Guide: Fix ‘Windows 10 Apps Missing from the Start Menu’ Issue
The Windows 10 start menu contains most of your apps, and it serves as a quick launch window for them. You can search for apps or just choose your favorite apps from the Most used or Pinned section. What if those apps are suddenly missing from the Windows 10 Start menu? Some users complain about seeing empty or empty icons in the start menu. Others say they cannot see standard Windows apps. Still, some users complain that searching for specific installed apps returns no results. We will look below some possible solutions to fix all these errors. Let’s start.
1. Update Windows OS
If the error is related to a bug in the system files, you can fix it by updating Windows 10. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings and select Update & Security.
Under Windows Update, you can see if there are any pending updates that can be downloaded or installed. You can also manually check for updates.
Don’t forget to restart your PC after installing updates.
2. Update apps
Since the error is directly related to apps, we will update all apps. Open Windows Store and click the menu icon to find Downloads and updates. If any updates are already available and pending, you will see them separately as in the screenshot below.
Click Get updates to find them and update all to update all apps.
If you have apps that you can’t find in the start menu, but are installed directly from a third party site, there are two ways to update these apps. You can search from within the app or visit the app download page for more information.
3. Scan for viruses
If you rely on Windows Defender, you don’t need to do anything else. It runs in the background and does its job. If you’re using a third-party antivirus app, launch it and run a full scan. If anything is found, follow the on-screen instructions.
I would recommend downloading Malwarebytes, which can work with any antivirus app without breaking anything. The free version is good enough. Run a full scan again. You can also try the Microsoft Safety Scanner app, which does something similar to Malwarebytes. Keep in mind that you need to download the latest version every 10 days. Download Microsoft Safety Scanner Download Malwarebytes
4. Troubleshoot
Windows 10 comes with a built-in troubleshooting option that can be used to find errors in many Windows apps and services. Open the Start menu and search for Search and fix problems with Microsoft Store apps. If the search doesn’t work here either, you can open Settings and search there.
Here, select automatically apply repairs and click Next. From there, follow the onscreen instructions.
5. Bloatware apps
Microsoft ships Windows 10 with several pre-installed apps. While some are really good, others aren’t that much. These are also often referred to as bloatware. Some users found success by removing these unwanted, not so useful apps. You don’t want to delete or uninstall critical apps that interfere with the way Windows works. For example Cortana. If an ‘uninstall’ option is available, you can usually safely remove it.
Right-click on the app to select the Uninstall option. You can also go old school here and use the Control Panel, especially if the app isn’t showing up or missing from the Start menu. Another way is to open Settings and go to Apps to delete them. Don’t forget to restart your PC when you are done.
6. Reset / repair apps
Microsoft apps that come with Windows OS have an option to fix them. It will try to repair damaged files and remove errors. Some apps also have another option called Reset. This will reinstall the app and return all settings to defaults. Note that your documents are not touched. Go to the next point for third-party apps. Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I on your keyboard and click Apps.
Under Apps & features, find the app that is not listed up and click it once to display the advanced options. Let’s say the Calculator app is causing you trouble.
Scroll a bit to find the Reset and Repair option.
If necessary, reboot and check if you can now open the app from the Start menu. If so, then repeat the same process for all Microsoft apps that are not working.
7. Reinstall apps
As a sequel to up at points 5 and 6 uninstall and reinstall all affected apps regardless of where they were downloaded. This can be the Windows Store or a third party site. If possible, make sure you have a backupup makes all the data and even the app settings. You can also write down important things in a note.
Sometimes when you delete an app, certain folders or files remain on the drive. You can usually find them in C drive under Program files or Users> Username> AppData> Local folder. If you delete these remaining files, you can perform a clean installation.
8. Clean boot and safe mode
I have discussed the Clean Boot and Safe Mode in detail here. Go ahead and see if you can find any irregularities using these two methods.
9. Re-register apps
If many apps are missing or not visible in the start menu or if none of the above methods worked for you, you will need to register the apps again. Find and open Powershell. You can also open it from the hidden menu by pressing Windows key + X on your keyboard. Close all apps and windows, including My People, to avoid errors. Type the below 4 commands one by one. reg delete “HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionTileDataModelMigrationTileStore” / va / f get-appxpackage -packageType bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($ _. installlocation + “appxmetadataappxbundlemanifest.xml”)} $ bundlefamilies = (get-appxpackage -packagetype Bundle) .packagefamilyname get-appxpackage -packagetype main |? {-not ($ bundlefamilies -contains $ _. packagefamilyname)} |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($ _. installlocation + “appxmanifest.xml”)} You should now see missing apps in the Start menu and the blank icons issue should be resolved.
10. SFC and DISM
SFC stands for System File Checker. A built-in tool that attempts to detect and repair irregularities in Windows system files. Open the command prompt with administrator privileges from the search or by pressing the Windows key + X shortcut. If you can’t find CMD, you can also open Powershell. Type the command below and hit Enter. sfc / scannow
Another command you can try is DISM. This command attempts to restore Windows health by repairing corrupt files. DISM.exe / Online / Cleanup Image / Restorehealth If DISM finds something, I recommend running the SFC command again. Reboot once everything is done. These commands take time to execute, so make sure you have your laptops to their respective chargers before use.
Start to finish
The Start menu plays an important role. It acts as a gateway to all apps and programs installed on our computer. It can be frustrating not accessing it properly. Hopefully one of the above solutions worked for you. The next up Do you want to make the start menu transparent in Windows 10? Click the link below to learn how.
Fix ‘Windows 10 Apps Missing from the Start Menu’ Issue: benefits
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