Unremovable dead shortcuts in the start menu + Taskbar windows closing problem

from Stardock Forums

Hello everybody,

I'm running Windows 11 that was upgraded from Windows 10 in a VM, combined with a fresh Start11 install that I made after the Windows upgrade. I'm really loving the product, but I ran into two issues which I would be more than happy to solve:

1. I'm running two monitors through VMware (utilizing my actual 2 monitors) and I have Start11 to never combine, with each program/window only appearing on the taskbar of the monitor that this window is on. My issue is that I can't close a single window (For instance, when having two word documents open), but I can only close them all together. I don't see a "Close Window" option, only a "Close all windows on this display" (And when using a single monitor, I get "Close all windows" instead) option, which simply closes the program and all of its windows'. I honestly don't know if it's a Windows problem, a VMware problem or a Start11 problem, but I'll greatly appreciate your help. The photo that demonstrates the issues is the first photo in the Imgur link.

2. The second problem is dead shortcuts on the Start menu, as shown in the 2nd photo. I can't make them go, no matter how many times I'll choose delete or uninstall (There probably is nothing left to uninstall). I'm guessing that some of them are leftovers from the previous Windows 10 (As seen in the 3rd photo, they lead nowhere, only to an error message. Please Ignore the circled HP shortcut, it's unrelated), but I just can't remove them.

Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/WOokPpC

That is all!

Thank you very much for your help and have a great weekend!

start menu products
4,091 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. I have forward your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Thanks

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble.

I don't see a "Close Window" option, only a "Close all windows on this display" (And when using a single monitor, I get "Close all windows" instead) option, which simply closes the program and all of its windows'. I honestly don't know if it's a Windows problem
End of quote

That has been mentioned in a prior thread and yes, it's a Windows thing as Win11 has no concept of (thus no context menu for) broken-out taskbar windows.

2. The second problem is dead shortcuts on the Start menu, as shown in the 2nd photo. I can't make them go, no matter how many times I'll choose delete or uninstall (There probably is nothing left to uninstall). I'm guessing that some of them are leftovers from the previous Windows 10 (As seen in the 3rd photo, they lead nowhere, only to an error message. Please Ignore the circled HP shortcut, it's unrelated), but I just can't remove them.

Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/WOokPpC
End of quote

This all seem to be 'Modern Apps', thus, likely do not have a true 'open file\folder location' destination:

If it does resolve to an actual location where the file exists, delete it and see if that works.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

 

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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Thank you for the quick reply!

1. Oh my, that sucks. Good to know it's not a Start11 thing, though.

2. Those are the only options I get, nothing more:

I should note that after disabling Start11, I've noticed that those dead shortcuts appear in the regular start menu too, with the same behavior - Can't remove them. Clicking them leads nowhere, not even to the error message that I get through Start11.

Thanks again!

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting eaglex2, reply 3

I should note that after disabling Start11, I've noticed that those dead shortcuts appear in the regular start menu too, with the same behavior - Can't remove them. Clicking them leads nowhere, not even to the error message that I get through Start11.

Thanks again!
End of eaglex2's quote

Do they show up in add\remove?

If so, but you still cant remove them from there, this might help:

https://blog.pcrisk.com/windows/12157-how-to-remove-programs-from-add-remove-programs-list-manually

You will have to be comfortable working in the Windows Registry, however (not as scary as it sounds but always a good idea to back it up 1st).

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

They do not appear there, sadly. I've checked :(

I've also did some searches on googles and tried many different suggestions, nothing worked. Odd.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

I have the same problem with the Close menu item not being there, Close All is pointless. However, this was not the thread I meant to post in about it.