windows 10 1809 ltsc start menu question

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My wifes 1809 start menu has the normal list of programs but also to the right of that is a wide spot where you can pin often used programs. On my new computer that I am setting up now with 1809 that wide spot right of start menu list is not there. Do you know  how to activate it?

Thanks in advance

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If nothing is pinned to the Start menu, you won’t see it. It will appear as soon as you pin at least one item.

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Short version:

1. Create a new (second) user account. This will show whether the issue is with the profile of the first account.

OR

2. Try the Reset button of Sordum’s small, free, portable Backup Start Menu Layout v1.5.

TL:DR version:

During startup, Windows 10 (from 1809, AFAIK) checks a base default layout to determine the Windows edition for the Start menu (and whether Cortana is supported) then appends the settings stored in a ‘per user’ XML file to show each user’s right-hand pane of the Start menu.

If the base layout (the *left*-hand pane of the Start menu) displays but the *right*-hand pane is missing then this suggests that the ‘per user’ XML file either cannot be read or is damaged… or that there’s an issue with the user profile.

(Note: It’s a lot more complex than that but those are the basics which matter. )

IMO the easiest check for this issue is to create a new user to see if the problem with the right-hand pane of the Start menu still exists. This will use the following file to create a Start menu layout for the new user:

C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\DefaultLayouts.xml

(Sidenote: This is the file that tools such as Windows 10 Decrapifiee and Debloater amends – if instructed – usually in Audit mode of SYSPREP in order to provide a revised Start menu layout for ALL new user accounts including the first account created during OOBE [Out Of the Box Experience.)

In practice, the DefaultLayouts.xml file is copied from C:\Users\Default to the new user’s profile… then updated and saved as changes are made within the Windows desktop GUI.

If the second user account’s Start menu looks OK then it’s a definite sign of an issue with either the first user account’s profile or its relevant XML file. Hopefully the ‘Short version’ steps will correct this. If not then there may be an issue with the default DefaultLayouts.xml file. At this point I would suggest starting over rather than relying on built-in tools like SFC /scannow or any 3rd-party solutions.

Hope this helps…

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Stupid me. I saw that I could right click the item to pin it to the start menu but since it was all ready on what I call the start menu that made no sence to me. But sure enough it worked.

thanks all

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