How To Fix Missing Start Menu Icons In Windows PC

There are numerous app and file icons in the Windows Start menu. However, it sometimes fails to display icons correctly. On their Start menus in Windows 10 and 11, several customers have claimed that icons have vanished. Users can still launch apps from the Start menu even if their icons are missing.

However, the Start menu is unquestionably ruined when several icons are absent. The following expert-recommended strategies have been compiled from various troubleshooting forums and are guaranteed to work.

How To Fix Missing Start Menu Icons In Windows PC

1. Reboot the Process Known As StartMenuExperienceHost.exe

The StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process controls the Start menu in Windows 11 and Windows 10. To restart StartMenuExperienceHost.exe in Task Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1: To start, launch Task Manager by pressing Ctrl, Shift, and Esc.

Step 2: Go to the Details tab in the Task Manager. Click on More details at the task manager window’s bottom if you can’t see the Details tab.

Step 3: The “End task” option should be chosen by right-clicking the StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process.

Step 4: When prompted for confirmation, choose the End process option.

2. Activate The Microsoft Start Menu Troubleshooter

A tool for troubleshooting the Microsoft Start Menu is available to address problems with the menu. However, Windows 11 doesn’t come with that troubleshooter. The Start menu repair tool must be downloaded and used as follows:

Step 1: Launch your web browser and go to Softpedia’s Start Menu Troubleshooter website.

Step 2: To view download location options, select Download Now.

Step 3: The troubleshooter file can be downloaded by clicking Softpedia Secure Download (US).

Step 4: Start Menu Troubleshooter can be found in the downloads location specified by your browser. To launch the troubleshooter, open the download folder in File Explorer and double-click startmenu.diagcab.

Step 5: To access the Apply repairs automatically checkbox, click Advanced.

Step 6: To start the troubleshooting, check the Apply repairs automatically option and click Next.

3. Run System Image Scans And SFC

Because of damaged Windows system files on your computer, your Start menu can miss some icons. A System File Checker scan can be used to determine whether such is the case. An SFC tool may be used from the Command Prompt to identify and fix corrupted system files. Using the SFC command, you can begin a file scan as follows:

Step 1: Enter Command Prompt in the file and app search box by pressing Windows key + S.

Step 2: To open Command Prompt, click Run as an administrator in the search result.

Step 3: Enter the following command for a system image scan before starting the SFC tool.

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Step 4: Start by entering the following command into the Command Prompt window and pressing Enter.

sfc /scannow

Step 5: Wait for System File Checker to finish scanning and display the results at the Command Prompt, whichever time it takes.

4. Update The Icon Cache

The icon cache in Windows 11 is a group of files that store icon copies. When using Windows 11, corrupted or out-of-date icon cache data can result in problems with icon display. Therefore, deleting the iconcache.db files in that cache and refreshing (rebuilding) it might be a workable cure for missing Start menu icons. The following procedures can be used to rebuild the icon cache:

Step 1: Launch Command Prompt with administrator privileges.

Step 2: Type the following and press Enter to change the directory.

cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

Step 3: Enter this command to stop File Explorer, then press Return.

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

Step 4: To remove the iconcache DB files, type the following command and hit Return:

del iconcache*

Step 5: Type the following text and press Enter to restart Explorer.

explorer.exe

Step 6: Reboot your computer after that.

Step 7: When you end Explorer, Windows will become completely blank. The explorer.exe command makes it simple to restart Explorer.

5. Activate The Start Menu Again

An excellent way to solve problems with the Start menu in Windows 11 is to reregister the menu. You can reregister your Start menu by running a short PowerShell program. The steps for reregistering the Start menu are as follows:

Step 1: To find that command-line shell in Windows, open the search window and type PowerShell.

Step 2: To open Windows PowerShell as an administrator, use a right-click on the Windows PowerShell application inside the search tool.

Step 3: Using the keys Ctrl and C, copy the following command:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Step 4: Press the Ctrl + V keys together to paste the reregister command into PowerShell.

Step 5: Reregistering the Start menu requires pressing the Enter key.

6. Eliminate Temporary And Junk Files

The missing start menu icons error can also be brought on by conflicting temporary or garbage files that can cause problems while trying to install a specific app on your computer. You should clear all the trash and temporary files from your computer to fix this problem and free up space. To assist you in achieving this, use Advanced System Optimizer.

Advanced System Optimizer is the top junk-cleaning program for computers. It offers a speedy, affordable solution to your Windows optimization needs. Clear the hard disc to improve computer performance. If you remove superfluous and undesirable files from your storage, your PC will operate more quickly with quicker responsiveness and load speeds. By deleting cookies and browsing history, encrypting private information to protect it from prying eyes, and permanently deleting data, this best PC cleaner may help you safeguard your privacy. Backup copies of essential data, including movies, audio files, photographs, and documents, are also made in addition to retrieving lost data.

The Final Word On How To Fix Missing Start Menu Icons In Windows PC

Missing start menu icons can be extremely annoying. You don’t find the shortcut icon when you’re about to use an excellent app.  The good news is that most of these issues may be resolved using Microsoft Troubleshooters. Otherwise, you ought to be able to solve the current problem utilizing the other strategies we’ve covered.

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