Windows 10 Unresponsive start menu, no taskbar or system tray icons when switching user accounts

  • Thread starter Thread starter robtree1
  • Start date Start date
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robtree1

I've completely reinstalled Windows 10 twice, but no luck. Here's the problem, described also in Switching between user logins freezes taskbar but with no resolution.


Steps to reproduce


1. Turn on and log in to any user account

2. From the start menu, do not log out, but switch to any other user account

3. Sign in to the other user account, leaving the first user account logged in


Observed results


Signing in to the second (or subsequent) user accounts takes up to a minute. When the desktop appears, the start menu does not respond to clicks or pressing the Windows key. There are no icons in the taskbar or system tray. The mouse cursor changes to a loading spinner when hovering over the taskbar. The taskbar appears to flash and reload every 10-15 seconds. Opening a browser from a desktop shortcut works, but no websites load, just an empty browser window with no errors.


Expected results


Switching to a second (or any number of) user accounts in Windows should not take a minute, and the start menu, taskbar and system icons should all behave normally.


Workarounds


1. Don't switch user accounts. Always sign out before signing in to another user account. Ensure that only one user account is signed in at a time.

2. Ctrl-Alt-Del to sign out if you do log into more than one user account and find that the start menu is broken.

3. Ctrl-Alt-Del to open Task Manager, go to the Users tab, and 'Sign off' any other users. Your start menu, taskbar and system tray icons will return to normal.


For me, this problem has only started in recent weeks, but it seems from the link above that others have been encountering it since December 2020.

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