It may happen that you have a Windows 10 laptop or 2-in-1 device with a touchscreen that displays the Start Menu using the whole desktop, instead of just a portion of it. For some reason, the Start Menu went full screen and you are stuck with it like that. If you have this problem, then we have the solution. It takes only a couple of seconds and, at the end, we will also teach you how to avoid this issue in the future. Let's get started:
The problem: The Start Menu in Windows 10 takes the whole screen
It may happen that the Start Menu in Windows 10 takes the whole screen, and acts just like the Start screen from Windows 8.1. Here's how it might look on your PC or device:
Windows 10, Start Menu, Tablet Mode, Full Screen
And you want it small again, taking just a portion of the desktop, like in the screenshot below.
Windows 10, Start Menu, Tablet Mode, Full Screen
The solution: Disable the Tablet Mode
When the Start Menu takes the whole screen in Windows 10, most probably, you have activated Tablet Mode without knowing it. If you don't know what this mode is, read this tutorial: What is the Tablet Mode in Windows 10, how to use it and configure it.
Deactivating it is easy. If you have a screen with touch, swipe from the right side of the screen to open the Action Center. If not, click the Action Center icon, on the bottom-right corner of the screen. It looks like in the screenshot below. You can also press the Windows + A keys on the keyboard for the same result.
Windows 10, Start Menu, Tablet Mode, Full Screen
The Action Center shows the latest notifications that you have received, as well as useful shortcuts to all kinds of tools and actions in Windows 10.
Windows 10, Start Menu, Tablet Mode, Full Screen
Look in the section on the bottom of the Action Center. There you will find buttons for all kinds of quick actions. One of those buttons is named Tablet mode and, most probably, it is activated, like in the image below. Click or tap on Tablet mode to disable this mode.
Windows 10, Start Menu, Tablet Mode, Full Screen
The Start Menu is back to normal and it no longer takes the whole screen.
After going through this article, let us know whether we helped fix your problem. Also, if you are looking for other interesting tips and tricks for using Windows 10, don't hesitate to subscribe to our newsletters or read the articles recommended below.
Thank you so much for this article! We were stumped for days trying to figure out what was wrong with our laptop. I even called support and they wanted us to run all sorts of scripts. But we were sure it was just a simple setting that got inadvertently changed, and sure enough, it worked!!! Thank you for explaining clearly and providing those perfect visuals.
RB ·
Wow! Thanks, I thought I was hacked…Disabled tablet mode and all is good with the world….well, at least on my desktop…
Evan Migneault ·
OMG THANK YOU SOME MUCH IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO FINALLY FIND YOU, GOD BLESS YOU
Anonymous ·
Glad to help. If you want other useful tutorials, don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter.
Rick ·
Wow – so helpful – so easy to fix the problem – other sites never used this approach and as a result didn’t fix the problem. Thanks!!!
Moses ·
It worked!!!! Thank you
Yogesh ·
This helps a LOT !!!!
Roselyne ·
Thank you so much. This really helped
Jason R. ·
Thanks, this really helped. Just got a small touch screen laptop and this feature caught me by surprise.
jillian ·
THANK YOU! this was my issue. My mouse went wacky and clicked on many things and the next thing i knew i couldn’t see my desktop. This helped me solve my problem so thank you for taking the time to write and post this!
Anonymous ·
Our pleasure. 😉 Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter, for more useful tutorials.
MM ·
So helpful – thank you!
Frustrated ·
Yes, yes, yes. Finally, after trying the Microsoft help and help tool this is the answer. Why oh why can’t all the articles that mention turning off full screen also mention it has no effect in tablet mode (which would probably be enough of a clue). But of course the other point would be some indication on the option itself that it has no effect on tablet mode (and that currently you are in tablet mode!) would be great.
noejonasi ·
Very helpful and to the point thank you
Anonymous ·
You are welcome. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter, for more useful tutorials.
David ·
Thank you!!!!!!!!!! So simple.My kids somehow activated this. Now I am finally able to use my computer without going NUTS!!!!
shinta ·
thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much, i’ve been forumhopping for 2 days now…. you have the right solution.
