Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10 [SOLVED]

Fix Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10: In Windows 10 when a user right-clicks on files or folders, the context menu which comes up contains an option “Pin to Start Menu” which pins that program or file to the Start Menu so that it is easily accessible by the user. Similarly when a file, folder or a program is already pinned to Start Menu the above context menu which comes up by right-clicking shows an option “Unpin from Start Menu” which remove the said program or file from the Start Menu.

Now imagine Pin to Start Menu and Unpin from Start Menu options are missing from your context menu, what would you do? Well for starters you wouldn’t be able to pin or unpin files, folders or programs from the Windows 10 Start Menu. In short, you won’t be able to customize your Start Menu which is an annoying issue for Windows 10 users.

Well, the main cause of this program seems to be corrupted registry entries or some 3rd party program have managed to change the value of NoChangeStartMenu and LockedStartLayout registry entries. The above settings can also be changed via Group Policy Editor, so you have to verify from where the settings have been changed. So without wasting any time let’s see how to actually Fix Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing issue in Windows 10 with the below-listed steps.

Table of Contents

Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10 [SOLVED]

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Registry Fix

1.Press Windows Key + R then type notepad and hit Enter.

2.Copy the following text and paste it in the notepad file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PintoStartScreen]
@="{470C0EBD-5D73-4d58-9CED-E91E22E23282}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\PintoStartScreen]
@="{470C0EBD-5D73-4d58-9CED-E91E22E23282}"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoChangeStartMenu"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoChangeStartMenu"=-

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"LockedStartLayout"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"LockedStartLayout"=-

3.Now click File > Save as from the notepad menu.

4.Select “All Files” from the Save as type dropdown.

5.Name the file as Pin_to_start_fix.reg (The extension .reg is very important) and save the file to your desired location.

6.Double-click on this file and click Yes to continue.

7.Reboot your PC to save changes.

This should Fix Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10 but if it didn’t then continue to the next method.

Method 2: Change the Settings from gpedit.msc

Note: This method won’t work for Windows Home edition users.

1.Press Windows Key + R then type gpedit.msc and hit Enter to open Group Policy Editor.

2.Navigate to the following setting by double clicking on each of them:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

3.Find Remove pinned programs list from the Start Menu and Remove pinned programs from the Taskbar in the settings list.

4.Double-click on each of them and make sure both settings are set to Not configured.

5.If you have changed the above setting to Not configured then click Apply followed by OK.

6.Again find the Prevent users from customizing their Start screen and Start Layout settings.

7.Double-click on each of them and make sure they are set to Disabled.

8.Click Apply followed by OK.

9.Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 3: Delete Files and Folder in AutomaticDestinations

1.Press Windows Key + R then type the following and hit Enter:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

Note: You could also browse to the above location like this, just make sure you have enabled show hidden files and folders:

C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

2.Delete all the content of the folder AutomaticDestinations.

2.Reboot your PC and see if the issue Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing is resolved or not.

Method 4: Run SFC and CHKDSK

1.Press Windows Key + X then click on Command Prompt(Admin).

2.Now type the following in the cmd and hit enter:

Sfc /scannow
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows (If above fails)

3.Again open Command Prompt with admin privileges and type the following command and hit Enter:

chkdsk C: /f /r /x

Note: In the above command C: is the drive on which we want to run check disk, /f stands for a flag which chkdsk the permission to fix any errors associated with the drive, /r let chkdsk search for bad sectors and perform recovery and /x instructs the check disk to dismount the drive before beginning the process.

4.It will ask to schedule the scan in the next system reboot, type Y and hit enter.

5.Wait for the above process to finish and then Restart your PC to save changes.

Method 5: Run DISM Tool

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Command Prompt (Admin).

2.Try these command sin sequence:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3.If the above command doesn’t work then try on the below:

Dism /Image:C:\offline /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows /LimitAccess

Note: Replace the C:\RepairSource\Windows with the location of your repair source (Windows Installation or Recovery Disc).

4.Reboot your PC to save changes and see if you are able to Fix Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10 or not.

Method 6: Run CCleaner and Malwarebytes

1.Download and install CCleaner & Malwarebytes.

2.Run Malwarebytes and let it scan your system for harmful files.

3.If malware is found it will automatically remove them.

4.Now run CCleaner and in the “Cleaner” section, under the Windows tab, we suggest checking the following selections to be cleaned:

5.Once you’ve made certain the proper points are checked, simply click Run Cleaner, and let CCleaner run its course.

6.To clean your system further select the Registry tab and ensure the following are checked:

7.Select Scan for Issue and allow CCleaner to scan, then click Fix Selected Issues.

8.When CCleaner asks “Do you want backup changes to the registry?” select Yes.

9.Once your backup has completed, select Fix All Selected Issues.

10.Restart your PC.

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That’s it you have successfully Fix Pin to Start Menu Option is Missing in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this guide then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.