Start button and charms stop working in Windows 8.1

I have been having a problem since upgrading to the latest update for Windows 8.1 where the start button becomes unusable, the charms menu on the right does not open and the recent apps menu on the right doesn't open. Even though I can still use the keyboard commands it makes using 8.1 so much more awkward to use, and the minimize option for apps also disappears meaning I have to drag them to the bottom of the screen (which was one of my least favourite parts of Windows 8). Also, it works fine after booting up and for any time between half and hour and 2 hours but then the problem continues.

It seems like other people are having the same issue, however I have not been able to find any solutions. Any help would be appreciated

Josh

 
May 5th, 2014 1:14pm

works fine after booting up and for any time between half and hour and 2 hours but then the problem continues. 

Sounds like there is a hung thread.  Try using ResMon first to see what the explorer.exe threads look like normally and then when you are in this hung state.  Also I suspect there is a relevant troubleshooter to try...  No?  (Not obvious to me.)

Perhaps one to download then?

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

Good luck

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May 5th, 2014 11:17pm

I am experiencing the same issue on both my home and work machines since installing the 8.1 updates.  The only thing consistent is that I'm running Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver on both machines when this happens.  I believe the Fix It solutions link provided in the reply below, only applies to Windows versions prior to 8.0.
May 15th, 2014 4:10am

believe the Fix It solutions link provided in the reply below, only applies to Windows versions prior to 8.0.

You mean you are seeing "We're sorry, but your operating system is not supported by Microsoft Fix it at this time."  too?  <eg>

Since these are sometimes Powershell scripts I was wondering about at least the possibility of downloading them to assess whether the ideas contained in them were still applicable or at least would give us some ideas for workarounds?

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May 15th, 2014 4:49am

Try turning off OneDrive's Sync settings.  I turned it off and haven't had the issue since. 

Charms > Settings > Change PC Settings > OneDrive > Sync settings > Sync your settings on the P

May 23rd, 2014 8:33pm

Hi all,

I have the same issue; clean installation of Windows 8.1, installed all updates (also Windows 8.1 Update) and randomly the start button hungs (also charm bar and hot corners not work).

With keyboard, start screen open and works perfectly; also Win+X shortcuts works. Restarting explorer.exe or PC fix the issue, but only for few time.

I tried all of suggestions on this forum (there are some discussions about this problem) but the issue still remain.

Does anyone have ideas to solve?

Thanks in advance

Jack

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June 8th, 2014 2:18pm

I also experience this problem.  Start button, hot corners, charm bar work ok after a restart, but all stop working after a few days. Start button normally turns blue with mouse over, but stays white during problem. Restart again and they work for a while.  My system is native 8.1 that came when I bought the computer in December 2013.  Problem started occurring sometime in May 2014, not sure just when.  Win+X only way to get start menu.  
June 8th, 2014 4:29pm

I just wanted to post that I'm having this exact same problem starting today.  I installed a Windows update as I was turning my computer off last night, so I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm just now experiencing this problem.  I'd also like to add that I'm using a dual-monitor display, and this problem only occurs on my main display.  I can still access the charms menu by swiping to the bottom corner of my second monitor and I can also click the windows button on the toolbar of my second monitor.  
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June 13th, 2014 2:46am

Same problem here too...

It's happening since 8.1 update, i thought it was my system fault but now I just did a CLEAN install and the problem is there yet, after awhile the charm bars and the windows start button stop working until i restart the machine.

And still not a squeak from microsoft aobut this problem, as usual.

June 14th, 2014 3:25pm

Happened right now too, damn it's the 4th time today, this is getting really annoying.

ResMon doesn't give away no usefull info.

the explorer process seems to work well, you kill it and you restart it and the interface start to work again....until it stop again half an hour later

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June 14th, 2014 4:08pm

ResMon doesn't give away no useful info.

One procedure that once worked for me with some hung IE threads is:

  1. checking (ticking) them all.  (sort by Name to facilitate that and start ticking at the bottom of the set--then you won't have to move your pointer)
  2. Sort by CPU ascending. 
  3. Select a task at the top.  If it doesn't move there's a chance that it is hung.
  4. Right-click, Analyze Wait Chain... to see hung threads.

Hmm... That's what I remember doing but it doesn't seem the same any more.  Also, I notice that there is no way to look at explorer.exe's threads, which are the ones that you need to see.  In that case, you might have to use ProcExp for the same idea.  Only ProcExp gives us control over individual threads anyway, e.g. ResMon only allows us to kill at the task level.  In the case of IE that turns out to be sufficient but if we only ever see one explorer.exe task obviously we need more refined control for it.   ; )

 

Good luck

June 15th, 2014 2:08am

I have created a dump file and I have opened it with Windbg:

I hope it's useful for someone.

I will try to check threads with ProcExp (in this moment start button works, so I must wait...)

