Why is windows 10 start menu not showing jump list on any icons

Question

Why is windows 10 start menu not showing jump list on any icons

Ken Smith 190

Suddenly, my Windows 10 is not showing any recently opened files when I right click an icon in the Start Menu. How would I fix that?

WIJNAND LAMMENS 5 Reputation points

2025-04-06T12:19:33.51+00:00

I think it was caused by a Windows Update in the second half of March. I tried undoing the updates, but that did not solve it. There were some updates that I could not uninstall. Perhaps one of them?
wyx wyx 11 Reputation points

2025-04-08T09:27:04.9033333+00:00

This has happened to me twice on two different Windows 10 computers.

I restored the backup and discovered it was due to the Defender Security Intelligence Update KB2267602. It happens about once a day. I blocked updates for a few days. Then I reactivated them and it updated correctly. It happened on March 19, 2025.

It happened to me today on another computer. I'm not going to restore the backup. I'll wait a few days to see if another update comes out and fixes it.

In Windows 11, this recent files feature doesn't exist in the Start menu, so I suspect they want to remove it from Windows 10. This fix is by putting shortcuts in the taskbar, and then you can see the recent files.
Jay Sinnett 85 Reputation points

2025-04-15T19:10:50.4866667+00:00

I did all of the recommended steps to no avail. It seems that Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 users into a Windows 11 mode of operation, where the recently used files are found by right-clicking an icon in the Taskbar rather than an icon in the Start menu. I do not find this to be an improvement, and I wonder what is the justification for this.
wyx wyx 11 Reputation points

2025-04-26T20:49:59.8766667+00:00

What's new: Since my March 2025 backup, KB5055518 no longer installs. I imagine it's been removed due to the errors it causes. Even if I restart and click Check for Updates, KB5055518 doesn't install. The jumplists work.
Scott 5 Reputation points

2025-04-27T08:01:37.9966667+00:00

@wyx wyx My machine has KB5055518 installed, and I do have the issue. Sadly, it doesn't look like I'm able to uninstall it for some reason, and I'm not able to restore to a backup prior to its installation.
WIJNAND LAMMENS 5 Reputation points

2025-04-27T11:16:08.03+00:00

I removed KB5055518 and the jump lists in the start menu were back.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
Scott 5 Reputation points

2025-04-28T03:28:26.61+00:00

I've just been able to uninstall the KB5055518 update, and now jump lists are working again in the start menu, as well as on the taskbar. @wyx wyx you nailed it! Well done!

Accepted answer

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WIJNAND LAMMENS 5 Reputation points

2025-04-06T12:19:33.51+00:00

I think it was caused by a Windows Update in the second half of March. I tried undoing the updates, but that did not solve it. There were some updates that I could not uninstall. Perhaps one of them?
wyx wyx 11 Reputation points

2025-04-08T09:27:04.9033333+00:00

This has happened to me twice on two different Windows 10 computers.

I restored the backup and discovered it was due to the Defender Security Intelligence Update KB2267602. It happens about once a day. I blocked updates for a few days. Then I reactivated them and it updated correctly. It happened on March 19, 2025.

It happened to me today on another computer. I'm not going to restore the backup. I'll wait a few days to see if another update comes out and fixes it.

In Windows 11, this recent files feature doesn't exist in the Start menu, so I suspect they want to remove it from Windows 10. This fix is by putting shortcuts in the taskbar, and then you can see the recent files.
Jay Sinnett 85 Reputation points

2025-04-15T19:10:50.4866667+00:00

I did all of the recommended steps to no avail. It seems that Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 users into a Windows 11 mode of operation, where the recently used files are found by right-clicking an icon in the Taskbar rather than an icon in the Start menu. I do not find this to be an improvement, and I wonder what is the justification for this.
wyx wyx 11 Reputation points

2025-04-26T20:49:59.8766667+00:00

What's new: Since my March 2025 backup, KB5055518 no longer installs. I imagine it's been removed due to the errors it causes. Even if I restart and click Check for Updates, KB5055518 doesn't install. The jumplists work.
Scott 5 Reputation points

2025-04-27T08:01:37.9966667+00:00

@wyx wyx My machine has KB5055518 installed, and I do have the issue. Sadly, it doesn't look like I'm able to uninstall it for some reason, and I'm not able to restore to a backup prior to its installation.
WIJNAND LAMMENS 5 Reputation points

2025-04-27T11:16:08.03+00:00

I removed KB5055518 and the jump lists in the start menu were back.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.
Scott 5 Reputation points

2025-04-28T03:28:26.61+00:00

I've just been able to uninstall the KB5055518 update, and now jump lists are working again in the start menu, as well as on the taskbar. @wyx wyx you nailed it! Well done!

Answer 1

Jay Sinnett 85

After installing the latest patches (around 26 April), the original behavior has returned; right-clicking icons on the start menu again brings up a list of recently used files. I guess Microsoft either realized they had made an error in coding, or they decided to restore functionality that they had removed on purpose.

RT 0 Reputation points

2025-05-01T13:56:51.7266667+00:00

Can confirm. I had this problem develop recently (May or April 2025) and installing KB5055612 - "2025-04 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems" corrected the problem and returned Pinned and Recently Opened Documents to Start Menu Jump Lists.

