Note: This method is not applicable to Windows 10 build 1703 or earlier version. To reset or restore your Start Menu on the previous version, please click here.

Manually Backup Start Menu Layout in Windows 10

1. Open Registry Editor. Just copy and paste the following registry location into the address bar and hit Enter.
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\Cache\DefaultAccount

   

   Right-click on the DefaultAccount key, and select Export in the context menu.

2. Type a file name and save this .reg file to a backup location.

   

3. Next, press the Windows key + R to open the Run command. Copy and paste the following path, and then press Enter to open that folder in File Explorer.
   %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

   

4. Copy the DefaultLayouts.xml file to the same folder where you stored the .reg file.

   

   At this point you’ve successfully backed up the Start Menu layout.

Manually Restore Start Menu Layout in Windows 10

1. Whenever you need to restore the Start Menu layout, open Registry Editor and navigate to the “DefaultAccount” key as outlined above.

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\Cache\DefaultAccount

   

   Right-click on the DefaultAccount key in the left pane and select Delete.

2. Open File Explorer and browse to the location where you stored the Start Menu layout backup. Double-click on the .reg file to import it into Windows Registry.

   

3. Now, right-click on the DefaultLayouts.xml file and select Copy. Paste it to the folder %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell.

   

4. Log off and then log back into your Windows account. The Start menu should return to the original layout it was when you created the backup.

Use Command Prompt to Backup and Restore Start Menu Layout

To simplify the steps above, you can use Command Prompt to perform essentially the same job quickly and quietly. When you want to backup the Start Menu layout and save it to D:\backup, just open an elevated Command Prompt and run the following commands:

reg export HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\Cache\DefaultAccount D:\backup\defaultaccount.reg /y
copy %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\DefaultLayouts.xml D:\backup /y

To restore a backup of the start menu, execute the following commands instead:

reg delete HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\Cache\DefaultAccount /f
reg import D:\backup\defaultaccount.reg
copy D:\backup\DefaultLayouts.xml %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell /y

That’s it!

Method 1: Lock Start Menu Layout via Group Policy

The Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows 10 Home. If you’re running the Home edition, please check out Method 2 below.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to access the Local Group Policy Editor.
2. If you want to lock the Start Menu layout for all users, navigate to:
   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

   

   If you just want to lock the Start Menu layout for the currently logged on user, navigate to:
   User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar > Start Layout

   

3. On the right-side of Local Group Policy Editor, double-click the entry labelled Start Layout to open its properties, select Enabled, and then click Apply.

   

4. Reboot your PC to apply the changes. From now on, you couldn’t alter the Start Menu layout, pin a program to Start Menu, or unpin a tile.

   

Method 2: Lock Start Menu Layout via Registry Editor

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter to access the Registry Editor.
2. If you want to lock the Start Menu layout for all users, navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

   If you just want to lock the Start Menu layout for the currently logged on user, navigate to:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

   Note: If the Explorer subkey doesn’t exist, create it (from the Edit menu, select New > Key and type “Explorer” without the quotes).

3. From the right pane, right-click in the empty area and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Give the new registry value a name: LockedStartLayout. Double-click the created value, set it to 1, then click OK.

   

4. Restart the Explorer or reboot your PC to apply the changes. That’s it!