The Technology chronicle.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Windows server 2012: where is my start button??
If you have been using Windows Server OS for a while, the one thing that will strike you most when you login to a Windows server 2012 is that there is no start button. What. How am I going to manage it??
Microsoft feels that you really dont need a start button, since you can do almost everything from your server manager or even remotely from your desktop. After all the initial configurations are done, you could also do away with the GUI and go back to server core option.(In server 2012, there is an option to add and remove GUI).
So does that mean, you need to learn to live without a start button. Actually no, the start button is very much there .Lets start looking for it.
There is «charms» bar on the side of your deskop, where you will find a «start» option. You can use the «Windows +C» shortcut to pop out the charms bar 
There is a hidden «start area»in the bottom left corner of your desktop , in the blank space next to your server manager icon(PS:The desktop is also called start screen in Server 2012 jargon). Just hover your mouse over there and the start button will pop out.
You can click on the start option and then start typing your shortcuts , the search option will come up and dutifully find out your application for you.
You can the right click them and add them as icon on your desktop, or pin it to your task bar etc
If you click the windows button on your keyboard, it will take you to the start menu and you can type your shortcuts there.
Where is the Start button and how do I restore it in Windows 8?
Can anyone tell me how I can restore the Start button in Windows 8?
When I finally figured out how to get to the desktop, I noticed there was no start button. Don’t know if that was some sort of glitch or the result of a virus. Anyway, I tried doing a re-install of the OS after a complete system restore didn’t help, but a reinstall didn’t bring back that button.
Should I do a complete reformat of the hard drive and then reinstall the OS fresh?
Any help would be appreciated. The missing start button is driving me nuts.
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The Windows 8 desktop does not have a start button. This is by design. You are not experiencing
The Metro start screen is the new version of the start button. If you are looking for an application or file, just start typing the name while you’re looking at the start screen.
Alternatively, third party companies have started developing apps to re-introduce a start button
to the desktop. Here’s one:
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On Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:35:08 +0000, rupertsland wrote:
Can anyone tell me how I can restore the Start button in Windows 8?
When I finally figured out how to get to the desktop, I noticed there was no start button. Don’t know if that was some sort of glitch or the result of a virus. Anyway, I tried doing a re-install of the OS after a complete system restore didn’t help, but a reinstall didn’t bring back that button.
Should I do a complete reformat of the hard drive and then reinstall the OS fresh?
No, that won’t help. The Start Orb isn’t there, and that’s by design,
not because of an error.
There are several third-party programs you can use to get it back. I
use and recommend the free Classic Shell at
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
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On Sat, 27 Oct 2012 00:35:08 +0000, rupertsland wrote:
Can anyone tell me how I can restore the Start button in Windows 8?
When I finally figured out how to get to the desktop, I noticed there was no start button. Don’t know if that was some sort of glitch or the result of a virus. Anyway, I tried doing a re-install of the OS after a complete system restore didn’t help, but a reinstall didn’t bring back that button.
Should I do a complete reformat of the hard drive and then reinstall the OS fresh?
No, that won’t help. The Start Orb isn’t there, and that’s by design,
not because of an error.
There are several third-party programs you can use to get it back. I
use and recommend the free Classic Shell at
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
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On Wed, 31 Oct 2012 02:14:10 +0000, I Fix Computers wrote:
No, that won’t help. The Start Orb isn’t there, and that’s by design,
not because of an error.
There are several third-party programs you can use to get it back. I
use and recommend the free Classic Shell at
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
Thanks Ken . you are a life-saver! Just installed classicshell and it is just what I was looking for. I highly recommend this application for everyone who installed Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop.
You’re welcome. Glad to help.
And by the way, someone else on these forums (Mike Hall) recommended
an alternative to Classic Shell. It’s Start8, which I tried and am
using now. It’s not free, but it’s very inexpensive ($4.99 US) and
it’s somewhat better than Classic Shell. You might want to try it
(http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) and decide which you
prefer; it comes with a free 30-day trial.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
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On Wed, 31 Oct 2012 02:14:10 +0000, I Fix Computers wrote:
No, that won’t help. The Start Orb isn’t there, and that’s by design,
not because of an error.
There are several third-party programs you can use to get it back. I
use and recommend the free Classic Shell at
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
Thanks Ken . you are a life-saver! Just installed classicshell and it is just what I was looking for. I highly recommend this application for everyone who installed Windows 8 on a laptop or desktop.
You’re welcome. Glad to help.
