Start Menu and Cortana not working in WIN 10

[Xysto]

I have a recurring issue with Windows Start menu and Cortana becoming dysfunctional over a period of days.  It seems like they become corrupted in some way, and will not open.  I have tried every suggestion I could find on other forums without luck, rootkit and virus scanner, Windows system error scans, Windows menu repair, installing all updates and ensuring drivers are up to date, reset Win 10, reinstalled win 10 2x on a scrubbed repartitioned and reformated SSD.  A clean install only lasts 3-4 days before menus become dysfunctional once again. I switched my Virus scanner, but no luck.

 

What I did find by accident is a reset of sorts in the form of switching Windows Features ON/OFF followed by a restart.  To repair my PC menus I have been repeatedly installing (or uninstall) Windows Subsystem for Linux. Restart installs (or uninstalls) the Feature and then menus work great again, but only for a few days.

 

Can anyone help with this nasty?

Thanks for reading, Xysto

[Leonard]

Do you also get the start menu being grayed out but things running in the background that you can see on the start menu? This happens when you rename C:/Windows/SystemApps/Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy to anything. In the creators update they tied both the windows search and cortana into one.

 

Now i am not saying that you did any renaming or whatever...... just saying.

 

Have you tried the reset windows yet?

 

@Xysto

[ProjectBox153]

Since you’ve reinstalled Windows, did you use a clean ISO?

[Xysto]

I did try reset.  Memtest.  Reinstalled x2.  Too many solutions, scans, updates to remember.  Did not work.

 

The ISO was a fresh download, which I checked.

 

I read about this issue in other forums, so I'm not the only one.  MS doesn't know what is causing this. 

 

 

[Koponen942]

Cannot agree more with @Xysto. Since upgrading to Fall Creators Update, I've been having multiple issues: start menu & taskbar refusing to work after 10 minutes from booting, background and foreground apps crashing/freezing (all at the same time, which is weird), Win10 "Modern" apps (settings, store etc.) not working (open, but freeze to the app logo). My event viewer is full of application events such as APPCRASH, CLR20r3, MoAppHang, WindowsWcpOtherFailure3,WindowsWcpAIFailure3 and so on. They all relate to freezing apps (duh..) but there isn't any information about what could be the culprit.

 

I have contacted M$ support regarding the issue multiple times, but every rep has only given me basic remote support and at the end, suggested me to do a reinstall. I've tried everything from registry hacks and PowerShell commands to doing an In-place Upgrade, which didn't help either. I read online that even a reinstall doesn't help, so I'm kinda out of solutions here.

 

It's weird that Microsoft (or the Level 1 support reps) aren't aware of the problem, and if they are, cannot find a fix for it. 

 

EDIT: Okay, a WEIRD update. If I open Settings, the Store or any other app, they freeze immediately. BUT. If I open the apps and then click the start button with the left and right mouse button at the same time, the start menu opens and the apps somehow "unfreeze". What causes this weird behaviour?

[Xysto]

Koponen942, have you tried resetting a Windows Feature ON/OFF to restore your menus?  Providing that you are able to get to Apps in settings.  I would like to know if this works for anyone else, although it's a short-term fix. 

[Rubin Chen]

I have a work around that doesn't really solve the issue. It just let you get away with not restarting the computer. You might need real process explorer to do this though. So to do this you first have to get unlucky and have the start menu become unresponsive at startup.

 

Method 1

Step 1: open Task Manager and go to details tab. 

Step 2: sort by name then sort by user to find all instances of svchost.exe being run by your logged in username( not local service, not system, not network services.

Step 3: find the svchost with roughly 4-6 mb of ram usage and end it. 

 

at this point press windows key or click start menu it should work now until next restart.

 

Because the above method is kind of unreliable since i have no way to know if your svchost.exe is going to have the same amount of ram usage as mine i have devised a 2nd way with real process explorer.

 

Method 2

Step 1: open Real process explorer and sort by name then user name to find all instances of svchost ran by your logged in user ( not local service, not system, not network services. like in method 1

Step 2: Find out which svchost.exe has something like this for command line."c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe -k unistacksvcgroup -s WpnUserService"

Step 3: end it and press windows key or click start menu it should work now until next restart.

[Xysto]

Hi Rubin,  I'll give this solution a try next time START, will not START!  Thanks for reading.  I will post my results, so stay tuned.

[Xysto]

On 11/28/2017 at 5:53 AM, Rubin Chen said:

I have a work around that doesn't really solve the issue. It just let you get away with not restarting the computer. You might need real process explorer to do this though. So to do this you first have to get unlucky and have the start menu become unresponsive at startup.