Best regards,

Jack

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June 15th, 2014 3:35pm

Same problem here very frustrating :(
June 15th, 2014 5:35pm

Disabling OneDrive's Sync settings on all machines connected to the local area network has resolved the issue for me. As a test I enabled the Sync settings this afternoon, and within a half hour the Start menu button and hot corners became disabled again.
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June 15th, 2014 8:30pm

Thats weird i dont use OneDrive and i still have the same issue O.o
June 16th, 2014 6:06pm

I have the exact same problem. It happened on EVERY computer I ever installed Windows 8.1 Update 1 on.

It happens on my laptop, my desktop, my Surface and a couple of PCs I formatted for friends and family.

I realized I'm a pretty nervous user, I usually do things very quickly and that triggers this particular bug more frequently than other people. Still, almost every Windows 8.1 Update user I know has at some point experienced this problem and had to reboot.

I love Windows 8.1 Update and I use my PC for work. I've built myself a pretty darn fast machine to be productive, and I absolutely HATE having to deal with a locked start button&charms, especially since the last couple of Patch Tuesdays fixed all sorts of extremely rare bugs and left this incredibly annoying (and common) bug alone.

There is NO solution anywhere in the entire Web. It happens on multiple PCs, even without a Microsoft account (and thus no Onedrive or sync whatsoever). I ruled out every possible cause for this problem, and it's still happening. Please. Do something about it.

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June 19th, 2014 7:14pm

I'm here to the same bug on my pc. No solution found yet. I believe the problem appeared after installing Windows 8.1 over Windows 8.
June 20th, 2014 2:49pm

Microsoft's engineers claim that this bug is NOT happening on their machines.I dont know if that is true cause as you said it happens on multiple computers. 
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June 20th, 2014 5:08pm

I found this:

EXCEPTION_RECORD:  ffffffffffffffff -- (.exr 0xffffffffffffffff)
ExceptionAddress: 0000000000000000
   ExceptionCode: 80000003 (Break instruction exception)
  ExceptionFlags: 00000000
NumberParameters: 0

CONTEXT:  0000000000000000 -- (.cxr 0x0;r)
rax=00007ffd288c7508 rbx=00000000004acfe0 rcx=0000000003fe9690
rdx=00007ffd2891eb80 rsi=0000000000000000 rdi=00000000004acfe0
rip=00007ffd2827102a rsp=00000000003df588 rbp=00000000003df600
 r8=00007ffd29c6e850  r9=00000000003df540 r10=0000000000000000
r11=0000000000000246 r12=0000000000000000 r13=0000000000000000
r14=0000000000000001 r15=0000000000020077
iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=0033  ss=002b  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00000246
user32!NtUserWaitMessage+0xa:
00007ffd`2827102a c3              ret

FAULTING_THREAD:  0000000000001020

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID:  STATUS_BREAKPOINT

PROCESS_NAME:  explorer.exe

ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0x80000003 - {ERRORE DI EXCEPTION}  Breakpoint    stato raggiunto un breakpoint.

EXCEPTION_CODE: (HRESULT) 0x80000003 (2147483651) - Uno o pi  argomenti non validi.

NTGLOBALFLAG:  0

APPLICATION_VERIFIER_FLAGS:  0

APP:  explorer.exe

ANALYSIS_VERSION: 6.3.9600.17029 (debuggers(dbg).140219-1702) amd64fre

PRIMARY_PROBLEM_CLASS:  STATUS_BREAKPOINT

BUGCHECK_STR:  APPLICATION_FAULT_STATUS_BREAKPOINT

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER:  from 00007ffd287015da to 00007ffd2827102a

STACK_TEXT:  
00000000`003df588 00007ffd`287015da : 00000000`004acfe0 00000000`003df600 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : user32!NtUserWaitMessage+0xa
00000000`003df590 00007ffd`287bfd3d : 00000000`00000000 00000000`004acfe0 00000000`00080000 00000000`00000000 : shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+0x57
00000000`003df620 00007ff6`9a16b7b3 : 00000000`004acfe0 00000000`00000622 00000000`004acfe0 00000000`00080000 : shell32!SHDesktopMessageLoop+0x3d
00000000`003df650 00007ff6`9a184e8e : 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000000 00000000`0000001f : explorer!wWinMain+0x79d
00000000`003df930 00007ffd`27ee16ad : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : explorer!CTrayNotify::OnOverflowForceHide+0x310
00000000`003df9f0 00007ffd`2a5734a5 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : kernel32!BaseThreadInitThunk+0xd
00000000`003dfa20 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : ntdll!RtlUserThreadStart+0x1d


STACK_COMMAND:  ~0s; .ecxr ; kb

FOLLOWUP_IP: 
shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+57
00007ffd`287015da ebc0            jmp     shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+0x2c (00007ffd`2870159c)

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX:  1

SYMBOL_NAME:  shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+57

FOLLOWUP_NAME:  MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: shell32

IMAGE_NAME:  shell32.dll

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP:  53413518

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  STATUS_BREAKPOINT_80000003_shell32.dll!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop

BUCKET_ID:  APPLICATION_FAULT_STATUS_BREAKPOINT_shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+57

ANALYSIS_SOURCE:  UM

FAILURE_ID_HASH_STRING:  um:status_breakpoint_80000003_shell32.dll!cdesktopbrowser::_messageloop

FAILURE_ID_HASH:  {b4729fe5-4bd8-cefc-0fc2-c7f1764c9f16}

Followup: MachineOwner

Anyone have this error?


