click ok to open the device manager
This will display all installed device driver lists, locate and expand display adapters, right-click on the installed graphics driver select update driver,
Select search automatically for drivers to allow download driver updates from the Microsoft server and follow on-screen instructions,

In addition, you can visit device manufacturers such as NVIDIA or AMD to download and install the latest driver software on your device.

If all the above solutions fail to fix the Windows 11 start menu problem it’s time to Re-register the Start menu Shell experience packages.

Open task manager using ctrl + shift + Esc, click on the file menu then create a new task,
Type PowerShell then checkmark on create this task with administrative privileges,

Copy and paste the following command to the PowerShell window and press enter key,

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

Note – if you see some errors in red just ignore them.

Once done reboot your system and check if the start menu working properly now.

Create a new user account

Also sometimes problems with the particular user account profile might also cause the Windows 11 start menu not working or not respond. Let’s check with the new user account if this helps.

If all else fails, you can create a new user account and you’ll have a working Start menu.

Open the task manager using Crtl + Shift + Esc, click on file then new
Type cmd and click on run this task with administrative privileges,
When the command prompt opens, type net user USERNAME PASSWORD /add and press enter key to create a new user account

Note- Replace USERNAME with a different user and PASSWORD with a strong password.

Now restart the PC and log in with the newly created user account and password and check if the start menu problem is solved on Windows 11.

Did the above solutions help fix the Windows 11 start menu not working or not responding problem on your device? Let us know in the comments below.

Windows 11 23H2 Start menu not working or responding issue (7 solutions)

Start Menu Not Working in Windows 11

Restart the Windows Explorer

Install Windows Updates

Run DISM and SFC utility

Rebuild search index

Update the graphics driver

Re-register the Start menu Shell experience packages

Create a new user account

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