Fix : Quick Access Menu Not Working on Windows 11 / 10

Re-enable Quick Access Menu in Windows 10

• Firstly, open your Windows 10 File Explorer.
• Go to View and double-click on Options.
• In the Folder Options window, uncheck both the options under the Privacy Section.

• Now, clear your File Explorer history.
• Click on OK.
• Again, open Folder Options and check both options.

• Click on Apply > OK.

Re-enable Quick Access Menu in Windows 11

• Open File Explorer.
• Click on the three-dot icon on the navigation bar.

• Select Options from the drop-down menu.
• Now, uncheck both the options under the Privacy tab.
• Clear File Explorer history.
• Open the Folder Options again and check both options.

• Click on Apply > OK, and you are done.

If you are lucky enough and re-enabling the Quick Access menu solves the issue on your PC, well, that’s good news. However, if it fails, then here is the second method you need to give a try.

2. Resetting Quick Access Menu

Fortunately, the steps to reset the quick access menu on PC are the same for both Windows 10 and 11. Here is how to reset the Quick Access menu on your Windows computer:

• Press the Win + R key to open the run window.
• Type regedit in the textbox and click on the Enter button.

• This will open the Registry Editor. Now go to the following path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Ribbon

• Find the file named QatItems and delete it.
• Close the Registry Window and check if the Quick Access menu is functioning normally.

Conclusion

The Quick Access menu in Windows is a handy way to select the recently opened files or regularly used folders. If you make using the Quick Access menu a habit, then you might find it really annoying if it stops working. However, these fixes we saw above will help resolve the issue completely, and you can use the Quick Access feature without more complications.