  • Edited by _Jack Saturday, July 19, 2014 3:52 PM
June 21st, 2014 5:07pm

Reinstalling video drivers AFTER the 8.1 upgrade seems to be resolving this for some people who have posted the issue in other forums.

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June 22nd, 2014 8:16pm

It may work for some people, but in my experience it happens even when using the official MSDN Windows 8.1 with integrated Update 1 ISO. No difference at all. I also updated my video drivers multiple times since the update. Again, no change. I have come to the conclusion that for the people who are experiencing this issue there is NO solution that's not coming from Microsoft. And I'm starting to think that pretty much EVERYONE has this bug but their usage pattern doesn't trigger it that often to notice. For example, my girlfriend has had Windows 8.1 Update 1 installed since its release in April, and she noticed this bug last week for the first time. That's because she uses the PC far less than me, and far less intensively than me. And before you ask, she did NOT install/modify/uninstall anything of any kind. It just happened.

I'm tremendously sorry, Microsoft, but I'm reverting to Windows 7 until you have sorted it out.



  • Edited by camazza Monday, June 23, 2014 8:51 AM
June 23rd, 2014 8:50am

I first saw this on the 20th, not before. Curious what the timing is on yours. I'm wondering if we can time it to a specific update.

On the one machine where I see it, I can't get the hover to drop down the close bar for StartMenu screen applications. The solution I found to that is to alt-tab to another application (or desktop) and return and it works.

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June 26th, 2014 9:49pm

The solution I found to that is to alt-tab to another application (or desktop) and return and it works.

What about a right-click up there then?  That's what some users have to do now with IE in Fullscreen mode apparently.  There have been usability and compatibility complaints about this change though from another perspective--functionality--I can see that the change could be justified.  And that reminds me of another possibility:  Alt-Space.  Does that work instead too?  Heh.  That even works with the TIP in its so-called Standard keyboard mode.  But only if I open the TIP with my pen, not my mouse?  Bizarre.  At least now I know how to do a Split Right or Split Left with my pen.   <eg>

 

June 29th, 2014 2:22pm

I still have this bug with two PCs with different installation sources after installing most recent updates. One of them had Windows 8.1 installed from an MSDN ISO and the other came with it preinstalled from DELL. The things that seem to trigger it most are:

- Opening new Internet Explorer instances

- Quitting Metro/Modern applications


  • Edited by FJTORSOL Monday, June 30, 2014 6:10 AM
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June 30th, 2014 6:09am

got the same problem @ 2 clients (34 pc's / all different) and my own 4 PC's // since update 1 (even MSDN version slipstreamed wont work better)
June 30th, 2014 7:26am

So i talked with a Community Moderator,Wiki Author and he said that he has the same problem!

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July 2nd, 2014 10:57am

I ran across this post with resolution tagged as Answer in the MS Community Forums:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-performance/cant-click-windows-icon-and-hot-corners-not/649e78a2-ff71-4bb6-a28b-7c0b6e0e6c22
July 2nd, 2014 10:34pm

I have the same problem. I am in a dual monitor setup and it only affects the start button and hot corners on my primary monitor.
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July 3rd, 2014 12:52am

Found a quick fix, doesn't last but works.

Step1 open task manager

Step 2 find windows explorer

Step 3 right click windows explorer, and click restart

July 4th, 2014 4:05am

I ran across this post with resolution tagged as Answer in the MS Community Forums:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-performance/cant-click-windows-icon-and-hot-corners-not/649e78a2-ff71-4bb6-a28b-7c0b6e0e6c22

I read this post, I have those values at 0 but the problem still remain...

However, thanks for sharing it!

  • Edited by _Jack Saturday, July 05, 2014 5:10 PM
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July 5th, 2014 5:04pm

Found a quick fix, doesn't last but works.

Step1 open task manager

Step 2 find windows explorer

Step 3 right click windows explorer, and click restart

Yes, this trick is very useful :)

But a fix from Microsoft would be very appreciated...

