How to reset Windows Spotlight feature in Windows 10

Reset Windows Spotlight

The Windows Spotlight feature on Windows 10 is the main reason why you see fascinating images on your Windows 10 lock screen. This feature creates new images of your interest for your lock screen to make it more beautiful. But sometimes, you may find that Windows Spotlight does not work properly for a variety of reasons. If you face such problems, you can reset the Windows Spotlight feature. This can be done by running a set of scripts using Windows PowerShell – but creating a .BAT file to execute batch commands can make it work almost effortlessly.

Reset Windows Spotlight in Windows 10

First of all, you need to make sure that Microsoft Edge and Windows 10 Settings applications are allowed to run in the background.

Open the Windows 10 Settings application and navigate to Privacy> Applications in the background.

In the list provided in the right pane, switch the Microsoft Edge and Settings switches to Sure.

Then open Customization> Lock screen and for the drop-down list of Context, select either Picture or Slideshow.

Now, open Notepad, and then copy and paste the following text.

:: Reset Windows Spotlight DEL /F /S /Q /A "%USERPROFILE%/AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewyLocalStateAssets" DEL /F /S /Q /A "%USERPROFILE%/AppDataLocalPackagesMicrosoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewySettings"  :: Re-register Windows Spotlight PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage *ContentDeliveryManager*).InstallLocation + 'AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}" 

Save the file with a .bat extension.

To reset Windows Spotlight, run the batch file and let the commands run.

Restart your computer to find the reset of your Windows Spotlight feature.

Once this has been done successfully, do not forget to reverse the changes – that is to say. Settings> Privacy> Background apps and switch switches to Off.

These commands can be run autonomously using the Windows PowerShell command line. However, the best choice is to use batch files whenever possible.

Ayush is a Windows enthusiast since the day he had his first PC with Windows 98SE. He is an active Windows Insider since the first day and is now a Windows Insider MVP. He was testing preliminary services on his Windows 10, Lumia and Android computers.

Leave a Reply