Can't open start menu or anything to do with personalisation

[vLiiaaM]

So last night I turned on my pc to be greeted with an error message that said something along the lines of 'Display driver has stopped working, please restart your computer'. So I did just that, then as it turned back on, everything was normal until I logged on and got the screens that appear when you update (You know, the ones that seem like you're staring at them for 10years, and says 'We're nearly done!').

So it finally logged in and my background had gone and so had all my docked programs, but I still had all my desktop icons and other files. As I tried to change my desktop by right clicking on the screen and selecting personalisation, I received an error with the title: 'ms:settings-display', and the text: 'This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the default program control panel.'

Also, I have no access to my start menu or anything to do with display settings, and I've tried many fixes on here and on google, all of which to no avail.

If anyone could shed some light on this and maybe help out, It would be very appreciated as it's driving me insane!

 

[wpgwpg]

When this happened to me, I restored from a recent backup I had. I never did find out what caused it or how to fix it. If you've enabled System Restore, you could try a restore point, but it's off by default.

Good luck.

 

[vLiiaaM]

When this happened to me, I restored from a recent backup I had. I never did find out what caused it or how to fix it. If you've enabled System Restore, you could try a restore point, but it's off by default.

Good luck.

I imagine this would be my only option. I do have some backups, from some months ago now but any recent documents, I guess I'll just back up manually on a external hard drive.

Thanks for the help though!

 

[Colif]

do you get a menu if you right click the start button?
if so, select command prompt (admin)
type sfc /scannow and press enter

if you didn't get a menu, right click taskbar and select task manager
select the file menu and choose run new task
type cmd and before hitting enter, tick the box that says Create the task with administration rights
this opens command prompt, type the line I showed above

If it doesn't fix the problem, you may need to do a reset
the reset will delete anything that isn't in a library (libraries are folders like My documents, music, pictures, videos, etc) so put anything you want to keep either in a library or onto a USB drive. I would copy anything you really can't lose onto a USB as resets can go wrong.
can you access your settings menu?

if so, select settings/update and security/recovery/reset this pc
you have two choices here, keep files and settings or wipe it all.
choose keep files and settings and pc will save what it needs to and then restart pc to reinstall win 10

if you can't access the settings menu, hit ctrl alt del and from this menu select the power icon
hold down the shift key and press restart
this will load you into advanced start up
reset is on this page,
you have two choices here, keep files and settings or wipe it all.
choose keep files and settings and pc will save what it needs to and then restart pc to reinstall win 10

 

[vLiiaaM]

do you get a menu if you right click the start button?
if so, select command prompt (admin)
type sfc /scannow and press enter

if you didn't get a menu, right click taskbar and select task manager
select the file menu and choose run new task
type cmd and before hitting enter, tick the box that says Create the task with administration rights
this opens command prompt, type the line I showed above

If it doesn't fix the problem, you may need to do a reset
the reset will delete anything that isn't in a library (libraries are folders like My documents, music, pictures, videos, etc) so put anything you want to keep either in a library or onto a USB drive. I would copy anything you really can't lose onto a USB as resets can go wrong.
can you access your settings menu?

if so, select settings/update and security/recovery/reset this pc
you have two choices here, keep files and settings or wipe it all.
choose keep files and settings and pc will save what it needs to and then restart pc to reinstall win 10

if you can't access the settings menu, hit ctrl alt del and from this menu select the power icon
hold down the shift key and press restart
this will load you into advanced start up
reset is on this page,
you have two choices here, keep files and settings or wipe it all.
choose keep files and settings and pc will save what it needs to and then restart pc to reinstall win 10

This definitely seems like my best option at the moment. I'm currently away from my computer (at work) but will try as soon as I can!

I don't think was able to right click the start, but I will try what your recommended. Many thanks!

 

[Colif]

if you can't right click taskbar either, hit ctrl alt del and select task manager from that menu instead and do the instructions I gave for it. Task manager is always running.

 

[GreyCatz]

So last night I turned on my pc to be greeted with an error message that said something along the lines of 'Display driver has stopped working, please restart your computer'. So I did just that, then as it turned back on, everything was normal until I logged on and got the screens that appear when you update (You know, the ones that seem like you're staring at them for 10years, and says 'We're nearly done!').

So it finally logged in and my background had gone and so had all my docked programs, but I still had all my desktop icons and other files. As I tried to change my desktop by right clicking on the screen and selecting personalisation, I received an error with the title: 'ms:settings-display', and the text: 'This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the default program control panel.'

