Fix Windows Key Not Working Issue Easily

Windows key is a physical button on the keyboard that allows you to open mainly the ‘Start’ menu. There are many other functionalities of the Windows key like you can use it with a combination of other keys to open a certain application. For example, with the combination of ‘Windows + R’ keys, you can launch the ‘Run’ dialog box.

However, due to some internal or the keyboard issue you can encounter the Windows key not working error. Here, follow the information provided below and try to fix this problem as soon as possible.

What are the reasons for this Issue?

You will get various reasons here, why the “Windows key not working Windows 10” error occurs after all.

• If the gaming mode on the keyboard is active, then you can get this error.
• When the Windows Key is not enabled, next, there is a chance for you to encounter this problem.
• If some software interferes with the keyboard, even then you can face this problem.
• Even if the ‘Start’ menu is not active, then also you may encounter this glitch.
• Sometimes, when the Windows Explorer does not load properly, then is possible for you to get this issue.

There are even more causes of this error than the ones that are mentioned above.

Solutions to rectify the Windows 10 Windows key not working Error

You will get many methods here, that will help you to get rid of this problem in an efficient manner.

One: Register all the applications once Again

If any application present within Windows interferes with the keyboard, then there is a high chance for you to encounter this issue. Now, the correct answer to get rid of this issue is to register all the applications installed within the Windows machine. Get the steps here on how can you do it. So follow them in sequence.

• First, click on the ‘magnifying glass’ to launch the default search area. Inside that area, input the text “powershell”, then from the output section locate and right-click on the ‘Windows PowerShell’ option.
• Once the popup menu comes up, next, choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option. As soon as you do that, then a new window with white text and blue background will open up.
• Inside that window, type in the following command and press ‘Enter’ – ‘Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}’.
• Next, allow the command to execute completely. Once the execution is over, next, quit from the ‘Windows PowerShell’ window.
• Lastly, start the computer once again and check if the Windows key is working or not.

Two: Start the File Explorer once Again

Since the control of the Windows user interface is with the  ‘File Explorer’, therefore it is a crucial component of the operating system. Now, if the File Explorer does not load properly during the startup, then you may get this error. The best answer to get rid of this problem is to restart the File Explorer. In order to restart the File Explorer, follow the steps given below.

• First, hit the following three keys “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” together. This action will reveal a new blue background screen with four options.
• Now, out of those four options choose the one that says ‘Task Manager’. As soon as you click on that option, then a new window will appear with the title ‘Task Manager’.
• Within that window, tap on the ‘Process’ tab. Under that tab, you will see all the processes of the applications that are currently running on a list.
• From that list, find the ‘File Explorer’ process and right-click on it. After that, from the popup menu that comes up, choose the ‘End task’ option.
• Now, go to the menu bar and click on the ‘File’ item. This action will reveal the dropdown menu. Next, from the menu, click on the ‘Run new task’ option.
• As you click on that option, then a new dialog box will come up having the name ‘Create new task’. In that dialog box, write the text “explorer.exe” on the empty space beside the ‘Open:’ label and tap on the ‘OK’ button.

Three: Activate the Start Menu

Sometimes, if after pressing the Windows key the ‘Start’ menu does not appear, then it means that the menu is not active. The right solution to fix this problem is to enable the ‘Start’ menu. In order to activate it, follow the steps below.

• Tap on the ‘Ctrl + Shift + Esc’ key simultaneously to launch the ‘Task Manager’ directly.
• In the Task Manager’ window, go to the ‘File’ and then click the ‘Run new task’ option.
• Once a new dialog box opens up with the title ‘Create new task’, next, write the text “regedit” and put a checkmark for the option ‘Create this task with administrative privileges.’ and tap on ‘OK’ button.
• As you click on that button, then a new window having the name ‘Registry Editor’ will come up.
• Inside this window, go to the left pane and then double-click on the following folders – “Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced”
• Now, go to the right-hand side of the window and then right-click on the blank space. When you do that, next, a popup menu comes out.
• Hover the mouse pointer over the ‘New’ option on the menu to reveal a submenu. Next, from the submenu that appears locate the ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ option and click on the same.
• Provide the name “ActivateStartMenu” for the new key.
• Finally, close the Registry Editor, then open the ‘File Explorer’ by clicking the icon on the taskbar and see if the Windows key works or not.

Four: Remove the keyboard drivers and install it Again

If the keyboard driver is not up to date or corrupt, then the Windows key not working issue might show up. The easiest answer to this problem is to delete all the keyboard drivers and then reinstall them. For that to happen, follow these steps below. 

