Sometimes I do something stupid and Windows breaks, or it breaks itself for whatever reason, and I need to fix it somehow. These are some tips that can save you from reinstalling Windows.
Command Line Access at Login Screen #
This trick can probably be used to fix a lot of problems, and most recently saved me when I accidentally disabled all Windows services while trying to perform a “clean boot” (which disabled my PIN)…
Steps #
- Boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (hold shift while restarting from the login screen).
- Open a command prompt
- Navigate to your Windows drive (may or may not be
C:) - Navigate to
Windows\System32 - Rename the “utility manager” executable, used to show the accessibility options on the login screen:
ren utilman.exe utilman.exe.bak - Copy the command prompt to replace the utility manager:
copy cmd.exe utilman.exe - Restart Windows normally
- Click the “Accessibility Options” button to open the command line (may take multiple clicks)
Once there, you should be able to perform whatever actions needed, including:
- Run
msconfigto update startup settings.
Note: Windows will detect this change to utilman.exe as a trojan and reset it if it’s scanned by Windows Defender. It will also be replaced by sfc /scannow.
PIN is unavailable #
If Windows services have been disabled, start by getting command line access at the login screen. Then, run msconfig and enable services.
Resetting Windows #
Before a full reinstall, a reset might work. This will reset Windows to an initial install state. There are two options when resetting Windows: “Keep files” or “Remove Everything”. If you choose to keep your files, the process is relatively painless, keeping your documents, downloads, and settings; but it removes everything in Program Files and your user AppData folder, so make backups if necessary. If you choose to remove everything, it’ll remove everything from the drive, similar to a fresh install.