Home button no longer works

Question

Home button no longer works

Colleen 0

Since cleaning up my laptop using CC Cleaner, my home button no longer works (physical and screen button) I no longer have a search function and all browsers were deleted. I was able to restore the MS browser and download Chrome from there. How can I regain access to my "home" functions?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

DaveM121 902.4K Independent Advisor

1

When you perform a cleanup with CCleaner, that can make many changes to the registry and may cause corruption in Windows.

Open File Explorer, then go to this folder.

C:\Program Files\Piriform\CCleaner\Data\RegistryBackup

If there is a registry backup file in that folder dated with the exact same data as when you performed the clean up, double click that registry file and you will be asked if you want to merge that to your registry, confirm the merge, then restart your PC to apply the change.

2

If there is no correct registry backup available, click your Start Button, then just type rstrui and press Enter.

That will open the System Restore utility, check in there if you have a system restore point dated before you cleaned your system with CCleaner and if so, apply that.

Colleen 0 Reputation points

2026-06-17T15:35:43.8033333+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I tried your first option. There are 6 compressed zip files in the Piriform backup, I double clicked and there was no option to merge. There were also many many individual files in each zip file.

With option 2, Its the start button Ive lost (the windows button/ 4 squares) so I cant actually search for anything.

Ive tried system restore but it only set it back to when Chrome had been deleated so, its after CC cleaner messed things up.
DaveM121 902.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-17T15:39:21.5566667+00:00

Thank you for that information.

If there are zip files in the CCLeaner folder, is one of them dated on the day you performed the cleanup?

If so, right click the Zip file and select 'Extract Here'.

Does that result in a file with a .reg file extension, please provide a screenshot of the files that are extracted.
Colleen 0 Reputation points

2026-06-17T18:37:26.71+00:00

I had to leave the computer for a few hours due to family commitments and now the Piriform data registry file is empty.
DaveM121 902.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-06-18T05:14:48.98+00:00

In that case there is no automatic method to undo what CCleaner has done in the cleanup, the best option is to open the Settings App.

Go to System - Recovery.

Click the 'Reinstall Now' button in the 'Fix problems with Windows Updates' section and wait for that process to complete.

Answer 2

The cleanup likely removed or broke components related to Start, Search, and default browser settings. Use these steps to restore “home” functionality.

Restore browser home page and Home button
- In Microsoft Edge:
  1. Open Edge.
  2. Select Settings and more (three dots) > Settings.
  3. Select Start, home, and new tab page.
  4. Turn on Show home button on the toolbar.
  5. Choose either New tab page or Enter URL and set the page to use as home.
- In Google Chrome (if desired):
  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Select the three vertical dots > Settings.
  3. Under Appearance, turn Show home button on.
  4. Choose New Tab page or Enter custom web address.
Re-enable or fix the Windows Start (Home) button and Search CCleaner or similar tools can corrupt Start/Search or hide Start menu entries. a) Restart Windows Explorer (repairs many Start/Taskbar glitches)
1. Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. On the Processes tab, find Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.
4. Test the Start (Windows/Home) button and Search again.
b) Check that Start menu program entries are not hidden
1. Open File Explorer.
2. In the address bar, enter: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
3. Right-click a blank area in that window and select Properties.
4. On the General tab, make sure Hidden is not checked. If it is, clear it and select OK.
5. If prompted for permission, approve with an administrator account.
6. Open Start and verify that apps and shortcuts reappear.
If many apps or Start entries are still missing
- If almost all programs disappeared from All Programs / Start, but can still be found and run via search or directly from C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86), the Start menu shortcuts may have been removed by the cleanup. Recreate shortcuts for important apps by:
  1. Finding the app’s .exe in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86).
  2. Right-clicking it > Create shortcut.
  3. Moving that shortcut into C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs.
If Start/Search and apps are still badly broken
- If Start, Search, and many apps remain unusable even after the above, consider a repair option:
  - Use System Restore (if a restore point from before CCleaner is available).
  - Or use Windows Reset this PC / repair install so that ProgramData and Program Files are in their default locations and system components are restored.

After restoring Start/Search and browser home pages, avoid aggressive “registry cleaning” or removal of system shortcuts in third‑party tools, as these can break Windows shell components.

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