July 5th, 2014 5:09pm

Taking the dump of explorer.exe I have always the same stack track:

STACK_TEXT:  
00000000`00f3f448 00007ffe`d05d15da : 00000000`04f061b0 00000000`00f3f4c0 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : user32!NtUserWaitMessage+0xa
00000000`00f3f450 00007ffe`d068fd3d : 00000000`00000000 00000000`04f061b0 00000000`00080000 00000000`00000000 : shell32!CDesktopBrowser::_MessageLoop+0x57
00000000`00f3f4e0 00007ff7`a242b7b3 : 00000000`04f061b0 00000000`0000063a 00000000`04f061b0 00000000`00080000 : shell32!SHDesktopMessageLoop+0x3d
00000000`00f3f510 00007ff7`a2444e8e : 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000001 00000000`00000000 00000000`0000001f : explorer!wWinMain+0x79d
00000000`00f3f7f0 00007ffe`d1f116ad : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : explorer!CTrayNotify::OnOverflowForceHide+0x310
00000000`00f3f8b0 00007ffe`d25834a5 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : kernel32!BaseThreadInitThunk+0xd
00000000`00f3f8e0 00000000`00000000 : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : ntdll!RtlUserThreadStart+0x1d

Anyone know how can I use it?

I tried to search on Google but I didn't find anything....


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July 8th, 2014 7:08pm

I have the same problem :(
July 10th, 2014 9:54pm

I get this problem fairly often, and I may have a solution. First I push ctrl+shift+esc to get to the task manager. Then I open a "file explorer" window in order to find the "windows explorer" application in the "apps" section; right click it and restart it. This works for me almost every time.
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July 12th, 2014 1:08am

Merci, I tried your solution and the start button shows still white but works again. I had lost all control of my touch screen too etc. Do you have any idea how I can get my computer to recognize my second screen again? It totally disappeared from all identification... :( 

Thank you again and good luck to us all! 

July 16th, 2014 7:24pm

Never mind. I succeeded after all usual attempts failed by... unplugging and replugging the screen at the back of the computer. Restarting or turning it off/on did not work. FYI.
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July 16th, 2014 8:18pm

I have found that if you go to the task manager and "Restart" the explorer.exe, the problem stops temporarily. Normally when you select an active task, the button will say "End task" but switches over when you select explorer.exe. This can also fix a hanging desktop.
August 20th, 2014 3:58am

Anyone who still has the problem, i dont know if this is the fix, but it has worked for me so far. (2 days)

I was having the intermittent start/charms not working.  to fix it, i just ctrl/alt/delete log out and back in.  I decided to look into anything wrong on my metro-dashboard and none of my live-tiles were working.  I clicked on the individually and they would not open.  I clicked on the "go to the store" link in the warning screen.  the app was repaired and reinstalled.  I had to do this with MANY native installed apps.  I never use the metro "board" so i never realized they were corrupt.  The bad apps seem to have a little "x" on the bottom right of the app live-tile.

I believe windows is calling on the tiles for a behind the scenes update on their display info but not recovering when the info is not updated.

TLDR: it looks like its locking up because of failed live tiles. ie: News/Weather/Sports.  I re-installed them and two days so far I have not had the issue.

Edit: added info

  • Edited by unloco Sunday, August 31, 2014 8:54 PM
  • Proposed as answer by unloco Sunday, August 31, 2014 8:55 PM
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August 31st, 2014 8:46pm

Anyone who still has the problem, i dont know if this is the fix, but it has worked for me so far. (2 days)

I was having the intermittent start/charms not working.  to fix it, i just ctrl/alt/delete log out and back in.  I decided to look into anything wrong on my metro-dashboard and none of my live-tiles were working.  I clicked on the individually and they would not open.  I clicked on the "go to the store" link in the warning screen.  the app was repaired and reinstalled.  I had to do this with MANY native installed apps.  I never use the metro "board" so i never realized they were corrupt.  The bad apps seem to have a little "x" on the bottom right of the app live-tile.

I believe windows is calling on the tiles for a behind the scenes update on their display info but not recovering when the info is not updated.

TLDR: it looks like its locking up because of failed live tiles. ie: News/Weather/Sports.  I re-installed them and two days so far I have not had the issue.

Edit: added info

Can you triger the bug by moving a file/shortcut to the right up corner?
September 1st, 2014 10:46am

I have the same issue, and it just started recently.   Another MS issue with Win8.... I'm getting really tired of this.   I guess my company was right when it refused to move all our PCs to win8.

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September 20th, 2014 6:23pm

Hi, I've been getting fed up with this problem too. I have found a workaround that works for me. Open the Task Manager and use it to restart Windows Explorer as shown below.

Everything now works for me again. I'm using Windows 8.1 64bit.


September 28th, 2014 8:55am

Go to PC (or Tablet) configuration and uncheck Charm and Corners. This will activate them. Reboot if needed. Is illogical but works to me.
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October 7th, 2014 2:41pm

This is not an answer. This does nothing to help solve the problem. 

"Sounds like" doesn't help anyone. Why don't you go to your own machine and figure it out, you are a Microsoft rep, right? Do you see how many people have this issue?

October 7th, 2014 8:37pm

This is what worked for me, and i'm sure it will work for you.

Open task manager. (right click task bar and click task manager).

