Windows 10 is the latest operating system of Microsoft with great features. The Operating system performs better and faster than the older ones. But sometimes, the users face some functional problems using Windows 10. Cortana isn’t working is one of these problems. As millions of users upgraded their operating system to Windows 10, this Cortana issue disturbs them a lot.
Cortana is mainly a core component of Windows 10 and is a personal assistant software. When your system or files are corrupted, it causes the Cortana problem. As Cortana is built-in software that comes with Windows 10, you can’t remove the software, you can only turn it off, or remove Cortana from the taskbar. You can fix the Cortana problems with various methods.
Why Cortana isn’t Working
In Windows 10, Cortana is one of the main features and most useful additions. Sometimes, Cortana stops working and disturbs the functional system of your computer. There are some common reasons for working Cortana properly. The reasons are given below:
- If you update your computer or any software, sometimes Cortana won’t work.
- There are certain regions where Cortana is available. So, if the region and the corresponding languages are not aligned, Cortana doesn’t work. There are 8 regions where Cortana is available:
- China
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
- United Kingdom
- United States
- India
Cortana is available in the following languages:
- Chinese (simplified)
- English (U.K)
- English (U.S)
- English (IN)
- French
- Italian
- German
- Spanish
- When you update the Windows of your computer, your Windows ask you to access the location. The Cortana requires the location of yours. If you deny Windows to access to the location, Cortana won’t work.
- If there is a problem with your internet connection, Cortana won’t work.
- If the information-sharing features are unable, your Cortana won’t work.
Solutions if Cortana Isn’t Working
There are some solutions if Cortana won’t work on your computer. Cortana doesn’t work for several reasons. So, you have to apply the following methods when Cortana doesn’t work. The methods are given below:
- Method 1: Fix Cortana by changing your region
If you are using such a region where Cortana isn’t working, you have to follow the steps to change the region and fix Cortana.
Step 1: First, you have to open the Settings app. You can open it either from the search engine or by pressing Windows+I as a shortcut.
Step 2: When you open the settings app, you have to navigate to the Time & Language section.
Step 3: You have to choose Region & Language from the menu bar on the left side. You have to go to the right plane and change the country or region to the United States.
If there is no other issue, Cortana should work after changing the region.
- Method 2: Fix Cortana by checking your firewall
You have to allow Cortana through a firewall, otherwise, Cortana won’t work. You have to follow the steps below to fix it.
Step 1: First, you have to go to the search engine and type firewall in the search bar. Now, you have to open Allow an app through the Windows firewall.
Step 2: Once you enter the Allowed apps window, you have to go to the Change settings.
Step 3: You have to locate all Cortana features in Allowed apps and features. You have to check all the features of Cortana.
Step 4: Finally, you have to click Ok to fix the problem.
- Method 3: Fix Cortana by creating a new user account.
You can create a new user account to fix the Cortana issue. The steps of creating a new account are given below:
Step 1: First, you have to open the Settings app. Then, in the settings app, you have to go to the Accounts section.
Step 2: You have to go to the Family & other people section. You will find this option on the left side of the screen.
Step 3: In this section, you have to click Add someone else to this PC button.
Step 4: Now, you have to choose I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
Step 5: Here, you will be asked to sign in with a Microsoft account. You have to choose to add a user without a Microsoft account.
Step 6: Finally, you have to enter the username and click Next to create a new user account.
If Cortana works in this new account, you can switch back to the old account to check if the problem is still present or not. Sometimes, creating a new account is the best solution to fix the Cortana issue.
- Method 4: Fix Cortana by checking antivirus:
Sometimes, Cortana doesn’t work for third-party antivirus. You have to check the antivirus if there is a Cortana issue. The steps of this method are the following:
Step 1: You have to disable certain antivirus features.
Step 2: You can also remove the antivirus to fix the issue.
Step 3: You may also switch to different antivirus software to solve the problem. In this case, Bitdefender can be a great option.
- Method 5: Fix Cortana by performing SFC and DISM scans
You can fix the Cortana issue by performing SFC and DISM scans. The steps are given below:
Step 1: First, you have to open Command Prompt as administrator. You can open it from the search engine or you can press Windows+X to directly open the Command Prompt. You can also clear the Command Prompt screen easily. You can open Command Prompt(Admin) or Powershell (Admin).
Step 2: Once you open the Command Prompt, You have to enter sfc/scannow and then, press Enter.
Step 3: After entering this, the scanning process will start. This process can take around 15 minutes to finish.
When the SFC scan is finished, you have to check the Cortana problem is still there or not. If you can’t run the SFC scan, you can use a DISM scan to fix the issue. The steps are the following:
Step 1: First, you have to start the Command Prompt as an administrator. You can use Windows+X as a shortcut to open it.
Step 2: Now, you have to Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth command and run it.
This will take around 20 minutes to finish. The corrupted files can occur Cortana problem. So, SFC and DISM scans can fix the issue.
- Method 6: Fix Cortana by re-registering Universal apps
You can re-register Universal apps to fix the problem. The steps are given below:
Step 1: First, you have to press Windows Key+ S and enter the PowerShell. You have to select the Windows Powershell and right-click on it. You have to choose Run as administrator from the menu.
Step 2: Once you enter the Powershell, you have to run the following command:
Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage-DisableDevelopmentMode -Register”$($_.InstallLocation)AppXMainfest.xml
This method can fix your problem.
- Method 7: Fix Cortana by running chkdsk scan:
Step 1: First, you have to start Command Prompt as administrator.
Step 2: Now you have to enter chkdsk /f X: command. Here, X is the system drive. In almost all cases, the drive is C.
Step 3: Here, you may ask if you want to schedule a plan or not. You have to press Y and restart your PC.
After restarting the PC, the chkdsk scan will automatically start. You have to wait until the process is finished.
- Method 8: Fix Cortana by installing the latest updates
Step 1: First, you have to open the Settings app and then, go to the Update & Security section.
Step 2: Now, you have to check for updates button.
After this, the Windows will check for updates. If there is any update available, the Windows automatically do this when you restart your PC.
Conclusion
This problem is known as Windows 10 critical error. You can see the Start menu and Cortana aren’t working. We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in – if you have a Cortana problem with the operating system. Sometimes, restarting the computer can be an initial solution to this problem. But most often you have to try other methods to fix the Cortana problem.
