Windows security not opening after update

[SUAHB]

Quote

Hi, I recently upgraded to paid version of CCleaner.  It updated my driver's for me and everything seems to be going well except I can't enable fingerprint scanner to unlock my laptop now.  I have to enter the pin number.  I've tried to go into the security settings to re-enable the scanner for unlock, but security won't open.

I have an ASUS 14 laptop stock, with Windows 10 OS installed.

 

 

 

 

 

[nukecad]

The fingerprint reader setup for logging into your laptop is not in Security, it's in Accounts.

You can get to the setup pages by opening Settings>Accounts>Sign-in options.

(It's unavailable on this particular screenshot - because this laptop doesn't have a fingerprint reader),

Or-
Open the start menu and type: hello
(or type it into the taskbar searchbox).

In the window that pops up there will be options to 'set up fingerprint sign-in' and 'set up face sign-in'.
Click either one to open that same settings page where you can then set up the various sign-in options.

 

[hazelnut]

Also as your Windows Security won't open see here

https://www.maketecheasier.com/fix-windows-security-not-opening/

[SUAHB]

12 hours ago, nukecad said:

The fingerprint reader setup for logging into your laptop is not in Security, it's in Accounts.

You can get to the setup pages by opening Settings>Accounts>Sign-in options.

(It's unavailable on this particular screenshot - because this laptop doesn't have a fingerprint reader),

Or-
Open the start menu and type: hello
(or type it into the taskbar searchbox).

In the window that pops up there will be options to 'set up fingerprint sign-in' and 'set up face sign-in'.
Click either one to open that same settings page where you can then set up the various sign-in options.

 

Thank you, as I looked into this, it's "sign in options" that I can't access, and not Security.  (Did I mention I'm running Windows10 and not 11?) It will give me the options tab, and I can access other tabs in the window, but any means I use to access "sign in" options makes that window go blue with the white "settings" gear icon, and then does nothing. 

     I wouldn't say it freezes or crashes, I've not had to use task manager to force it to close.  

I wonder if there is anything in the BIOS that needs to be set to sync up or something.

[nukecad]

Settings options not being available like that sounds like a system file may have become corrupted, it happens (often following a Windows Update).

The first, simplest, thing to try is a Restart of your laptop, that's a "Restart" and not a Shutdown/Boot.
Then try to access the sign-in settings options again.

If it's still not working then there are a couple of commands that can check and restore the system image.

Firstly it's usually a good idea to make sure that the stored system image is 'healthy'.
(Some people skip this because it takes extra time, but if a job's worth doing ....)

1. Open the Start menu and begin typing the word command
2. In the window that opens select 'Command Prompt', and select the 'Run as administrator' option.
   An 'elevated' (administrator) command window will open.
3. Type, or copy/paste, DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and press Enter.

That will check the stored system image and repair any errors that are found in it.
Note that it may appear to be stuck after writing a couple of lines, this is normal behavior. After a minute you should see some stars and a percentage counter as the process continues, it will say when it has completed sucessfully.

Next run the System File Checker:
(This can be run without doing the DISM first).

1. If you don't already have an elevated command window open after doing a DISM then follow steps 1 & 2 above.
2. Type, or copy/paste, SFC /scannow

That checks your system files against the stored image, and repairs them if necessary.
If errors are found and fixed then run the same SFC /scannow command again, when there are errors it can sometimes take 3 or 4 runs to fix them all.

Restart your computer and check if the sign-in settings problem has now been fixed.

Here's a screenshot of the DISM and SFC process that I just ran on this laptop.
You can see that SFC found and repaired errors, so I ran the "SFC /scannow" command a second time which then reported OK.
(TBH I haven't been noticing any problems with this laptop so I'm glad I checked - some people do a check once a week or once a month).