Also, I have no access to my start menu or anything to do with display settings, and I've tried many fixes on here and on google, all of which to no avail.

If anyone could shed some light on this and maybe help out, It would be very appreciated as it's driving me insane!

Greetings, vLiiaaM:

It seems your system updated to a new Windows 10 build 'behind your back'. If you can access the Settings app, click About and check the build number. You could try and reboot your system 2 or 3 times, or uninstall your graphics driver (Control Panel>Uninstall a program), reboot and re-install the driver. I don't seriously think it will solve your problem, since your Start Menu errors seem to point to a particularly wobbly Windows 10 build.

If you can't access any apps or tiles via the Start Menu, see if you can activate the task bar and click on Search/Cortana and type e.g. Control Panel or Settings. If this doesn't work, you could try and sign out (CTRL+ALT+DEL), click the Power icon in the bottom right corner, hold down SHIFT and click Restart. This will send you to the UEFI where you can choose Troubleshooting>Startup Repair, and a lot of other options.

A few general points about Windows 10:
a) There have been (and still are) a host of issues with graphics drivers from nVidia, Intel and Microsoft. Your driver error message is unlikely to disappear any time soon.
b) Depending on your current Windows build, you mighht consider using the roll-back feature under Settings>Update and Recovery and wait for a more stable build.
c) Windows 10 is still a work in progress, and although retail Windows 10 licences should be bug-free, you may experience some disruption following a major Windows update (build or cumulative).

I hope this provides some light.
GreyCatz.

 

[vLiiaaM]

So last night I turned on my pc to be greeted with an error message that said something along the lines of 'Display driver has stopped working, please restart your computer'. So I did just that, then as it turned back on, everything was normal until I logged on and got the screens that appear when you update (You know, the ones that seem like you're staring at them for 10years, and says 'We're nearly done!').

So it finally logged in and my background had gone and so had all my docked programs, but I still had all my desktop icons and other files. As I tried to change my desktop by right clicking on the screen and selecting personalisation, I received an error with the title: 'ms:settings-display', and the text: 'This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the default program control panel.'

Also, I have no access to my start menu or anything to do with display settings, and I've tried many fixes on here and on google, all of which to no avail.

If anyone could shed some light on this and maybe help out, It would be very appreciated as it's driving me insane!

Greetings, vLiiaaM:

It seems your system updated to a new Windows 10 build 'behind your back'. If you can access the Settings app, click About and check the build number. You could try and reboot your system 2 or 3 times, or uninstall your graphics driver (Control Panel>Uninstall a program), reboot and re-install the driver. I don't seriously think it will solve your problem, since your Start Menu errors seem to point to a particularly wobbly Windows 10 build.

If you can't access any apps or tiles via the Start Menu, see if you can activate the task bar and click on Search/Cortana and type e.g. Control Panel or Settings. If this doesn't work, you could try and sign out (CTRL+ALT+DEL), click the Power icon in the bottom right corner, hold down SHIFT and click Restart. This will send you to the UEFI where you can choose Troubleshooting>Startup Repair, and a lot of other options.

A few general points about Windows 10:
a) There have been (and still are) a host of issues with graphics drivers from nVidia, Intel and Microsoft. Your driver error message is unlikely to disappear any time soon.
b) Depending on your current Windows build, you mighht consider using the roll-back feature under Settings>Update and Recovery and wait for a more stable build.
c) Windows 10 is still a work in progress, and although retail Windows 10 licences should be bug-free, you may experience some disruption following a major Windows update (build or cumulative).

I hope this provides some light.
GreyCatz.

Hi GreyCatz,

I imagined it probably updated while I restarted but just never mentioned. I have already tried rebooting multiple times and reinstalling my graphics driver, again with no hope.

I also cannot access Cortana or the start menu at all, or right clicking the start button. I'm definitely coming to the conclusion that either loading a backup or saving all my docs on a USB and doing a complete reboot if loading a backup doesn't work either.

Thanks for your help, really appreciate it

 

[wpgwpg]

Did you try Task Manager like Colif suggested? C-A-D will get you there.

 

[Colif]

Or backup your docs, and anything else you can't live without onto a USB and then do this:

if you have more than one drive in pc, I would save everything onto hdd 2 and then d/c it from power before doing the next step. that way you don't lose everything.

if you can't access the settings menu, hit ctrl alt del and from this menu select the power icon
hold down the shift key and press restart
this will load you into advanced start up
reset is on this page,
you have two choices here, keep files and settings or wipe it all.
choose wipe everything as you don't know if what ever is causing this behavior is in your settings