What to Do When Windows 10 Action Center Won't Open

A failure of the Action Center in Windows 10 to load suggests a non-trivial system glitch that requires immediate treatment to avoid risking Windows destabilizing completely.

How to Fix It When Windows 10 Action Center Won't Open

1. Scan the Drive

   Launch Command Prompt as an administrator and run the Check Disk, as well as the System File Checker and the Deployment Image Servicing and Management command to scan your hard disk for errors.

   Each command will take some time to run, depending on the size of your hard drive and the resources from your computer. Wait for each command to finish before running the next command.

2. Restart Windows Explorer

   Launch Task Manager, right-click the Windows Explorer process, then select Restart.

3. Perform a Disk Cleanup

   This process will not only free up space on your hard drive, but it can also remove a temporary file that might be causing the problem. When Windows 10 runs low on both memory and disk space, the operating system can slow significantly as critical processes try, and fail, to complete.

   The window will close automatically after the system clean up is done, but the files won't be completely removed from your device until the next restart.

4. Disable and Re-Enable Action Center

   Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Turn system icons on or off, then select the Action Center toggle to turn it off and on.

5. Rename the Usrclass File

   1. Launch File Explorer and open either of the following paths: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows or C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows
   2. Locate the Usrclass.dat file and rename it to UsrClass.old.dat.
   3. Restart your PC.

   If you are unable to locate this file, verify you have the show hidden files option enabled. Additionally, this solution removes all tiles from the Start Menu and changes your theme to the High Contrast theme, so you’ll have to revert it later.

6. Re-Register the Action Center

   Press Win+S and search for Windows PowerShell. Launch PowerShell as an administrator and execute the following command:

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

7. Restart Windows in Safe Mode

   To access Safe Mode, access the Startup Settings menu, which can be accessed through the Advanced Startup Options.

8. Try a System Restore

   If none of the previous steps work, perform a System Restore. Before you proceed, record a Restore Point.

   Collect a backup of your data prior to doing a system restore. Additionally, the restore point must be created prior to when Action Center stopped working. Otherwise, this will not address the problem.

9. Reset Your PC

   You'll wipe the whole device. Windows 10 resets in three ways — keep your files, remove everything, or do a Factory Reset.