Windows 10 search opening in full screen (win+q)

I have noticed recently that sometimes my Windows 10 search menu (the one that is opened using WIN + Q) opens in full screen as you can see in the image below (large image):

When I open the start menu on its own using just WIN and then again use WIN + Q it opens like it should as in the image below:

From then on it is fine. Does anyone have an idea what is causing this? Is this deliberate?

Solution 1:

I had this exact same problem as well, at first I thought perhaps an update corrupted something (?) so I tried 'sfc /scannow' in cmd. Did not help.

What my problem (and fix) was: I had the 'search' option/icon on the taskbar set to 'Hidden'. So after I switched that to 'Show search icon' it no longer showed the fullscreen variant when using win + q. Howto: right-click on taskbar, in that menu go to 'Search' and in there select 'Show search icon', voila!

I hope this helps, at least your screenshot shows there is no search icon on your taskbar..