6 Ways to Fix Icons Missing From Start Menu on Windows 11

Quick Tips

• In most cases, restarting Windows Explorer or the Start Menu Experience Host should resolve the issue.
• If icons are missing from the Start menu, taskbar, and desktop, consider clearing the icon cache.
• Re-registering the Start Menu on your system is also an effective way to fix various issues, including this one.

Fix 1: Restart Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer process is responsible for providing the graphical interface for several utilities, including the Start menu. So, if the Start menu isn’t loading properly, restarting the Windows Explorer process should be your first step.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.

Step 2: In the Processes tab, locate Windows Explorer. Right-click on it and select Restart.

The taskbar will disappear for a few seconds and appear again. After that, check to see if the Start menu loads icons.

Fix 2: Restart Start Menu Experience Host

Start Menu Experience Host is a process that handles the Start menu on Windows 11. If the process encounters any issues, the Start menu may fail to display icons or stop working entirely. To fix it, you can restart the Start Menu Experience Host by following the steps below.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to launch the Task Manager.

Step 2: Head over to the Details tab and locate StartMenuExperienceHost.exe. Right-click on it and select End task.

The process will start automatically and the Start menu should display icons.

Fix 3: Enable Folders in Start Menu

If you can’t seem to locate icons for Settings, File Explorer, Downloads, and such, on the Start menu, you may have accidentally disabled them. Here’s how you can enable them again.

Step 1: Right-click anywhere on the empty space on the Desktop and select Personalize.

Step 2: In the Settings app that opens, click on Start.

Step 3: Go to Folders.

Step 4: Use the toggles to enable all your preferred icons in the Start menu.

Fix 4: Rebuild Icon Cache

Windows caches all of the app and file icons that it displays. This eliminates the need for Windows to retrieve icons from the source repeatedly. However, if the icon cache database has become corrupted or inaccessible, Windows may fail to display icons in the Start menu. If that’s the case, forcing Windows to rebuild that cache should help fix the issue.

Step 1: Right-click on the Start icon and select Terminal (Admin) from the list.

Step 2: Copy and paste the following command for navigating the directory where Windows saves the icon cache:

cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

Step 3: Run the following command to delete the icon cache.

del iconcache*

Fix 5: Re-Register the Start Menu on Windows

It’s possible that a recent change to the system or the Start menu has caused this problem. If you can’t seem to identify the exact cause, you can use the following method to re-register the Start menu on Windows.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type in powershell, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Run the following command in the PowerShell window.

Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}

Wait for the process to complete and then restart your PC.

Fix 6: Run an SFC Scan

Corrupted or missing system files on your PC can also cause issues with the Start menu. In such cases, running an SFC (or System File Checker) can help you verify the integrity of all the system files and repair them. Here’s how to run it.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + S to access the search menu. Type in terminal in the box, right-click on the first result, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: In the console, run the following command and hit Enter.

sfc /scannow

Restart your PC after running the above scan and see if icons are still missing from the Start menu.