Click processes.

Find "Windows Explorer".

Click restart.

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October 9th, 2014 7:37pm

Hi,

I had the same problem with a couple of computers. Tried most things before i finally found out that updating the bios solved my problems. Obviously there are loads of different computers out there, but at least this worked for me on HP Elitebook Revolve 810 G2.

Good luck!

October 10th, 2014 9:22am

Does anyone with the same issue have "Show my desktop background on Start" enabled in "Taskbar and Navigation properties"?  If so, try disabling it and see if the issue goes away.
  • Proposed as answer by Cussco Monday, October 27, 2014 4:07 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by Cussco Monday, October 27, 2014 4:07 PM
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October 20th, 2014 6:18am

This is a bug in Win 8.1 which I can replicate at will.

To force the bug to appear:

1. Grab a desktop Icon (recycle bin, any shortcut) and move this up to the top left hand corner without letting go of the mouse button. Drop shortcut anywhere on desktop. Without an Icon the mouse pointer would initiate the recent apps.

2. To check that the first step has worked, try and invoke charms by moving mouse to top right hand corner.  If Charms do not appear then the bug has been triggered.

3. Now move mouse over start button (no click), move away then back again. Now the start button is locked.  If you unlock the taskbar you can move it to any other position (top, left or right) and the start button works.  Move taskbar back to the bottom and the start button still does not work.  Only way to get it working again is to restart window explorer in task manager.

To avoid this happening all you need to do is disable recent apps corner.

1. Right click desktop.

2. Click Taskbar and Navigation

3. Click Navigation tab in the properties window

4. Uncheck "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent tabs."

Now the bug cannot be triggered as above to make the start button stop working. You have to remove the feature which is pretty hopeless on a desktop anyway.  Its better than restarting Window explorer every time.

I can replicate this on any desktop PC or laptop. Not sure about any touch screen machines. I also can trigger this in VMPlayer and the Modern IE images that MS provide.

Now the MS engineers can replicate this on their machines, and maybe if we are lucky they will FIX it!!!!

Come on MS sort it out, at least acknowledge that this is a bug.

Thanks

  • Proposed as answer by Cussco Monday, October 27, 2014 8:06 PM
October 27th, 2014 4:30pm

After reading several posts on the subject, I have fixed the issue that I was having. I was not able to go between desktop and the screen with all of the apps (Using Windows 8.1). I was unable to bring up the "Charms" on the right side of my screen and, I was unable to click the start button to shut down my computer. I only bought this computer 2 months ago and the first time it happened I re-installed Windows! After reading posts here and elsewhere, I came to the conclusion that I needed to update my video display driver (which I did)......VOILA!! Issue has been resolved!! I went to Device Driver (you can reach this by clicking the windows icon on your desktop along with the letter X at the same time). I chose Device Manager and then my Display adaptor. Right clicked on it and chose update driver software and my problem has been fixed!!  :)

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November 2nd, 2014 1:05am

I have been able to reproduce this in the following scenarios with no solution yet:

  • Windows 8 MSDN ISO installation updated to Windows 8.1 Update 1 via Windows update. (Test Hardware A)
  • Windows 8.1 OEM preinstallation by DELL updated to Update 1 via Windows update. (Test Hardware B)
  • VHD installation from Windows 8.1 with Update 1 MSDN ISO using only built in drivers without installing additional software. (Test Hardware B)
  • VMware installation from Windows 8.1 with Update 1 MSDN ISO using only VMware tools without installing additional software.

Test Hardware A:

Non-Touch screen, after explorer.exe hang keyboard shortcuts work.

900p resultion @ 96 DPI

Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom)

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT

Test Hardware B:

Touch screen, after explorer.exe hang both start button and charms bar work via touch screen taps and gestures, keyboard shortcuts and touchpad gestures.

1080p resolution @ 96 DPI

Intel Core i7 (Haswell)

Intel HD 4400

Nvidia GeForce 750M GT

It seems to me that the mouse/keyboard-enabled overlay introduced with Windows 8.1 is a last-minute fix plagued with lots bugs. Windows without a working start button a new step towards stability...


  • Edited by FJTORSOL Saturday, November 08, 2014 10:07 AM
November 8th, 2014 10:05am

I have a similar issue where my charms that usually appear on the right side of my screen when I slide left from the right side of the screen no longer appear, and randomly appear towards the left half of my screen when my cursor glides over that area. The Start Menu button isn't working, and it's really annoying me that the laptop I spent all summer saving up for is now experiencing technical issues before I've even had it for one year. I don't want to have to constantly restart my laptop either, as I only have 4G of RAM and it takes a long time to start up. Someone please give me a working fix that doesn't require me to spend any more money than I already have!
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November 13th, 2014 11:30pm

charms that usually appear on the right side of my screen when I slide left from the right side of the screen no longer appear, and randomly appear towards the left half of my screen when my cursor glides over that area.

