Windows Start Menu not starting? You're not alone
(2022/07/25)
- Reference: 1658759629
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/25/start_menu_stopped/
- Source link:
Microsoft has admitted its last Patch Tuesday (and update previews) broke the Start Menu for some Windows 11 users and issued a Known Issue Rollback to solve the problem.
The absence of the operating system's Start Menu was inconvenient for affected customers, who complained of it when the [1]security patch landed at the beginning of the month.
Microsoft admitted the issue was present in the release notes for [2]KB5015814 , which was downloaded automatically as part of the company's usual updates on 12 July, as well as in [3]KB5014668 , a preview issued in June which introduced [4]Search Highlights and, it seems, a non-functioning Start Menu (for some users, at least.)
[5]
The complication is also present in Microsoft's latest update preview. Released on July 21, [6]KB5015882 added the ability for new users to update to a newer version of Windows 11 on startup.
[7]
[8]
It's worth noting that the June update preview, KB5014668, also contained [9]a fix for Wi-Fi hotspots that were broken in the previous raft of patches. It is heartening to see Microsoft continue its rich tradition of fixing one thing and breaking another.
As for the problems this time around, Microsoft added the comment below to the known issues list:
[10]Microsoft: What's that? A patch for make-me-admin vuln? Sorry – can't hear you. Have a new jumper instead
[11]Microsoft Defender for Endpoint laid low. Not by malware, but by another buggy Windows patch
[12]Partial beer print horror as Microsoft's printer bug fix, er, doesn't
[13]How to get Linux onto a non-approved laptop
"After installing this update, we have received reports that a small number of devices might be unable to open the Start menu. On affected devices, clicking or selecting the Start button or using the Windows key on your keyboard might have no effect."
Fortunately for users concerned about the prospect of rolling back the security fixes in the release, the issue has been resolved using [14]Known Issue Rollback (KIR) . KIR is a tacit admission from Microsoft that occasionally an update might break one or more of the many Windows configurations out there. The particular regression can be quietly rolled back without hitting other critical updates.
[15]
"Please note," said Microsoft, "that it might take up to 24 hours for the resolution to propagate automatically to consumer devices and non-managed business devices. Restarting your Windows device might help the resolution apply to your device faster."
So, maybe turn it off and turn it on again? ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/18/windows_11_patch_problems/
[2] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/july-12-2022-kb5015814-os-build-22000-795-74e7676e-4182-4747-8f73-bbe0c497dc2a
[3] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/june-23-2022-kb5014668-os-build-22000-778-preview-2b5f1da6-d602-48b4-b443-96b460e3c38d
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/24/windows_11_optional_update/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/july-21-2022-kb5015882-os-build-22000-832-preview-473e1d95-06a0-4f40-9554-cdc7cca85584
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/20/windows_patch_issues/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/01/windows_11_paint/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/25/defender_for_endpoint_problems/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/18/windows_printer_still_broken/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/22/linux_nonapproved_laptop/
[14] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/known-issue-rollback-helping-you-keep-windows-devices-protected/ba-p/2176831
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The absence of the operating system's Start Menu was inconvenient for affected customers, who complained of it when the [1]security patch landed at the beginning of the month.
Microsoft admitted the issue was present in the release notes for [2]KB5015814 , which was downloaded automatically as part of the company's usual updates on 12 July, as well as in [3]KB5014668 , a preview issued in June which introduced [4]Search Highlights and, it seems, a non-functioning Start Menu (for some users, at least.)
[5]
The complication is also present in Microsoft's latest update preview. Released on July 21, [6]KB5015882 added the ability for new users to update to a newer version of Windows 11 on startup.
[7]
[8]
It's worth noting that the June update preview, KB5014668, also contained [9]a fix for Wi-Fi hotspots that were broken in the previous raft of patches. It is heartening to see Microsoft continue its rich tradition of fixing one thing and breaking another.
As for the problems this time around, Microsoft added the comment below to the known issues list:
[10]Microsoft: What's that? A patch for make-me-admin vuln? Sorry – can't hear you. Have a new jumper instead
[11]Microsoft Defender for Endpoint laid low. Not by malware, but by another buggy Windows patch
[12]Partial beer print horror as Microsoft's printer bug fix, er, doesn't
[13]How to get Linux onto a non-approved laptop
"After installing this update, we have received reports that a small number of devices might be unable to open the Start menu. On affected devices, clicking or selecting the Start button or using the Windows key on your keyboard might have no effect."
Fortunately for users concerned about the prospect of rolling back the security fixes in the release, the issue has been resolved using [14]Known Issue Rollback (KIR) . KIR is a tacit admission from Microsoft that occasionally an update might break one or more of the many Windows configurations out there. The particular regression can be quietly rolled back without hitting other critical updates.
[15]
"Please note," said Microsoft, "that it might take up to 24 hours for the resolution to propagate automatically to consumer devices and non-managed business devices. Restarting your Windows device might help the resolution apply to your device faster."
So, maybe turn it off and turn it on again? ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/18/windows_11_patch_problems/
[2] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/july-12-2022-kb5015814-os-build-22000-795-74e7676e-4182-4747-8f73-bbe0c497dc2a
[3] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/june-23-2022-kb5014668-os-build-22000-778-preview-2b5f1da6-d602-48b4-b443-96b460e3c38d
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/24/windows_11_optional_update/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/july-21-2022-kb5015882-os-build-22000-832-preview-473e1d95-06a0-4f40-9554-cdc7cca85584
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/20/windows_patch_issues/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/01/windows_11_paint/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/25/defender_for_endpoint_problems/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/18/windows_printer_still_broken/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/22/linux_nonapproved_laptop/
[14] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/known-issue-rollback-helping-you-keep-windows-devices-protected/ba-p/2176831
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yt6@Jcgue-GxOvx4FBgZ4gAAAEo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "its rich tradition of fixing one thing and breaking another"
DJV
I thought their usual rate was to fix one thing but break at least TWO others!
Paul Herber
'maybe turn it off and turn it on again'
Maybe turn it on and then off permanently.
Blackjack
And Microsoft wants to release a new windows every three years? Is like they are pushing to try something else.
Start menu? Who needs it?
chivo243
Just type in the search box... Or is that connected to the start menu too?
Well, that's one way to fix slow boot times in Windows.
Ken Moorhouse
Now just need to get the Start menu to appear at the same time.
Surprised? Nah!
Anonymous Coward
MS wants to get rid of the start menu stuff. Search is for everything in their mind and sod productivity.
Every time we search for something they get the data. Then they can line up to pipe adverts into the most popular ones in a future [cough][cough] update they'll force un us, poor unsuspecting users.
Ok, not me. W10 is it for me. When that goes EOL I'm done with Microsoft for good.
"its rich tradition of fixing one thing and breaking another"
Ah, Borkzilla. You can't even guarantee that your Start Menu will continue to function.
And you want me to believe that your Auto-Update is a Good Thing.
Nah, don't think so.