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Power (Sleep, Shut down, Restart) Options Missing from Start Menu

Isabella Shinn
Isabella Shinn

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Some days ago, a friend told me that when he clicked the Power button on the lower left corner of the Windows 10 Start menu, the Sleep, Shut down, and Restart options were not appearing. The Power button menu is empty, as shown in the screenshot below.

Power options missing from start menu

Using Windows 10, occasionally some buttons, icons, or options may disappear inexplicably, just like in the case above. This is usually more likely to happen after updating or upgrading to Windows 10. But don't worry if such minor issues occur. Now you can follow this guide to restore the missing Sleep, Shut down, and Restart options back to the Windows 10 Start menu. There are two methods to do this.


Method 1: Restore missing Power options to Start menu by Group Policy Editor

Tips: If you use Windows 10 Home, this method won't work for you, because Windows Home edition does not come with the Local Group Policy Editor.

Step 1: Open the Local Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc in the Start menu Search box.

Search gpedit.msc in Start menu

Step 2: On the left-side pane, expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click on Start Menu and Taskbar. Then on the right-side pane, locate the "Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate commands" policy and double-click it.

Double click this policy

Step 3: Select Not Configured or Disabled, and click Apply followed by OK. Changes will take effect immediately without requiring you to restart Windows 10.

Select Not Configured or Disabled

Step 4: Now bring up the Start menu, and you will find the missing Shut down, Restart and Sleep options are restored back to the Power button menu, as shown below.

Power options menu back

Method 2: Restore missing Power options to Start menu by Registry Editor

This method works on any Windows 10 editions. You need to use Registry Editor with caution because the registry is a very sensitive part in Windows; mistakes might cause a system failure. But don't worry; if you strictly follow the steps below, you won't go wrong.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Start menu search box.

Search regedit in Start

Step 2: On the left-side pane, go to the following command.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Then on the right-side pane, double-click on the NoClose entry.

Double-click NoClose

Step 3: Change the value data from 1 to 0, and click OK.

Change value to 0

Step 4: Close the Registry Editor. Sign out and then sign in again for the changes to take effect. After you sign in to Windows 10, when you click the Power button in the Start menu, the Sleep, Shut down and Restart options will appear.