Search works, Explorer is alive, but clicking Start does nothing. The Start host is a separate app package — reset it, and if that fails, re-register it from its own manifest.
Restart **explorer.exe**, then reset the **StartMenuExperienceHost** package with **Reset-AppxPackage**. If the package is damaged, re-register it from its **AppxManifest.xml**.
**StartMenuExperienceHost** is its own process. If the whole taskbar is unresponsive, **explorer.exe** hung; if only Start is dead, the host package is the suspect.
Get-Process explorer,StartMenuExperienceHost,ShellExperienceHost -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Id,ProcessName,StartTime
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force**Reset-AppxPackage** clears the local state of the Start host while keeping the system version. That is the difference between a repaired Start menu and a lost layout.
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Select-Object Name,Version,InstallLocation
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost | Reset-AppxPackageA manifest re-registration rebuilds the registration for the current user. The path comes from the package itself, so no version number has to be guessed.
$p = Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost
Add-AppxPackage -Register "$($p.InstallLocation)\AppxManifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentModeThe host keeps its own state folder under LocalAppData. Renaming it forces a fresh profile for Start; the old one stays as a rollback.
$s = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy"
Rename-Item $s "$s.old" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-ChildItem $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages | Where-Object Name -like '*StartMenu*' | Select-Object NameStart depends on shell components and on the component store. A quick integrity pass rules out the case where nothing you reset can stay fixed.
sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealthA fresh profile that works proves the problem is profile-bound, not machine-wide. That result decides whether you repair the profile or the installation.
Get-LocalUser | Select-Object Name,Enabled,LastLogon
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost -AllUsers | Select-Object Name,Version,StatusExplorer crashed, not the Start host. Restart explorer.exe and check the Application log for a faulting module in explorer.exe.
The cmdlet needs a current Windows 10 or 11 build. On older builds, use the manifest re-registration from step 3 instead.
Something rewrites the package state: an update loop, a management policy or a cleanup tool. Check the AppX deployment log at the first failure of the day.
The layout database is empty rather than broken. Sign in with a new account and confirm; a damaged layout is not repaired by re-registration.
A reset can, which is why you export or screenshot the layout first. The tiles come back through the account sync if it is enabled.
No. Three commands cover most cases, and an in-place upgrade is the escalation — not a clean install.
Rename the state folder back from .old and sign out. A re-registration needs no undo; the reset is per package and reapplied by the next update.
Free · no account needed · tracks your progress