{"id":2506,"date":"2016-03-30T10:30:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T05:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=2506"},"modified":"2025-03-06T18:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:08:16","slug":"start-and-taskbar-stuck-windows-10-fix-shellexperiencehost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/start-and-taskbar-stuck-windows-10-fix-shellexperiencehost\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinstall or Repair stuck Windows 10 Start Menu &#038; Taskbar, and Fix &#8220;Critical Error&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Occasionally, the Start button, Taskbar, and the Notification area icons may get stuck or frozen; clicking them does nothing. When the items in the Notification area are frozen, you wouldn&#8217;t be able to access Action Center, Wi-fi network settings, etc.<\/p>\n<p>If the Windows 10 Start Menu is frozen or non-responsive and does not work, or shows the <strong>Critical Error<\/strong> message, here is the list of troubleshooting steps you can follow. The fixes involve running the Start menu Troubleshooter or manually registering the ShellExperienceHost &amp; StartMenuExperienceHost packages using PowerShell or restoring the default Start menu by rebuilding the Start menu database.<\/p>\n<p>This article explains how to repair, reset, or reinstall the Start menu in Windows 10.<!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\">\n<h2>Repair Windows 10 Start menu<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#reinstall_start\">Reinstall Start menu (StartMenuExperienceHost &amp; ShellExperienceHost)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#troubleshooter\">Run the Start menu Troubleshooter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#critical_error\"><strong>Critical Error:<\/strong> Start menu not working<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#safe_mode\">Start Windows 10 in Safe mode, and then restart back in normal mode.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#database_reinstall_apps\">Restore Start menu database or Reinstall ALL built-in apps<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<h2><a id=\"reinstall_start\"><\/a>Reinstall the Start menu (ShellExperienceHost &amp; StartMenuExperienceHost) Manually<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Task Manager and click the Details tab.<\/li>\n<li>Locate the <code>StartMenuExperienceHost.exe<\/code> process, and select it.<\/li>\n<li>Right-click <code>StartMenuExperienceHost.exe<\/code> and click <strong>End task<\/strong>.\u00a0StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process exists in Windows 10 v1903 and higher.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/startmenuexperiencehost-end-task.png\" alt=\"reinstall start menu startmenuexperiencehost\" width=\"665\" height=\"258\" \/>Note: In the Processes tab, it would show up as <strong>Start<\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/startmenuexperience-host-start-processes.png\" alt=\"reinstall start menu startmenuexperiencehost start\" width=\"518\" height=\"208\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Launch File Explorer and browse this folder:\n<pre>C:\\Windows\\System32\\WindowsPowerShell\\v1.0<\/pre>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-start-register-1.png\" width=\"399\" height=\"184\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Right-click <strong>PowerShell.exe<\/strong> and click Run as Administrator.<\/li>\n<li>Copy the following command-line, paste in PowerShell window, and press <kbd>ENTER<\/kbd>:\n<pre>Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register \"$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml\"}<\/pre>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> If StartMenuExperienceHost.exe is running when the above command is run, you&#8217;ll get the following error:<\/p>\n<div class=\"err\">Add-AppxPackage : Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073D02, The package could not be installed because resources it modifies are currently in use. error 0x80073D02: Unable to install because the following apps need to be closed Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost.<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>Similarly, run the following command:\n<pre>Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register \"$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml\"}<\/pre>\n<p>It should show the message &#8220;Deployment operation progress&#8221; in the output.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-start-register.png\" width=\"599\" height=\"128\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i>Note: If you see the message &#8220;<b>Get-AppxPackage : Access is denied<\/b>&#8221; after running the above command, then you&#8217;ve not started PowerShell <u>as administrator<\/u>.<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This reinstalls or repairs the Start menu and Taskbar (powered by StartMenuExperienceHost and ShellExperienceHost).<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"troubleshooter\"><\/a>Run the Start menu Troubleshooter<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft launched a <b>Start menu troubleshooter<\/b> diagnostic package that finds and fixes problems with the Start menu and Cortana. This wonderful tool does comprehensive checks to determine what exactly is preventing the Start menu from functioning correctly.<\/p>\n<p>Download<b> Start menu troubleshooter<\/b> (<a href=\"http:\/\/aka.ms\/diag_StartMenu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">startmenu.diagcab<\/a>) from Microsoft and run it.