'Pin to Start' no longer available - how do I fix?


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22ww

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When I type in 'control panel' in search it pops up... but when i right-click on it theres no option to "Pin to Start." It never happened before. I dont get it. How do i fix this???
 

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If you have Open Shell, you'll also have a pin to Open Shell Start Menu offered.
 
Last edited:

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22ww said:
When I type in 'control panel' in search it pops up... but when i right-click on it theres no option to "Pin to Start." It never happened before. I dont get it. How do i fix this???
Click to expand...
Open the Control Panel and drag the words 'Control Panel' from the address bar to your desktop. You can then pin that shortcut to the start menu.
 

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Browse to C:\Windows\System32\. Find control.exe. Right click on it and pin to taskbar.
 

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Supergirl rides again :devilish:
 

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or go to Shell:Desktop. should be able to right click it there and pin to Start as well
 

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While workarounds are OK it may be better to try and troubleshoot why pin to start is missing.

Should be there in the start menu search for control panel.

Screenshot 2026-06-20 115202.webp

So is it missing for all programs or just trying to pin the control panel?

If missing for all programs then there may be a start menu cache corruption issue and resetting the start menu may fix this.

www.elevenforum.com

Reset and Re-register Start Menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to reset and re-register the Start menu for your account (current user) or all users in Windows 11. The Start menu is comprised of three sections: Pinned, All apps, and Recommended. The Start menu contains shortcuts of all your apps, settings, and files. These do...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Or there could be a policy in affect locking down the start menu.
 

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At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
To pin to START in Windows, it has to be a .lnk file (shortcut not an .exe) as far as I remember.

Browse to C:\Windows\System32\ and right click on the .exe C:\Windows\System32\control.exe and select "Create Shortcut"
Windows will tell you it cannot create a shortcut in the System32 folder and ask if you want it on the desktop.
Select Yes
Go to the desktop and Find the Control Panel link and select "Pin to Start"
You can delete the icon from the desktop.
 

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KevTech said:
While workarounds are OK it may be better to try and troubleshoot why pin to start is missing.

Should be there in the start menu search for control panel.

View attachment 174770

So is it missing for all programs or just trying to pin the control panel?

If missing for all programs then there may be a start menu cache corruption issue and resetting the start menu may fix this.

www.elevenforum.com

Reset and Re-register Start Menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to reset and re-register the Start menu for your account (current user) or all users in Windows 11. The Start menu is comprised of three sections: Pinned, All apps, and Recommended. The Start menu contains shortcuts of all your apps, settings, and files. These do...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

Or there could be a policy in affect locking down the start menu.
Click to expand...

For some reason I'm able to now see the pint to start option when right clicking on a program. Strange. But I also do believe this is some corruption since most of the pinned icons on my start menu disappeared and were replaced by default icons. This happened several times in the past 4 months.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

11Intel i516 gbNvidia gtx 1060
OS
11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
Intel i5
Motherboard
MSI H110M GAMING
Memory
16 gb
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia gtx 1060
Mouse
wired logitech m500
Browser
firefox
22ww said:
But I also do believe this is some corruption since most of the pinned icons on my start menu disappeared and were replaced by default icons. This happened several times in the past 4 months.
Click to expand...

If/when you get the start menu the way you want it you can back it up with this program which would allow you to easily restore it again should it get messed up again.

www.sordum.org

Backup Start Menu Layout v1.6

Backup Start menu layout is a portable freeware Sordum Tool to Backup ,Restore and reset Windows 11 and Windows 10 Start Menu layout.
www.sordum.org www.sordum.org
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
KevTech said:
If/when you get the start menu the way you want it you can back it up with this program which would allow you to easily restore it again should it get messed up again.

www.sordum.org

Backup Start Menu Layout v1.6

Backup Start menu layout is a portable freeware Sordum Tool to Backup ,Restore and reset Windows 11 and Windows 10 Start Menu layout.
www.sordum.org www.sordum.org
Click to expand...
Appreciate it
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

11Intel i516 gbNvidia gtx 1060
OS
11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
Intel i5
Motherboard
MSI H110M GAMING
Memory
16 gb
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia gtx 1060
Mouse
wired logitech m500
Browser
firefox
22ww said:
It never happened before.
Click to expand...
Nothing new here, It probably did happen before, but only for certain icons/programs (i.e. ones you haven't bothered with previously)

I've come across this with several components from Windows Tools System. My preferred solution : Pin to Taskbar > then on Taskbar icon, Pin to Start menu > delete Taskbar icon, if not required

Or

As described by @HTA and @glasskuter above
 

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