If you have been using Windows 10 for a long time. You might know how many bugs Windows 10 have. Every now and then we encounter different bugs on Windows computers. Even if you are running a high-end machine the bug will still be there. Thankfully, Microsoft is improving this with the latest upcoming Windows 11. But as of now, we all are stuck with the buggy Windows 10 software. So, if you are one of them and have faced the issue of Windows 10 start menu gets frozen. Then don’t worry we have some methods through which you might be able to fix this issue forever. Follow through the post to know about this particular bug and how you can fix it. The below mentioned fixes are of all the levels, some are the extreme complexity using the media creation tool while there’s also a tutorial by simply shutting down programs, so you can go through all of them may be one of these solutions actually fixes your freezing issues.

Also see: Fix Explorer.exe Error with Yellow Exclamation during Startup

Frozen Windows 10 Start menu: Check for Corrupt Files

Since the whole Windows OS deals with a lot of system files to make sure it runs properly. A single corrupted file can cause the issue to Windows and it can malfunction, so first we should check if there are any corrupted files in the windows.

1. Open Command Prompt or Power shell from the search or Cortana search box or the start menu. make sure you run it with administrative privileges.
2. now, inside the terminal window type sfc /scannow and then hit enter. Make sure to give a space between sfc and /scannow.
3. Wait for a while until it finishes the scanning and it will automatically fix the issues with the Windows files if there are any.
4. Otherwise, if you see anything like Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some (or all) of them, then you need to type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. Also, make sure you are connected to the internet, as Windows will try to clean the versions of the corrupted files and then replace them. If you see a message saying Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. That’s it your files should be fixed by now.

If the above-mentioned solution doesn’t work for you, then don’t worry we have more different solutions, you can move ahead with other methods to solve this issue.

Frozen Windows 10 Start Menu: Kill Windows Explorer

Most of the time it is the Windows explorer that comes out to be buggy. You can easily fix it by simply killing the Windows Explorer process running from the task manager. It is not a 100% guaranteed fix but most of the time this method works whenever windows start to behave weird or are frozen. So, if you want to kill the windows explorer process then go through the steps written below.

1. First, you need to open the task manager, and to open you need to press Ctrl+Shift+Escape together.
2. Now, inside the processes tab, scroll through the list of processes and find the windows explorer process.
3. Once you have found the process right click on the process and then click on Restart process from the menu.

That’s it your windows explorer process will be killed and restart again automatically and it should solve your problems with Windows, if not then you can carry on to look for a different solution, below we have a few more go through them.

Frozen Windows 10 Start Menu: Rebuild the Index

Indexing sometimes can help you solve Windows issues. It is basically inspecting the files, emails and other types of content that are within your Windows 10 OS. The indexing process is also used when you search for a file by using keywords. So indexing tool overall is a very powerful tool and it also involves cataloguing essential data such as words, files locations its metadata and more. So, below we have a quick tutorial on how you can rebuild the indexing for Windows 10.

1. Press and hold the Windows Key + R from your keyboard and then it will open the Run window. You can also open the run window by right-clicking on the start menu button and then selecting the run option from the menu.
2. Now inside the textbox in the run window type the following command control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions and then press enter.
3. Here you need to find and click on the modify button located at the bottom left of the indexing options window.
4. Click on the button that says Show All Locations.
5. From the list uncheck all the selected locations and then click on OK.
6. On the next step click on the Advanced and then click rebuild in the troubleshooting section. A message will pop up, which should be stating that this will take some time. Just click on OK and then continue.
7. Finally, once the rebuild is complete, hold the Windows +R to again open the run window. Now you have to type shutdown /r and this will restart your computer.

After the restart, you should not face any issues with Windows and all your errors must be fixed. If it hasn’t been fixed even now, then you can proceed to the next method through which you might be able to fix the Windows freezing issues.

Frozen Windows 10 Start Menu: Use the Media Creation Tool

If you have reached this part of the article, I am assuming you have tried all of the methods mentioned above and now the last method which is left to do is using the media creation tool. Using the media creation tool, we simply reinstall the whole Windows without losing the files, settings or anything. it is most likely the best way to fix any issues with Windows as it reinstalls the windows or repair your windows. However, if you have something very important on your computer then you must take a backup of it.

The whole process of using the media creation tool is a bit long and complex, but don’t worry, if you have a mediocre level of knowledge about computers then it should be easy for you. You need to download the full ISO for Windows 10and have to make your pen drive or DVD bootable to reinstall the windows on your computer. Also, if anything goes wrong or any one of the steps is done wrong, then you might need to clean install your windows, in that case, you will be losing all of your files from the drive on which currently your Windows 10 OS is installed.

Here is How to Use The Windows 10 Media Creation tool

1. First, you need to go to the Microsoft windows website and then download the Media creation tool for free, which will be right in front of their website at the bottom section.
2. Now, insert your USB drive in the USB slot of your computer, then open the downloaded media creation tool and create a system installation disk using the Windows Media Creation tool.
3. Now, open the USB drive and then double click on Setup.exe from the media which you have created just now using the Media creation tool.
4. Follow through the process and it will reinstall the Windows on your PC, fixing all of the issues and corrupted files of your OS.

Frozen Windows 10 Start Menu: Perform a Fresh Installation

Even if using the media creation tool doesn’t fix your issue, then the only options with which you are left is to clean install your Windows 10 again and wiping all of your data. This way it will be resetting the whole computer back to its factory state and the only way is left for you to fix the issue is doing the clean installation of Windows 10. Make sure before you start installing Windows 10 again that you have the product key in hand if not then the currently running Windows 10 OS, is digitally assigned to your Microsoft account, that way it will be activated beforehand when you install the fresh set of Windows on your computer.

To Conclude

Windows 10 have a lot of different type of bugs, some can be solved easily by cleaning temporary files, or by following any of the aforementioned steps, while there are other bugs which need some serious concern and can only be fixed by clean installing the Windows again. So make sure to find the right method for the bug or issues which you are facing on your Windows, and then diagnose accordingly.

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