Evolv-ing Thread

[Punk In Drublic]

well, i'm in need of help, google won't get me any further yesterday evening i realized the start menu and icons on the right of the taskbar were not responding. this morning on advice found by googling i restarted windows explorer in task manager with some success but the connections icon was missing. thinking this would be an easy fix i tried to open settings but failed, it won't populate. i can't open a command prompt but can bring up the file explorer. i've been mostly following advice from here
Windows 10: The Settings app does not open or flashes and closes instantaneously | Dell US
does anyone here have some ideas? as it is if i'd shut down or lose connection to my hotspot i won't be able to get back online. alternating between 2 different devices connecting is not set to automatic

Not sure I fully understand your issue, but the Start Menu is a separate process from Windows Explorer.

The Start Menu process can be restarted through the Task Manager. You can start Task Manager using a right click on the task bar, or through Ctrl, Alt, Delete.

Choose the Process tab and under the “Background Processes” you should have a name “Start” with a black and white box icon. Right click to end task will restart this process.

 

[tiburonfirst]

the start menu on the left side of the task bar did not open yesterday together with the icons on the right side of the taskbar. that problem was solved but now settings won't open so i can get into connections

 

[awsum140]

Does "Control Panel" open? "Start", "Windows System", "Control Panel".

 

[Punk In Drublic]

the start menu on the left side of the task bar did not open yesterday together with the icons on the right side of the taskbar. that problem was solved but now settings won't open so i can get into connections

Settings as in Windows settings? The gear icon within the start menu? What happens if you right click the task bar and choose "Taskbar Settings"? If that opens, you can get to the home screen for Windows settings.

 

[tiburonfirst]

awsum, it opens but does not populate - spinning wheel

 

[tiburonfirst]

Settings as in Windows settings? The gear icon within the start menu? What happens if you right click the task bar and choose "Taskbar Settings"? If that opens, you can get to the home screen for Windows settings.

blue screen with the settings icon in the middle and nothing further

 

[awsum140]

Did Windows do an "update" recently?

 

[tiburonfirst]

Did Windows do an "update" recently?

not sure since i can't get in. maybe somebody could take a look? all was well the day before

got run to drop-off dh's wash. with lockdown in effect at the assisted living fac i can only drop off at a certain time

 

[Punk In Drublic]

not sure since i can't get in. maybe somebody could take a look? all was well the day before

got run to drop-off dh's wash. with lockdown in effect at the assisted living fac i can only drop off at a certain time

An update would have prompted a reboot. Have you rebooted since this issue?

 

[tiburonfirst]

An update would have prompted a reboot. Have you rebooted since this issue?

if the update was pushed during the night i would not know since i put the laptop to sleep every evening and do not power off

 

[BillW50]

well, i'm in need of help, google won't get me any further yesterday evening i realized the start menu and icons on the right of the taskbar were not responding. this morning on advice found by googling i restarted windows explorer in task manager with some success but the connections icon was missing. thinking this would be an easy fix i tried to open settings but failed, it won't populate. i can't open a command prompt but can bring up the file explorer. i've been mostly following advice from here
Windows 10: The Settings app does not open or flashes and closes instantaneously | Dell US
does anyone here have some ideas? as it is if i'd shut down or lose connection to my hotspot i won't be able to get back online. alternating between 2 different devices connecting is not set to automatic

I had the same problem with one of my Windows 10 (1903) machines after the last update. Although rebooting corrected it for me.

 

[tiburonfirst]

I had the same problem with one of my Windows 10 (1903) machines after the last update. Although rebooting corrected it for me.

came home and had lost the connection so no choice but to reboot. apparently, it was set to airplane mode and once i switched back to wifi the icon appeared again.
thanks to all who tried to help!

 

[tiburonfirst]

came home and had lost the connection so no choice but to reboot. apparently, it was set to airplane mode and once i switched back to wifi the icon appeared again.
thanks to all who tried to help!

i also can get into settings again

 

[awsum140]

Loose nut behind the keyboard

 

[tiburonfirst]

Loose nut behind the keyboard

must have been
pity bill did not post earlier i might have worked up the courage to shut down instead i tried my best to stay online. still can't figure out though why a connection setting would have been changed out of the blue and no access to settings .......... sigh

 

[awsum140]

Why do you think I call it "Windoohs"?

 

[tiburonfirst]

it surely doohed it to me this time

 

[awsum140]

I think what may have happened is that an update was loaded and half applied, there was a recent as in this week update. That screwed things until you rebooted and either completed the update or the new registry entries took effect. It wouldn't hurt to shut down rather than put it to sleep. The memory does get cleared, completely that way for one thing.

 

[BillW50]

It wouldn't hurt to shut down rather than put it to sleep. The memory does get cleared, completely that way for one thing.

I don't know about Tibs, but I have 4 laptops stacked on top of one another with thick rubber spacers between them for airflow. All of them are connected to a single monitor and separate wireless keyboard and mice for each one. All I have to do is to turn on a mouse and that machine wakes up. If I left them off, I would have to unstack and then open the lid of the one I want on and press the power button. That is way to impractical.

They used to design some laptops to be easily to be used as a desktop too. Nowadays it isn't so easy. As even laptops with a power switch on the outside that you can excess with the lid still closed, modern machines won't turn on if the lid is closed. But they will wake up with the lid closed.

 

[dwcraig1]

Someday I'm going to ask Bill what he uses all of those computers for...... but then again maybe I don't want to know.