Latest Windows 11 Beta Update Crashes Start Menu and Settings

Some users have reported major problems with the latest Windows 11 preview builds, such as parts of the OS being unresponsive.

The problems have been acknowledged by Microsoft in posts on Windows Blogs. The two builds affected are 22000.176 and 22449, which are the latest updates for the Beta and Dev channels respectively, according to tech news site Windows Latest.

Users report that the Start Menu, Taskbar, Explorer.exe, and Windows Settings have been unresponsive, while other parts of Windows 11 are either broken or simply not there.

Other issues include the context menu being slow to respond and error messages popping up. Restarting the computer doesn’t seem to work.

In the blog posts (linked above) for both builds, Microsoft provides instructions to fix this issue by running a specific command in Task Manager. Doing so reboots the computer and restores the missing pieces.

According to Windows Latest, some users have tried different solutions, such as changing their clock to a 24-hour format and then rebooting the computer. This method appears to have worked for some, but isn’t a surefire method.

Windows 11 preview builds have seen multiple problems since they’ve started releasing, but none so debilitating as these recent issues. However, that's the point of preview builds; to test the application and fix any bugs that arise.

The finished Windows 11 build will launch on October 5 as a free upgrade to eligible Windows 10 PCs. Hopefully, the OS will launch with only minor issues thanks to the data obtained through the Beta and Dev channels.