Answer 2

Pooch 0

It sounds like your Jump Lists (recently opened files) aren't appearing in the Start Menu. Here are a few steps to troubleshoot the issue:

Enable Recent Items in Settings
- Go to Settings > Personalization > Start
- Toggle "Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar" to ON
Restart Windows Explorer
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
- Find Windows Explorer, right-click it, and select Restart
Clear and Reset Jump Lists
- Open File Explorer and navigate to: C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
- Delete all files in this folder (this will reset your recent items)
Check Registry Settings
- Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter
- Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Look for Start_TrackDocs and ensure its value is 1
Run System File Checker
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Type sfc /scannow and press Enter

Ken Smith 190 Reputation points

2025-04-06T19:12:40.69+00:00

I tried everything (except #5) from Pooch with no success. I restored my system to two days earlier (April 3) and all jump lists work. There were no updates the next two days as far as I can tell. I saw some people having problems with the Start Menu after installing (or using Spotify). I can say I had Spotify installed but hardly ever used it. On April 4 I used Spotify for a long time for background music. On April 5 none of my Jump Lists worked (and my Start Menu had other quirks). I cannot say what really caused this problem; I was reluctant to even mention Spotify in the comment because it seems more likely to be a coincidence. In any case, I have left my two-day old backup in place (since I like having Jump Lists). Thanks for everyone's comments/suggestions.
Pooch 0 Reputation points

2025-04-07T06:46:47+00:00

Hi, it looks like you might have to go on about rebuilding your system from scratch.
Ken Smith 190 Reputation points

2025-04-07T15:03:36.84+00:00

I ran sfc /scannow on my two-day old system which has working jump lists. I probably sshould have run it while my system was still bad, but here are results pertaining to the start menu:

2025-04-07 09:55:44, Info CSI 00000213 Warning: Overlap: Directory ??\C:\Program Files (x86)\ is owned twice or has its security set twice

Original owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

New owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

2025-04-07 09:55:44, Info CSI 00000214 Warning: Overlap: Directory ??\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\ is owned twice or has its security set twice

Original owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

New owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

2025-04-07 09:55:44, Info CSI 00000215 Warning: Overlap: Directory ??\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\ is owned twice or has its security set twice

Original owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

New owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

2025-04-07 09:55:44, Info CSI 00000216 Warning: Overlap: Directory ??\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\ is owned twice or has its security set twice

Original owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}

New owner: Microsoft-Windows-shell32, version 10.0.19041.5553, arch Host= amd64 Guest= x86, nonSxS, pkt {l:8 b:31bf3856ad364e35}
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Scott 5 Reputation points

2025-04-08T00:34:52.43+00:00

I'm having this problem as well, and have tried all of the steps listed above. The problem persists. This started a couple of days ago, for me. I'm really hoping for a solution soon.
Ken Smith 190 Reputation points

2025-04-10T13:52:21.3666667+00:00

The problem is back! On April 5, I restored my system to April 3 and all jump lists worked. Today, April 10, the jump lists are all missing for right mouse click on start menu icons. However, if I pin the app to the taskbar then jump lists exist on the task bar icon!

Here are the 3 features installed yesterday:

KB5055683, KB5055518, Visual Studio 2022 version 17.13.6 security update

Hopefully these are enough clues for someone to solve this problem.
wyx wyx 11 Reputation points

2025-04-10T17:06:17.88+00:00

I haven't been able to get rid of the error. I simply backed up my personal files, restored the latest backup, disabled Windows Updates, and restored my personal files.

Once a month, I'll back up and re-enable Windows Updates to see the results. I did this on another computer at the end of March, and it stopped crashing after about 10 days.

These are the ones from the computer that's working fine and I managed to repair in March. The issue is related to updates, but it doesn't seem to be related to any specific one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1jpoj6w/start_menu_jumplists_gone_after_recent_win10/
Kyle Albritton 0 Reputation points

2025-04-21T13:23:10.67+00:00

I am having the same problem on (at this point) 10 different Windows 10 machines I manage. One by one, they all started losing their jump lists on different days and it did not appear coincident with any MS updates and none of them have had other new software installed in April 2025. The suggestions from Pooch above did not help any of the systems.

My own work system was the last to lose its jump lists over weekend and it has been 11 days since any MS updates were installed. I am now finding it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to do my job without these lists.
Ken Smith 190 Reputation points

2025-04-21T14:09:48.38+00:00

Don't forget (at least it works for me even though it is awkward)... if you put the app on the task bar you can access the jumplists. I have moved two of my most crucial apps to the taskbar.
Kyle Albritton 0 Reputation points

2025-05-01T14:24:49.3566667+00:00

Yes, Ken Smith, I did that too on my own machines. Despite it being terribly inconvenient, I was able to get jump lists at least on the task bars when they did not work on the start menus.

However, PROBLEM SOLVED. Right here, I will formally accuse Microsoft of a silent push. Despite the eleven (not ten as I stated previously) Windows 10 machines being on different networks, with different AV, even being in different states, all eleven of them have jump lists back on the Start Menu. The jump lists came back on all the machines, on the same morning, with no further actions from me or the people who use them. They just all mysteriously all came back on the same day. None of the machines showed updates that day, but we are all elated to have them back.
Ken Smith 190 Reputation points

2025-05-01T17:41:54.96+00:00

I agree with Kyle Albritton. I could not see any update that fixed the problem, but all my jump lists are back on the start menu (at least for now).

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Why is windows 10 start menu not showing jump list on any icons

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