1
Although this question seems like a dupe of this and this, the accepted answers to those questions did not work for me. Those questions/answers are a few years old now, so my problem that happens to fall under the same question may need an updated answer.
Problem/Question:
After a recent Windows update (delayed by several weeks due to insufficient disk space), 1) the Windows Start button does not work, 2) the search bar does not work, 3) the date/time widget does not work, 4) the notifications icon does not work.
How can I restore these? Of the stated, I'm most interested in restoring the Start button.
This may be a relevant observation: by running Task Manager, I observe that each click of the Start button (as well as the other three problem items) is followed by the creation of a "Windows Problem Reporting
" background process. The process dies quickly: within 1 - 3 seconds, and no corresponding visible window/UI is generated.
What I have tried:
Get-AppXPackage
I entered the following from an admin-privileged PowerShell CLI:Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
Result: Start menu functionality was not restored after the command completed or subsequent reboot.
Booted into safe mode
Per the instructions at this site...
https://www.techmesto.com/fix-start-menu-broken-windows-10-technical-preview/#comment-144567
...I booted into safe mode.
Result: Start button functionality was restored during the safe mode session but resumed to the described nonworking state upon subsequent resumption of non-safe mode. It is not an acceptable solution for me to work continuously in safe mode because of the various features disabled therein.Cold boot
I'm not entirely sure how/when cold booting really occurs on modern Windows PCs because there are so many more software layers between the OS and metal than I've been able to keep up with...but I have a vague, possibly mistaken, impression that holding down the power button for some protracted length of time, like 20 seconds or so, will trigger a cold boot. I tried this.
Result: Start button remained non-working upon subsequent return to desktop.Disabling fast-start
As described at various websites, including this one...
https://windowsable.com/how-to-enable-or-disable-fast-startup-in-windows-10/
...I unchecked the "Turn on fast startup" checkbox in Control Panel's Power Options.
Result: Start button remained non-working upon subsequent return to desktop.
Windows Info:
Edition: Windows 10 Pro
Version: 1803
Installed on: 09/30/2018
OS build: 17134.320
Plea for Help:
Can any knowledgeable community members please suggest ways to diagnose/fix the problem? I'm particularly curious what's going on with that "Windows Problem Reporting
" process - can it reveal what's going on? If so, how can one access it given that the process starts and dies in a blink without any human-interactive UI?