That sounds like a problem with a video driver.  Try using  Internet Options, Advanced tab,  Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering.

November 14th, 2014 12:52am

Yep, this works for me too.
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November 14th, 2014 12:53am

My Dad had this issue . . . I found and uninstalled Classic Shell . . . .  (The program that give you a Windows 7 like 'Start' Button in Windows 8).  Upgrading to Windows 8.1 disables Classic Shell but leaves it installed . . .

Press Windows + Q and type 'Uninstall a Program' to open the Control Panel\Programs and Features.

Look to see if Classic Shell is installed and uninstall it. 

I also updated the display drivers.  In this case there is an NVidia Card and the drivers were pretty old.

Finally I found that the AMD Catalyst Control was installed by mistake (AMD Motherboard) . 

If you do an uninstall of AMD be CAREFUL if you even think you might have an AMD Motherboard.

If you do you will need to choose the Advanced (NOT EXPRESS) uninstall so that you get a choice of programs that need to be uninstalled and only uninstall the AMD Video driver and not the AMD Chipset drivers.

November 16th, 2014 3:07am

I've had this problem too, but was able to fix it without restarting. Go to task manager by right-clicking the Start button, and click on more details. Right click Windows explorer and select restart. The problem should be fixed. 
  • Proposed as answer by pratm258 Friday, December 05, 2014 6:26 PM
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December 5th, 2014 6:26pm

@pratm258

Did you even bother reading the rest of the thread? Your "solution" has been suggested multiple times and confirmed to only be a temporary fix. It would be much appreciated if you read through at least the 15 most recent posts before suggesting your fix as a solution/answer.

As for the actual question I do not have a solution nor a suggestion to fixing the problem. I am experiencing the exact same problem as most others in this thread after being forced to update to windows 8.1, which I really hoped could be avoided. I have had no problems prior to the update.
December 11th, 2014 9:54am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KY3y3SdPWg

Guys see this video.. It worked for me.. 

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December 11th, 2014 2:57pm

Thank you very much for taking time to outline this bug !

Have you posted a bug report to ms directly ?


  • Edited by daslicht Monday, December 15, 2014 2:08 PM
December 15th, 2014 2:06pm

See above, restarting the expolrer was mentioned many times before.

The best "fix" was posted by Cussco, Monday, October 27, 2014 8:06 PM

@Microsoft are you reading this here ?  

  • Edited by daslicht Monday, December 15, 2014 2:15 PM
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December 15th, 2014 2:14pm

just install a 3rd party start menu. gets rid of the terrible metro interface and fixes the problem. 

i recommend start8. 

December 16th, 2014 5:56pm

Problem still persists after half a year. I have observed that it mainly start to appear this way:

1. Install Windows 8 and update everything (use only image obtained from Microsoft Store);

2. Install Windows 8.1 Upgrade and update everything.

After half an hour to 1 hour windows start button and charms bars will stop to respond (also right click on start button won`t work and Metro apps charms won`t show up, there will be no way to close them from top to bottom).

The only solution still is Explorer.exe restart.

How could this happen in Clean Install for half a year already?

I have observed this in 4 notebooks manufactured before 2014 (2 Acer`s) though in newer ASUS it doesn`t appear.


  • Edited by PI-new Wednesday, December 24, 2014 1:59 PM
  • Proposed as answer by nikmpa Sunday, December 28, 2014 8:42 PM
  • Unproposed as answer by nikmpa Sunday, December 28, 2014 8:42 PM
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December 24th, 2014 1:58pm

Hasn't Microsoft fixed that yet? They haven't obviously and that's why I am writing.

Start button, charms, all touch-the-edge-of-window gestures and Metro's new fullscreen title bar with the X (close) button stop working randomly. And recently even more often than before.

For half an year I didn't have this problem at all but since last fall this happens quite regularly!!!

January 4th, 2015 6:40pm

Start button, charms, all touch-the-edge-of-window gestures and Metro's new fullscreen title bar with the X (close) button stop working randomly. And recently even more often than before.

Have you tried to analyze what you do that causes it?  Notice that we already have one repro case, so if that is yours you would at least know to avoid doing that and try to at least reduce the frequency of the symptom that way.   <eg>

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January 4th, 2015 9:06pm

Lol my name is josh too high five! OK so Ive been having the same problem and i found out how to recreate it on my computer, by changing my desktop background. It works again after I restart. Hope this helps
January 5th, 2015 2:06am

I have tried literally every solution in this thread.

Resetting windows Explorer does not work because the error is not rooted in windows explorer.

Can't use resmon as Resmon's directory for the program appears to be empty

Clean installation just comes right around to this error when 8.1 update 1 rears it's head,

Onedrive's settings are already disabled because my user account is not linked to my microsoft one; and linking them, turning off the settings, and unlinking again does nothing.

Analyzing the wait chains only leads to SVChost programs that are all critical to system operation that are actively running.

