Strange Bugs Found in Windows 11’s Redesigned Start Menu

Windows 11 October 2025 Update: A New Start Menu with Unexpected Bugs

The recent October 2025 release of Windows 11, referred to as a “preview update, ”has finally introduced the much-anticipated redesigned Start menu. This update arrives after four years of user feedback, promising a more user-friendly experience with a streamlined, single-page layout. Enhancements include the option to completely remove the recommended section and an overall better use of space through various views. The rollout is gradual, providing an option for interested users to activate the new menu; however, some peculiar bugs warrant caution.

Initial Observations: Bugs in the New Start Menu

Upon enabling the redesigned Start menu, I immediately encountered two particularly strange issues. The first occurs when you install new applications: their respective folders do not appear in the all-apps list instantly. For instance, after installing VMware Workstation on a fresh Windows setup, I was unable to locate the application in the apps list, despite the installer creating a folder that should have included shortcuts for both VMware Workstation Pro and VMware Player. Unfortunately, Windows Search failed to deliver relevant results, which is hardly surprising given its ongoing performance shortcomings.

Interestingly, the application folder and its shortcuts were present, but hidden. I discovered this by navigating through File Explorer, right-clicking on any app, and choosing “Open file location.” It appears that only a restart of either the system or File Explorer was capable of refreshing the Start menu to accurately display all installed applications and their respective folders. Notably, this issue seems to specifically impact applications that create folders within the Start Menu > Programs directory.

Another Quirk: Start Menu Scrolling Behavior

The second bug is equally perplexing and frustrating. When opening the Start menu immediately after a system or File Explorer restart, attempting to click on any application results in the menu inexplicably scrolling back to the top of the list. This behavior disrupts the user experience—attempting to access the Photos app could quickly lead you to unintentionally launching a different program.

Fortunately, this scrolling issue appears to be a one-time occurrence; subsequent interactions with the Start menu behave as expected. However, the initial experience is unsettling enough to warrant user frustration.

Concerning Patterns: Assessment of Quality Assurance

While the prevalence of these bugs remains uncertain, I successfully replicated them across multiple systems, including my primary computer, laptop, and a virtual machine. This raises an important question: how could Microsoft overlook such glaring issues after several months of development for the new Start menu? It’s worth noting that Microsoft has addressed the scrolling anomaly in Insider build 26220.6780 released in early October, with similar bugs purportedly fixed in September’s preview update. However, users on the stable release version continue to wait for these fixes.

These rhetorical inquiries draw attention to larger problems within Windows 11’s current quality assurance practices. Beyond the new Start menu issues, users face challenges such as the inability of Windows to correctly terminate the Task Manager process, leading to a backlog of duplicate processes that consume valuable memory and CPU resources. As Microsoft continues to enhance Windows with AI features and pushes out advertisements, these lingering bugs only serve to frustrate an already disappointed user base. Microsoft, it’s high time to address these issues comprehensively!