Windows 11 showing broken Windows 10 Start menu and Taskbar on some PCs
Don’t get too excited; the Windows 10 Start menu appearing on some Windows 11 PCs doesn’t work.
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What you need to know
Windows 11officially launched this week and is gradually rolling out to PCS that meet itsminimum requirements. Some people that updated their PC see a bug that causes the Windows 10 Start menu and Taskbar to appear on the new operating system. The Taskbar and Start menu do not work on affected PCs.
The issue was flagged up onReddit, and a similar thread appeared onMicrosoft’s website.
“Updated to Windows 11 using Microsoft’s official update assistant,” reads the Reddit post. “I still have the old taskbar and the start menu doesn’t work at all.”
Several commenters in the Reddit thread shared that they’ve run into the same issue. There appear to be a few workarounds, though there isn’t an official fix at this time. One option is to uninstall the most recent update. Another involves creating a new local account and giving it admin rights. Neither of these is an elegant solution, and neither addresses the cause of the problem, but they can help make an affected PC usable while Microsoft works on a fix.
The same issue appeared for Windows Insiders two months ago, though it doesn’t appear to have been fixed.
The Start menu and Taskbar on Windows 11 have proven controversial since their unveiling. Our senior editor recently wrote about how theStart menu sucks.Concept artistshave shown what they believe to be improvements to the design of the Start menu.
If you want to change the appearance of Microsoft’s latest OS, make sure to check out our guide on thebest apps to customize the look of Windows 11.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
