Win 10 CRITICAL ERROR: Your start menu isn't working ..... etc etc

I think my problem is even worse - I have no start menu, Edge gives a Class not Recognized, and only the file explorer works.

This means I cannot access the settings to revert to Win 7 - So I only have 28 days to find out how before I am stuck with a computer I cannot even switch off, (only put to sleep - but that might be a blessing!).

I think my problem is even worse - I have no start menu, Edge gives a Class not Recognized, and only the file explorer works.

This means I cannot access the settings to revert to Win 7 - So I only have 28 days to find out how before I am stuck with a computer I cannot even switch off, (only put to sleep - but that might be a blessing!).

Since Explorer is working for you, start explorer, choose "this PC" on the left,, click on "computer" and in the mid top of the screen you'll see "open settings." This brings up the settings screen where you can choose recovery options. (From the update and security choice) and revert to win8.1 (in my case) you should have a revert to win7.

please let us know how you do....and I'd your win7 installation comes back the way you left it.

paul benoit

I've got the same problem. Everything was working fine right after I updated from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. Then things slowly started going bonkers. I had opened my web browser (firefox) and it asked me if I wanted it to be the default webbrowser. I said yes, windows pops up this default app screen and I changed it. I closed firefox opened it back up it asked me again. I thought "Weird". I click on the Start Menu to try out Cortana, seemed to work. Later that day I click on the STart Menu and get "Critical Error Your Start menu isn't working. We'll try to fix it the next time you sign in." Only choice is "Sign out now". I click it, resign back into windows, click on start menu same error. Ran sfc /scannow, no problems found. Rebooted into safe mode, Start Menu there. Shut down, counted to 10, started back up. Start Menu worked, then later that day it stopped working again, I have yet to get it working.

Then I thought, well I guess I'll just make another account temporarily until this gets fixed. I go to accounts, try to add a new one, click the button to add, nothing happened. I tried over and over. Finally had to use an admin Command Prompt and "net user blah blah /add" to add the other account. The other account seems to work fine, so somehow or another my main account is screwed up from and unknown problem. I don't want to have to copy over all my files and try to reconfigure all the settings for everything I have under that profile.

What is causing this?

Even with the Windows start button not working, I discovered a right click on the button still works to provide a menu of system related options including access to File Explorer, System, Control Panel, PowerShell and Run among others.

But I too I'm having the identical problem.  I have been able to occasionally get the Start menu to appear after several log outs and perhaps a reboot but it isn't a sure thing.  At this point I can't get the Windows start menu to appear at all and Cortana's search tool is disabled for voice and text.

I will probably revert back to the machine's OEM installed OS and then run my back up to get back to where I was before the Win 10 upgrade.  How sad.

Paul - thank you so much for your advice - I have my trusty Windows 7 working again!!  Some strange changes to file permissions but those have been sorted out quite quickly.  At least the reverse journey was much quicker and far more successful that the abortive journey to Windows 10 - which I will leave well alone until I am forced to purchase a new machine when this one has taken its final byte.

I do hope you are able to resolve your issues.   did notice a marked difference in what was working and not working when doing a complete restart (when very little worked) and immediately after a "sleep" or "hibernation" when at least windows explorer worked.

Any way, I am totally in your debt and I thank you for sharing with me the solution to my problem,

David

Having the same problem:

The same problem. Upgraded from Win 8.1 to Win 10. Have two accounts, an Admin account and a User account. Both worked initially. Then Admin account developed the error described above. Left click on the Start Button leads to Critical Error box above and being signed out.

Taskbar icons, new notifications, sound, wireless, Left click on Windows Store leads to an error message box. Cortana does not respond. Icon for Edge has disappeared.

However other icons, Skype, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, File Explorer and Task View do work.

In my User Account all of these things still work properly, no problem.

There could be a correlation with Skype or this could be coincidental. Just before things stopped working in my Admin account Skype asked if I wished Skype to be my default for Calls. I pressed ok and it opened settings but the page seemed irrelevant and I closed it.

This seems to be a widespread problem, I have seen other places where folks upgrading from Win 8.1 to Win 10 essentially have the same problem of "Critical Error", is Microsoft going to publish a patch to fix this??

This is really frustrating ... and such a freaking travesty.  I know why Macs are gaining .... they just WORK.  I have been running the win 10 preview and now the RTM release now in a parallels VM on a MacBook Air .... and it works very well, I do use it much of the time ... I teach in college, and the OS is windows so since I teach excel, I have to use the win version.  I had such great hopes from my desktop PC running win 8.1 upgrading to win 10. 

Before I revert to Win 8.1, I have just for the third pass, this time from safe mode, added another UID/PW.  It's taking forever  "It's taking a bit longer than usual, but it should be ready soon"   this is the farthest I have gotten so far..  O well, finally desktop arrived.  START button does nit work, right click, no click, dead in the water.  Ctl/alt/del to switch user  to the other broken user so I can delete the second account so I can revert back to win 8.1

What an effing PIA.  I hope my win  8.1 is still there .... lots of apps ... if not, I have a win 10 on thumb drive and will just try a clean install and sell the desktop ... we'll see.

Thanks to those who replied, much appreciated.

I wonder where Microsoft is on this?  reports are that 14 million people have upgraded ...hmmmm, just must be the luck of the draw I guess.

Paul Benoit

The good news for me is that the reversion to win 8.1 worked ... All my apps are there, only network had to be reconfigured.  PHEW!!!!!!

i'll wait until there is some acknowledgement from Microsoft and a fix before tying again.  I never minded win 8.1 .... Could never understand the hullabaloo.  Would like to have win 10 but not all the issues.

thanks again for your responses

i hope someone comes up with a solution and fix

paul Benoit