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#1
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open
the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? I managed to get an affected PC back into a usable state by installing Classic Shell (which replaces the Windows Start Menu with its own - with the advantages that it looks more like the Windows 7 one and that you can right-click on a menu item and then paste-shortcut it onto the desktop) and by switching to using Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Chrome) in place of Edge. My client may decide to carry on using these even after MS fix the root cause problem. |
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#2
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
NY wrote:
Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. Does that statement mean you ARE running Avast under Windows 10? If so, do you have Avast configured in silent (gaming) mode AND in Hardened mode? Hardened mode means you want Avast to be less likely to miss zero-day malware. Moderate mode is actually more restrictive then Agressive mode for hardening. In Agressive mode, Avast will check its cloud-based whitelist of known good apps to allow those to run without prompt. If not whitelist, the user is the final authority as to whether or not a program will load; however, that requires the user respond to a popup from Avast saying the program was blocked but gives the user the option to add the program to a local whitelist. If you run Avast in its silent mode (no popup alerts) then you won't see the popup telling you that an unknown program was blocked from loading which also means you don't get the chance to click on the link to whitelist that program. Avast uses their free version as adware. Several times per year they will decide to use their program to retrieve and display ads. This can be quite the nuisance with ads popping onto the screen and interferring with your use of your computer. So some Avast users noticed that these ads would never show if Avast was running under its silent or gaming mode. That means no popups. That also means no popups to allow a program to run when using Avast's hardened mode. One suggestion to get rid of Avast's popup ads (rather than use silent mode which eliminates seeing ANY popups, including those you really do want to see) is to add an outbound blocking rule in the firewall. Block avastui.exe from connecting out. I'm trying this but will have to wait a week, or so, to make sure that signature and program updates are still offered when they become available. But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? If Avast or some other software you installed is causing the problem then how would Microsoft necessarily know about the problem? It is not their fault. I managed to get an affected PC back into a usable state by installing Classic Shell (which replaces the Windows Start Menu with its own - with the advantages that it looks more like the Windows 7 one and that you can right-click on a menu item and then paste-shortcut it onto the desktop) and by switching to using Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Chrome) in place of Edge. My client may decide to carry on using these even after MS fix the root cause problem. Although you mentioned others recommending to boot into Windows safe mode (to test if the problem went away), *you* never said if you tried safe mode to see if the problem went away. |
#3
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
NY posted this via
: Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. There is a trend there... But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? It's NOT a Microsoft issue, so why should they "fix" it? I managed to get an affected PC back into a usable state by installing Classic Shell (which replaces the Windows Start Menu with its own - with the advantages that it looks more like the Windows 7 one and that you can right-click on a menu item and then paste-shortcut it onto the desktop) and by switching to using Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Chrome) in place of Edge. My client may decide to carry on using these even after MS fix the root cause problem. Yes, you should have a start menu and edge browser that works - whether you choose to use them or not. Most issues with upgrading to Windows 10 have been rooted in existing 3rd party software; specifically, anti-virus and firewall software. There's also conflicts with old 3rd-party software and MSFT's "app" routines... Like QuickSFV, which inserts itself into the context menu; however, it disables some of the context menu items when you right-click the Start button... This is NOT a MSFT issue; rather it is a QuickSFV issue. One solution is to disable it, and only enable it when you want to check or create SFV files (I use CCleaner to do this); or Uninstall it an find another way to accomplish those tasks. If QuickSFV takes the postion that it's a MSFT issue, it'll never get fixed, so sooner-or-later, they'll come around - or they'll go under as Windows 10 continues to proliferate. These issues remind me of the Sun Java (vs. Real Machine); RealPlayer and Apple's QuickTime back in the Win9x days... they each took the hardened position that their various install