Start menu, taskbar or search not working

The Start menu and taskbar are drawn by one program, Windows Explorer. Restarting that program fixes most cases in seconds.

What you seeClicking Start does nothing; the taskbar does not respond; "Critical Error: Your Start menu isn't working"

Fix 1: restart Windows Explorer

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. (If the keyboard shortcut fails, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and choose Task Manager.)
2. On the Processes tab, find Windows Explorer. Select it and click Restart task (right-click › Restart on Windows 10).
3. The taskbar disappears for a moment and returns.

If Windows Explorer is not in the list: Task Manager › Run new task, type explorer.exe, press Enter.

Fix 2: restart the computer properly

With Start not working: press Ctrl + Alt + Del, click the power icon at the bottom right, and choose Restart. Or press Windows key + X, then U, then R.

Fix 3: restart the Start menu's own process

In Task Manager › Details tab, find StartMenuExperienceHost.exe, select it and click End task. It restarts by itself. Do the same for SearchHost.exe if search is the part that fails (SearchApp.exe on Windows 10).

Fix 4: install updates

A faulty update has broken the Start menu more than once, and the next update repaired it. Open Settings with Windows key + I › Windows Update › Check for updates. If the trouble began right after an update, uninstall that one instead: Update history › Uninstall updates.

Fix 5: repair system files

Open Task Manager › Run new task, type cmd, tick Create this task with administrative privileges, press Enter. Then run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Restart afterwards. See repair commands.

Fix 6: re-register the built-in apps

Open Task Manager › Run new task, type powershell, tick the administrative box, press Enter. Paste this one line and press Enter. Red warning lines for a few apps are normal.

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Restart the computer.

Fix 7: test with a new user account

If the Start menu works in a fresh account, your user profile is damaged.

1. Windows key + I › Accounts › Other users › Add account › "I don't have this person's sign-in information" › "Add a user without a Microsoft account". Give it a name.
2. Change its type to Administrator, sign out and sign in to the new account.
3. If all is well there, copy your files across from C:\Users\*old name* and use the new account.

Search-only problems

• Press Windows key + R, run services.msc, and check that Windows Search is Running and set to Automatic.
• Settings › Privacy & security › Searching Windows › Advanced indexing options › Advanced › Rebuild. The index takes an hour or so to rebuild.
• Run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter from Settings › System › Troubleshoot › Other troubleshooters.

Taskbar missing altogether

• It may be set to hide: right-click the desktop › Personalisation › Taskbar › Taskbar behaviours › untick "Automatically hide the taskbar".
• After disconnecting a second monitor, press Windows key + P and choose "PC screen only".
• If it is missing along with the desktop icons, Explorer has stopped: use Fix 1.

For Windows 11 and Windows 10. Written in November 2026. Menus move between updates; use the search box in Settings if a name differs. Back up important files before any step that resets, repairs a disk or opens the computer. This is an independent guide, not connected with Microsoft.