Windows Update seemed stuck on some files.
I found KB971058 (How do I reset Windows Update components?) which had a bunch of suggestions. The one I tried was:
- Delete the qmgr*.dat files. To do this, at a command prompt, type the following command, and then press Enter:
Del "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\qmgr*.dat"
although I did also delete some empty folders from the %systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution - always best to try two things at once so you don’t know what helped.
So the Start Menu is back and Windows Update – which I can now see - shows a batch of downloads.
