Share via

Start menu and Cortana not working

Reported
Anonymous
2023-11-05T12:28:11+00:00

Hi, I uninstalled a quality update of windows 11 (because my computer has been freezing several times) and after I uninstalled, my computer went well for only a few minutes before it freezed again. My cursor was the only thing that can move while my PC frozed. It showed me a error screen saying

I ran into a problem and they will try to restart it and when it restarted it sent me to the bios. I have experience this several times so I knew the only thing I can do is unplug the cable and I did and sent me to the home screen but when I pressed the start menu to find settings, it showed a critical error (your start menu is broken). Is there any way to fix this?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-06T08:44:19+00:00

    Hi George Wilson6，

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    It sounds like the quality update you uninstalled may have caused some system file corruption, which is likely causing the issues with the Start menu and Cortana not working. Here are a few steps you can try to fix the problem:

    1. RESTART WINDOWS EXPLORER

    Step 1: Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys and open the Task Manager menu.

    Step 2: From the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer.

    Step 3: Click on the Restart button at the bottom and close Task Manager.

    Restart windows explorer service

    Try accessing the Start menu again.

    1. RESTART START MENU SERVICES

    By default, Start menu services start running in the background as soon as you turn on the PC. If there are issues with background services and processes, you need to reset the Start menu service. Here’s how.

    Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys and open Task Manager.

    Step 2: Move to the Details tab.

    Details tab

    Step 3: Find StartMenuExperienceHost.exe from the menu.

    Step 4: Click on it and select End task at the bottom.

    End startmenu task

    Restart PC using Alt + F4 keys (since your Start menu isn’t working, you can’t reboot PC with the traditional method) and see if the Start menu is working again or not.

    1. REBUILD SEARCH INDEX

    The universal search menu is a part of the Start menu. Microsoft collects the search history to deliver relevant and quicker search results. If the search database gets corrupted, it might mess up with Start menu functions. You need to rebuild the search index on your PC. Here’s how to do it.

    Step 1: Press Windows + R keys and open the Run menu.

    Step 2: Type control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptionsand hit ok at the bottom.

    Open run menu

    Step 3: It will open the Indexing Options menu. Select Modify at the bottom.

    Select modify

    Step 4: Select Show all locations.

    Click show all locations

    Step 5: Uncheck all locations from the list and click on OK.

    Uncheck options

    Step 6: Select the Advanced button and click on Rebuild from the Troubleshooting menu.

    Rebuild search index

    Reboot your PC and try using the Start menu.

    1. UPDATE GRAPHICS DRIVERS

    Outdated graphics drivers might interfere with Windows UI elements such as the Start menu. You can update graphics drivers to the latest version from the Device Manager menu.

    Step 1: Use Windows + X keys and open the Device Manager menu.

    Step 2: Find an integrated or external graphics card from the list and right-click on it.

    Update graphics driver

    Step 3: Select Update driver and download the newest drivers from the web.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave us a message.

    Best regards

    Brandon | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-20T11:17:56+00:00

    Thank your mister brandon for the fix. I still have one problem though, my constant computer freezing. This probably happened in around Sept. 20-29. I installed windows 11 in September 1. Do you know any fixes to this? I also notice my SSD not blinking/flashing, does this result in a frozen screen? When i wait it out it gives me A BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) and sends me to the bios and when i try to exit it reboots and sends me back to the bios. I use a ryzen 5 4500 with radeon graphics and a r900 m.2 nvme ssd and a nvidia geforce gt 710. Does an outdated graphics driver cause the freezing? Or maybe a outdated BIOS? Or a broken ssd? Please reply as soon as possible since my pc is slowing down every freeze. I think the cause of this freezing is opening old applications but i dont really know.

    0 comments