Oh Dear, Windows 11
Microsoft is a Tad Messy
You know how you expect your PC to just work - click Start, open a folder, browse, shut down, rinse and repeat? Well, turns out that with Windows 11 lately … not all those basic things are working as smoothly as we’d hope. In fact, the tech people and engineers at Microsoft have admitted that many of Windows 11’s core bits are broken.
That means some important parts of your normal everyday computer Windows experience - the Start Menu, Taskbar, File Explorer, Settings, and other “shell” components - are affected. Shell components refers to the basic operating system elements such as the graphical user interface. Not great if you just want your PC to behave.
What’s Actually Going Wrong?
Here’s a quick breakdown of what isn’t quite right on some Windows 11 computers:
- The Start Menu or Taskbar might not show up, or respond properly - or crash altogether
- Opening Settings or File Explorer could fail or hang
- Elements of windows and “shell” UI don’t show up, or show up corrupted – windows or folders look or act strangely
- Some tasks - like switching between apps, accessing system settings, or using the taskbar - become inconsistent or crashy.
In other words: what used to be core, everyday stuff on your PC is acting flaky for some users.
How We Got Here
From what I’m seeing: these bugs seem to be tied to deeper changes happening under the hood - especially around “XAML,” the underlying framework for Windows’ user interface. This is how Microsoft create user interfaces such as windows and menus and clickable features.
That means it isn’t just a weird one-off crash on a particular app; it’s the underlying foundation that holds together the whole Windows interface.
Given that lots of users rely on their PCs for basic tasks - and some, like older folk or less tech-savvy folks, may not know how to deal with this kind of computer problem - these bugs can make Windows 11 feel unreliable or frustrating.
What This Means For You
So you’re helping your mum, grandad, aunty or a friend who “just wants it to work” – as we all do!
If you’re running Windows 11 on a home machine - especially on older hardware or a system where you don’t want to tinker too much - this might be a signal to delay big updates, or at least take a backup before anything changes. And we really mean that about backup. Do it NOW! If you don’t have a Veeam backup setup by us, give us a call and we can sort that out. It’s a easy way to back that covers your whole system.
If Explorer, Taskbar or Start Menu keep acting up or crashing, it could be a sign: you're hitting the bugs.
For people you support (like older clients, family, rehab-centre PCs, etc.), this could make things confusing: Suddenly the PC doesn’t behave as expected, and simple tasks become frustrating or impossible.
What To Do - Or Not Do - While Things Shake Out
- Backup your important stuff. Documents, photos, things that matter - just in case. This should be a standard practice you are completing at least monthly if not weekly.
- Consider holding off major updates if everything’s working fine now. In Settings – Updates you can pause updates if you have the Pro version of Windows. Doing this for a week while Microsoft sorts things out can be a good idea. Don’t keep doing it much more than this or security risks will outweigh the value of the delay.
- If problems start, you might want to revert to a more stable setup - or at least do a clean restart. Restarting your computer does fix many things – it may be a cliché but it’s still true!
- Maybe wait until Microsoft releases a fix - especially if you use the PC for basics only, not fancy apps.
My Two Cents
Windows 11 was meant to be the future - sleek, modern, maybe with AI bells and whistles. But when the basics stop working reliably? That’s a deal-breaker for a lot of people. However, what are you going to do? Move to Apple or Linux – these are certainly options, but in our experience most users struggle with the move if they are used to one system. Mac people tend to stick with Apple and Microsoft people tend to stick with Windows. If you are brave though, this may be a good options for you. Linux has it’s own issues but also is a very stable system – often used on servers that I have seen not need a reboot for over a year!
For many everyday users just hang in there. Microsoft has a track record of releasing software too soon and with too many bugs, but then also coming up with solutions. If your PC works fine now, that’s good news.
The Team
Computer Help NZ
www.chnz.co.nz