windows explorer needs to be restarted after every computer restart

[Amossss]

Hi

Whenever I restart my computer, when I see the desktop, the system icons on the taskbar are not working (start, search, network, messages etc).

If I click on the start button I see a popup saying there was an error and I should logoff and re-logon to fix it. I do that exactly but it doesn't work. I have to restart windows explorer (task manager) and then everything is working as expected until the next restart.

Searching for the problem on the web always leads me to a problem of windows explorer restarting in a loop but that is not my problem.

Please advice
Thanks

 

[hang-the-9]

Windows 10 has a reset option that refreshes the setup of Windows but does not touch your files. Use that and see if it helps.

 

[Amossss]

Thank you for your reply.

I just read about resetting the PC and I must say it doesn't look promising regarding what I have. It says something about settings going to default and uninstalls apps (not sure what it means by apps if it's keeping my files).

Is there an option to just fix the system files? Tough I remember doing something like that which didn't help

 

[hang-the-9]

Thank you for your reply.

I just read about resetting the PC and I must say it doesn't look promising regarding what I have. It says something about settings going to default and uninstalls apps (not sure what it means by apps if it's keeping my files).

Is there an option to just fix the system files? Tough I remember doing something like that which didn't help

Yes that restore https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

Your programs and files are separate things, files are what you create using programs that are usually saved in My Documents.

 

[Amossss]

This is a list of available reset options but I didn't see an option to "fix" system files only. I prefer not to reset my pc as it might do much more than I want it to do regarding the applications I have installed on my pc.

 

[Amossss]

Any other help/idea on this subject will be highly appreciated, thanks in advance
Except for this thing, Windows 10 works perfectly so I wonder if it's a small thing to do to fix it

 

[gardenman]

If I click on the start button I see a popup saying there was an error and I should logoff and re-logon to fix it.

What exactly does the logoff error message say?

Do you have any explorer extensions installed such as Classic Shell - Classic Explorer?

Do a Clean Boot and see if you still have the issue.

 

[Amossss]

It looks similar to this but it says: your start menu isn't working....
http://kbimg.dell.com/library/KB/DELL_ORGANIZATIONAL_GROUPS/DELL_GLOBAL/REC/FY2016/Critical%20error.PNG

It just happened again so I clicked the "sign out now" button and voila! the start menu and everything else worked with no problem without needing to restart windows explore... just when I wanted to replicate the problem... sounds familiar?

The above popup gives a hint? If not, I will wait for the next time it happens and try to clean boot link

 

[Amossss]

OK, I'm after a clean boot test which resulted in almost the same behavior. After a normal startup I experienced the almost the same experience as well, that is everything is working fine except for the magnifying glass button (from where I have access to everything). It's just not responding to clicks. A restart of windows explorer "fixes" everything....

 

[gardenman]

The next time you see the error message, please write it down, word-for-word and type it here so we know exactly what we are dealing with. There are many errors about the Start Menu but they can mean completely different things and have completely different fixes for them, so its important to know the exact words in the error message.

I was hoping the Clean Boot would help us determine if its a software conflict, but since the error happened while in a Clean Boot, that means it is likely not a software conflict and something wrong with Windows itself (not any 3rd party software you have installed).

I did find the page which has the error on it (same image that you posted above), but without the exact error message that you are getting, I can't promise this will help. http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN299201/windows-10-critical-error---start-menu-and-cortana-aren-t-working-we-ll-try-to-fix-it-the-next-time-you-sign-in?lang=EN You may or may not have a Dell, but the page still may help you. What brand name and model number is your computer?

I recommend trying a System File Check. More info can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929833/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files

 

[Amossss]

It's the exact same message in this image: http://kbimg.dell.com/library/KB/DELL_ORGANIZATIONAL_GROUPS/DELL_GLOBAL/REC/FY2016/Critical%20error.PNG except for the beginning: Your start menu isn't working, we'll try to fix it the next time you sign in...

First I tried the powershell - no change except for the fact that the problem was back to square 1 where the whole taskbar didn't work
I did get the following though: http://oi65.tinypic.com/szbxn5.jpg

then I tried method 1 - when booting in safe boot - everything worked but needless to say one cannot work this way. After a normal restart the problem appeared again.

I didn't try method 2 - I admit I'm skeptic it will work. It doesn't seem to fix the problem but to be as a workaround and for me restarting windows explorer is best workaround for now.

 

[gardenman]

A few more ideas that may help.

If you have DropBox installed, uninstall it and see if that helps. DropBox is known to cause this problem. Removing it is not guaranteed to fix the problem. Keeping it installed however, will likely result in you being unable to fix the problem.

Open a command prompt and run chkdsk /f to scan the drive for errors (and fix them). If you have not run the sfc /scannow command then you should do so. Then reboot and try again.

You said you tried a powershell command, but you didn't say which one. Here is one that you can try. Be sure to run powershell in Admin mode then copy/paste the following into powershell:

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

This suppose to fix the Start Menu. Reboot and see if things are fixed.

If none of the above help, I highly recommend creating a new user account (See video below). Each user account has their own Start Menu (along with a shared system Start Menu). If the problem is located in the actual user account, then this will fix the problem. If not, it won't.

More info that looks safe to try can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrTD-Wxaqi8
There is a last resort in the video, that shows you how to re-install Windows.

I hope one of the above fixes the problem for you, I'm out of ideas. If it doesn't help, please reply and maybe someone else can help!