Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10

Start Menu on Windows 10 is one of the useful and customizable tools. You can arrange a new layout on the left to access settings and other locations. In the middle you can quickly access the list of applications you have installed and on the right side you can set Live Tiles to continuously display updates.

Everything that you view and customize in the Start Menu menu is stored in the database inside the TileDataLayer folder. The only problem is that when you least expect it, the database may be corrupted because the menu doesn't work properly. To fix this situation or if you want to move your settings to refresh the installation or move the settings to a new computer, then you can back up and restore the Start Menu database with all customization on Windows 10.

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 1

1. Activate the integrated Admin account on the system

You cannot use your login account to back up Start Menu settings. This means you will have to use another account or temporarily activate the Admin account that is integrated on Windows 10.

1. Press Windows + X key combination to open the Power User Menu and select Computer Management .

2. On the Computer Management window, expand the Local Users and Groups section .

3. Select Users .

4. Double-click the Administrator account.

5. Remove the option Account is disabled to activate the account.

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 2

6. Click Apply .

7. Click OK .

In addition, you can create a new Admin account, but the solution to temporarily activate the Admin account will be faster.

2. How to backup Start Menu settings?

To back up your current Start Menu settings, follow the steps below:

1. Log out of your Windows 10 account.

2. Log in with another account or an integrated Admin account on the system.

3. Open File Explorer .

4. Click on the View tab .

5. Check the Hidden items option to display hidden files.

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6. Next navigate by the path:

C: UsersYOUR-ACCOUNT-NAMEAppDataLocalTileDataLayer

Note:

In the above path, replace YOUR-ACCOUNT-NAME with the user account name with the Start Menu setting you want to back up.

7. Right-click the Database folder - the folder contains all the settings and select Copy .

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 4

8. Open the location where you want to store Database.

9. Right-click it and select Paste .

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 5

3. How to restore Start Menu settings?

If you do not want to set up another Admin account on your computer, you can use the steps above to temporarily enable an integrated Admin account on Windows 10.

To restore Start Menu settings, follow the steps below:

1. Log out of your account.

2. Login with another account or Admin account integrated on the system.

3. Open File Explorer .

4. Click on the View tab .

5. Check the Hidden items option to display hidden files.

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 6

6. Next navigate by the path:

C: UsersYOUR-ACCOUNT-NAMEAppDataLocalTileDataLayer

Note:

In the above path, replace YOUR-ACCOUNT-NAME with the user account name with the Start Menu setting you want to back up.

7. Right-click the Database folder - the folder contains all the settings and select Rename .

8. Rename the folder as Database.bak and press Enter .

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 7

9. Open the location where you store the backup file.

10. Right-click the Database folder and click Copy .

11. Go back to the TileDataLayer folder in your account as in step 6.

12. Right-click it and select Paste to restore the settings.

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 8

13. Log out of your account.

After you have completed the above steps, log back into your account and the Start Menu will be restored with all your custom settings.

4. Delete the old Database and disable the integrated Admin account

The final step is to delete the Database.bak folder and disable the integrated Admin account on the system.

- To delete the old Database, follow the steps below:

1. Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run command window.

2. Enter the command line below in the Run window and press Enter to open the TileDataLayer folder:

% HOMEPATH% AppDataLocalTileDataLayer

3. Right-click the Database.bak folder and select Delete .

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 9

- To disable the built-in Admin account on Windows 10, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + X key combination to open the Power User Menu and select Computer Management .

2. Expand Local Users and Groups .

3. Select Users .

4. Double-click the Admin account.

5. Check Account is disabled to disable the account.

Back up Start Menu settings on Windows 10 Picture 10

6. Click Apply .

7. Click OK .

Refer to some of the following articles:

1. Touchpad on Windows 10 does not work, this is how to fix it

1. Summary of Touchpad operations on Windows 10

1. Summary of some ways to turn off Touchpad on Laptop

Good luck!