If it doesn't then something else is wrong and you might try this whole thing again after trying the other fixes below. Test to make sure your start menu is working normally.

Log off, and log on to one of the new admin accounts you just created. If you don't have admin rights already and/or can't create new accounts, then give up now and reinstall Windows and all your apps. They must have admin rights because of the tasks you need to perform. Create new user profilesĬreate two new accounts with administrator privileges. It works, so we've included it here first (slightly edited). Many thanks to reader Robert Garrett for sending us the following. If that’s not the case then there are a few other solutions you can try. You’ll probably need to reboot your machine when this is over, but hopefully it will solve your Start menu problem. Click on this and then install any updates that Windows offers.

In the main pane on the right hand side you’ll see an option to Check for updates, or a Download button in later versions as shown below. Once the Settings application is open you should click on Update & security. In the box that appears type in the following text, including the colon We have also found that if Settings won't open from the main Start menu, you can click in the search box first, then click the cog icon and this can make Settings appear. If for any reason this doesn’t work (and you can't use the Start menu) you can hold the Windows key and pressing R which will launch the Run command. The simplest way to open Settings is to hold down the Windows key on your keyboard (the one to the right of Ctrl) and press i. Your version of Windows 10 will most likely be set to automatically install newer versions, but if this isn’t case you can easily do the updates manually, even without the Start menu. Microsoft is constantly improving and tweaking its progeny, so keeping your system up to date is a very good idea. It’s often the case that bugs like this are solved when the next Windows update is released. Obviously you don’t want to do this regularly, but if it works, then you’ll be up and running within a few minutes. Try restarting your PC, maybe even a couple of times, and see if that cures the problem.

In a large number of cases this is all you need to do in order to fix problems with your laptop or PC. There’s a reason that Roy in The IT Crowd is famous for his ‘have you tried turning it off and on again?’ catchphrase. You should back up any files you can't afford to lose before you try some of the fixes listed below. If your PC or laptop's Start menu is locking up or becoming generally unresponsive, here's how to fix it. The Start menu is your main port of call for navigating Windows 10, so when it plays up it becomes a problem.

Control panel not responding