[Bug Fix] RUN MRU / History List is Always Empty in Windows 10

MRU list means Most Recently Used list which is also known as history list. It stores the list of recently used or opened items. Whenever you open any app or file using RUN dialog box, it automatically stores and remembers that app or file and whenever you re-open RUN dialog box, it shows those recently used items in the drop-down list.

In Windows 10, I have found an annoying bug which causes RUN dialog box MRU list to remain always empty. No matter how many apps or files you open using RUN dialog box, it never stores those entries and when you re-launch RUN dialog box, it forgets the last or recently used items. It remains always empty.

The bug is so strange that you’ll never have any idea why this problem is occurring in your Windows 10 computer. You can follow these simple steps to reproduce the bug in Windows 10:

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1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to Personalization -> Start section and disable “Show most used apps” option.

Disable_Show_Most_Used_Apps_Windows_10_Start_Menu_Settings.png

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:personalization-start” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Now open RUN dialog box from WIN+X Menu or by pressing WIN+R keys together.

You’ll be surprised to see that the box MRU list will be empty. Click on the drop-down arrow to access MRU list, it’ll be absolutely blank. Everything from RUN dialog box history will be deleted.

Windows_10_RUN_MRU_List_Empty.png

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4. Now try to open anything using RUN dialog box, for example, regedit or explorer or mspaint, etc. Again open RUN dialog box, the MRU list will still be empty. It’ll not store anything.

5. To fix the issue, again open Settings app and go to Personalization -> Start section and now enable “Show most used apps” option.

Enable_Show_Most_Used_Apps_Windows_10_Start_Menu_Settings.png

6. Now open RUN dialog box and open anything using it. Again open RUN dialog box and now it’ll remember the recently used items list.

Windows_10_RUN_MRU_List_Fixed.png

So if you are facing this annoying problem in Windows 10, simply enable the above mentioned option in Settings app and it’ll fix the issue.

In my opinion, the option should only disable most used apps list in Start Menu. It should not affect RUN dialog box MRU list at any cost.

UPDATE: If the “Show most used apps” option is grayed out i.e. disabled in Windows 10 Start settings page, following tutorial will help you in fixing this issue:

[Fix] “Show Most Used Apps” Option Grayed Out in Windows 10 Start Settings

Also Check:

Published in: Troubleshooting Guides, Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thanks, very useful tutorial. I still use windows 7 as my backup operating system and I’m always facing this problem in win 7. Really don’t know what’s wrong with the OS; If I create a new user account, that account shows the recent items on the Run dialogue box, but after a few days of usage, I get the same prob on that user account as well . I’ve never faced this prob in win 10 though.

  2. How to disable “Data Usage” in Windows 10 or set to “Zero” for always?

  3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\Ndu

    Change the value of ‘Start’ to 4, and no more monitoring.

  4. I have found another bug in Windows 10. This is how to create it.
    1. Click on the Start button.
    2. Right-click on the Start button.
    3. Right-click on any programs pinned to taskbar.
    4. Right-click again on the Start button and see what happened.
    All the context menu won’t close unless you click on any items in the context menu.
    PS: Its not happened if Taskbar is located in left or right.

  5. Do you have any idea how to fix the most recent documents list? For instance, my notepad shows the 20 most recent files I opened BEFORE I upgraded to windows 10. It refuses to use files I have recently opened, no matter how often I open and save files; it will just show those ones from my windows 7 days.

  6. ^^ Go to following keys in Registry Editor:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

    And post the right-side values list.

  7. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    Name Type Data
    (Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
    NoDriveTypeAutoRun REG_DWORD 0x000000dd (221)
    NoLowDiskSpaceChecks REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
    NoSimpleNetIDList REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    Name Type Data
    (Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
    ForceActiveDesktopOn REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)
    NoActiveDesktop REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
    NoActiveDesktopChanges REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
    NoRecentDocsistory REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)

  8. After a number of tries and reasonable searching (registry and other changes) I am unable to get more than nine (9) recent documents to list when opening wordpad.

    Is there more than one edit needed to registry and/or other “menus” in windows 10 to allow a longer list of ‘recent files’? Thanks
    NR
    Washington DC

  9. WOW!
    Hats off to you, sir!
    I’ve been struggling with RUN history, a was even ready to reinstall Windows 10.
    This is a lifesaver!
    THANK YOU!!!

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