Start menu not creating for new users

[Oaktech]

We are entirely cloud based, intune/entra and we've started noticing an issue where students are only seeing modern apps in the start menu - installed win32 apps don't show up, which includes Edge and Office apps. If you search the start menu for them they show as a result and can be accessed.

 

It's like a failed redirected start menu, but we don't have that any more.

 

Nothing of note in event viewer

 

No classroom management software

 

Sometimes the issue rectifies on second login, sometimes it persists untill the machine is cleaned with DelProf.

 

The computers are all windows 11 24h2, they're all Lenovo M720q or HP 800g4. They've got plenty of disk space. 

 

Any ideas?

[FN-GM]

Are you using any CIS hardening? We are doing some testing and observing similar with.

[Oaktech]

I've not configured anything deliberately along those lines but that's not to say my Trust hasn't slid something in without telling me!

 

Can you give me an example of something you're doing that is having an effect?

[FN-GM]

CIS hardening is a whole set of security policies to make it harder to become compromised. They are in the form a Group Policy templates or in this case InTune policies.

 

Usually they break something so need to be deployed carefully.

 

Even if you're not using them there could be a policy somewhere causing it.

[Oaktech]

Right...

 

I've gone back through this and discovered that someone - unsure who at this stage - has imported an ADMX from an on-prem AD into our InTune and assigned it to the ICT . It's labelled 'Best practice student restrictions ADMX' so I'm guessing it was centrally done.

 

It has 'remove common program groups' enabled. 

 

Tooltip: 

Removes items in the All Users profile from the Programs menu on the Start menu. By default, the Programs menu contains items from the All Users profile and items from the user's profile. If you enable this setting, only items in the user's profile appear in the Programs menu. Tip: To see the Program menu items in the All Users profile, on the system drive, go to ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

 

Which is the exact behaviour I'm seeing. 

 

So I've disabled that.  I'll see how it goes in the next couple of days and I've let the central team know my displeasure. 

 

🙄