We have noticed that sometimes, the Power button is not working in Windows 11. It animates when one clicks on it; but doesn’t show or do something. This case applies to both the power button in the Start menu and the one in the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen. In this post, we will discuss this issue and see what can be done to resolve it.
Why is my Power button not working in Windows 11?
Usually, the Power button fails to work due to a system glitch. Our best bet is to restart all the related processes and see if that helps. In case that fails, we will try to revert the system back to the stage when there was no issue.
Fix Power button not working in Windows 11
If the Power button is not working for you in Windows 11/10, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- End and restart the File Explorer
- Restart Start Menu Process
- Delete the Shell folder
- Restore your system using a restore point
- Repair System Files
- Use alternate methods to shutdown your computer.
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] End and restart the File Explorer
This issue can be nothing but a glitch. To resolve it, we can restart the File Explorer process running in the background, which also restarts the taskbar. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open the Task Manager by Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- Search for “Explorer
- Look for Windows Explorer, right-click on it, and click on Restart.
Wait for a few seconds as it restarts; once done, check if the issue persists.
2] Restart Start Menu Process
Since the power button in the Start menu does nothing, we are going to reboot the processes related to Start. To do so, open Task Manager, look for Start, right-click on it, and select End Task. Once done, try rebooting and see if that helps.
Read: Windows PC does not Shutdown or Restart
3] Delete the Shell folder
The Shell folder in Windows contains the default layout of the system, in case, the content of this folder is corrupted, we can encounter issues such as the one in question. To resolve it, we recommend you delete the Shell folder as Windows will automatically create one. In case, no shortcut is working for you, login into another user account and then delete it. Follow the steps mentioned below to do the same.
- Open File Explorer by Win + E.
- Click on the View > Show > Hidden items.
- Now, navigate to C:\Users\yusuf\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows.
- Look for the Shell folder and delete it.
- Finally, reboot your computer.
You can now see if the issue is resolved.
If the issue persists, we need to re-register the Shell experience. To do so, open Run by Win + I, type “PowerShell,” and hit Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Click Yes when the UAC prompt appears and run the following command.
Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}
Now, see if the issue persists.
4] Restore your system using a restore point
If you have created a restore point, we recommend you use it to restore your system to a point in time when this issue was absent. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Hit Win + S, type “restore point”, and hit Enter.
- Click on the System Restore button.
- Select a restore point and click on Next.
- Finally, click on Finish.
This will start restoring your system to the mentioned point in time. Finally, check if the issue is resolved.
5] Repair system files
You may encounter this issue because of corrupted system files; and to resolve it, we recommend you repair those files.
You can repair your PC without losing your data using the Windows Updates option.
6] Use alternate methods to shutdown your computer
If you are not able to shut down or restart your computer using the Power button, there are some alternatives that you can try. You can use the command-line shutdown options in this case. So, open the Command Prompt as an administrator and then use one of the following commands.
- To shut down your computer, run shutdown / s
- To restart your computer, run shutdown / r
- To log off from your computer, run shutdown / l
You can try these alternative methods until you find a fix or Microsoft releases an update to fix the issue.
That’s it!
Read: Windows Update and Shutdown/Restart not working and won’t go away
Why doesn’t my Start button work on Windows 11?
The Start button might fail to work because of various reasons including system glitches, unregistered system components, and more. We recommend you go through our guide on how to resolve the unresponsive Start button. Hopefully, you will be able to resolve the issue with ease.
Also Read: Backup, Restore, Reset Start Menu layout in Windows 11.