• First, on the desktop navigate to ‘This PC’ folder and double-click on it. This action will open a new window with all the hard drive partitions, disk drives and etc.
• Inside that window, locate the ‘C:’ drive (where normally the Windows installation is present) and double-click on it to reveal all its contents.
• Now, among all the folders present within the ‘C:’ drive, find the Windows directory and double-click on the same. This will open a new page with all the subfolders and files of Windows.
• After that, from the new page locate the ‘System32’ subdirectory and double-click on it. Once you get the list of files and subfolders of the ‘System32’ subfolder, next, find the ‘devmgmt’ and double-click on it.
• This will open the ‘Device Manager’ window. Inside this window, locate the ‘Keyboards’ device and double-click on it to reveal the drivers on a sublist.
• Next, from the sublist choose the driver and right-click on it to launch a popup menu. Now, from that menu click on the ‘Uninstall device’ option. If you get a confirmation box, then tap on the ‘Uninstall’ button.
• Repeat the sixth and seventh steps to delete the remaining keyboard drivers. Once the removal of all the keyboard drivers is over, next, close ‘Device Manager’ window.
• At last, restart the machine and Windows will reinstall the keyboard drivers automatically.

If the keyboard does not work after you restart the machine, then open the ‘Device Manager’ once again and tap on the ‘Action’ item. Next, choose the ‘Scan for hardware changes’ option from the drop-down list.

Five: Deactivate the filter Keys

‘Filter Keys’ is a feature within Windows 10 that can be used to control the repeat rate of the keyboard and ignore the repeated keys being pressed. Now, if the ‘filter keys’ feature is active then due to an internal issue, the Windows key may not work. So, the best solution to solve this issue is to disable the ‘filter keys’ feature.

• First, go to the right corner of the taskbar and tap on the ‘Notifications’ icon. Now, a ‘Notifications’ panel will appear from the right side.
• In that panel go to the bottom section and click on the ‘All Settings’ option. As soon as you click on that option, then a new window having the title ‘Settings’ will come up.
• Inside that window, locate the ‘Ease of Access’ category and click to that same. This action opens a new page, in it, go to the left pane and tap on the ‘Keyboard’ option.
• Now, move to the right-hand side of that page with the heading ‘Keyboard’. Under that heading scroll down a little and locate the ‘Filter Keys’ option.
• As soon as you find the ‘Filter Keys’ option, then slide the switch to left and disable it.
• Lastly, check to see if the Windows key works fine or not.

Six: Activate Windows Key via Registry Editor

If the Windows Key is not active then for sure you can get the ‘Windows key not working Windows 10 error’. The effective way to resolve this problem is to enable the Windows key via Registry Editor. To activate the Windows Key follow the lines below.

• First, navigate to the third method and follow the initial four steps to launch the ‘Registry Editor’.
• In the new window that appears, go to the left menu and double click on the ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE’ folder under the ‘Computer’.
• After that, double-click on the following folders- ‘SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout’
• Now, move to the right side of the window then locate the ‘Scancode Map’ key. Once you have got that file, next right-click on it and tap on the ‘Delete’ button.
• If you get a confirmation message box, then tap on the ‘Yes’ button.
• Finally, close the ‘Registry Editor’ window then reboot the machine and inspect if the Windows key functions correctly or not.

Seven: Run both SFC and DISM Tools

If some system files go missing, then also you may face this problem. The solution to fix this issue is to execute the SFC and DISM tools. The SFC or System File Checker is an inbuilt tool that looks for any corrupt system files and replaces them with a new one. The DISM or Deployment Image Servicing and Management is another utility, that is built into Windows to repair the image file. To run these two inbuilt tools follow the steps below.

• First, right-click on the ‘Windows’ logo to reveal the ‘Options’ menu.
• Inside that menu, locate the ‘Search’ option and click on the same. As soon as you tap on that option, then a search space comes up.
• Inside that space, type “command prompt”, then from the results section locate the ‘Command Prompt’ option and right-click on it.
• Next, from the popup menu that appears, select the ‘Run as administrator’ option.
• This action will open a new window with the title ‘Command Prompt’.
• In that window, input the following command – “sfc /scannow” and press the ‘Enter’ button. Wait for the SFC scan to complete.
• Once the scanning process is complete, next, type the two following commands respectively – “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth”, “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”. After each command hit the ‘Enter’ key to execute.
• When the execution process of all commands is over, next, close all the open applications.
• Lastly, restart the computer and inspect if the Windows key works fine or not.

Eight: Disable gaming mode on the Keyboard

Any keyboard that is used specifically used to play games has a feature called ‘gaming’ mode. This mode when active allows you to play your game without any kind of interruptions from wrong keypresses to notifications. If the keyboard that you are using has a gaming mode, then due to that mode only the Windows key cannot function properly.

Now, the solution to easily resolve this error is to disable the ‘gaming’ mode feature. For that, read the user manual that came with your keyboard.