Windows 10 Start menu not working and empty taskbar with invisible icons

RogerBoyX69

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Jan 3, 2016
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(PLEASE HELP) Hey everyone, i ran into a serious problem here. I got a Medion computer which had windows 8.1 preinstalled when it got purchased and i updated to Windows 10 a couple of months ago. everything was working completely fine until yesterday. I got called by my mom who also has an account on the computer and said that she couldn't open the start menu. I didn't know anything on how to fix that and i'm sure that she didn't download anything that affected the system the past days. I haven't downloaded any 3rd party program either recently. The weird thing is that i can hover over the invisible taskbar icons, (as seen in the screenshot) but i can't open them. Right-clicking the start menu works by the way and my explorer works flawless as well. It's just my taskbar and start menu. Tried restarting a couple of times, but still not working. What causes this problem? How do i fix it? Is it an Explorer issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here are the specs of my Medion computer if needed: (just exactly typed over what it said in Properties )

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3350P CPU @ 3.10GHz 3.10 GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB
System type: 64-bit Operating System, x64-processor
Pen and Touch: No Pen or Touch Input is available for this Display

My graphics card/GPU: NVidia GeForce GTX 650
 

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Solution
I would first try restating in safe mode and see if both the start menu and taskbar work. If they do then my first thought is that you do have some type of malware causing a problem. If they still do not work you can try the following to reset the taskbar and start menu

For the taskbar you can try resetting it.
  • open regedit and delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband
  • Open explorer and delete the content of %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\taskbar
  • Open an elevated command prompt and klll explorer taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
  • In the same cmd window type start explorer.exe
  • Try and pin icons back to the taskbar
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I would first try restating in safe mode and see if both the start menu and taskbar work. If they do then my first thought is that you do have some type of malware causing a problem. If they still do not work you can try the following to reset the taskbar and start menu

For the taskbar you can try resetting it.
  • open regedit and delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband
  • Open explorer and delete the content of %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\taskbar
  • Open an elevated command prompt and klll explorer taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
  • In the same cmd window type start explorer.exe
  • Try and pin icons back to the taskbar
 
Last edited:
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Solution
Afraid not. However, I I did notice just now the that the Security and Maintenance window is asking me to verify my identity on this PC. The Verify button is not working. Don't know if this is related.

Btw, you're awesome, loving your help, hope we find the solution.
 
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I don't think that verification of your identity is related.

Are you behind with updates? (I once heard that this fault just disappeared after an update)
 
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Good question bochane. I would have checked but I was not able to run Windows Update, that was one of the things that would not load.

Anyway I just found a very big clue. This is weird. I created a local admin profile and everything worked fine. I moved my things over to it and deleted my old profile, looked great. Except that certain applications were now entirely gone, such as Spotify and Google Chrome. Anyhow I added my microsoft account to my new local profile, and BOOM the same problem returned!

Had to create another local admin profile, move my docs and things over to it, completely remove my profile that was tied to my microsoft account, and reinstall google chrome. I believe that so long as I do not log in with my Microsoft account it will work fine.

Very strange. Any insights? Thoughts?
 
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If you can download procmon https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/processmonitor.aspx
Procmon will capture a lot of Windows events so you have to do the following quickly.
  • Run procmon and quickly click on the Start button a few types
  • Jump back to procmon and press ctrl + e to stop the capture
  • Save the capture file and upload it somewhere you can link here and I'll take a look
 
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Do I need to recreate the issue prior to doing this? I feel reluctant as I just managed to get a functional profile again.
 
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Yeah you would need to recreate the issue. You could simply create a new profile to break with your windows account
 
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You don't need it now, but if the start menu not functions you may be able to get into Settings by right clicking on the desktop background. Go from screen settings back to all settings.

You are not the first one with this problem. I think I will start further reading on internet....
 
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