power options missing on the start menu?

Question

After the recent update, the shutdown, hibernate and sleep options are missing. The only option is Lock.

Can somebody help?

Answer 1

Thank you for sharing the screenshot and letting me know.

From your screenshot, you’re on a Windows 11 Enterprise Insider build. These test builds can sometimes have bugs after updates, and missing power options is a known type of issue in preview versions.

At this point, I’d like to check one more thing.

Please try this and let me know the result:

• Right-click Start
• Select Terminal (Admin) or search CMD > Right-click and select Run as administrator.
• Run this command:

powercfg /restoredefaultschemes

• Then restart your PC and check if the power options return.

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Also, please let me know:

Did this issue start right after the last update?

Are you using this PC for daily work, or mainly for testing Insider builds?

Answer 2

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

If you haven't tried it yet, please check Power Button Settings:

• Press Windows + R, type control and press Enter.
• Go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
• Click Choose what the power buttons do on the left.
• Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
• Make sure Shut down, Sleep, and Hibernate are checked.
• Click Save changes.

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Could you please share a screenshot of winver?

Just press Windows + R, type winver press Enter, and take a screenshot of the window that appears.

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Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 3

If the shutdown, hibernate, and sleep options are missing from the Start menu, it may be due to group policy settings that have been configured to hide these options. You can check the local group policy settings or use PowerShell to modify the settings.

To restore these options, you can follow these steps:

1. Using PowerShell: Connect to your machine and run the following command in PowerShell as an administrator:

      Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" -Name "HidePowerOptions" -Value 0 -Force
   

2. Using Group Policy Editor: If you prefer to use the Group Policy Editor:
   • Press the Windows key, type gpedit, and select Edit group policy.
   • Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.
   • Find and edit the setting Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate commands and set it to Disabled or Not Configured.

After making these changes, restart your computer to see if the options have returned to the Start menu.