Here’s how to fix the start menu in Windows 10

Windows 10 had a bug that could cause the start menu to hang and become unusable. If you install the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, this issue will resolve itself. For those who are unable or unwilling to update for some reason, we explain how you can fix the problem yourself. Also read: How to customize Windows 10 start menu.

If restarting your computer doesn’t help, you can try creating a new user account. You do this by pressing the start button and then Settings and accounts† then select Family and others (On some versions of Windows Other users†

In this window you can click on Add someone else to this computer† Choose I don’t have login information for this person and select on the next page Add user without Microsoft account†

Enter a username, password and password hint or select security questions, then Next†

This usually fixes the problem. However, there is also a solution that does not require a new account.

Right click the start button and select Windows Powershell (Admin)† A new window will open where you can type commands. Copy the command below, paste it into the Command Prompt window and press again Entrance†

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

Some scary looking red error messages may appear in the window. Don’t panic, this is normal. You can close the window when the process is complete. If all is well, the start menu will work fine from now on.

With Windows PowerShell, you can do much more than fix your start menu problem. PowerShell is the big brother of Command Prompt and you could even call it a kind of Command Prompt on steroids. Commands that run through the standard Windows command prompt usually also work in PowerShell, but there’s a lot more you can do. In this article, we will give you information about the possibilities that PowerShell offers.