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3553\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/start-menu-troubleshooter-1.png\" alt=\"start menu troubleshooter for Windows 10\" width=\"571\" height=\"440\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To apply the fixes automatically, click the Advanced button and enable <b>Apply repairs automatically<\/b>. But if you just want to do a dry run first uncheck the option.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3552\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/start-menu-troubleshooter-2.png\" alt=\"start menu troubleshooter for Windows 10\" width=\"571\" height=\"440\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Start menu troubleshooter primarily checks if the following potential issues are present:<\/p>\n<p><b>1. Required applications are not installed correctly<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Checks if &#8220;Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost&#8221; and &#8220;Microsoft.Windows.Cortana&#8221; applications are installed correctly or not, and reinstalls the packages automatically if required.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/sm_troubleshooter.png\" alt=\"start menu troubleshooter\" width=\"566\" height=\"432\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In case the troubleshooter can&#8217;t reinstall the packages, try reinstalling ShellExperienceHost <b>manually<\/b>. Scroll down to the bottom of this article for instructions.<\/p>\n<p><b>2. Permission issues with registry keys<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Checks if the current user has permissions to access the following registry key, and fixes the ACLs if required:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\DeviceAccess\\Global<\/pre>\n<p><b>3. Tile database is corrupt<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The tile database file is located here:<\/p>\n<pre>%localappdata%\\TileDataLayer\\Database\\vedatamodel.edb<\/pre>\n<p>The troubleshooter checks if this file exists, and is currently in use by the logged-on user. If so, it&#8217;s taken as a good sign. Otherwise, it deletes the corrupt tile database file and regenerates a new copy.<\/p>\n<p><b>4. Application manifest is corrupt<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Checks if the following manifest file is missing and if the contents of it are empty.<\/p>\n<pre>C:\\Windows\\ImmersiveControlPanel\\Application.manifest<\/pre>\n<p>If this file is missing or corrupt, it can cause UI issues in several areas in Windows. As a side note, running SFC and\/or DISM should restore the original copy of this file from the source.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"critical_error\"><\/a>Critical Error: Start menu and Cortana<\/h2>\n<p>You may sometimes receive one of the following messages at startup:<\/p>\n<p class=\"err\">Start menu and Cortana aren&#8217;t working. We&#8217;ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"err\">Critical Error \u2013 Your Start menu isn\u2019t working. We&#8217;ll try to fix it the next time you sign in.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5256\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/start-critical-error-fix.png\" alt=\"windows 10 start menu does not work\" width=\"696\" height=\"342\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Follow the troubleshooting methods described above in this article. If they don&#8217;t help, try this:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"safe_mode\"><\/a>Start Windows 10 in Safe mode, and then restart back in normal mode.<\/h3>\n<p>Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode, and then restart back in normal mode. To start in Safe Mode:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Logoff your user account.<\/li>\n<li>Press and hold the Shift key while you press the Power icon and select Restart.<\/li>\n<li>Once you enter the Windows Recovery Environment, click Troubleshoot.<\/li>\n<li>Click Advanced options, Startup Settings, and Restart.<\/li>\n<li>When you see a number of startup options, press <kbd>5<\/kbd> or <kbd>F5<\/kbd> for <strong>Safe Mode with networking<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>After logging in to your account in Safe Mode, restart the system to return to <strong>normal boot<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>That works in some cases. But if it doesn&#8217;t, and the issue recurs at every startup, use these steps:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"database_reinstall_apps\"><\/a>Restore Start menu database or Reinstall ALL built-in apps<\/h3>\n<p>Restore a fresh copy of the Start menu database, named <strong>vedatamodel.edb<\/strong>. You can find more information about that in the article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/backup-start-menu-layout-windows-10\/\">How to Backup the Start Menu Layout in Windows 10?<\/a>. If restoring a fresh copy of Start menu database doesn&#8217;t help, then reinstall all built-in apps using PowerShell. When you do so, it rebuilds the Start menu database automatically.<\/p>\n<p>Start PowerShell as administrator, and run this command:<\/p>\n<pre>Get-AppxPackage \u2013allusers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register \"$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml\"}<\/pre>\n<p>Restart Windows.<\/p>\n<p>Hope that fixes the non-responsive Windows 10 Start menu and taskbar and fixes the &#8220;Critical error&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Article last reviewed in Aug 2020. Windows 10 v2004 is the current version as of this review.