What to do if the Restore, Minimize and Close buttons are not working in Windows 10

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ATTENTION, PLEASE!Malware may reinstall itself multiple times if you don't delete its core files. This may require tracking down dozens of files in different locations.
We recommend downloading Advanced System Repair to eradicate Malware for you (it should cut down the time to about 15 minutes).

Recently, a number of users reported about not being able to use the Restore, Minimize and Close buttons on their Windows 10 computers. This kind of issue can be quite annoying as you won’t be able to use your computer properly, especially when you navigate in between programs and windows. In such cases, the buttons on the right side of the title bar won’t respond to any inputs which could be caused by a number of factors such as different input mode, corrupted system files, and many more. If you are one of the users who are currently facing this problem, worry not for this post will guide you on what you can do to resolve it.

There are several potential fixes you can check out to fix the issue. You can try to check if Tablet Mode is enabled and if it is, you have to disable it. You could also boot your computer in a Clean Boot State to check if a third party program is the one that’s causing the problem. In addition, you could also reinstall the program where you experience the problem or run built-in utilities like System File Checker and DISM tool.

Option 1 – Make sure that you are not in Tablet Mode

Since Windows 10 is designed to work on both desktop and mobile devices, it could be that your computer has slipped into Tablet Mode which explains why you’re not seeing the Taskbar. To check if your computer is really in Tablet Mode, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Start menu and select Settings.
  • Next, select System setting and from the left pane select the Tablet Mode.
  • From there, make sure that the buttons next to the options given below are set to the off position:
    • Hide app icons on the taskbar in tablet mode
    • Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode

Option 2 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

As pointed out, it is possible that some third party program or service is the one that’s behind the problem. To isolate this possibility and to identify the culprit, you have to put your computer into a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.

  • Log onto your PC as administrator.
  • Type in msconfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.

  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.

  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And to configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • Once your computer is in a Clean Boot State, try to open the program where you the problem occurred.

Option 3 – Try reinstalling the program

If the first two options didn’t work, then you might want to consider uninstalling the program and then install it back with its latest version. This should resolve the problem.

Option 4 – Try to run System File Checker

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files that might be the cause why the Restore, Minimize and Close buttons don’t work. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

  • Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right click on the appropriate search result.
  • Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
  • After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few while before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

  1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
  2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
  3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
  • Now restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 5 – Run the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the problem. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

  • Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
  • Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
    • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
    • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
    • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
  • Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish. Once it’s done, restart your computer.

If the fixes given above didn’t fix the problem with the Restore, Minimize and Close buttons, worry not, as there is still another option that could help you. This option is Advanced System Repair, also known as a “one-click” solution. What makes ASR better than other system utility tools or antivirus programs is that aside from helping you free up disk usage and memory in your computer, it helps you in fixing whatever issue your system is facing. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, follow the steps below.

Perform a full system scan using ASR. To do so, follow the instructions below.

 

  1. Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot

  1. After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
  1. To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
  1. Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
  1. Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

  1. If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
  1. Type in the URL address in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
  1. After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
  1. Once the installation process is completed, run ASR to perform a full system scan.

  1. After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.