Windows 11/10 Start Menu grayed out and unresponsive

If you’ve upgraded to Windows 11/10 and are having problems with the Start Menu, then in today’s post, we show you what to do to attempt to resolve the issue if your Windows 11/10 Start menu grayed out and unresponsive after an update.

Below is an image showing exactly how a Windows 11/10 Start menu is grayed out.

Windows 11/10 Start Menu grayed out or unresponsive

If your Windows 11/10 Start Menu is grayed our or unresponsive, follow these solutions:

1. Restart Start process
2. Run the Windows Store App Troubleshooter
3. Run the Start Menu Troubleshooter
4. Re-register the Windows Store
5. Update the Graphics Card Driver
6. Run the SFC/DISM scan
7. Use System Restore
8. Use Registry Editor to reset Start Menu

Now, let’s take a detailed look at these possible solutions.

1] Restart Start process

When you are facing such a problem, restarting the Start process could be one of the best solutions. For that, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Then, find the Start process in the Processes tab. Click on it to select and click the End task button. It restarts the process immediately.

2] Run the Microsoft Store App Troubleshooter

Update: As this Troubleshooter is no longer available, you need to use the Get Help app. Search for get help and open the app. Then, type Microsoft store apps troubleshooter and follow the screen instructions.

Running the Microsoft Store App troubleshooter can help fix this issue in some cases. So it’s suggested you try it and see if that helps.

3] Run the Start Menu Troubleshooter

If you use Windows 11, you need to use the Get Help app. Open the Get Help app and type start menu troubleshooter. It will display some solutions. You need to go through those screen instructions to run the virtual troubleshooter.

However, if you use Windows 10, you can run the in-built Troubleshooter without any problem.

The Start Menu troubleshooter is another one that might come in handy for fixing grayed out Start menu.

Once you have downloaded the tool, do the following:

• Open the troubleshooter.
• Click Advanced.
• Select Apply repairs automatically.
• Then press the Next button to run through the troubleshooter‘s fixes.

4] Re-register the Microsoft Store

Corrupted installed Microsoft Store files can cause the issue of grayed out Start menu. Consequently, re-registering the Windows Store app might resolve the issue. Here’s how:

Launch PowerShell in admin mode.

In the PowerShell window, copy and paste the command below and hit Enter:

‘Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}’

Restart your device.

After re-registering Microsoft Store, you’ll need to reset the Microsoft Store’s cache.

To do that, press Windows key + R.

In the Run dialog box, type the command below and hit Enter:

wsreset.exe

The Microsoft Store app might then update and fix the grayed out Start menu issue.

Also, you can run the command below in PowerShell elevated mode, then restart your computer and see if that helps.

Get-appxpackage -all shellexperience -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}

5] Update the Graphics Card Driver

Try updating GPU drivers. This issue is known to have been caused by NVIDIA drivers before so if you have one of those, update NVIDIA drivers. Here’s how:

• Press Windows key + R. In the Run dialog box, type dxdiag hit Enter.
• Note down the operating system and graphics card model details on the System and Display tabs respectively.
• Next, navigate to your graphics card manufacturer’s website in a browser.
• Open the driver section of the website.
• Then select your graphics card model and Windows platform from the site’s drop-down menus. If the site has a driver search box, enter your graphics card model there.
• Download the most update driver that’s compatible with your 64 or 32-bit computer architecture.
• Thereafter, double-click the driver installer from the folder you downloaded it to, to install the graphics card driver.

Once the driver installation is complete, restart the PC and see if the issue is resolved.

6] Run the SFC/DISM scan

Performing the SFC/DISM scan operation can help resolve this issue. The procedure simply replaces corrupt/damaged system files with fresh healthy copies – it also can rebuild the installed Windows 11/10 system image.

For the purposes of ease and convenience, you can run the scan using the procedure below.

Open Notepad – copy and paste the command below into the text editor.

@echo off
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
echo ...
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
echo ...
date /t & time /t
echo SFC /scannow
SFC /scannow
date /t & time /t
pause

Save the file with a name and append the .bat file extension – eg; SFC_DISM_scan.bat.

Repeatedly run the batch file with admin privilege (right-click the saved file and select Run as Administrator from the context menu) until it reports no errors – at which point you can now restart your PC and see if the grayed out Start menu issue has been resolved.

7] Use System Restore

It is probably the last option you need to use when nothing has worked for your benefit. To use a System Restore point to restore computer in Windows 11/10, you can go through this detailed guide.

8] Use Registry Editor to reset Start Menu

You can use the Registry Editor to reset the Start Menu in Windows 11/10. As it could be a corrupt file issue, you could get your Start Menu back with the help of this solution. For that, open the Registry Editor and navigate to this path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\IrisService

Here, you can find a REG_SZ value named IrisService. You need to right-click on it and select the Delete option.

Then, click on the Yes button to confirm.

Finally, close all the windows and restart your computer.

That’s it, folks – All the best!

Read: Right-click not working on Start Menu or Taskbar in Windows

Why is my Start button grayed out?

There could be so many things involved in creating this problem on your computer. From an incorrect Personalization setting to corrupt system file, you can hold responsible everything. However, to repair or fix this problem, you need to update your graphics driver first. Then, you should run the System File Checker and DISM tools. Finally, if nothing works, you should opt for System Restore point.

How do I restore the Start menu in Windows 11?

The easiest way to restore the Start menu in Windows 11 is by using the Task Manager. You need to open the Task Manager first. Then, make sure that you are in the Processes tab. If so, find the Start process and select it. Finally, click on the End task button. Then, close the Task Manager and try to open the Start Menu. It will get your Start Menu back in working condition.

Read: Start Menu does not open or Start Button not working in Windows