Microsoft has confirmed a new issue that is impacting Windows 11 PCs which might see integral UI elements such as the Start menu and Explorer fail to load in or crash after being provisioned with the latest security updates. The company says this issue mostly impacts enterprise PCs, and is “unlikely” to occur on personal devices.
This issue impacts all integral and OS level interfaces, from the Windows Explorer to the Taskbar and Start menu. If the problem arises on your PC, you can expect to experience issues such as the Start menu failing to open when clicking Start, the Taskbar disappearing, Windows Settings failing to open, and logging into a blank screen with no desktop interface.
The good news is Microsoft has already identified a cause for the problem, stating that it’s because the OS is failing to register certain XAML packages in time after installing new Windows updates. The company is working on a resolution, but no update is available yet that addresses the issue.
There are workarounds available however, which we’ve detailed below:
- IT administrators managing enterprise or virtualized environments should register the missing packages in the user session and restart SiHost to allow Immersive Shell and related components to pick them up. To do this, run the following commands to register each of the missing packages:
- Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path ‘C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml’ -DisableDevelopmentMode
- Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path ‘C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml’ -DisableDevelopmentMode
- Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path ‘C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml’ -DisableDevelopmentMode
For non-persistent environments, a logon script approach remains the best option for IT administrators. Create a batch file wrapper to execute synchronously before Explorer launches using PowerShell:
@echo off
REM Register MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode"
REM Register Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode"
REM Register MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode" The silver lining here is that this issue is unlikely to impact you if you are using Windows 11 on a personal PC. It appears these problems are mostly appearing on devices that are issued by your work, and that’s only bad news if you need to get work done before an imminent deadline.
That said, it’s just another example of how sloppy Microsoft has become when it comes to quality and stability on Windows 11. It’s not great that an issue this significant has been able to slip through into the OS since July, capable of taking down basically every UI surface the user might need to interact with to get work done on their PC.
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