The default behaviour for the Windows 8 / 9 / 10 start screen is to open the application on the first click, and then to activate the already open window on subsequent clicks.
To open a new instance each and every time (the old windows behaviour), you can either change the default behaviour by editing the registry, or you can Shift-Click the program icon as and when you need it.
To change the default behaviour, set the following DWORD value in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell
DesktopAppsAlwaysLaunchNewInstance = 1
Option 1: Use reg.exe from the command line:
reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell /v DesktopAppsAlwaysLaunchNewInstance /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add KeyName /v ValueName /t Type /d Data /f (for force update, don't prompt).
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Option 2: Download the regedit merge file below and double-click to install:
windows10-always-start-new-instance.zip
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell]
"DesktopAppsAlwaysLaunchNewInstance"=dword:00000001
Option 3: Add manually using regedit.exe: