How to Fix the ( Settings app not opening in Windows 10 )

How to Fix the ( Settings app not opening in Windows 10 ).

The Settings app is critical to customizing and managing various aspects of Windows 10. You will need it for everything from uninstalling applications, adjusting device settings, to installing operating system updates.

How do I fix Windows 10 settings not opening?

Of course, you can still use Control Panel in Windows 10. But Microsoft continues to phase out the program in favor of the Settings app, so it no longer provides full control over your computer.

So if the Settings app won’t open on your Windows 10 PC or crashes quickly, you should fix it immediately. The list of troubleshooting tips below should help you with this.

1. Re-register the Settings App in Windows 10

If the Options dialog box does not open or disappears from view immediately after startup, you must re-register it by running a specific command through Windows PowerShell.

1. Press Windows + X to open the Power User Menu. Then enter Windows PowerShell.

2. Copy and paste the following command into the Windows PowerShell console:

Get-AppXPackage -Name Windows.Immersivecontrolpanel | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$ ($ _. InstallLocation) AppXManifest.xml”}

3. Press Enter.

4. Close Windows PowerShell.

5. Restart your computer. Then try opening the Settings app.

2. Re-install and Re-register All Windows Apps

Assuming that re-registering the Settings application did not work, the next step is to re-register all the standard Windows applications on your computer. This requires you to run another command, but through the Windows PowerShell console with administrator rights.

1. Open the Power User Menu and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. Copy and paste the following command:

Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$ ($ _. InstallLocation) AppXManifest.xml”}

3. Press Enter.

4. Wait for Windows PowerShell to finish re-registering each default application. This will take about 5-10 minutes.

5. Close Windows PowerShell console and restart your computer.

3. Run the System File Checker

If Settings still refuses to open or closes automatically on startup, you should check and fix corrupted system files in Windows 10. You can use the System File Checker command line utility to help you with this.

1. Open an elevated Windows PowerShell console.

2. Enter the following command:

sfc / scannow

3. Press Enter.

If System File Checker cannot find or fix problems, run the tool several times for a total of three times before continuing.

4. Run Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool

The DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) command-line tool helps diagnose and resolve operating system stability issues. You should run it regardless of whether the System File Checker manages to fix any errors or not.

1. Open an elevated Windows PowerShell console.

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / CheckHealth

3. If the above command detects operating system problems, run the two commands below in the order in which they appear:

DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / ScanHealth
DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth

The last command in the DISM tool can take up to an hour. If the progress bar doesn’t work, be patient.

5. Update Windows 10 Using Windows PowerShell

The latest Windows 10 updates contain many bug fixes to help resolve persistent operating system issues. If the Settings app doesn’t open in Windows 10, you need to update your operating system immediately. To do this, you can use the following Windows PowerShell-based workaround.

1. Open an elevated Windows PowerShell console.

2. Type the following command and press Enter:

PSWindowsUpdate installer

3. Wait while Windows PowerShell completes the installation of the module required to update the operating system.

4. Type Get-WindowsUpdate and press Enter to search for available updates and corresponding KB (Knowledge Base) IDs.

5. Run the following command to install all available updates:

Install-WindowsUpdate

You can also use an alternate command to install specific updates. Replace KB_Identifier if necessary: â€‹â€‹

Get-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID “KB_Identifier” -Install

After Windows PowerShell finishes updating Windows 10, restart your computer and check if the Settings app is working properly.

6. Run Windows Troubleshooters via Control Panel

If you’re still having trouble opening the Settings dialog box on your computer, try running the built-in troubleshooters in the Windows Store and Windows Update apps.

1. Press Windows + S to open Windows Search. Then enter control panel and select “Open.”

2. Set View By to Large Icons.

3. Select Troubleshoot.

4. Select the View All option in the upper left corner of the window. You should see a list of built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10.

5. Select the Windows Store Apps troubleshooter at the bottom of the list. Then select “Next” and follow all the instructions on the screen to fix any issues that you find.

If you were unable to update your operating system using Windows PowerShell previously, run the Windows Update troubleshooter.

7. Scan Windows 10 for Malware

Malware can hijack Windows 10 and prevent important applications such as the Settings app from working properly. You can run a malware scan with Windows Security.

1. Select the Windows security icon on the taskbar.

2. Select Virus & threat protection> Scan options.

3. Select the “Quick Scan” option and select “Scan Now”.

If Windows Security cannot find the problem, you should run a full scan and an offline scan of Microsoft Defender. Or use a dedicated malware removal tool like Malwarebytes to scan your entire computer more intensively and thoroughly. For more information, see How to remove resistant forms of malware in Windows 10.

8. Use System Restore to Revert Windows 10

If you’ve previously set up System Restore in Windows 10, you have the option to return your operating system to the point where the Settings app worked without problems.

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run window. Then enter sysdm.cpl and click OK.

2. Go to the “System Protection” tab and select “System Restore”.

3. In the System Restore Wizard that opens, click “Next”.

4. Select a restore point and click Next.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to restore Windows 10 to an earlier state.

9. Create New Windows 10 User Account

A badly damaged user profile is another reason why the Settings app won’t open or work correctly. The solution is to create a new user account.

However, you can’t use the Settings app to set up or manage accounts, so you’ll have to rely on several Windows PowerShell commands to fix this problem.

1. Open an elevated PowerShell console.

2. Enter $ Password = Read-Host -AsSecureString and press Enter. Then enter the password you want to add to the account you are about to create and press Enter again.

3. Run the following command line after making the necessary changes to User_Name, Full_User_Name and Account_Description:

New-LocalUser “User_Name” -Password $ Password -FullName “Full_User_Name” -Description “Account_Description”

4. Complete the account setup as an administrator by running the following command. Replace User_Name accordingly:

Add-LocalGroupMember -Group “Administrators” -Member “UserName”

5. Open the Start menu, select your profile picture and switch to the newly created user account. Then enter it.

Try to open the Settings app. If you can, you should move your data to the new user account. To do this, open File Explorer and go to Local Drive (C:)> Users. Then copy and paste the content from the old user account folder to the new account folder.

You can also go to Settings> Accounts to sign in to your Microsoft account if you’d like.

10. Reset Windows 10 to Factory Defaults

If none of the above fixes worked, you are probably facing a serious underlying issue in the Settings app that only resetting Windows 10 to factory settings can fix. It’s possible to keep your personal data intact despite deleting everything else, but we recommend that you back up Windows 10 before proceeding.

1. Open the Start menu. Then select Power> Restart while holding down the Shift key to restart your computer into the Windows Recovery Environment.

2. Select Troubleshoot> Reset this PC.

3. Select â€œKeep my filesâ€ and follow all on-screen instructions to complete the reset process.

For detailed step-by-step instructions, see this guide to reset Windows 10 to factory default settings.

After the factory reset procedure, the Settings dialog should open and work normally again in Windows 10.

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