Windows 10: Start menu takes a week to update

When I install new applications on my Windows 10 Home desktop, it takes about a week for them to show up in the start menu (Start -> All apps) or to appear in Cortana searches. As you can imagine, this is maddening.

Rebooting my computer does not seem to encourage Windows to refresh the start menu. I'm fairly certain this problem is related to search indexing but have no idea how to resolve it. My boot drive (C:) is an SSD, so I have my search index stored on a secondary hard disk (G:). G is reliable and always available.

The Troubleshooting wizard for Search (in the control panel) does not detect any problems when I run it.

edit: I would prefer a solution to fix Windows, not a workaround like Classic Shell.

user45623

Posted 2015-10-28T23:54:16.100

Reputation: 229

1I suggest you go with Classic Shell, available for free download. – RookieTEC9 – 2015-10-29T00:31:27.467

Did you index C:\ ? – RookieTEC9 – 2015-10-29T00:31:40.107

1I'd rather fix the OS then install a workaround. I don't have the entire drive indexed (you are not supposed to index an entire drive) but important folders are indexed. My programs all show up eventually, it's just the week delay that's killing me. – user45623 – 2015-10-29T00:37:59.657

Are you by any chance using Spybot Anti-Beacon, or any of the other privacy fixes for Windows 10?

– boot13 – 2015-11-13T22:58:48.963

No, I'm just using Windows Defender at the moment. – user45623 – 2015-11-16T19:38:54.267

@user45623 - Have you installed the Windows 10 Version 1511 update? If you have not then you should indicate which build of Windows 10 you are running. – Ramhound – 2015-11-17T16:49:26.130

Unless Microsoft has had a dramatic change of approach since launch, I think the only way not to receive an update is to turn all updates off completely. I have them enabled, so my system is fully up-to-date. edit: I suppose I could be on one of the pro builds where you can stall updates. I'm on the Home edition – user45623 – 2015-11-17T18:10:42.413

The update is being rolled out; not everyone gets it; on day 1; answer the question... – Ramhound – 2015-11-17T22:51:21.647

@Ramhound : I don't know how to find that information. Microsoft claims " To see what version your PC is running, select the Start button , then select Settings > System > About." but it does not show what version of Windows I am running at that location. – user45623 – 2015-11-18T19:20:06.090

It is simple as running winver – Ramhound – 2015-11-18T19:23:40.253

winver gives build number, which has been 10240 since RTM. That's separate from the Version number (e.g. 1511) – user45623 – 2015-11-18T22:26:19.023

Answers

I ended up fixing this by doing a repair installation.

user45623

Posted 2015-10-28T23:54:16.100

Reputation: 229

The only option I see, beside using the wonderful and free Classic Shell, is to rebuild the Start Menu index, which will still take a long time (but far from a week). I would really recommend going with Classic Shell (or its alternatives), which works perfectly well and is more evolved than the Windows 7 Start Menu.

The article How to: Rebuilding your search index in Windows 10 indicates how :

Indexing Options has not made its way to the new Universal App for Settings and still resides in the traditional Control Panel.

Right click the Start Menu and select Control Panel

From the Control Panel window select Indexing Options

From the Indexing Options dialogue box, click the Advanced button

From the Advanced dialogue box, select Rebuild.

Selecting Rebuild will begin the process of deleting and then rebuilding your PC’s search index, remember this is a time consuming process.

harrymc

Posted 2015-10-28T23:54:16.100

Reputation: 306 093

I tried rebuilding the index and then installing a new application, but the new application has the same problem as before - not showing up in Start or Cortana. I don't want to have to rebuild the entire index every time I install new software, so I don't feel this is a good solution. – user45623 – 2015-11-16T21:54:51.057

In my opinion Microsoft's Start Menu was not ready for release, having too many issues. I really counsel, at least for the moment, to use Classic Shell instead. – harrymc – 2015-11-17T05:40:57.323

If search indexer rebuild doesn't help, perhaps this might help: http://www.urtech.ca/2015/05/solved-windows-10-start-menu-and-modern-apps-do-not-function/

vanowm

Posted 2015-10-28T23:54:16.100

Reputation: 204

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. Looking at the source article, none of those suggest solutions, are relevant to the author's situation. – Ramhound – 2015-11-17T16:47:32.813

@Ramhound So the DISM command won't work? I've run that in the past for other problems, although I don't recall it ever fixing anything – user45623 – 2015-11-17T19:38:49.150

@user45623 - So out of my entire comment what you take out of it, what I actually wrote, that is interesting indeed. I suppose the dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth but that does not actually fix any system corruption. That restores the health of the WinSxS directory an entirely different command can actually repair the system files. – Ramhound – 2015-11-17T19:57:17.173

@Ramhound I am the question-asker, not the person who wrote vanowm's answer, so I had nothing to say about the rest of your comment because it wasn't directed at me. I agree with what you said - pasting a link isn't an answer. (I would honestly be more inclined to downvote him for his avatar than for his non-answer...) – user45623 – 2015-11-17T21:01:43.340