What To Do If Windows 10 Action Center Won’t Open

Windows 10 Action Center is a central place that collects and shows system notifications and gives quick access to different settings on your computer. 

If disabled, Windows 10 action center won’t open or display in the taskbar notification area. You will still get notifications as usual, but you won’t be able to review them in the Action Center.

Some of the reasons Windows 10 Action Center won’t open include:

• Action Center isn’t enabled
• User profile corruption
• Corrupted system files
• Non-trivial system glitches

These issues could cause Windows to destabilize, which is why you need to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

How To Fix: Windows 10 Action Center Won’t Open

The quickest way to open the Action Center is by using the icon on the taskbar. If that doesn’t work, you can still use the Windows logo key + A keyboard shortcut and see if it helps.

If those two quick access methods don’t work, and you’ve rebooted your PC with no luck, here are some things you can try.

Restart Windows Explorer

1. Right-click the taskbar and click Task Manager.

2. Right-click explorer.exe or Windows Explorer and select End Task.

3. In Task Manager, click File > Run new task.

4. Type explorer.exe, click OK to restart Windows Explorer, and exit the Task Manager.

Perform a Disk Cleanup

When Windows 10 is low on disk space and memory, the operating system can slow down significantly as critical processes like the Action Center attempt and fail to open. A disk cleanup will remove temporary files that may be causing Windows 10 Action Center not to open, and free space on your hard drive.

1. To delete temporary files, type disk cleanup in the search box and select Disk Cleanup from the search results.

2. Select the type of files you want to remove under the Files to delete section, and click OK.

3. To free up more space, click Clean up system files in Disk Cleanup, select the files you want to delete, and then click OK.

Once the system cleanup is completed, the window will close automatically. Restart your computer to remove the files completely, and check if the Action Center will open.

Enable Action Center

Sometimes the Windows 10 Action Center won’t open because it’s not enabled in the system. 

1. To enable Action Center, type Turn system icons on or off in the search bar and click Turn system icons on or off.

2. Click to turn Action Center on, and then check if Action Center will open.

Clean The Hard Drive

Temporary, junk, and corrupted files tend to clog up your PC and cause issues with Windows 10. Cleaning the hard drive by performing an SFC and DISM scan can help scan and repair corrupted system files.

1. Right-click the taskbar and click Task Manager. Click File > Run New Task. Type CMD and check the Create this task with administrative privileges box.

2. In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each command:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth 

sfc /scannow

powershell

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like “*SystemApps*”} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}  

3. Close the Command Prompt window, restart your computer, and check if you’re able to open the Action Center.

Create a New User Account

A corrupted user profile can cause the Windows 10 Action Center not to open. To resolve this, create a new user account and check whether the problem persists.

1. Click Start > Settings > Accounts.

2. Click Family and other users.

3. Next, click Add someone else to this PC under the Other Users section.

4. Select how the user will login and click I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.

5. Click Add a user without a Microsoft account, enter a name for the new account and give the necessary permissions. Click Finish and check if Action Center works in the new user profile.

6. Enter a username and password for the account. Sign in using the new user profile and check if the Action Center opens.

Re-register Action Center

If, for some reason, the Windows 10 Action Center has gone corrupt, you can re-register it via Windows PowerShell, and restore it back to a working state. Here’s how.

1. Right-click Start > Windows PowerShell (Admin).

1. Type the following command and press Enter to execute it:

Get-AppxPackage | % { Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppxManifest.xml” -verbose }

Check if the Action Center still won’t open  after executing the command.

Edit The Registry

If the Windows 10 Action Center won’t open or isn’t showing on your computer, check if the registry value is preventing the Action Center from appearing.

1. Right-click Start > Run and type regedit to open the Registry Editor.

2. In the Registry Editor, go to this path: HKEY _ CURRENT _ USERSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsExplorer and modify the disable notifications value from 1 to 0. Restart your PC and check if the Action Center appears and that you can open it.

Rename The UsrClass File

The UsrClass file is a .DAT file that stores the ShellBag information for the desktop. The ShellBag consists of registry keys (with regards to Windows Explorer) that contain details about a folder such as the size, icon, and position, to help identify user activity. 

Plus, the usrclass.dat file stores remote and local folders, ZIP files, virtual folders, and Windows special folders. 

If you delete the UsrClass file from the system, some things like the search and desktop options, Start menu, sound button, and calendar won’t work.

However, you can rename the usrclass.dat file, and restart your computer to restore it, and then rename the file so that all things including the Action Center will work as default.

1. Right-click Start > Run and type localappdata%MicrosoftWindows.

2. Find the usrclass.dat file, rename it as usrclass.old.dat, and restart your PC.

Update Windows

Some users have complained that the Windows 10 Action Center stopped working or opening after a Windows Update. If there’s a pending update on your computer, you can try to update it and see if the Action Center opens after restarting your computer.

1. To update Windows, click Start > Settings > Update & Security.

2. Click Check for Updates next to Windows Update and install any pending updates.

Once the updates are installed, reboot your PC and see if the Action Center still won’t open.

Perform a System Restore

A System Restore helps when troubleshooting specific types of issues such as a driver installation that destabilizes your computer, or damages files when uninstalled. The Restore helps to undo the damage caused by Windows Updates or a rogue app.

1. To perform a system restore, create a restore point prior to when the Action Center stopped opening. Type system restore in the search box and select Create a restore point.

2. Click Create under the System Protection tab.

3. Type a description, for example Action Center Restore, which will help you remember why you created the restore point, and click Create. Click Close once the restore point has been created.
4. Next, restore the system to an earlier restore point. To do this, go back to the System Protection tab and click System Restore > Next.

5. The new window will show the available restore points. Select Show more restore points if you don’t see the restore point you created or that were created before the Action Center failure.

   Click on the restore point you created and then click Scan for affected programs to see what programs will be affected before you start the restoration process. When you’re ready to restore, click on the restore point you want to use and then click Next.

6. Confirm the restoration and then click Finish. Click Yes to start the process. Your PC will restart for the system restore process to begin, and once it’s done, check if the Action Center opens normally.

Note: If all else fails, you can restore Windows to factory settings. Use the factory reset only as a last resort method. Read also our guide on how to factory reset Windows 10 without the admin password.

Get Windows 10 Action Center Working Again

Did any of these solutions help you to fix the  Windows 10 Action Center won’t open issue? Share with us in a comment.