 

Method 1

Step 1: open Task Manager and go to details tab. 

Step 2: sort by name then sort by user to find all instances of svchost.exe being run by your logged in username( not local service, not system, not network services.

Step 3: find the svchost with roughly 4-6 mb of ram usage and end it. 

 

at this point press windows key or click start menu it should work now until next restart.

 

Because the above method is kind of unreliable since i have no way to know if your svchost.exe is going to have the same amount of ram usage as mine i have devised a 2nd way with real process explorer.

 

Method 2

Step 1: open Real process explorer and sort by name then user name to find all instances of svchost ran by your logged in user ( not local service, not system, not network services. like in method 1

Step 2: Find out which svchost.exe has something like this for command line."c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe -k unistacksvcgroup -s WpnUserService"

Step 3: end it and press windows key or click start menu it should work now until next restart.

Hi Ruben,

I used method one and my PC has been stable for better than a week.  It's 6 days uptime since the last restart, but that was for an install.

My PC f@h full time as well as being our main home PC.  I'm calling it a success.  I was certain there was going to be someone on LTT who would have a solution.  Yeah.  

Thanks very much for your good help.  Xysto.

[Rubin Chen]

6 hours ago, Xysto said:

Hi Ruben,

I used method one and my PC has been stable for better than a week.  It's 6 days uptime since the last restart, but that was for an install.

My PC f@h full time as well as being our main home PC.  I'm calling it a success.  I was certain there was going to be someone on LTT who would have a solution.  Yeah.  

Thanks very much for your good help.  Xysto.

Glad it worked for you. As of now I have found 2 more solutions, one that kind of work and the other seems to be a modify version of my annoying end task solution. ROFL! 

 

Solution 1 (the kind of work solution)

1. Go into start menu press settings(the cog icon)

2. Press accounts

3. On the left hand side press sign in options

4.  Scroll down to privacy and turn off "Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart"

 

This solution when it works solves my other issue too. Where my sound icon will have a x on there and when i press it it will attempt to troubleshoot but i can cancel it and it will start working again. However, I have also found the "Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart" feature to be quite useful as well especially for computers without SSD's. So onto solution 2

 

Solution 2 ( a less annoying fix)

1. Go to start menu and type in regedit to bring up registry editor

2. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService

    or

    Type in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService on the top          bar(i love this new feature!)

3. Locate a DWORD (32 bit) Value named Start

4. Change the value to 4

 

I have tested this method myself and what I have notice is that after restart the Svchost.exe that runs WpnUserService was not started. Which means you don't have to end the task every restart so Yay! However as mention above I have a windows sound issue and that issue remains after this "fix"

 

Please note I did not come up with these solutions myself (unlike the end task thing which i stumble onto). I got to give credit to where credit is due. Linked below is where I found these solutions and I wasn't able to find the original source since they didn't mention the source either. Unless they are the source. 

Solution 1: Microsoft Forum posted by Jerrymif

Solution 2: Microsoft Forum posted by Hebbe C

[Xysto]

Thanks for sharing this resource.  I may need to revisit this at some point, but soln #1 still a solid fix for my particular config.  As for now, I'm very relieved to not have this recurring issue. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Xysto]

On 12/10/2017 at 4:33 PM, Rubin Chen said:

Glad it worked for you. As of now I have found 2 more solutions, one that kind of work and the other seems to be a modify version of my annoying end task solution. ROFL! 

 

Solution 1 (the kind of work solution)

1. Go into start menu press settings(the cog icon)

2. Press accounts

3. On the left hand side press sign in options

4.  Scroll down to privacy and turn off "Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart"

 

This solution when it works solves my other issue too. Where my sound icon will have a x on there and when i press it it will attempt to troubleshoot but i can cancel it and it will start working again. However, I have also found the "Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart" feature to be quite useful as well especially for computers without SSD's. So onto solution 2

 

Solution 2 ( a less annoying fix)

1. Go to start menu and type in regedit to bring up registry editor

2. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService

    or

    Type in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService on the top          bar(i love this new feature!)

3. Locate a DWORD (32 bit) Value named Start

4. Change the value to 4

 

I have tested this method myself and what I have notice is that after restart the Svchost.exe that runs WpnUserService was not started. Which means you don't have to end the task every restart so Yay! However as mention above I have a windows sound issue and that issue remains after this "fix"

 

Please note I did not come up with these solutions myself (unlike the end task thing which i stumble onto). I got to give credit to where credit is due. Linked below is where I found these solutions and I wasn't able to find the original source since they didn't mention the source either. Unless they are the source. 