Running regedit shows the related registry data that needs to be inserted/editted does not exist.

And updating my graphics card drivers did nothing.

I really am at wits end over this frustrating glitch that, on top of screwing up the start button and charms, also messes up windows media player for me to it skips all content, rendering it unplayable.

I don't know if any of you ahve experiences that one as well or if that's a separate issue, i'm just throwing that out there.

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January 9th, 2015 11:03pm

The solution, as Cussco noted above, is to disable the upper-left corner app switcher. To do this, right-click on the taskbar, click the Navigation pane and uncheck "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent apps.

Of course, this is a bug that needs to be fixed, and the proposed "solution" may inconvenience some people, but it's the best one to date.

January 15th, 2015 4:20pm

Really can't believe this issue has been occurring since what, May 2014 and there has been no comment by Microsoft. I used to restart Windows Explorer, but unchecked "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent apps" and it stopped happening. However, this is still very much a workaround and needs to be fixed by Microsoft. 

To force the bug to appear:

1. Grab a desktop Icon (recycle bin, any shortcut) and move this up to the top left hand corner without letting go of the mouse button. Drop shortcut anywhere on desktop. Without an Icon the mouse pointer would initiate the recent apps.

2. To check that the first step has worked, try and invoke charms by moving mouse to top right hand corner.  If Charms do not appear then the bug has been triggered.

3. Now move mouse over start button (no click), move away then back again. Now the start button is locked.  If you unlock the taskbar you can move it to any other position (top, left or right) and the start button works.  Move taskbar back to the bottom and the start button still does not work.  Only way to get it working again is to restart window explorer in task manager.

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January 15th, 2015 5:11pm

I've got that problem. It happened to my laptop and desktop like in the last week. When I do the recycle bin thing it bugs just like you. When I log off and on it works again -.-. Microsoft probably doesn't know what's wrong and doesn't dare to say something. -.-. Say if you found a solution...... Frigging MS....
January 18th, 2015 1:36pm

This is happening here on a clean install of Windows 8.1 x64 with all updates applied, even with "When I click the top left corner, switch between my recent apps" deselected in the taskbar properties. Works for a while, then within 3 hours the charms menu won't appear, and in metro apps the top menu bar won't appear when the mouse is moved to the top of the screen. This is a dual monitor system, however the issue has been replicated on a single monitor setup as well.

Microsoft, this is a pretty poor user experience, having to restart a process or reboot every few hours. Are you looking into this?

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January 19th, 2015 11:00am

I had the same problem. Followed your easy 1, 2 3 solution. Problem solved. Thanks.
January 19th, 2015 3:56pm

Thanks gelund this worked just fine.
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January 19th, 2015 5:23pm

This is a bug in Win 8.1 which I can replicate at will.

To force the bug to appear:

1. Grab a desktop Icon (recycle bin, any shortcut) and move this up to the top left hand corner without letting go of the mouse button. Drop shortcut anywhere on desktop. Without an Icon the mouse pointer would initiate the recent apps.

2. To check that the first step has worked, try and invoke charms by moving mouse to top right hand corner.  If Charms do not appear then the bug has been triggered.

3. Now move mouse over start button (no click), move away then back again. Now the start button is locked.  If you unlock the taskbar you can move it to any other position (top, left or right) and the start button works.  Move taskbar back to the bottom and the start button still does not work.  Only way to get it working again is to restart window explorer in task manager.

To avoid this happening all you need to do is disable recent apps corner.

1. Right click desktop.

2. Click Taskbar and Navigation

3. Click Navigation tab in the properties window

4. Uncheck "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent tabs."

Now the bug cannot be triggered as above to make the start button stop working. You have to remove the feature which is pretty hopeless on a desktop anyway.  Its better than restarting Window explorer every time.

I can replicate this on any desktop PC or laptop. Not sure about any touch screen machines. I also can trigger this in VMPlayer and the Modern IE images that MS provide.

Now the MS engineers can replicate this on their machines, and maybe if we are lucky they will FIX it!!!!

Come on MS sort it out, at least acknowledge that this is a bug.

Thanks


Wow this works, Thanks Cussco!
  • Edited by Jon4248 Tuesday, January 20, 2015 2:26 PM
  • Proposed as answer by lgt945 Friday, May 29, 2015 6:42 AM
  • Unproposed as answer by lgt945 Friday, May 29, 2015 6:48 AM
January 20th, 2015 2:24pm

This worked for me, thanks. It's not permanent, but it does work.
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January 21st, 2015 12:48am

The solution, as Cussco noted above, is to disable the upper-left corner app switcher. To do this, right-click on the taskbar, click the Navigation pane and uncheck "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent apps.

Of course, this is a bug that needs to be fixed, and the proposed "solution" may inconvenience some people, but it's the best one to date.


Yeah...how would you go about using Cussco's method when--

1: that option is already disabled.
2: That option has never been Enabled.
3: That Option Cannot be Enabled
And 4: That Option does not have the Option TO be disabled?

