Windows 10: Cortana not available on taskbar or in settings in user profile but are correct in new...

Win 10 x64 fully up to date - Cortana missing from taskbar and settings although search was available on both. Many suggestions on internet to fix including resetting Cortana etc. but none worked.


Creating a new profile showed that the problem was in my profile; a new clean profile had no fault. Exporting HKCU from the broken profile and importing the saved .reg file into the working clean profile broke the clean profile so the fault was something in the registry.


If merging from bad to good broke the good, would merging from good to bad fix the bad?


I did not simply want to create a new profile - hours of work configuring that. V. tedious.


I did not want to overwrite any more than necessary and I noticed most Cortana entries in HKCU were in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search. I exported these two keys from a new good profile and imported them into the broken profile. Success!! Cortana fixed on both the taskbar and in settings.


I have not attempted to further narrow down the offending keys.

:)

 

Cortana and Location Settings

Hi,

I realize the inconvenience you are facing. Let me help you in resolving the issue.

This issue may occur if location settings are not turned on for Cortana.

To turn on location settings for cortana, I suggest you to try these steps and check if it helps.

• 
  Click on Start Button and type Location in the search.
  
• 
  Open Location Privacy Settings.
  
• 
  Under the option "choose apps that can use your location" check if Cortana is turned on.
  
• 
  If not turn on and check if it helps.
  

Also suggest you to check if similar issue persists on another user account.



Create another administrator user account by referring to

Set up accounts on Windows 10 article.



The corrupted user profile does not function normally such as not launching
Start menu, Cortana, Search bar, Store and other
Windows applications. In such cases creating a new profile and checking for the same will help in identifying if the is specific to corrupted user profile or the OS.



Write to us with the status of the issue on the same post for further assistance.
Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.



Thank you.

 

Windows 10 can't load the user profile for a new user account

Hi Judy

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community. .

I would suggest you to follow the method give below and check.

Method 1: I suggest you enter into safe mode and enable built-in administrator and check with the status of User profile service.

Step 1: Start computer in safe
mode.

• 
  Type Settings in the search box on the desktop, select
  Settings.
  
• 
  Here select Change pc settings and then
  General.
  
• 
  Scroll down to Advanced startup, click
  Restart now.
  
• 
  Click on Troubleshoot, Advanced options, and Startup Settings.
  
• 
  Click Restart, select Safe mode and then press
  Enter.
  

Step 2: Enable Built-in administrator.

• • 
    Press Windows + X key together on your desktop screen.
    
  • 
    Click on Command Prompt (admin) to open
    Command Prompt.
    
  • 
    Type the following command and hit Enter:
    

• 
  net user administrator /active: yes
  (Check for the spaces)
  

d. Now log off from the current user and try to login to the administrator account that is enabled.

Note: Please follow the same steps and type net user administrator /active: no to disable admin account after the troubleshooting is done.



Method 2: Try to create a new user account (Microsoft account) and check if you are able to access the content from your computer

Create a user account

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-user-account#create-user-account=windows-10

Note: Create a Microsoft account



Method 3: Check the status of User profile services.

Steps:

• Press Windows + R to open Run command, type
  Services.msc and press Enter.
• Search for User Profile Service, right click on it and
  start the service.
• Also, set the Startup type to
  Automatic.
• Now check if you are able to log-in.

Hope this information is helpful. Kindly update the status of the issue, we will be happy to help you.

 

Where did the settings option in Cortana's notebook go?

Hi Stefen,

Issues with missing options and features of Cortana are usually occurring due to damaged system files. For us to provide an effective resolution, we would need you to answer the following questions:

• What changes have you made to your computer before this issue occurred?
• Were you able to follow the troubleshooting steps in the link that Marvelos Reg provided?

For further troubleshooting, we suggest that you create a test user profile. This is for us to verify if the issue is isolated with one user profile or with multiple accounts.

To create a test user profile, follow these steps:

• Using Cortana search, type Settings and then hit the Enter key.
• In the Settings window, select Accounts.
• Select Family & other people.
• Choose Add someone else to this PC.
• Click I don't have this person's sign-in information.
• Click Add a user without a Microsoft account.
• Name the user as TEST and then provide a password.

Update us on the results.