Widget panel crashing on "add" attempts.

So this started a couple weeks for me and I was really hoping that it would be resolved by now but it has just gotten worse. Without giving all the small details and boring the heck out of everyone... basically the widgets work for the most part. Every once in a while it will crash when adjusting the size of a widget or the like. But the main issue I am experiencing is when I attempt to add a widget using the "+" on top. Sometimes I will briefly see a box pop up that would normally have options to choose from, but then it will close just as fast. Most of the time, a second or two after hitting the "+" button, widgets will crash. I can open the panel again without incident, but every time I try to add a widget, it will crash. I have tried researching this but most issue with the widgets or widget panel is the face that they just do not open at all. Anyone have any idea what I can try? Below I have provided some information on my system but if more is required, please holler out and I will provide any information requested. Thanks in advance.

System Information
OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview
Version: 10.0.23481 Build 23481
System Type: x64-based PC
Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz, 2803 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB

Audio
Name: Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio
Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation
Name: Realtek Audio
Manufacturer: Realtek
Name: Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio
Manufacturer: Intel(R) Corporation

Display
Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics
Resolution 1920 x 1080 x 60 hertz
Dual-monitor:
1. Dell 24" Anti-Glare Narrow Border AIT Infinity Touch, 1920 x 1080 resolution (internal)
2. LG 31.5", IPS, W-LED, 1920 x 1080 resolution (external)

Network
Adapter: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
Adapter Type: Ethernet 802.3
Product Type: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz

@Paul S. ,

Widgets have not been reliable but you seem to have deeper issues, even for Dev.
Let's try this:

Command Line: tskill widgets <enter>
Powershell/Command Line:: winget uninstall "windows web experience pack" <enter>
You must have App Installer present on your system.
Then go here to reinstall: Web experience pack Get in-store App (right upper side)
(I know it will say Windows 10 on the logo but it is adaptive to your OS)

@OAT

Thank you for your reply. I did something very similar to this but of course I went through the steps you provided just in case it was different.



Unfortunately, this did not solve my issue. I am still a little hopeful that it will resolve itself as the widgets do still work, but not being able to add (or even change at times) widgets really hurts. If you think of anything else I may try, please let me know. Thanks again.

Edit: Also, I just realized that the "Chat" toolbar button does the same thing. When I click it, a long vertical box shows up for 1-3 seconds then it crashes just like the widget panel does when trying to add or change an existing widget. Does this by chance help in diagnosing?

Also, I just realized that the "Chat" toolbar button does the same thing. When I click it, a long vertical box shows up for 1-3 seconds then it crashes just like the widget panel does when trying to add or change an existing widget. Does this by chance help in diagnosing?

Click to expand...

As I am not experiencing the issue on the Dev or Canary releases,
short of using the typical DISM routines, It would be difficult for me to provide further guidance in order to solve the problem(s).
I recall having some issues with the weather widget disappearing (and unable to be re-added) which was solved by using the vivetool command.
The command I used was vivetool /enable /id:43028164 <enter> from the command prompt from where vivetool.exe resides.
The result is this:

I had heard of Vivetool but hadn't played much with it. Unfortunately the little research I did on it doesn't seem to help me although I did try 2 commands I thought were related but to no avail. Thank you none-the-less for your help with it. I am going to repurpose my laptop and see if I can reproduce it on there and see how it fares.

Did this issue get solved?

I'm having this issue myself now