How to Restart Start Menu Process in Windows 11

Pro Tip: Accessing Task Manager

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc together.
2. Wait a second or two. The Task Manager 📊 window should open on top of everything else. If a User Account Control prompt appears, choose Yes.

This shortcut works even when the Start menu ⊞ is completely dead. It also works if the taskbar 🖥️ is frozen.

Restarting the Start Menu via Task Manager

Use this method first whenever the Start menu ⊞ freezes or stops responding. Windows restarts the process by itself after you end it.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager 📊.
2. Click the Processes tab. If you see only a short list of apps, click More details at the bottom of the window first.
3. Scroll down to find Start. It is usually listed under Windows processes. On the Details tab, the same process appears as StartMenuExperienceHost.exe.
4. Right-click Start and choose End task.
5. Wait a moment. Any open Start ⊞ menu will vanish, and the process should relaunch automatically.
6. Press the Win to test the menu. It should now open normally.

If the Start entry is missing from the list, it probably hasn’t run yet in this session. Press the Win once, then look again.

Normally you don’t have to do anything after ending the task, because Windows brings the process back. If the menu still doesn’t work, you can check which apps launch at sign-in by opening the Startup folder. It is a local folder that holds shortcuts to apps set to start with Windows. This won’t restart the 🔄 Start menu ⊞ itself, but it helps you spot a program that interferes with it.

1. Press Win+R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type or paste shell:startup into the Open field. The command is shown below.
3. Press Enter. A File Explorer 📁 window should open showing your Startup folder.

C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\StartMenuExperienceHost.exe

An empty folder is normal. Many startup apps are managed in Settings › Apps › Startup instead. If the Start menu ⊞ still won’t come back after ending the task, signing out and back in, or restarting the PC, will bring it back.

Using Command Prompt or PowerShell

If you prefer the command line, you can restart the 🔄 process from a terminal instead of Task Manager 📊. Open Windows Terminal, Command Prompt or PowerShell, and run the command shown under the matching heading below. Press Enter after you type it. The Start menu ⊞ should close and then come back within a few seconds.

Command Prompt:

taskkill /f /im StartMenuExperienceHost.exe

PowerShell:

Stop-Process -Name "StartMenuExperienceHost" -Force

Both commands do the same thing as End task in Task Manager. If you get an "access denied" message, close the window and reopen it with Run as administrator.

Advanced Repair: System File Checker

If the Start menu keeps freezing, damaged Windows system files may be the cause. System File Checker (SFC) is a built-in tool that scans protected system files and replaces any that are corrupted or missing. It needs an administrator account.

1. Press the Windows key and type cmd.
2. Right-click Command Prompt in the results and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission. The window title should read Administrator: Command Prompt.
3. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.
4. Wait for the scan to reach 100%. This can take 10 to 20 minutes, so leave the window open. SFC repairs missing or corrupted files on its own as it goes.
5. Read the result message. Restart the PC if SFC says it repaired files, then test the Start menu again.

If SFC reports that it found nothing wrong, the problem is probably not a damaged system file, and the other methods above are the better fix.

Summary

In short, the Start menu in Windows 11 runs as StartMenuExperienceHost.exe. When it locks up, you can reset it from Task Manager or the command line, and run SFC if the problem keeps coming back.