Clear Start Menu Remove all pinned apps from the start menu for this user only

# Clear pinned apps from the Start Menu (current user)
# This replaces the start2.bin layout file with an empty template

$startMenuPath = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState"
$startMenuBin = Join-Path $startMenuPath "start2.bin"

if (Test-Path $startMenuBin) {
    # Backup current start menu layout
    Copy-Item -Path $startMenuBin -Destination "$startMenuBin.bak" -Force
    Write-Host "Backed up current start menu layout"
}

# Stop the Start Menu process to release the file
Stop-Process -Name StartMenuExperienceHost -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Start-Sleep -Seconds 1

# Write an empty start menu layout (clears all pinned apps)
# The start2.bin file uses a binary format; an empty/minimal file clears all pins
[byte[]]$emptyLayout = @()
Set-Content -Path $startMenuBin -Value $emptyLayout -Encoding Byte -Force

Write-Host "Cleared pinned apps from Start Menu for current user" -ForegroundColor Green