How To Fix Common Windows 11 problems

Microsoft recently released Windows 11 as a free upgrade for people running Windows 10. With its release, upgrade and installation, some people have been encountering problems which is an unfortunate reality of new operating system launches.

In this post, we’ll give you fixes to the most common Windows 11 problems out there.

1. How to fix Windows 11 installation problems

First of all, before you install Windows 11, There are minimum system requirements for installing Windows 11 on a PC. If your device does not meet these requirements, you might find it difficult to install Windows 11 on your device.

1. Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with at least two cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or SoC
2. RAM: 4GB
3. Storage: 64GB or larger storage device
4. System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
5. TPM: Trusted Platform Module 2.0
6. Graphics Card: DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
7. Display: 720p, 8-bit per color channel, at least 9-inch diagonal
8. Internet Connection and Microsoft Account: Windows 11 Home requires an active internet connection and a Microsoft Account to complete initial, first-use setup of the operating system, or when switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S-mode.

For a complete list of additional, feature-specific requirements for Windows 11, check out Microsoft windows 11 Specification page

If your PC/Device possesses the above requirements for Windows 11 installation and you’re encountering problems installing Windows 11 via Windows 10’s update tool, don’t panic. Windows 10 has a built-in troubleshooter that can help identify any problems. This can also reset the Windows Update app, which can help kickstart the installation.

To activate the built-in troubleshooter,

• Click the Start menu,
• Then click the cog icon on the left, which will open up the Settings window.
• Click ‘Update & Security’ then ‘Troubleshoot’.
• Click on ‘Windows Update’ then ‘Run the troubleshooter’ and follow the instructions, and
• Finally, click ‘Apply this fix’ if the troubleshooter finds a solution. 

Disable Or Uninstall anti-virus software

Antivirus software is certainly helpful and necessary to have, but it can sometimes cause problems when trying to install Windows 11.

If you have antivirus software installed, try disabling or uninstalling the software temporarily before trying to install Windows 11, as that may help fix the problem. You should then enable or reinstall it and use it normally once the installation has been completed.

2. Unable to search in Windows 11 Start Menu

There has been a recorded issue with the new Start Menu search bar that prevents it from being typed into. There are other ways to perform a search on Windows 11, but for anyone bringing this habit with them over from a previous OS it’s a nuisance to change.

Microsoft has also acknowledged the problem, stating that opening the Run window will enable you to type into the search bar again.

How To Fix: You can fix this by combining Win+R on your keyboard, and when it appears, you can close it as you don’t actually need to type or run anything. Simply opening and closing the program seems to resolve the search box issue.

It isn’t clear when a patch will be released to officially correct the bug, but given this is a rather funky workaround it’s likely something more permanent is currently being worked on. In the meantime, we’ll just stick with this quick fix.

3. Windows 11 Start menu is unresponsive.

Some people have complained about their Start menus no longer working after upgrading to Windows 11. If this is encountered when using Windows 11,

How To Fix:

1. Try restarting your PC. With the Start menu out of action, you can restart your system by switching to the Windows 11 desktop by combining the Windows Key + D on your keyboard, then pressing Alt + F4. A window will pop up. Select ‘Restart’ and click ‘OK’.

If the Start menu remains unresponsive after the restart, use method 2 below

2. Use the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) and SFC (System File Checker) tools.

• Press Windows Key + R to activate the Run box.
• Type in: cmd
• Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Command Prompt to access Administrator privileges (which you’ll need to run these tools).
• In the Command Prompt, enter the following in this order:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
This should clean up any corrupt files from the Windows 11 upgrade, you can grab a juice and wait as this may take some time.

• Once it has finished, enter the following text into the Command Prompt in this order: sfc /scannow
• Press Enter on your keyboard and the tool will scan to check that all the files are correct. Once done, voila…your Start menu should work again.
  

If that doesn’t work, You can try creating a new user account on the PC, and using that, has fixed the issue. It’s not ideal though. Hopefully, Microsoft will release a fix for this Windows 11 problem soon.