Solution 1: Microsoft Forum posted by Jerrymif

Solution 2: Microsoft Forum posted by Hebbe C

Hello again, I spoke too soon. Windows menus, cortana, and programs became unresponsive.  The only function I could access was the Task mgr, so I implemented the original soln #1 and then restarted.  This allowed me to access menu and regedit and implemented soln #2 above.  I set the start value to 4 (from 2), hoping it was hex and not the decimal option? 

So we will test and see how this works and hope for a permanent fix.

Xysto

[Rubin Chen]

18 hours ago, Xysto said:

Hello again, I spoke too soon. Windows menus, cortana, and programs became unresponsive.  The only function I could access was the Task mgr, so I implemented the original soln #1 and then restarted.  This allowed me to access menu and regedit and implemented soln #2 above.  I set the start value to 4 (from 2), hoping it was hex and not the decimal option? 

So we will test and see how this works and hope for a permanent fix.

Xysto

Oh don't worry about hex or decimal since hex and decimal for 4 is still 4 it only gets weird when 10 or above. Btw theres a new update that came out i don't know if it fixes anything for you. it did nothing for me... Its looking like Microsoft is neither actively trying to find a fix nor acknowledging the problem... Only if someone big points out the problem. **Cough** Linus **cough** But i can't blame him for not pointing it out though since not everyone is having this issue. I asked my friends only 3 out of 9 people I asked has the issue and out of the 3 only some of their computers have the issue. I guess i pulled the short straw... All 3 of my computers have the issue **sigh**

[Xysto]

3 hours ago, Rubin Chen said:

Oh don't worry about hex or decimal since hex and decimal for 4 is still 4 it only gets weird when 10 or above. Btw theres a new update that came out i don't know if it fixes anything for you. it did nothing for me... Its looking like Microsoft is neither actively trying to find a fix nor acknowledging the problem... Only if someone big points out the problem. **Cough** Linus **cough** But i can't blame him for not pointing it out though since not everyone is having this issue. I asked my friends only 3 out of 9 people I asked has the issue and out of the 3 only some of their computers have the issue. I guess i pulled the short straw... All 3 of my computers have the issue **sigh**

Windows installed the latest update following the reboot yesterday.  Also, installed the Radeon driver update.  Just hoping.  You are right tho, MS doesn't seem to acknowledge or offer much support.  I went through all of the listed suggestions, scan tools, creating local acct, changed antivirus, reinstalled, blah, blah.

 

A Linux install is beginning to look like an option,

 

[Kyle_N]

Start menu, Cortana, Action Center, and various other taskbar flyouts are part of an application called ShellExperienceHost. 

 

Windows Explorer is responsible for launching this app as needed, but this app is NOT part of Explorer, it is a separate exe. When a flyout is opened, ShellExperienceHost is un-suspended and the flyout is opened. When the flyout is dismissed, the app is suspended (taken off CPU, but remains in memory), and stays that way until another flyout is opened.

You can track this behavior in task manager, you have to show the Status column though, and "Show suspended status" in one of the menus. 

 

The issue seems to be with un-suspending ShellExperienceHost. My usual workaround is to end ShellExperienceHost.exe in task manager, and that will force it to restart.

 

It seems to be worse in FCU (compared to CU), don't really have a better fix other than restarting the app though. 

[Rubin Chen]

2 hours ago, DOGC_Kyle said:

Start menu, Cortana, Action Center, and various other taskbar flyouts are part of an application called ShellExperienceHost. 

 

Windows Explorer is responsible for launching this app as needed, but this app is NOT part of Explorer, it is a separate exe. When a flyout is opened, ShellExperienceHost is un-suspended and the flyout is opened. When the flyout is dismissed, the app is suspended (taken off CPU, but remains in memory), and stays that way until another flyout is opened.

You can track this behavior in task manager, you have to show the Status column though, and "Show suspended status" in one of the menus. 

 

The issue seems to be with un-suspending ShellExperienceHost. My usual workaround is to end ShellExperienceHost.exe in task manager, and that will force it to restart.

 

It seems to be worse in FCU (compared to CU), don't really have a better fix other than restarting the app though. 

Give the regedit i mentioned aboved a try so far worked for me.

[Xysto]

Hey Rubin,

 

It's been 1 month since I implemented your last fix and I am happy to report that Win 10 has been remarkably stable. So thanks a bunch!  I hope you had some success resolving your situation. 

 

I'm also hoping the updates for Spectre and Meltdown patches don't cause any added headaches.  Always something.

 

Happy New Year.