Windows Key Not Working: Top 10 Methods To Solve This Issue

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The Windows Key in Windows 10 is one of the most significant features of the Microsoft operating system. After all, using this menu, you can quickly find a program, launch an application, editors, administrative functions, and the Windows Key provides excellent usability for comfortable work. But what to do if the Windows Key or Windows Key stops working?

If your “Start” or “Windows Key” button in Windows 10 has disappeared, does not respond to clicks, does not work, does not open, or you receive a “critical error” message, then follow the ways below to fix and find solutions to this problem.

Fix a broken Windows Key in Windows 10

OS key doesn't working

Whenever you get any error related to various functions in Windows, the first thing to do (other than restarting the computer) is to check the damaged files using the “checker,” which will automatically try to fix any errors in the system files.

To do this, open a command prompt as an administrator (Win + R, type cmd) and type a command in the line sfc/scannow. Scanning will check Windows for damaged files and then, if possible, repair them.

If all else fails, then still on the command line, use the Deployment Management and Maintenance tool, which can repair the damage that prevented the SFC from doing its job. At the command prompt, type:

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  • dism /online /Cleanup-image /restore health

This will launch the DISM tool, wait for the process to complete. Then run the SFC scan back (sfc / scannow) to fix any problems. If the start button or Windows Key is still not working, then we will delve into the solutions.

#Solution 1: Windows Key Repair Tool for Windows 10

Microsoft is well aware of the problems with the Windows Key and the Windows Key, and it released troubleshooter, a troubleshooting and repair tool, to fix many common menu problems with the Start button in Windows 10. Download the Microsoft special troubleshooter to fix problems.

#Solution 2: Restart Windows Explorer

restarting operating system

The next simple attempt is to restart the explorer process, which is not only responsible for the Windows Key and the Windows Key in Windows 10. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. In the “processes” tab, find the process named ” explorer ” and click restart

#Solution 3: Configure the registry

This is a new method that has appeared recently and has helped many users fix the error so that the Start and Windows Key in Windows 10 will work. For starters, I recommend creating a system restore point, because we will edit the registry.

  • Click Win + R and enter regedit to open the registry editor. In the registry editor, go to the following path:
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService
  • Next to the right in the field, find the Start parameter, double-click on it and set the value to 4.
  • Do not close the registry and follow the directions below.

Next, go to the following registry location:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  • On the right, if you do not have the EnableXamlStartMenu parameter, then right-click on the empty field and “Create”> “DWORD Parameter (32 bits)”
  • Name the new parameter EnableXamlStartMenu , then double-click it and set it to 0.
  • Restart your PC and check if the Windows Key button in Windows 10 works and opens.

#Solution 4: Disable account information for automatic login

windows account info disabled

If you notice that the “Windows Key” and “start-up” do not work when you have windows updates or after restarting the computer, several people have suggested that disabling account data when booting the PC may be the solution to this problem.

  • Go to “Options”> “Accounts”> “Login Options” and disable  ” Use my login details …”

#Solution 5: Start the application identification service

Application identification in Windows 10 is used by a service called Applocker to determine which applications are and are not allowed to run on your computer. Usually, this function knows what to run on your PC, but when there is a problem that the start button does not work in Windows 10, you can check the service.

  • To start the service identity application, press  Win + R, enter services.msc, this will allow you to open the Services manager.
  • Find the Application Identity service, right-click on it and Start. Restart your computer or laptop, after which the Start button should work.

#Solution 6: Boot in safe mode with booting network drivers

Many users have reported that booting Windows in safe mode using the network, and then booting into regular Windows, can fix a broken Windows Key and a broken Windows Key. To load the safe mode from Windows 10, click Win + R, enter msconfig, then in the “System Configuration” window open the ” Download ” tab, select the ” Secure Download ” checkbox, click ” Network,” then ” OK.” When you boot into safe mode, be sure to remove the boot options to boot back into normal windows mode.

#Solution 7: Register or reinstall the Windows Key in Windows 10

register win key

You must find the system as an administrator. Next, open PowerShell and run it as administrator.

Then enter the bottom command in the PowerShell window by copying it.

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

Reboot the computer.

#Solution 8: Reinstall your Windows applications

UWP applications for Windows, if many of them are installed, can create confusion and latency, which causes the Windows Key to hang and the Windows Key to slow down. Therefore, there is one convenient command in Windows that allows you to reinstall and restore all standard Windows 10 UWP applications simultaneously.

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  1. Type in PowerShell’s “search,” right-click on it and run as administrator.
  2. Enter the following command in the opened window to reinstall all windows applications:
  3. Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| For each {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
  4. You will see how the loading process begins and a lot of red, disturbing text. Ignore this, wait for the process to finish, and then restart your computer to start the Windows Key again.

#Solution 9: Dropbox, Anti-Virus and AMD Graphics drivers

Windows 10 users complained that Dropbox interfered with the work of the Start menu, blocking certain files of user accounts that were important to its work. Dropbox claims to have addressed this issue in an update released last year, but if you have Dropbox, it may be worth deleting to see if the problem persists with a not working start button in windows 10.

Some AMD graphics card services can be connected to the start menu. Some users have reported that disabling them fixed the problem. So you can check this, press win + r and enter services.msc, then find the services associated with the video card and turn them off for a while to see if the problem is fixed.

Other users have reported that antivirus programs such as Avast, Malwarebytes and various third-party applications for the Windows Store cause problems with the launch and Windows Key in Windows 10. Try to remove them to identify the culprit.

#Solution 10: Create a new administrator account

OS admin account

Some users find that their Start button and Windows Key stop functioning normally after large Windows updates. If you are one of these users, then a proven solution is to create a new Windows administrator account.

  • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  • Next, click “File”> ” Run a new task .”
  • In the opened window, enter net user ‘your name’ and ‘your password’ /add. (your name is your name will be the account, and your password is the password of the new account).

Sign in to a new account. If the start button works, then you need to do the following steps to transfer your settings and applications to the newly created account.

    • Log in to your old account, then go to Control Panel> System> Advanced System Settings> Advanced tab, then in the User Profiles section, click Settings.
    • In the user profiles window, select the newly created account from the list and click ” Copy .” (this will create folders for documents, videos, music, etc.). If for any reason you could not create a profile, then click on the “Accounts” link below and follow the instructions.

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