Top 7 Ways to Fix Control Panel Not Opening on Windows 10

The Control Panel is an integral part of the Windows ecosystem as it contains the majority of Windows settings. But what happens when he refuses to open? Well, that can be quite ironic considering that most of the troubleshooting methods involve the use of Control Panel as well.

Fortunately, there are other ways to get Control Panel back up and running. And today we are going to talk about them. So let’s get right to the point.

1. Update Windows

Before diving into the other solutions on this list, you should first make sure that your Windows is up to date. Chances are there is already an update pending installation that fixed this particular issue.

To check for updates on Windows 10, press Windows key + I to launch Settings. Go to Update & Security> Windows Update and click the Check for updates button on your right.

Once the update is complete, restart your PC and see if the control panel is working properly now.

2. Run the SFC scan

Corrupted system files on your PC can create all kinds of problems, such as preventing the Control Panel from opening. Fortunately, Windows has a handy SFC (System File Checker) to find and repair these corrupted files within minutes. Here is how to use it.

Step 1: Open the start menu and type cmd to open the command prompt. Select “Run as administrator” to open it with administrator rights.

2nd step: Type the command mentioned below and press Enter.

SFC /scannow

Once the scan is complete, go ahead and restart your PC. Now try to open Control Panel to see if the problem is resolved now.

3. Check for malware

Besides corrupted system files, malware and viruses on your PC can also interfere with operations on your PC. So, you can try to run a quick scan to make sure that your PC is not affected by any malware.

To do this, if you have already installed an antivirus, use it. Or, you can also use the built-in Windows Defender to perform a quick scan.

To run a quick scan using Windows Defender, go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Security.

Go to the “Virus and Threat Protection” tab and click the “Quick Scan” button on your right to start the scan.

Once done, restart your PC to see if the issue is resolved.

4. Change the display scaling

Oddly enough, the Control Panel seems to stop working when the display scale is set above 100% on your PC. So, you can try adjusting the display scale to 100% to see if that helps. Here’s how.

Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open settings and go to system.

2nd step: On the View tab, under Scale and Layout, use the drop-down menu to select 100% from the list.

Now go ahead and try to open Control Panel again.

5. Disable the Windows error reporting service

As the name suggests, Windows Error Reporting Service is designed to send alerts to Microsoft if something goes wrong with your PC. Sometimes this service is also known to interfere with launching Control Panel. So you can try disabling the service momentarily to see if that helps.

Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to launch the Run dialog box. Type msconfig in it and press Enter.

2nd step: In the System Configuration window, switch to the Services tab. Scroll to the bottom to find and uncheck “Windows Error Reporting Service” and click Apply.

Now restart your PC for the changes to take effect and see if you can open Control Panel now.

6. Adjust the Windows registry

Some users also reported that they fixed Control Panel issues by deleting some registry files from their PC.

Fair warning. Editing or deleting registry files from PCs can cause major problems. So be sure to back up your registry files first.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type registration editor, and press Enter.

2nd step: Use the address bar at the top to navigate to the next key.

ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareClassesLocalSettingsSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsShell

Step 3: Expand the Shell key and delete the BagMRU and Bags subkeys.

Now restart your PC and see if you can open Control Panel now.

7. Try System Restore

If the Control Panel problem happened fairly recently, you can try using System Restore feature on Windows 10. With it, you can restore your PC to a certain point before the problem appears to the first time.

Note that System Restore is completely safe as there will be no data loss. However, you will lose any changes made to the system or settings.

Take it under control

While Microsoft is gradually replacing Windows Control Panel with the Settings app, the transition is not yet complete. Until then, the Control Panel remains at the heart of all major Windows settings. Hope the above solutions did the trick and things are back to normal for you.