Control Panel Does Not Open

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This article was previously published under Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q221153

 

SYMPTOMS

When you try to open Control Panel, your computer may stop responding (hang) or your screen may refresh, and Control Panel does not open. You also cannot open Control Panel if you boot your computer in Safe Mode.

 

CAUSE

This behavior is caused by a damaged .cpl file. These files populate Control Panel with tools.

 

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, follow the steps in the section for the operating system that you are using.

Windows 2000

The .cpl files for Windows 2000 are located in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. The default location for this folder is in the C:\Winnt\System32 folder.

  1. Create a new folder on your desktop called "temp" (without quotation marks). To do this, right click and empty area on your desktop, point to New, click Folder, and then type temp.
  2. Move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder and into the Temp folder that you created.
  3. Verify that Control Panel opens. Note that Control Panel does not contain icons after you move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder.
  4. Move the .cpl files back into the System32 folder, one at a time, and then open Control Panel after you move each file to verify that Control Panel opens.
  5. If you move a .cpl file back into the System32 folder, and Control Panel does not open, delete the file, or replace the file with a known, good .cpl file.

Additional Information

You can find the base Windows 2000 .cpl files on your Windows 2000 CD-ROM. The files are located in the i386 folder, and are denoted by ".CP_" (without quotation marks).

To expand these files:

  1. Insert your Windows 2000 CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
  3. At the prompt, type the following command:

expand CD-ROM drive:\i386\file_name.cp_ drive_letter:\temp\file_name.cpl

Where CD-ROM drive is the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive, file_name is the name of the .cpl file, and drive_letter is the drive letter where your Temp folder is located (for example, type expand e:\i386\ncpa.cp_ c:\temp\ncpa.cpl).

NOTE: You can also double-click each .cpl file to determine if it runs. When you double-click a .cpl file, the associated Control Panel tool runs.

Windows NT

The default location for the .cpl files in Windows NT is in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder.

  1. Create a new folder on your desktop called "temp" (without quotation marks). To do this, right click and empty area on your desktop, point to New, click Folder, and then type temp.
  2. Move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder and into the Temp folder that you created.
  3. Verify that Control Panel opens. Note that Control Panel does not contain icons after you move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder.
  4. Move the .cpl files back into the System32 folder, one at a time, and then open Control Panel after you move each file to verify that Control Panel opens.
  5. If you move a .cpl file back into the System32 folder, and Control Panel does not open, delete the file, or replace the file with a known, good .cpl file.

Additional Information

You can find the base Windows NT .cpl files on your Windows NT CD-ROM. The files are located in the i386 folder, and are denoted by ".CP_" (without quotation marks).

To expand these files:

  1. Insert your Windows NT CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
  3. At the prompt, type the following command:

expand CD-ROM drive:\i386\file_name.cp_ drive_letter:\temp\file_name.cpl

Where CD-ROM drive is the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive, file_name is the name of the .cpl file, and drive_letter is the drive letter where your Temp folder is located (for example, type expand e:\i386\ncpa.cp_ c:\temp\ncpa.cpl).

NOTE: You can also double-click each .cpl file to determine if it runs. When you double-click a .cpl file, the associated Control Panel tool runs.

Windows 95 and Windows 98

The .cpl files for Windows 95 and Windows 98 are located in the %SystemRoot\System folder.

  1. Create a new folder on your desktop called "temp" (without quotation marks). To do this, right click and empty area on your desktop, point to New, click Folder, and then type temp.
  2. Move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder and into the Temp folder that you created.
  3. Verify that Control Panel opens. Note that Control Panel does not contain icons after you move all of the .cpl files out of the System32 folder.
  4. Move the .cpl files back into the System32 folder, one at a time, and then open Control Panel after you move each file to verify that Control Panel opens.
  5. If you move a .cpl file back into the System32 folder, and Control Panel does not open, delete the file, or replace the file with a known, good .cpl file.

Additional Information

In Windows 98, all of the base Control Panel .cpl files are on your Windows 98 CD-ROM and are located in the compressed Win98_28.cab file.

In Windows 95, all of the base Control Panel .cpl files are on your Windows 95 CD-ROM and are located in the compressed Win95_11.cab file. However, the Inetcpl.cpl file is in the compressed Win95_09.cab file, and the Jetadmin.cpl file is in the compressed Win95_16.cab file.

For information about how to extract files for Windows 95 or Windows 98, please view the following Knowledge Base article:

129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

 

NOTE: You can also double-click each .cpl file to determine if it runs. When you double-click a .cpl file, the associated Control Panel tool runs.