If your Start menu or apps are freezing up on Windows, Microsoft has a suggestion - The Register

Microsoft has offered a workaround of sorts for Windows 10 and 11 users who've noticed their Start menu is suddenly unresponsive and that some applications won't open or work correctly.

Unlike previous headaches with the Start menu and similar features, the latest problems are not caused by bad operating system patches but possibly by broken updates for third-party applications that rely on Microsoft Office, according to the IT giant.

More specifically, some third-party apps, following an update or not, appear to trigger one or more bugs when interfacing with Redmond's software, disrupting people's desktop productivity.

In particular, the tech goliath pointed to ClickShare, an app that is used to wirelessly share the screen of a laptop or mobile device via a meeting or office room's audiovisual system.

"More investigation has shown that the ClickShare App triggers a bug in the Microsoft Office API (MAPI)" that removes application packages' permissions from a particular Registry entry, Barco wrote on its own support page.

Its Defender for Endpoint this month went awry, removing icons and application shortcuts from the Windows 10 and 11 desktop, Taskbar, and Start menu.