Windows 10 Settings Won’t Open! How To Fix?

Whether you like it or not, Microsoft is slowly making the settings app the hub for all the configuration settings, while phasing out the control panel. It’s always good to have all your settings in one place, and this ease is making the Settings app such an integral part of Windows 10.

If your Windows 10 settings won’t open, read this complete guide to solve your issue.

Can’t Open Settings On Windows 10!

With the ever-growing importance of the settings app, it not working properly can be very problematic as many key features go missing for the users. There are many different methods to open the Settings app, and before trying other solutions, first, try and isolate if the settings app opens through these methods:

• In Start, click on the cog icon for Settings.
• Type Settings in Windows Search, and click from the search results.
• Open Settings app from the WinX menu, accessible by key combination Win + X or right-click on the start button.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
• Click on the All settings button in the Action Center.
• In Command Prompt or PowerShell, type start ms-settings: and press Enter to launch the settings app.
• Access the personalization settings from the desktop right-click context menu, and click on the Home button at the top.

If you are still unable to open the Settings app, you may start by resetting the app itself.

How To Solve ‘Windows 10 Settings Won’t Open’ Error!

If you are unable to reach the Settings app using the methods given above, there might be some error with the app itself that is causing the app to crash and not open. If this is the case, resetting the app can solve your issue. I will also list some other fixes that you can deploy to solve this issue.

Solution 1: Reset The Settings App

You can reset the Settings app as well. Simply follow these steps to access these:

1. Click on the start icon, or press the Win key once to open the Start menu.
2. Right-click on the cog icon that usually opens the Settings app.
3. Click More> App Settings.

4. This will launch the settings for the Windows Settings app.
5. Here locate Reset and click on it.

Resetting the app should solve most of the problems associated with the application.

However, if this did not help you solve the issue, you can try some other methods that may help you.

Solution 2: Reinstall Windows Settings App

If Windows 10 pc settings won’t open on your device, you can always reinstall the app using a simple PowerShell command. It is possible because the settings app is counted among the official metro apps, so reinstalling it should solve most of the problems associated with it.

1. Open an elevated PowerShell window. To do this, open the WinX menu: either by using the key combination or right click on the Start icon. Then select Windows PowerShell (Admin).
2. Type the following command to reregister the Settings app:
   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRootImmersiveControlPanelAppxManifest.xml

3. You can also use the following command to re-register all the apps:
   Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

4. Wait until the process finishes, and then try accessing the Settings app again.

Solution 3: Run A DISM And SFC Scan

An SFC scan can be used to find if some Windows functions are not working, and restore the corrupted files that may have been causing the issue. If you are on Windows 10 or 8, run a Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool first prior to SFC.

Note: DISM and SFC scans use the Windows Update to replace the corrupted files. If your Update Client is already broken, you may use a Windows installation disc as a backup repair source. You have to use a different command which will be listed below.

Caution: Do not interrupt the scans until the verification is complete. The scans do take time, but interrupting the scans may break your system.

1. Open an elevated command prompt. Search cmd in search and select Run as Administrator from the right-click menu.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:
   DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

3. If you are using a repair disc or other removable media, you need to use a different command. The command for this is:
   DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\RepairSource\Windows/LimitAccess

Note: you have to replace C:\RepairSource\Windows with the location path of your repair source. You can find this path in the address bar of the drive.

After this scan finishes, you need to run an SFC scan. In the same elevated CMD, write the following command to run a System File Checker (SFC) scan and press Enter.
sfc /scannow

After the scan finishes the problem should be resolved. If there are some corrupt files, the scan will show results as a message.

Solution 4: Create A New User Account

Many times, the user account can get broken which can lead to some features not working properly. If your pc settings won’t open, you need to create a new user account with administrator privileges and then port over your settings to the new account.

To add an account to your system you can follow these settings:

1. Open the Settings app. You can use the shortcut Win + I.
2. Select Accounts.
3. From the left pane, select Family & other users.
4. From the right pane, click on Add someone else to this PC.

5. Now create a new account by following the on-screen instructions.

You can choose to add a Microsoft account to the new user, or select The person I want to add doesn’t have an email address. Next, you need to set up a password and hint for the new account.

Next, you need to grant administrator privileges to the new account. To do this,

6. Reopen the Family & other users from within the settings as discussed above.
7. Click on the newly created account to select it.
8. Click on the Change account type
9. Open the Account type drop-down menu and select Administrator.
10. Click on OK.
11. Now log out of your existing account, and log into your newly created administrator account. 

Note: Alternatively, you can use the command prompt to create a new user as well. Open an elevated command prompt though a Run window or through the start menu. Type the following command to add new user
net user <newusername> <newpassword> /add
Then go to the control panel, and set the account as administrator from the User Accounts section.

Try accessing your settings app from here to check if it works normally.

If everything works normally, copy and paste your user files from your old account.

(Also read: how to solve Tile database is corrupt)

Wrapping Up

Creating a new account can be time-consuming. If nothing else works, you might need to reset your Windows 10 itself. Now you know what to do if the Windows 10 settings won’t open on your device. Comment below which method helped you, and to discuss further the same.