Windows 10, Start Menu, Search or any microsoft apps doesn't work...

ssx705 said:

Looks like i have found somewhat of an solution. In the Controlpanel there are some troubleshootings that seemed to fix it.

What were they?? Having the same issue.

An update. I have determined that the aforementioned problems are directly linked to Displaylink. These are the drivers that run my second monitor. I have my laptop monitor, a second monitor directly connected to the VGA port on the laptop, and a 3rd monitor connected to the Dynadock which is connected to the computer via USB. The 3 monitors worked perfectly in Windows 7 and again in Windows 10. However in Win 10, the drivers (displaylink) for the 3rd monitor cause the explorer.exe issue and the windows apps to not work. I can remove the drivers and disconnect the Dynadock and Windows 10 works fine. I can remove the drivers and leave the dynadock connected and Windows 10 works fine but restarting it causes Windows to want to auto install the drivers all the time. Also since my headphones are connected to the Dynadock, they don't work. What does work is my bluetooth connector for my mouse and keyboard and my printer. So technically the drivers work but they just interfere with the operating system.

jbradly said:

An update. I have determined that the aforementioned problems are directly linked to Displaylink. These are the drivers that run my second monitor. I have my laptop monitor, a second monitor directly connected to the VGA port on the laptop, and a 3rd monitor connected to the Dynadock which is connected to the computer via USB. The 3 monitors worked perfectly in Windows 7 and again in Windows 10. However in Win 10, the drivers (displaylink) for the 3rd monitor cause the explorer.exe issue and the windows apps to not work. I can remove the drivers and disconnect the Dynadock and Windows 10 works fine. I can remove the drivers and leave the dynadock connected and Windows 10 works fine but restarting it causes Windows to want to auto install the drivers all the time. Also since my headphones are connected to the Dynadock, they don't work. What does work is my bluetooth connector for my mouse and keyboard and my printer. So technically the drivers work but they just interfere with the operating system.

I am having a similar problem. I am using an hp 3005pr USB 3.0 port replicator with a samsung B2240W external monitor on my laptop. After a while, my start menu and Metro/Modern apps stopped opening. I also couldn't access certain settings in user accounts. No error message, they just don't open. The problem even occurs now after I disconnect from the port replicator.

I went through a whole list of fixes. A lot of people have this issue for different reasons (Dropbox, antivirus software, etc). I don't get the 'critical error' message like others do. The only solution that seems to work consistently (but the problem returns after a reboot) is running this in the command prompt: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

I need a lasting solution. I tried to uninstall my display drivers but it doesn't change anything. Is there a way I can clean up whatever this port replicator did to my laptop?