windows 11 taskbar not working, settings access denied, file explorer blank... nothing works :(

Question

i recently updated windows 11 after everything working absolutely fine, and suddenly nothing works... i cant open settings using the shortcut, it opens quickly and immediately closes. when i open it with cmd it says "Access is denied." i also cant get the win+x menu open, the shortcut just doesnt do anything.

as well as this, the taskbar is empty and the start/ windows button menu thing wont open. the only way i can open anything is by using the run shortcut, and even then it only sometimes works (depending on what im opening).

finally (from what i can tell), file explorer seems to open fine, but is just a completely blank window- the back and forward buttons, searchbar etc are all at the top, but grayed out and empty and when i click the x button to close it it takes about 30 seconds to actually close.

i have tried the workaround that microsoft issued for the taskbar problem and it didnt work, and have tried making a batch file to restart file explorer (as well as using task manager, create new task etc) and restarting and so far nothing has made any difference... im at a loss! id roll back to windows 10, but as i say i cant get settings open so its too broken to even do that! any help would be much appreciated :,)

edit: i've just noticed when trying to add a pfp to my account through browsing files that i can see the files that are on my pc. i cant see most of them, and those that i can see just have a default icon (instead of the actual image that they are) with what looks like a cardboard box with a label on it in the corner... i dont know if this is relevant but im adding it just in case!

Answer 1

Hi Beckabee -

I'm Jerico T., I understand that you're having some issues right now and I'd be more than happy to help you today.

Please try to perform In-place Repair/Upgrade.

In-Place Repair

• In-place repair/upgrade or repair reinstall is a process of re-installing Windows without touching any of your applications or personal files. In this way if there's any data corruption, damaged system files or missing system files on your computer, this repair will fix or repair them.

To start we need to download an ISO file of Windows 11 and save it to your computer. Please follow the instruction on the link below to create an ISO file

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-downlo...

After the ISO is created, follow the steps below on how to perform repair install on your computer.

Note: Please make sure that you're signed in or have administrator rights to be able to proceed for the repair install.

1. Unplug all external hardware except mouse, keyboard and LAN cable.
2. Disable or uninstall any third-party antivirus program/application to prevent them from interfering with the repair install.
3. Run the ISO file that you downloaded, if there's a prompt asking you "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" Click Yes
4. Windows 10 setup will open, read the license terms then Click Accept button.
5. Select Upgrade PC now then click Next button.
6. Follow the on-screen steps.

This process will take some time to complete so you need to be very patient in waiting until the process completes. Once done , restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

Feel free to reach back if you need any further assistance.

Hope this help. Have a good day.

Thank you,

Jerico T.

Answer 2

thanks so much, this worked perfectly! i'm kicking myself for not thinking of it... :,) really appreciate the help!