Windows 10: Windows 10 Start Menu Icons/Tiles Missing After Gaming

For me it's only happening after gaming, and randomly and only occasionally, really meaning I can't figure out what causes it. Thank you for the effort you put it. Hoping Microsoft can replicate it/identify it/fix it and you are proving to me a clean install likely won't fix it either.

 

Yes a clean install is not the answer.
Before that i tried the upgrade twice from windows 7 pro and also no fix.

 

Our commonality to this problem seems to be the three of us are using Nvidia drivers with Windows 10. In my search on the subject I have seen others report it in the Nvidia Geforce forums. Don't know for sure if it's only with Nvidia drivers, but my searches haven't shown AMD users with this problem.

 

Yes indeed. In my case the problem always appears in the start menu after a restart. Haven't been able to restart more then once before the problems comes. Second restart always gives the issue.

 

Oh boy, did you see this article on the Guru 3D site? It's showing up elsewhere as well. Not good IMHO and many others it would seem from comments on the net.

GeForce Experience Gets New Features Locks Driver Downloads to GFE

 

I have been thinking anyway about an upgrade to an AMD Radeon card if they don't get this Windows 10 bug sorted.
Have installed the latest hotfix driver 358.59 now to test if this fixes everything.
But i want to stay on Windows 10, so if Nvidia doesn't sort this problem, then they will loose another customer.

 

Hotfix driver 358.59 also no fix to this problem.
Now i have to re install the drivers very second restart to keep everything working.
Will keep this up until the end of november, when windows 10 does a large update again.
If it isn't fixed by then, the graphics card is going on the market to be replaced by a radeon card.

 

I can understand that sentiment given how frequently you have the issue occurring. For some unexplained reason I only had the issue again one more time after I posted the thread and haven't had it since. The only additional step I took to what I originally posted was I did a restore health even though sfc/scannow showed no errors. I have no clue why it stopped but wouldn't be surprised if it happened again. I did play BF Hardline for a good hour and expected it to happen again but it didn't.

Are you using DDU to uninstall drivers? If not I would at least give that a try. I have nothing against AMD and had 5870's in Crossfire in the past without issues, but are you able to "borrow" an AMD card from someone and fire it up with AMD's drivers to see for sure if the problem goes away?

I don't see the issue getting enough traction on the Nvidia forums for them to set it as a priority. Likely, as you mentioned, the best hope is the next Microsoft significant update, but seems from what you previously said, they haven't even identified the problem yet.

 

I have one strange thing that changed until now and that is that it now happens every 2nd restart.
When the problems occurs, i re-install the drivers and keep working in the morning. Then i go to work and in the evening when i restart everything stays good.
But the next morning on the second restart, every time the problem is back.

I did use DDU to uninstall drivers but didn't change anything.

Sadly i have no AMD card that i can borrow to see if the problem would go away.

I have tried everything that i can think about. Somewhere there is a problem between the technology that Windows has put into the display of their start menu and settings pages and the nvidia card/drivers.
My only hope is that it gets fixed with a Microsoft or Nvidia update or to try another graphics card.
Or go back to Windows 7 and forget about Windows 10. I have an image of my hard drive with Windows 7 on another SSD so that option is always available.

 

Well at least the issue is getting enough traction on the Nvidia Geforce driver forums now. Hopefully it will get resolved soon.


https://forums.geforce.com/default/t...ver-358-59/10/

 

Thanks for the update, i added some comments to keep the fire going on the subject

 

This dreaded issue of missing start menu icons/tiles after gaming is back with build 10586.71. Played an hour of Witcher 3 to return to blank tiles on the start menu. Two things have changed on my system, one or both bringing this issue back. Windows 10 version 10586.71 "update" and NVidia "WHQL" certified driver 361.75. I'm leaning to the issue being Windows 10 build 10586.71. Last time, even with multiple Nvidia driver changes what actually fixed the issue for me was the Windows 10 November update, the one that allowed more start screen tiles.

Blank Windows 10 start screen tiles. "IT"S BACK".

 

It's happened to me on every Windows build since RTM, including the newest ones. It's almost certainly a Windows (+Nvidia?) issue.

 

Well I wasn't having any trouble from the November build until 10586.71 but indeed could be the build PLUS the Nvidia drivers. I posted this on the Geforce 361.75 driver thread as well. Didn't get a response from Manual G but I see a lot of angry people on the 361.75 driver thread with multiple issues. Maybe my post is lost in all that. With "updates" often being regressions, patience seems to be wearing thin. Seems that Tomb Raider is getting about 20FPS with Kepler SLI, something like Black Ops 3. Won't be buying that game either.

I got Witcher 3 when it was on sale. Not much of an RPG guy, but the game looks great with surprisingly good performance with my Kepler cards. I'm use to first person (shooters). Being in third person I seem to be walking around bumping into multiple characters who don't have much to say other than to tell me to watch it after I bump into them. It is a good game with a lot of content. I guess I just have to get use to it.

 

I've solved this issue for myself by opening the NVidia Control Panel and going in to 'Manage 3D Settings'. Then 'Program Settings' tab. Click 'Add' and 'Browse' to your 'C:\Windows' folder (or, wherever your Windows folder happens to be). Find 'explorer.exe' and click 'Open'. When back at the 'Program Settings' tab, find the 'SLI rendering mode' and set it to 'Single-GPU'.

This then fixed all the Start menu issues AND the problems I was having with the context menus when right-clicking icons I'd pinned to the taskbar.

Hope this helps some of you out. *Biggrin

(Just to be clear, this sets Windows Explorer to use a single GPU, but leaves your default settings for your games intact - just in case anyone's starting panicking *Wink )