how to fix start and cortana not working windows 10

How to fix Start and Cortana not Working on Windows 10

Start and Cortana are not working for you on Windows 10? Many positions of an operating system are closely connected behind the scenes. If something does not succeed in one place, this effect can have far-reaching consequences. Windows 10 reacts in a similar way if problems occur, which in most cases also affect the Info Center. We will show you how to fix Start and Cortana on Windows 10, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore:

How to fix Start and Cortana on Windows 10?

  1. Restart the Computer
  2. Restart the Windows 10 Start Menu
  3. Outsmart the Lockout via Windows Commands
  4. Use the Troubleshooter from Microsoft

We’ll get into all of these options in detail in a moment.

First, however, you could try to narrow down the problem by creating a new user on your operating system. If Start and Cortana are not working on Windows 10, it is generally advisable to do a full new installation. If, on the other hand, the problems are limited to the original profile, you can try the following solutions one after the other. Because even if Cortana does not work, the Start menu of Windows 10 can still be repaired.

If Start and Cortana are not working on Windows 10, you will see this message

Start and Cortana not Working – Windows 10 Start Menu Repair Step by Step

Option 1 – Restart the Computer

Even with excellent operating systems like Windows 10 Pro from Microsoft, a serious error can occur that affects the Start menu as well as Cortana:

“The Start menu and Cortana are not working. We are working to fix the issue until the next logon.”

If the Log off now button does not respond and the usual way to shut down the PC remains blocked, you can force log off by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del. If Start and Cortana are not working on Windows 10, the computer can be shut down or restarted there. So, how to fix it?

Option 2 – Restart the Windows 10 Start Menu

If you do not receive any feedback from the Start screen or Cortana, you should simply try restarting the menu as a first step. To do this, proceed as follows:

  • Open the Windows 10 Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
  • Either you will find the entry Start under Processes, which you can select and end (the restart happens automatically).
  • Or you can switch to the Details tab, look for StartMenuExperienceHost.exe and terminate it as well.

If you do not notice any improvement afterwards, you can also try restarting the explorer.exe entry in Task Manager. This can help if Cortana does not respond, and you want to repair Windows 10 startup.

How to fix Start and Cortana not working on Windows 10 and repair your PC

Option 3 – Outsmart the Lockout via Windows Commands

If you finally need full access to your computer again, so that you can start your work with Microsoft Office here are some quick solutions for advanced users, in case Start and Cortana are not working for you on Windows 10:

  • An alternative way to force a shutdown and subsequent restart would be to use Windows 10’s Run command, which you open by pressing the Windows logo key + R. In the window, you now enter “shutdown -s -t 0” and confirm this. The PC should now shut down.
  • The shortcut Windows logo key + A takes you to your notifications. Here you activate the tablet mode in the lower left corner, open the start menu from there (also check if Cortana is working) and simply exit this mode again.
  • Windows logo key + I sends you directly to the settings of Windows 10. You are looking for Personalization, which leads you to the start settings. Make sure that the first three options in this list are enabled.

Of course, you can also reach these menus by searching for the corresponding names using Windows logo key + S. That’s how to fix Start and Cortana not working and the whole menu just spinning around! We will show you in another tutorial how you can easily repair Windows 10 search also.

Another possibility, start or Cortana no longer responds

Option 4 – Use the Troubleshooter from Microsoft

Similar to the Support and Recovery Assistant, which is used for example during the activation of an unlicensed Office product, Microsoft provided an official troubleshooter called startmenu.diagcab until recently. Problems should be fixed automatically, especially if Start or Cortana are not working on Windows 10.

Note: We present you this option as the last one because the support of the tool has been discontinued for some unknown reason. You can still find the Troubleshooter online for download, but you should not disregard the security vulnerabilities of an outdated program and only use it in an emergency if you really need to have a solution for how to fix Start and Cortana not working.

If you have already tried everything and still haven’t made any progress, you can also try an in-place upgrade repair of Windows 10. Among other things, you need access to the latest version of the operating system, which you can find directly on the Microsoft site. This process is similar to the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and repairs your operating system without deleting your apps or data.

We hope we were able to help you. Alternatively, you can get a brand-new license for Windows 10 Home very cheaply from us. On the other hand, if you are getting annoyed with Start and Cortana not working on Windows 10, in just a few minutes you can disable voice assistants. Problem solved!