And by the way, someone else on these forums (Mike Hall) recommended
an alternative to Classic Shell. It’s Start8, which I tried and am
using now. It’s not free, but it’s very inexpensive ($4.99 US) and
it’s somewhat better than Classic Shell. You might want to try it
(http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) and decide which you
prefer; it comes with a free 30-day trial.
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
Ok so why do I have to go to a 3rd party to get the Start Orb?
My mother bought Windows 8 PRO for some unknown reason and is driving me NUTS, She was upset when she found out you cannot return Software after popping the seal. This «OS Down Grade» is not going well. It did install and pick up all of the devices, It is just that my parents can not use it. They do not want to go this route and want to move back to Windows 7 donating this install to charity OR now they are looking at the Apple because my sister has one and loves it.
They said Apple can tell the difference from a desk top and a «Touch pad» and kept their configuration, so why can not Microsoft. If they wanted this they would have bought a «Touch Pad» : )
Please tell me that I can get the Windows 7 look and feel back without a 3rd party before they drive me insane. They do not want «Pirate tools» on their computer. Only Microsoft Certified programs are allowed on their computer.
Windows 8, Ba Humbug!
I haven’t got the heart or nerve to tell them it is not called a «Touch Pad» nor is the shell «Pirate Tools»
Windows 10 start button not working
Replies (156)
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Thank you for posting on Microsoft Communities.
I will be glad to help you with the issue you have with the computer. I understand the frustration when things don’t work the way it should.
Please follow the below methods to troubleshoot on the issue:
Method 1: Perform a sfc scan on the computer to check if there are any corruptions on the computer. Please follow the below link to perform a sfc scan on the computer.
Method 2: Try to perform a DISM commands on the computer. Please follow the below link to know how to perform DISM in Windows.
This issue can be fixed by Windows Updates. Please refer to the suggestions by Sharath Srinivasa replied on January 23, 2015 in the link given below.
Hope this information is helpful. Feel free to get back to us for any further assistance.
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1. Launch Task manager
Press the [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del] keys on the keyboard at the same time, or right click the Taskbar, and select Task manager.
2. Run a new Windows task
When the Task manager window opens, click the More details option to expand it, then select Run new task from the File menu.
3. Run Windows PowerShell
When the Run new task dialog box opens, type powershell, tick the box for Create this task with administrative privileges and click OK.
4. 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.
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A treatment for the symptom would be to restart Windows Explorer every time this happens. This may allow you to use the Windows button until the next time that it freezes up.
-open task manager (alt-ctrl-del or right click on taskbar and choose it)
-find and select «Windows Explorer»
-click Restart button on bottom right
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It means log out and log back in. will restart Windows services.
I honestly don’t know how this is still a problem that Microsoft hasn’t fixed in Falls Creator edition. Seems like a flaw in pretty basic functionality.
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I’m shocked. a YouTube comment fixed this problem with me. I narrowed it down to some conflict between (I believe) Dropbox and the Windows 10 Task Host Manager.
Followed this Dropbox thread here: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Installation-and-desktop-app/Stuck-on-quot-starting-quot/td-p/88494/page/5
To this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILni3TO6ITc
And the first comment says this:
After hours of searching and trying, Finally I GOT IT I found a solution that fixed the issue for me and I think it should work for you and all who suffer from the problem. It is very easy. Just by these steps : 1- Right click on start menu and click on Run. «For those who the start menu does not respond with right click, right click on taskbar — click on Task Manager — from File menu on the left upper corner select Run new task». 2-White the command regedit and click Enter. 3- Go to path [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WpnUserService]. 4-Double click on Start from the right side. 5-Change the value data to 4 then OK. 6-Reboot. That’s it. Or just download the attached registry file and run it. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AZJPia-kpxz_t2DrBKYY6xwMs5D-f9Ft
All credit to Ayman Askar
Someone else responded in the comments below and said this:
onegp I just talked to Microsoft. The 0 is «default» for the Windows Push Notification service (wpnservice) to push notifications from some corresponding WNS server. I guess that depends on your location. Changing it to 1 makes Windows get it’s notification from iCloud servers, 2, 3, 4. x, I don’t know and neither did the tech I talked to. For that you get to have access to registry service codes. So either this guy works for Microsoft or just guessed the code because Microsoft had no answer as to why entering 4 worked. If you type in the registry key directly into the search engine bar, you will get results for that service but not the codes and how they repetitively affect the system. I hope this helps.
No idea why this widely reported issue isn’t fixed yet with a proper Windows Update. Seems pretty easy to recreate.
