Windows 10: Most desktop app icons missing from the Start screen

I'm currently running Build 10130. For some reason, when I view "All Apps" I have folders for my desktop apps, but nearly all of the icons for the apps themselves are missing.

I have tried the following solutions & none have fixed the problem:

SFC /scannow
DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth (I've run both of those alternatively 3X in a row - based on another thread)
Deleted the icon cache in my user folder
Run the Windows Troubleshooter for Windows Update
Created a new local account & logged in.
Enabled the Administrator account & logged in.
Did a repair install of Build 10130

When I navigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs I can see everything and it's all just fine. For some reason the icons simple refuse to appear on the start screen.

I've checked the permissions on those folders and they appear to be fine.

I've tried right clicking on a program and selecting "pin to start" and nothing happens.

I've checked C:\Users\myname\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs as well and it seems to be fine, but still nothing changes.

How is Windows 10 creating the Start screen icons? Is there a way to force it to rebuild everything?

I'm stumped!

Thanks,

Paul

:)

 

how to get desktop app bak

cant get my apps to hide so on start up it goes to desk top and on the app screen there is no app icon for desktop it is missing

 

Startup problem

A couple of days ago when the Start icon is left clicked there are no tiles and the list of apps is missing except for OneNote and Store. I can access programs that are linked from the desktop but no programs that are not on the desktop. Also missing on
the Start menu is the icon for "Settings" and on the taskbar the icon for Microsoft Edge is no longer visible.

There are 2 users on this desktop PC. The Start menu works as usual when I log on as the other user. I note that there was a Windows Update about the same time as this change. Is there some way I can use information from the user that works properly to fix
the problem w/ the user whose Start menu no longer works properly? Otherwise what can I do? Maybe uninstall the most recent Update?

 

See:
Icon Cache - Rebuild in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
use one of the options in teh above tut - both do the same thing in different ways

-- and --

Index - Rebuild - Windows 7 Help Forums
sometimes the index gets confused - rebuilding it might help.

Run both if rebuilding the icon cache doesn't help.

Just so I'm clear - you can see the All apps list, just no icons - right?
Are the icons present in the Appdata....Start menu or Program Data.....Start menu location?

Last suggestion: go to Settings > Presonalization > Start - toggle the switches one by one and check All apps between each option.

 

Yep - I used that exact method from here to deal with the icon cache. I'll see if rebuilding the index helps.

I can see the all apps list, but most (not all) desktop app icons are missing.

I decided to test something out, so I went to AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Windows and renamed Start Menu to something else. After a reboot, nothing changed, there were no errors reported and no new Start Menu folder was created. So unless I'm wrong, Windows 10 is not using that folder at all & it's just a remnant of Windows 8.1 on my system.

ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs contains everything that should be there, but they simply don't show up in my Start Menu.

As another test, I created a folder called "TEST" inside the Programs folder I'm referencing in the previous sentence, rebooted and checked the Start Menu & the folder did not show up.

That's why I started to think perhaps the menu is being cached somewhere.

Thanks,

Paul

 

Yeah, Start has a few eccentricities. The entries might need to be 'touched'. There's a powershell command to do that, but I never remember it when I need it.

I'm not sure if an empty folder shows up - but a good test.

Try this: pick an app, any app to test
1 find the exe for that app
2 delete the shortcut from the All Users Start menu
3 Right click the exe in step 1 - add to start
4 Right click the exe in step 1 - create shortcut
5 Create a new folder, test79, in ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs
6 copy the shortcut in step 4 to ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs\test79

restart the machine.

anything??????

Alll users start menu is owned by System on my machine

 

Thanks - I'm actually still re-indexing at the moment. Based on your comments, I did find something I didn't know. "All Users" AppData folder is actually just ProgramData - see this: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367992(v=vs.85).aspx

I'll give it a try once the indexing finishes.

 

Yeah, that's just a reference - instead of making an All Users user (like public or default), the just point to Program Data as the root folder (tip: launch command prompt and enter
set

You can see the associations in the list of environment variables.

Don't let me distract you from the issue though - keep focus on the Start list. I'll keep throwing out tidbits *Wink

After rebuilding the index, try the toggle Start switches suggestion ... one suggestion at a time - let me know if /when the list is 'healed'
One of these will be a workaround even if it's "wait for 10.0.136" *Eek

 

Interesting development. I deleted an existing shortcut then pinned it to the start menu and it came back. What's interesting is, first, the Start Menu name is not the name of the EXE - the EXE is an 8.3 name, but the shortcut has the full name in it. Secondly, the original shortcut lived in ProgramData, but when I pinned it, the 8.3 exe link went to my AppData/Roaming/...../Programs folder.

I then deleted that one, went back to the Start Menu and the icon is still there - however if I right click on it, I am only given the option to pin it to the start screen, I can't open the file location (because it's pointing to nothing).

And, strangest of all, the Start Menu folder inside my AppData/Roaming//// is still named incorrectly - I renamed it "Start Menu-BAD" in a previous test. Yet, Win 10 still knew to put the icon in that folder?

Strange indeed!

 

nteresting development. I deleted an existing shortcut then pinned it to the start menu and it came back.

yep, that's what I was trying to say in post# 4

I'm not sure where your system stands - you've renamed Start Menu and Windows followed the new name. That's not how you want to go moving forward though. Rename it back and selectively delete the nonUniversal shortcuts - they're just shortcuts.

Then try pinning the exe in Program Files (or x86) to Start . If it ends up in your Personal Start menu folder, you can move the shortcuts to the All user Start menu folder.

Here's the plus side - as you're doing this, you can organize a little bit. I have folders for Comm, Office, Security, Media, and Utils - all nonUniversal Apps go into the corresponding folder.

Media contains VLC & Gimp
Office contains OpenOffice & MS Office
....
everyone has their own 'filing' system *Wink

 

Following up on this. I have Adobe Creative Cloud, and none of the Adobe icons show up except for the Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit CC - but that lives in an Adobe folder in the Start menu.

I went to the EXE for Adobe Creative Cloud, created a shortcut and put it in the same folder as ExtendScript Toolkit - ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu/Programs/Adobe/

After rebooting, the only thing in that folder in the start menu is ExtendScript - Creative Cloud doesn't show up. If I right click on Extendscript in the start menu and select "open file location" it opens the ProgramData folder and the Creative Cloud shortcut is there along with ExtendScript.

Crazy?!?

 

You or me? *Wink
How are other icons? I don't want you to get dragged down because Adobe cloud icons don't show up. If the other icons are showing up on Start, then chalk it up as an issue specific to Adobe cloud.

AS always - feed MS your experience ... if it affects Windows, they'll look into it, even if it's Adobe's issue.

If other tiles are working on Start, I guess my work is done *Wink

 

LOL - me going crazy because of these stupid icons.

What I've found is.... any shortcut that is in the root of C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs does not show up at all.

The Adobe Creative Cloud icons won't show up no matter what I do. I've created new folders, created new shortcuts, etc., and nothing works.

Unfortunately the same goes for any of the icons in the root - if I create a new folder eg. "Testing" and put the shortcuts inside, they still won't show up in the start menu. However if I take a working shortcut from one directory in the start menu, move it to another, it works exactly as you'd expect.

You'd think installing all new Adobe apps might fix the problem, but nope.... the other day Adobe released the 2015 version of everything and I'm seeing the same result.

Frustrating for sure...

 

Was there ever a resolution to this missing app icon on the start menu?

I am having the same issue after installing the latest beta and then reverting back to the original Windows 10 version.

Thanks

 

I ended up doing a reinstall. In the end, it's faster to just give up and start over than trying to chase down and fix every problem.