Mik ·
Great! Thanks
Andreas ·
It works. Thank you
josal ·
this worked, when i removed the tiles unpinning 1 by 1 , the start menu was still stuck hugging the left of the screen, i could not click on the desktop and cortana had the back arrow next to it. After clicking on action tab and un-selecting tablet mode everything went back to normal, very happy.
PBY ·
My CEO just called me in a panic as this happened on his new Zenbook while he is out of town. I had not of this before, however your tutorial saved me. H walked him thru disabling tablet mood and after a reboot everything was back to status quo. Thanks soo much!
Диана Стоянова ·
Thank you : )
Leo moreson ·
After 2 hours of messing around with my computer I finally found this article and got my icons back on the desktop. Clear straightforward instructions that were easy to follow. Thank you very much!!!
Ciprian Adrian Rusen ·
Happy to help. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter.
S ·
Thanks for the help. It help me.
William ·
My partner recently found herself stuck with this. The settings showed that Start Full Screen was OFF and also Tablet mode was OFF (set to desktop). Restart, changing all and any of the settings made no difference. As a last resort I searched for registry settings and found HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionImmersiveShell. The sub-key TabletMode had a value of 1 (on) which was unaffected by changes made via the Windows menu. I manually set this to 0, restarted the laptop, and the problem was fixed.
The usual cautions regarding taking great care with the registry and creating a restore point before making any changes apply.
Discussion (27)
Oh my gosh this fixed it. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this article! We were stumped for days trying to figure out what was wrong with our laptop. I even called support and they wanted us to run all sorts of scripts. But we were sure it was just a simple setting that got inadvertently changed, and sure enough, it worked!!! Thank you for explaining clearly and providing those perfect visuals.
Wow! Thanks, I thought I was hacked…Disabled tablet mode and all is good with the world….well, at least on my desktop…
OMG THANK YOU SOME MUCH IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO FINALLY FIND YOU, GOD BLESS YOU
Glad to help. If you want other useful tutorials, don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter.
Wow – so helpful – so easy to fix the problem – other sites never used this approach and as a result didn’t fix the problem. Thanks!!!
It worked!!!! Thank you
This helps a LOT !!!!
Thank you so much. This really helped
Thanks, this really helped. Just got a small touch screen laptop and this feature caught me by surprise.
THANK YOU! this was my issue. My mouse went wacky and clicked on many things and the next thing i knew i couldn’t see my desktop. This helped me solve my problem so thank you for taking the time to write and post this!
Our pleasure. 😉 Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter, for more useful tutorials.
So helpful – thank you!
Yes, yes, yes. Finally, after trying the Microsoft help and help tool this is the answer. Why oh why can’t all the articles that mention turning off full screen also mention it has no effect in tablet mode (which would probably be enough of a clue). But of course the other point would be some indication on the option itself that it has no effect on tablet mode (and that currently you are in tablet mode!) would be great.
Very helpful and to the point thank you
You are welcome. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter, for more useful tutorials.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!! So simple.My kids somehow activated this. Now I am finally able to use my computer without going NUTS!!!!
thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much, i’ve been forumhopping for 2 days now…. you have the right solution.
Great! Thanks
It works. Thank you
this worked, when i removed the tiles unpinning 1 by 1 , the start menu was still stuck hugging the left of the screen, i could not click on the desktop and cortana had the back arrow next to it. After clicking on action tab and un-selecting tablet mode everything went back to normal, very happy.
My CEO just called me in a panic as this happened on his new Zenbook while he is out of town. I had not of this before, however your tutorial saved me. H walked him thru disabling tablet mood and after a reboot everything was back to status quo. Thanks soo much!
Thank you : )
After 2 hours of messing around with my computer I finally found this article and got my icons back on the desktop. Clear straightforward instructions that were easy to follow. Thank you very much!!!
Happy to help. Don’t hesitate to subscribe to our newsletter.
Thanks for the help. It help me.
My partner recently found herself stuck with this. The settings showed that Start Full Screen was OFF and also Tablet mode was OFF (set to desktop). Restart, changing all and any of the settings made no difference. As a last resort I searched for registry settings and found HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionImmersiveShell. The sub-key TabletMode had a value of 1 (on) which was unaffected by changes made via the Windows menu. I manually set this to 0, restarted the laptop, and the problem was fixed.
The usual cautions regarding taking great care with the registry and creating a restore point before making any changes apply.