Windows 10: Start Button displaying but not working

The start button was working until there was a forced reboot (power failure). Then left click (normal click) over the start button does absolutely nothing. Right click brings up a menu but "programs" and also "settings" are missing and not included on this list. Search or Task View buttons do not work either with "normal" click. Does anyone have any suggestion or fixes?
Thank you in advance *Huh
Sue

:)

 

My start menu icons aren't showing up properly!

I have same problem, the start menu is not working. when you click it , nothing happened. Microsoft edge and store icon are missing on the taskbar.

 

Windows 10 start button not working, start button not working, had to reload security software, edge not working

Hi Robert,

I suggest you to refer to the below thread and check if it helps.

“Critical Error – Start menu and Cortana aren’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.”

Thanks.

 

Try doing what I said in this thread, if that doesn't work, you will probably need to do a in-place reinstall:
no tiles in the start menu - Windows 10 Forums

 

Sorry Almighty1, I have tried what you said in your post but the "start" and "search" buttons are still not responding to a single mouse click.

What is an "in-place reinstall" and how do I implement it?

 

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade - Windows 10 Forums

Basically, it's upgrading your existing system except you are really just installing the same OS to it so it will overwrite the existing files while your apps and personal settings will remain.

 

It's a complete reinstallation of Windows 10 as when you're finished it will not know what programs you previously had installed or what settings and/or tweaks you have applied to your system. When you invoke the reset function you will have the option to save all of your data files, etc. or flush the drive completely clean. Although I highly recommend doing a reset after the Windows 10 upgrade on a older system and to also clean everything off your drive I do recommend some caution. Here's what worked for me:

If you don't have a good backup program, I recommend that you get one like Acronis True Image 2016.

If you don't have an external USB external hard drive, I recommend that you buy one or borrow one from a friend. With Acronis, once you've reinstalled Windows 10 and Acronis you can double click on the Acronis backup file and it will mount the backup as a virtual drive making everything that was on your system previously available.

Backup what you currently have on your root drive as there are probably some files that you'll want to restore later.

Identify all of the software you have installed and if necessary download the latest version you're entitled to based on your license. Along with this make sure you have all of your installation keys available as all of your software will have to be reinstalled.

If you have any software that creates and/or saves files verify where your data is being stored and document this location.

If you have any software that has settings in it that you know are not default settings, document what's different.
Document everything and print a copy.

If you have favorites in your browser, export them and know where the file is so you can import them back once Windows 10 has been reinstalled.

Double check everything before you start as there's no turning back once you start. If you feel that you have done the best you can and you have everything documented, go for it.

Note that I have no doubt that you'll miss something but if you do the above you'll minimize your losses. Hope this helps.

 

It's a complete reinstallation of Windows 10 as when you're finished it will not know what programs you previously had installed or what settings and/or tweaks you have applied to your system. When you invoke the reset function you will have the option to save all of your data files, etc. or flush the drive completely clean. Although I highly recommend doing a reset after the Windows 10 upgrade on a older system and to also clean everything off your drive I do recommend some caution. Here's what worked for me:

If you don't have a good backup program, I recommend that you get one like Acronis True Image 2016.

If you don't have an external USB external hard drive, I recommend that you buy one or borrow one from a friend. With Acronis, once you've reinstalled Windows 10 and Acronis you can double click on the Acronis backup file and it will mount the backup as a virtual drive making everything that was on your system previously available.

Backup what you currently have on your root drive as there are probably some files that you'll want to restore later.

Identify all of the software you have installed and if necessary download the latest version you're entitled to based on your license. Along with this make sure you have all of your installation keys available as all of your software will have to be reinstalled.

If you have any software that creates and/or saves files verify where your data is being stored and document this location.

If you have any software that has settings in it that you know are not default settings, document what's different.
Document everything and print a copy.

If you have favorites in your browser, export them and know where the file is so you can import them back once Windows 10 has been reinstalled.

Double check everything before you start as there's no turning back once you start. If you feel that you have done the best you can and you have everything documented, go for it.

The Window Rest process can actually be started from within Windows 10 by going to Settings then Update and Security and then selecting Recovery.

Note that I have no doubt that you'll miss something but if you do the above you'll minimize your losses. Hope this helps.

 

That's Windows Reset which is like a factory reset of the OS wiping out the personal data. What I was talking about is a In-place reinstall which is basically like running a upgrade on the existing system, it will reinstall the OS but you will still have all the apps and everything, it basically requires running the Windows 10 setup.exe.