Items in Start Menu Apps List are Grayed-out

Question

Many of the apps and folders in my Windows 10 Start Menu appear "grayed-out" and I don't know why (see screenshot below).

Some of the apps are from the Windows Store. When I open them, I sometimes (but not always) get an error message that says the app can't open (pictured below). Reinstalling the app from the Store usually fixes this issue. But this only happens with some of the Windows Store apps. Sometimes, they are grayed-out and they open just fine.

Not all of the grayed-out apps are Windows Store apps. Some are just regular Windows programs (for example, "Access 2016" in the screenshot above). Also, some of the folders are grayed-out too (for example, "7-Zip" in the screenshot above). I can still click on them and launch them if they are grayed-out. They are just colored gray instead of the usual white.

The items that it chooses to gray-out seem to increase throughout the day. When I first boot the computer up, all of the items look normal. For example, this morning, after about an hour, half of the items were grayed-out. Restarting Windows Explorer fixes the problem temporarily, but soon after, the items start to turn gray again.

I've tried the solutions here and here, but they didn't work for me. Most of the sites I've visited seem to be focused on fixing the Windows Store apps in particular, and don't address the broader issue of random items being grayed out.

Some sites suggested doing a Windows reinstall of some sort, but that seems like overkill (and it may not solve the root cause).

This occurs on all user accounts on my computer.

I tried updating my video card drivers, but that had no effect.

My computer is a few months old and came with Windows 10 pre-installed.

I'm running Windows 10 Pro version 1703 (OS Build 15063.540)

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Brad L (retired) · Answer

A reinstall might be the easiest fix, but do you know when this occurred? I haven't seen this issue before but can check a few things, have you found any fixes?

I will be out until Monday, but wanted to post before that.

Best regards,

Brad

thelibrarytech · Answer

Thanks Brad.  This started to occur about a week or two ago.  Doing a reinstall will be my last resort, as our computers are heavily customized. Haven't found any fixes yet.

jinzing · Answer

@thelibrarytech please let me know if you come across any solution to this. We are having this same issue in our environment across multiple computers. Thanks

Saltgrass · Answer

There is a new update tonight, KB4040724, maybe it will help.

Saltgrass · Answer

This occurs on all user accounts on my computer

How many and what type of User Accounts do you have on that system?

Have your checked Task Manager to see if a version of those programs is already running?

Nothing in the Event Viewer?

Did you notice the situation after installing a specific program while you were setting up the system?

If you go to settings-Apps, can you select the program and get a Repair option? If not, go to the bottom of that page and try the same thing on the Programs and Features dialog window.

I would probably look for updates for non-Apps or uninstall them one at a time and reboot to see if anything improves.

You have about 3 weeks before the new build comes out, from what I hear.

Brad L (retired) · Answer

Were you able to try either of the updates that were posted, I know saltgrass mentions the latest one, but it looks like the one before that also addressed some app issues. Let me know if you have any luck on this.

Best regards,

Brad

thelibrarytech · Answer

How many and what type of User Accounts do you have on that system? 6 Administrator users and 1 Standard user Have your checked Task Manager to see if a version of those programs is already running? The large majority of grayed-out programs are not running. Nothing in the Event Viewer? I don't know enough about Event Viewer to know what to look for. Did you notice the situation after installing a specific program while you were setting up the system? It started happening a week or two after I installed all the software on the computer.  I don't remember if I installed any software right before experiencing this issue. If you go to settings-Apps, can you select the program and get a Repair option? Most of the programs I checked do not have a Repair option.  I tried repairing one of the programs that does have a repair option and its Start Menu entry remained gray. There is a new update tonight, KB4040724, maybe it will help. My Windows Update settings were configured to defer feature updates and quality updates.  It was also on the 'Current Branch for Business' branch.  I turned off the deferring (set them to 0 days) and changed the branch to 'Current Branch', and then checked for new updates.  It's currently downloading them.  I think I saw KB4040724 in the list.  I'll report back when they are done installing.  It's been stuck at 26% for hours now...

thelibrarytech · Answer

I got my Windows Updates to install after running the Windows Update Troubleshooter (twice). Installing the latest Windows Updates did not resolve the issue.