TL;DR: “Have you tried rebooting?” Why we ask, and why it works

The fix only. No explanation, no diagnosis. Read the full article if any of this does not match what you are seeing.

1. Use Start > Power > Restart. Not Shut down.
2. Wait for it to come all the way back and sign in before testing the problem again.

On Windows 10 and 11, Shut down is not a full shutdown. Fast Startup saves the kernel session to disk and restores it, so the thing that was stuck is still stuck. Only Restart clears it.

• Holding the power button is not a restart either. It is a power cut, and it can corrupt open files.
• To check when the PC last truly restarted: Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) > Performance > CPU > Up time.
• Days of uptime on a PC that is "shut down every night" is Fast Startup, and it is the answer to a lot of odd faults.
• If the problem survives a real restart, it is not a stale-state problem. Say so when you report it; it saves everyone a step.

← Full article, with the diagnosis and the why