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Occasionally, the Start button, Taskbar, and the Notification area icons may get stuck or frozen; clicking them does nothing. When the items in the Notification area are frozen, you wouldn&#8217;t be able to access Action Center, Wi-fi network settings, etc. If the Windows 10 Start Menu is frozen or non-responsive and does not work, or &#8230; <a title=\"Reinstall or Repair stuck Windows 10 Start Menu &#038; Taskbar, and Fix &#8220;Critical Error&#8221;\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/start-and-taskbar-stuck-windows-10-fix-shellexperiencehost\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Reinstall or Repair stuck Windows 10 Start Menu &#038; Taskbar, and Fix &#8220;Critical Error&#8221;\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[396,540],"class_list":["post-2506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","tag-powershell","tag-start-menu"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5746,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/installed-apps-not-find-start-menu-search-results-background-apps-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":2506,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Start Menu Cortana Search Not Finding Apps &#8211; Search Results Blank","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you use Cortana search to find an installed program, the program may not appear in Start menu search results although the shortcut exists in the Start menu folder. For example, with Word 2016 installed and its shortcut present in the Start menu folder, when you type in \"word\", the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Windows 10 Start (Cortana) Search Results Blank & White Screen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/cortana-blank-results-white-screen-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24390,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reinstall-windows-terminal-windows-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":2506,"position":1},"title":"How to Reinstall Windows Terminal in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Terminal is a modern terminal application for users of command-line tools and shells like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).\u00a0If you've uninstalled the Windows Terminal app in Windows 11 accidentally and need it back, you can reinstall the app using a couple of methods. It's also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reinstall windows terminal app microsoft store","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/reinstall-windows-terminal-ms-store.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/reinstall-windows-terminal-ms-store.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/reinstall-windows-terminal-ms-store.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23950,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/win-shift-s-snip-sketch-key-not-working-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":2506,"position":2},"title":"[Fix] Win+Shift+S not working in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Win\u00a0+\u00a0Shift\u00a0+\u00a0S keyboard shortcut, powered by the Snip & Sketch tool, allows you to quickly take a screenshot of a particular screen area or the entire screen. Some users are facing a situation where the hotkey combination doesn't work on their Windows 10 computer. For instance, nothing may happen when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ms-screenclip run command","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ms-screenclip-run.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6510,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/taskbar-volume-control-not-working-windows-10-sndvol\/","url_meta":{"origin":2506,"position":3},"title":"Taskbar Volume Control Icon does not Work in Windows 10\/11","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes, the Taskbar volume control icon in Windows may not respond to the mouse click. The slider doesn't appear when you click on the speaker icon, and nothing happens when you right-click on it. The audio may still work in all applications, but only the controls don't open. Due to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"volume control slider autohotkey","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/volume-osd.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/volume-osd.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/volume-osd.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4837,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/remove-open-powershell-window-here-rightclick-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":2506,"position":4},"title":"Remove Open PowerShell window here from Right-Click Menu in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"With the Windows 10 Creators Update, the context menu option \"Open command window here\" is hidden by default, and is replaced by the \"Open PowerShell window here\" entry. Not just that. PowerShell replaces Command Prompt in the Win+X (Power User) menu as well. 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Nothing may happen when you open the Windows Security dashboard, or the following error may occur when you do so: You'll need a new app to open this windowsdefender link\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"get an app to open windows defender link","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/get-an-app-defender-link.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}