And yes, I did try enabling and then disabling the option right above it to try and make it Select-able.  it did not work.

Cussco's method is yet another one that does not work for everyone.
No suggestion in this thread as of yet has been helpful for fixing this for me, as none of them work.

As it is, I've refreshed my PC six Times Trying to get rid of it, and resorted for the past month to installing the 8.1 updates that Cause this little error one by one.  I get as far as the update with the Code "KB2984006"  before the whole thing freaks out and the rest all cause the error to propagate.

February 1st, 2015 5:48pm

Hard to do that if you can't access your start menu. While some people may be able to use keyboard shortcuts, I am unable to at all. Win-x doesn't work, the keyboard start button doesn't work, and swiping from the side doesn't work. The little buttons (are those charms?) in the bottom right which display power, wi-fi, etc, don't work. They highlight, so it is recognizing I clicked them, but don't open anything; whether from the hotbar itself or from the box of charms. I can open programs that are pinned to the taskbar or displayed on the desk top(how I got chrome open)and hovering my mouse over them does highlight them. But when I hover my mouse over the start bar, I get nothing. Can't even left click. This is the first time, been like this for the past 15-30 minutes or so. It just force-shut down from lack of power, and it was fine before then. Not sure what version i am running specifically of Windows 8(It's a shared laptop). I have a touch-screen Inspiron 15 laptop by Dell, about a year-old now. Nothing like this before, no way to access start menu or charms, but visible programs work fine. Don't know any work arounds, going to try task manager  to shut down, maybe a force shut down if that doesn't work.
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February 1st, 2015 11:18pm

The little buttons (are those charms?) in the bottom right which display power, wi-fi, etc, don't work. They highlight, so it is recognizing I clicked them, but don't open anything; whether from the hotbar itself or from the box of charms.

To see the Charms bar press Win-C

Not sure what version i am running specifically of Windows 8(It's a shared laptop).

That makes a difference about which MUF features you should expect to see.  Pressing Win-Break would at least let you see whether you were W8.0 or W8.1.  As for whether you are using W8.1.1 (KB2919355) or W8.1.2 (KB3000850) you would have to go to View Windows Update History  (Win-w V W U H Enter finds it for me. YMMV)  Then see what you have at the top for "most recent cumulative update".

 

FYI

February 2nd, 2015 2:58am

I have the same problem as you.  I have turned off the upper left corner thing and I still can't access my charms or Windows button.  Win-C from my keyboard does nothing.  Win-X does nothing.  My keyboard Windows key is useless.  This just started 2 days ago on Feb 2 when I did the latest Windows updates.  When my computer starts I get Microsoft.NET Framework errors.  I tried to run the repair tool for this from online.  It didn't work.  It said it couldn't repair whatever is wrong on my PC.  This is extremely frustrating and I am really upset to see that this has been ongoing for some people since early 2014.  I knew we should have bought a Mac this time!!!!!

I can't run System Restore.  I can't uninstall some programs that aren't working.  It just won't uninstall them. 

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February 5th, 2015 7:58pm

Thanks Cussco. I could effectively replicate the bug following your steps and it seems your solution has worked for me.

Thanks again.

February 5th, 2015 10:28pm

Windows key is useless.

Well, figure out what you can do instead.  E.g. Start Screen in any way?  Ctrl-Esc, for example.   Task Manager?  Either press Ctrl+Shift+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Delete (to then click on that item).

Can you start the OSK and try using its Win- key?  Make sure that other modifier keys are not showing signs of being pressed and undo those first, since that could explain this symptom.

I can't run System Restore.

How are you trying and what do you see?  RstrUI.exe

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February 5th, 2015 11:40pm

How do you do that?  I went on my OneDrive and Right Clicked.  There I can choose "Pause Syncing", which I did. This did not resolve the problem. I don't see "Sync Setting anywhere in the OneDrive Properties.

Thanks,

Kelly M

February 7th, 2015 7:19pm

Interesting you mention that, I've only had the problem since installing Dreamweaver CC...
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February 20th, 2015 2:26pm

If Linux was as supported as Windows, I would switch to prevent glitches like this (and Linux is virus free).

March 27th, 2015 2:35am

thank you, unchecking "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent tabs." is the solution !
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March 27th, 2015 11:06pm

"acknowledge that this is a bug"

LOL.

I've just been considering the same myself.


This will never happen. Closed-house software development plus OEM-distribution. 90% of the users don't even get support from Microsoft as the software is OEM supplied. Forget acknowledgement of bugs.

April 9th, 2015 5:45pm

Amazing. This bug can be  replicated on every win 8.1 upnto date even now almost a year later ... MS dropped the ball on that totally ...


Thanks for workaround with disabling hot corner, it helps.

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April 30th, 2015 2:39am

Same for me....Any help will be appreciated !!
June 6th, 2015 3:16am

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