FIX: Action Center not working/opening/hanging [NEW 2021]

The improved Action Center is one of the best features of Windows 10. With it, all system and individual app notifications are available in one place, which means you don't have to worry about missing any notifications. Additionally, you can choose to fire them.

As useful as it is, Action Center can sometimes become unresponsive or broken. If you ever encounter this kind of situation, here are some simple methods you can try to get Action Center working again.

RESTART WINDOWS EXPLORER
1. Right-click on the taskbar and click Task Manager.
2. The “Processes” tab of the Task Manager window shows you the applications and background processes running on your PC. Scroll down the list of what's running and look for "Windows Explorer."
3. You should find it at the bottom of the “Background Processes” section. To restart, simply select “Windows Explorer” and then click the “Restart” button.

ACTIVATE ACTION CENTER
Sometimes Windows 10 Action Center does not open because it is simply not enabled in the system.

Go to the settings customization taskbar. Turn system icons on or off, then select the Action Center button to turn it off and on.

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

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

IMPORTANT: If you delete the UsrClass file from the system, some items such as search and desktop options, sound button, and calendar will not work.

Renaming this file could also remove Start menu tiles and change the Windows theme. If you're not comfortable with this solution, ignore it and move on to the next one (you can always come back to this method later if nothing else works).

However, you can rename the Usrclass.dat file and restart your computer to restore it, then rename the file so that everything, including Action Center, works by default.

1. Press Win R to open the Run dialog box or right-click Start and select /"Run/" from the context menu. Type %localappdata&//Microsoft//Windows// and press Enter or click /"OK/".
2. Since the /"UsrClass.dat/" file is usually hidden, make the contents of the folder visible by clicking the /"Show/" option and checking the /"Hidden Items/" box. The UsrClass.dat file should appear.
3. Locate the Usrclass.dat file and rename it /"UsrClass.old.dat/".
4. Restart your PC.

RE-SAVE THE ACTION CENTER
1. Tap WinS and search for Windows PowerShell.
2. Launch PowerShell as administrator and run the following command: Get-AppxPackage -allusers foreach {Add-AppxPackage -register /"(_.InstallLocation)//appxmanifest.xml/" -DisableDevelopmentMode}

Once the process is complete, restart your computer and check if it fixed your problem.

SCAN THE SYSTEM AND DRIVE
Launch Command Prompt as administrator and run the Check Disk commands, as well as the System File Checker and Deployment Image Servicing and Management commands to scan the system for errors.

PERFORM A DISM ANALYSIS
1. Type /"cmd/" in Windows search bar, right-click on Command Prompt and run it as administrator.
2. Run the following command and press Enter:
DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth
3. Wait for the process to complete.
4. Restart your PC.

PERFORM AN SFC SCAN
Follow the same steps as above, but in step 2 simply change the command to sfc /scannow and wait for the scan to do its job.

PERFORM A DISK CHECK
Again, follow the same steps as above, but in step 2, change the command to /"chkdsk C: /f/". Replace /"C/" with the letter of your hard drive. The command /"chkdsk C: /f/" detects and repairs logical problems affecting the drive. To repair physical problems, run the command /"chkdsk C: /r/". Windows will need to restart the computer to complete the scan.

IMPORTANT: Each command will take some time to complete, depending on the size of your hard drive and your computer's resources. Wait for each command to complete before running the next command.

RESTART WINDOWS IN SAFE MODE
To access Safe Mode, go to the Startup Settings menu, accessible through Advanced Startup Options.

TRY A SYSTEM RESTORE
If none of the previous steps work, perform a system restore. Before continuing, save a restore point.

IMPORTANT: Make a backup of your data before performing a system restore. Additionally, the restore point must be created before Action Center stops working. Otherwise, it won't solve the problem.

MORE INFORMATION:
https://www.lifewire.com/fix-windows-10-action-center-wont-open-4588300
https://blog.pcrisk.com/windows/12556-cant-open-action-center-how-to-fix-it
https://windowsreport.com/action-center-wont-open-windows-10/#11

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