device manager not opening

Question

my screen brightness of laptop not changing it stuck ,so i checked solution for it on internet, and there they said open device manager, when i clicked on device manager it saying "the operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. please contact your administrator" how can i solve this?

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that you’re facing issues when accessing Device Manager on your PC. I will certainly try my best to assist you with the issue.

For further clarity on the issue, please respond to the questions below:

1. Which build version of Windows 10 are you using currently?
2. Are you aware of any changes made to the PC prior to which you weren’t facing this issue?
3. Do you have any third party antivirus installed on the PC?

Refer the article Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

Let’s try a couple of troubleshooting steps and see if we can fix the issue.

Method 1: Reset permissions using icacls command

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Try resetting the permissions using icacls command and see if you’re able to access Device Manager and Control Panel normally.

1. Press Windows + S key together to open Search.
2. Now type CMD and select Run as administrator.
3. Accept the UAC prompts.
4. Type in the following commands one by one and hit Enter:
   ICACLS * /T /Q /C /RESET
5. Restart the PC

Method 2: Enable built-in administrator

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1. Press Windows + S key together to open Search.
2. Now type CMD and select Run as administrator.
3. Accept the UAC prompts.
4. Type in the following commands one by one and hit Enter: net user administrator /active:yes

Once the command is successful login to the built-in administrator and try to create a new user account and see if you’re able to access all the apps normally. Refer the article Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10

Note: After finishing the troubleshooting steps disable the built-in administrator using the command: net user administrator /active:no

Let us know how it goes. If the issue persists, we will certainly assist you further.

Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

Answer 2

To find the License type;
* Please right click START the search and open CMD as ADMIN.
* Type slmgr /dli and press enter and kindly upload a screenshot of the result here.

Answer 3

Exactly what build of Windows 10 Insider are you on?

Right click Start, Run and type winver for the build #,

not the version #.

Answer 4

Hi UmairSaleem1,

You haven't answered the question on whether you are using public build or Insider build so trying to help without that information is pointless as we don't know where to start. Are you using Pro or Home and is it a work computer or your personal one? Have you altered anything in the regedit?

If you have an Insider install and Prakha's post didn't help, then resetting is the quickest option or better still clean install. Spending hours on a system to fix it that will get updated within two weeks is a waste of time.

File your problem at the FBH (Win key + F) and then reset it.

Answer 5

Hi

I have watched over 70% of the videos on the internet about the solution on the device manger opening after the windows 10 new update and even tried the ENABLE ULA to 0 from registry editor but still can't open those services like device manger, disk manager etc.

Also tried those two methods you mentioned but still in vain.
Actually the thing is why complicate the simple things like opening these services should be simple and easy instead of opening the CMD and write devmgmt.msc

Looking forward who can crack this issue

Thanks