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Folks, I recently solved a problem with my Start Button by using PowerShell. It is a free utility built into Windows 10, that is primarily designed to help developers. However, it has a few problem-solving tools that you can use. To enter PowerShell, right-click your task bar and select Task Manager--File--Run New Task. Then type powershell into the box and check the box giving you Administrator privileges.
Surfing the web, I found these useful problem-solvers:
When the Start Button won’t work Run the System File Checker
Type sfc /scannow into the window and press the [Return] key. The scan may take some time and will end with one of three results. Windows did not find any integrity violations and Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and repaired them mean there are now no corrupt files, but Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some (or all) of them indicates a problem.
In this latter case, type (or copy and paste) DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth into the PowerShell window and press the [Return] key. This will download files from Windows Update to replace the corrupt ones and, again, this may take some time.
If your Start Button still won't work---Re-install the aps that came loaded into your Start Button:
Reinstall Windows apps
Launch the Task manager and open a new PowerShell window with administrative privileges, as explained above.
When the Windows PowerShell window opens copy the line below and paste it into the PowerShell window by simply right-clicking at the blinking PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> prompt, or by pressing [Ctrl] + [V] on the keyboard:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
Wait until the app download and installation process completes — ignore any red text that appears — and restart Windows.
Remove Pre-Installed Apps
You can use PowerShell to remove pre-installed apps. Use the following code to remove Zune Player from Windows 10 operating system.
Get-AppxPackage -Name *ZuneMusic* | Remove-AppxPackage
If you have any other app that you wish to uninstall then simply change the name between the asterix symbols.
Can't get rid of malware because it starts automatically and it can't be deleted while running?
Stop Running Process (Application)
Let's assume that we have Notepad app running in the background. If you wish to disable or close the app then use the following command.
Stop-Process -Name notepad
Malware has blocked you from running Windows Defender?
Run Windows Defender
Run the Start-MpScan command. The base command will start a scan using default parameters. You can signify which drive or directory to scan using a parameter like -ScanPath “C:”. You can also indicate a scan type using -ScanType [QuickScan/FullScan/CustomScan].
Update threat signatures. Malware scans with Windows Defender are only as good as the threat definitions that Windows Defender knows about. Keeping those definitions up-to-date is crucial. You can use the Update-MpSignature command for this.
Surfing the web, I found these useful problem-solvers:
When the Start Button won’t work Run the System File Checker
Type sfc /scannow into the window and press the [Return] key. The scan may take some time and will end with one of three results. Windows did not find any integrity violations and Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and repaired them mean there are now no corrupt files, but Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some (or all) of them indicates a problem.
In this latter case, type (or copy and paste) DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth into the PowerShell window and press the [Return] key. This will download files from Windows Update to replace the corrupt ones and, again, this may take some time.
If your Start Button still won't work---Re-install the aps that came loaded into your Start Button:
Reinstall Windows apps
Launch the Task manager and open a new PowerShell window with administrative privileges, as explained above.
When the Windows PowerShell window opens copy the line below and paste it into the PowerShell window by simply right-clicking at the blinking PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> prompt, or by pressing [Ctrl] + [V] on the keyboard:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
Wait until the app download and installation process completes — ignore any red text that appears — and restart Windows.
Remove Pre-Installed Apps
You can use PowerShell to remove pre-installed apps. Use the following code to remove Zune Player from Windows 10 operating system.
Get-AppxPackage -Name *ZuneMusic* | Remove-AppxPackage
If you have any other app that you wish to uninstall then simply change the name between the asterix symbols.
Can't get rid of malware because it starts automatically and it can't be deleted while running?
Stop Running Process (Application)
Let's assume that we have Notepad app running in the background. If you wish to disable or close the app then use the following command.
Stop-Process -Name notepad
Malware has blocked you from running Windows Defender?
Run Windows Defender
Run the Start-MpScan command. The base command will start a scan using default parameters. You can signify which drive or directory to scan using a parameter like -ScanPath “C:”. You can also indicate a scan type using -ScanType [QuickScan/FullScan/CustomScan].
Update threat signatures. Malware scans with Windows Defender are only as good as the threat definitions that Windows Defender knows about. Keeping those definitions up-to-date is crucial. You can use the Update-MpSignature command for this.