and upgrade problems was a Microsoft or Windows problem - actually creating quite a following to that position - until they eventually fixed their own act, and look where they are now. Banging Microsoft for every 3rd-party software conflict hasn't got a very bright outlook - if looking for meaningful results. There's probably a long-way-around fix to the issues you are describing; however, if you are experiencing all these issues on several PCs, then the liklihood that it's some adjustment or software that is unique to you and a small particular group of users is actually quite astronomical. Or it may well be some stupid little system setting - but without being able to duplicate your circumstances, it'll be difficult to advance any meaningful response. It might be easier to simply restore your pre-Windows 10 qualifying OS, then uninstall 3rd-party AV and FW sofware, then update... You can always add software, 1 at a time, and investigate for changes before proceeding. Or backup your data files, and fresh install a clean copy of Windows 10. Windows 10 works! If you install a 3rd-party software and then it doesn't work correctly, it's the 3rd-party software, NOT Windows 10. Resistance is futile. -- I AM Bucky Breeder, (*(^; and, It's like Yogi Berra, RIP 9/22/2015, always used to say: "The future ain't what it used to be!" http://i.imgur.com/f193YWS.jpg?1 |
#4
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
NY wrote:
Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? I managed to get an affected PC back into a usable state by installing Classic Shell (which replaces the Windows Start Menu with its own - with the advantages that it looks more like the Windows 7 one and that you can right-click on a menu item and then paste-shortcut it onto the desktop) and by switching to using Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Chrome) in place of Edge. My client may decide to carry on using these even after MS fix the root cause problem. To start with, this cumulative update was supposed to address a similar issue. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3093266 You need to check your Windows Update history, to see whether that or similar updates have been installed. There have been at least a couple cumulative updates since 10240 was released. They're quite large, 250MB+ in size, and in terms of file content, some of the items contain rather old (six month old) files. So the cumulative update is almost like the release wasn't fully baked, and all changes during the Preview, baked into the release. You want to make sure those are in there, to get you on the same baseline as everyone else here. If your Windows Update was busted, either the Windows Update would not appear, or the Windows Update history would be "full of fail". The baloney about booting to Safe Mode then booting to regular Windows, is fine if they had explained exactly what that was allowing the OS to do. Does it help the OS repair the user profile (registry file associated with the user account) ? I hate workaround ideas, where absolutely no one has any idea what they fix. I would have been tempted to suggest that Avast had quarantined a service critical to running the Explorer GUI, but that probably isn't it. Someone ("Bob") posted a solution yesterday, for adding convenient "F8 Safe Mode" operation to the OS. The feature is implemented as a BCDEDIT feature. It adds some stuff to the BCD file, which is a binary file similar in concept to boot.ini, but part of the /boot folder. Since it is binary, we are stuck with that miserable utility, instead of just opening Notepad and fixing stuff... http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2...e-windows.html Right click Start, look for Command Prompt with the word "Admin" in it, as you need an elevated Command Prompt window to work in. Win10 has the "good stuff" as a right-click of the Start button. Very nice. cd /d C: That sets the current working directory to C: for whatever that is worth. Now, type "bcdedit" in order to review the existing BCD info. While the example on the Tomshardware page shows "Default", if you're doing this from a running Win10, it's likely to be "Current" that you want bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy --- from recovery CD or recovery console bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy legacy --- from Win10 and elevated cmd.exe Close the Command Prompt window once you are happy with the changes. When you reboot, the theory goes, you will see the traditional Safe Mode menu via pressing F8. Later, this would remove F8, although I can't imagine why you'd bother removing this convenient feature. bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy standard For some users, their OS is non-functional, they have to boot the recovery CD or a Win10 installer DVD, to get to a Recovery console (command prompt) and do this. But when the OS is still running, you can add the feature from the running OS, as long as you can still get a Command Prompt to open. # Really for people who are very broken, and are # adding this feature to an OS they cannot currently # boot in fully operational mode... bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy After making the change, this is what my basic BCD contains. (It's a little more compact without using enum option.) C:\WINDOWS\system32bcdedit Windows Boot Manager -------------------- identifier {bootmgr} device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1 description Windows Boot Manager locale en-US inherit {globalsettings} flightsigning Yes default {current} resumeobject {c926158f-72fb-11e5-bb22-baca1204ca8a} displayorder {current} toolsdisplayorder {memdiag} timeout 30 Windows Boot Loader ------------------- identifier {current} device partition=C: path \WINDOWS\system32\winload.exe description Windows 10 locale en-US inherit {bootloadersettings} recoverysequence {08c0236d-72fc-11e5-bb22-baca1204ca8a} recoveryenabled Yes flightsigning Yes allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075 osdevice partition=C: systemroot \WINDOWS resumeobject {c926158f-72fb-11e5-bb22-baca1204ca8a} nx OptIn bootmenupolicy Legacy ------ new item C:\WINDOWS\system32 So now I'm ready to start and press F8 for Safe Mode. I tested it, and my new F8 works. Since the F8 key brings up my BIOS boot menu, first I end up in the boot menu, I select the Win10 disk, and boot. And as soon as the screen turns black right after my popup boot disk selection, I press F8 again to be greeted by the Safe Mode menu. So there's a timing window to do this right. Some users have F2 or F11 for the popup boot menu, so there is not a conflict over using F8 and you can hammer the blazes out of the F8 key if you want :-) A user with an Asus motherboard (like me), will have two things bound to the F8 key And after rebooting from Safe Mode, the OS returned to normal mode without me touching the keyboard. HTH, Paul |
#5
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
"Bucky Breeder"
wrote in message ... NY posted this via : Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. There is a trend there... But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? It's NOT a Microsoft issue, so why should they "fix" it? How sure are you of that blanket statement? A lot of the forum postings about it *do* mention Avast, but the PC that I had to fix the other day had Norton Internet Security. Since the customer hated the new Windows 10 start menu anyway, and preferred IE to Edge, I installed ClassicShell to solve the failure to open the start menu (and at the same time to give a more Windows 7-like start menu) and instructed the customer to use IE (all its shortcuts were still there from before the upgrade from Win7 to Win10, whereas the upgrade to W10 hadn't exported them to Edge). But that's a problem avoidance (to the user's advantage) rather than really a fix. I've just heard of another customer who's experiencing the problem, so I'm about to find out what AV that PC has. Some forum postings suggest that "sfc /scannow" (from a CMD prompt running as administrator) solves the problem. Some suggest that if the PC has Avast, try repairing its installation from Control Panel | Programs and Features. There's a lot of myth and legend out there, and it seems that no-one yet has hit on a definitive root cause. I presume that in their product testing, MS include testing with various standard AV packages (Norton, McAfee, Avast, AVG) in case of compatibility problems - and then start blamestorming to decide whether it's an MS or third-party-package problem! |
#6
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
NY posted this via
: "Bucky Breeder" wrote in message ... NY posted this via : Has anyone encountered this show-stopper error message when you try to open the Start Menu on Windows 10? It also prevents the Edge browser from opening (windows closes within a few milliseconds of opening). You can still run programs as long as there is an icon for them on the desktop or taskbar. I've seen lots of forum postings about it, implicating Avast anti-virus, and also suggesting starting in Safe Mode and then in normal mode. There is a trend there... But has there been any feedback from Microsoft yet as to what is causing it and when a fix is likely? It's NOT a Microsoft issue, so why should they "fix" it? How sure are you of that blanket statement? Hey, have you always been a myopic asshole? Click the link: That's *NOT* a blanket statement! A lot of the forum postings about it *do* mention Avast, but the PC that I had to fix the other day had Norton Internet Security. Well... that says *a lot* about it, right there! Since the customer hated the new Windows 10 start menu anyway, How did s/he "hate" it... if it didn't open?!? WTF!?! and preferred IE to Edge, You simply switch defaults for that... D'uh. I installed ClassicShell to solve the failure to open the start menu (and at the same time to give a more Windows 7-like start menu) Now "there's" a "logical" approach... you claim the start menu didn't open - yet somehow the subserviant idiot you call a "customer" "hated" it... So, *WHY NOT* just start installing some **** over the top of the alledged malfunction before you post up in here whining for assistance. and instructed the customer to use IE (all its shortcuts were still there from before the upgrade from Win7 to Win10, whereas the upgrade to W10 hadn't exported them to Edge). But that's a problem avoidance (to the user's advantage) rather than really a fix. I've just heard of another customer who's experiencing the problem, so I'm about to find out what AV that PC has. Seems like the common thread here is that all of these whiney assholes are ALL *YOUR* "CUSTOMERS"... Some forum postings suggest that "sfc /scannow" (from a CMD prompt running as administrator) solves the problem. Some suggest that if the PC has Avast, try repairing its installation from Control Panel | Programs and Features. There's a lot of myth and legend out there, and it seems that no-one yet has hit on a definitive root cause. I presume that in their product testing, MS include testing with various standard AV packages (Norton, McAfee, Avast, AVG) in case of compatibility problems - and then start blamestorming to decide whether it's an MS or third-party-package problem! What I told you was 1) start with the basic installation; 2) make sure it's operating appropriately; 3) then and ONLY then start installing 3rd-party software - ESPECIALLY AV & FW software; 4) observe carefully what impact those have on the system; 5) if all ops are normal and stable, proceed to the next adventure. (You don't saw off your toes to make the shoes fit.) THAT IS MY "BLANKET STATEMENT", you pendantic dillhole. And don't ever accuse me of making blanket statements again. -- I AM Bucky Breeder, (*(^; and, It's like Yogi Berra, RIP 9/22/2015, always used to say: "The future ain't what it used to be!" http://i.imgur.com/f193YWS.jpg?1 |
#7
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
"Bucky Breeder"
wrote in message ... A lot of the forum postings about it *do* mention Avast, but the PC that I had to fix the other day had Norton Internet Security. Well... that says *a lot* about it, right there! I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. Are you denigrating Norton? Are you saying that any anti-virus software (on the grounds that it is probably not written by Microsoft) is suspect? If the fault is only seen with one specific third-party package, blame that package. If it's seen with a variety of different combinations of third-party packages, maybe it's a Microsoft problem, given that almost every Windows PC will have AV of some sort installed. Since the customer hated the new Windows 10 start menu anyway, How did s/he "hate" it... if it didn't open?!? WTF!?! Ah, I should have said. The start menu and Edge had worked fine for a while after upgrading from Win 7 to Win 10, then began intermittently provoking the error message. This ties in with many bug reports on forums. When the start menu *was* working, the customer found the presence of the Win8-style tiles and the advertising links on it to be distracting, and wished that he could revert to the start menu that he'd had on Win 7 before upgrading. and preferred IE to Edge, You simply switch defaults for that... D'uh. *I* know that. The customer didn't till I showed him how to change Default Programs. I installed ClassicShell to solve the failure to open the start menu (and at the same time to give a more Windows 7-like start menu) Now "there's" a "logical" approach... you claim the start menu didn't open - yet somehow the subserviant idiot you call a "customer" "hated" it... So, *WHY NOT* just start installing some **** over the top of the alledged malfunction before you post up in here whining for assistance. The customer is looking for a solution. A workaround which both prevents the error message and improves the layout of the start menu (as he sees it) is a good solution, even if it is masking the underlying problem. I've just heard of another customer who's experiencing the problem, so I'm about to find out what AV that PC has. Seems like the common thread here is that all of these whiney assholes are ALL *YOUR* "CUSTOMERS"... Complaining about a message that appears in certain circumstances isn't whining. And judging by the number of postings on forums (Google for "windows 10 critical error start menu") there are a *lot* of so-called whining people out there. What I told you was 1) start with the basic installation; 2) make sure it's operating appropriately; 3) then and ONLY then start installing 3rd-party software - ESPECIALLY AV & FW software; 4) observe carefully what impact those have on the system; 5) if all ops are normal and stable, proceed to the next adventure. (You don't saw off your toes to make the shoes fit.) Sadly I don't have that luxury. By the time I'm called in, the PC has already had lots of third-party programs installed, both by the manufacturer and by the user. Removing all third-party programs in sight to get back to a vanilla Windows 10 installation (and then re-installing them afterwards) is not good use of time, unless there is evidence that one specific package is a common factor in lots of reports of the error. Of course if I was building a PC from scratch, I'd do what you suggest - start simply and gradually add programs, looking for unwanted side-effects along the way. And hope that these appear immediately and consistently, rather than some time afterwards and only intermittently. Given the prevalence of the symptom in discussion forums, I'd surprised I haven't seen anyone else post "me too" responses to my thread. |
#8
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"Critical error - start menu not working"
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