Windows 10: Apps will not open from start menu or taskbar

Hello,


I am running windows 10 and when I open the start menu to search for a program, it will not open. When I click an app or file from within the menu, it says the following: "The item you selected is unavailable. I might have been moved, renamed, or removed..." Furthermore, I cannot click on the windows symbol in the bottom left corner. In order to open the menu, I must use the windows key.


My system details are as follows:

Windows 10 build 19041.867



I have tried


restarting my machine

disconnecting my second display



both with no change.

:)

 

Taskbar hides and shows itself after opening start menu.

Steps:

1. Using HDMI for a second monitor.
2. Open start menu using the icon.
3. Close start menu using the icon.
4. Click anywhere other than the task bars. (e.g. an open window, the desktop, even the first monitor's desktop)
   
5. Taskbar on second monitor slides down to be hidden.
6. Taskbar then immediately slides up to reappear.

If after closing the start menu (step 3), you click on the taskbar, then click outside the taskbar, this behavior does not occur.

Performing the steps on the main monitor's taskbar does not produce this behavior.

This has been happening for as long as I can remember using this laptop (~3years), with different nVidia drivers and Windows 10 updates.

 

Taskbar Start menu

We appreciate your response. For us not to miss out on anything, we would like to know what troubleshooting steps have you performed. For built-in applications like Mail, Calendar, Calculator, you can try reinstalling them so that they can properly register
with the Start Menu. Here are the steps:

• Open Start.
• Search for PowerShell, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator.
• Type the following command to reinstall all the built-in Windows 10 apps and press Enter:
  
  Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

If you are dealing with apps that you installed using the Windows Store, you can reinstall them by following the steps below:

• Open Settings.
• Click on Apps.
• Click on Apps & features.
• Select the app in question, and click the Uninstall button.
• Click the Uninstall button again to confirm.
• Once you've completed the steps, open the Store, search for the app, and click the Install button, and now the app should appear in the Start menu.

For third party applications, you may need to reinstall them manually as well.

Let us know if you will need further assistance.

 

Can I customize the list of suggest apps in the "Open with" menu?

You can't use it to add additional programs, only to set default programs.

Interestingly for me it shows nothing for text files:








Then if I want to add a portable app like Jarte Plus to open with context menu windows doesn't like it.





It's not present and is near impossible to add even via "look for an app on this PC"

OpenWithAdd to the rescue:




Result: