Windows 11 system settings only temporarily applies changes - resets upon reboot

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T09:54:24-0400

Hi there,
My system settings are locked at a specific configuration, and any changes I make are reset upon restart. In my case, my taskbar behaviors won't save, keeping the 'Automatically hide the taskbar' option enabled despite continuously re-disabling it. A similar issue is happening with the slash lighting on the front plate of my Zephyrus G16, where it resets the lighting pattern to default upon restart.

What have I tried?
In trying to diagnose the issue myself, I've tried enabling the admin account and applying the changes through it. This did not work, which would suggest an OS issue.
To check for OS issues, I ran the sfc /scannowcommand as admin, but it only gave the output "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations".

That is where I am at now. Any help is appreciated!

Edit: Forgot to mention, I am using Windhawk to modify my Windows UI.

Windows Version Number: 24H2 (OS Build 26100.3476)

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T10:13:33-0400

AaronLennon said:
Hi there,
My system settings are locked at a specific configuration, and any changes I make are reset upon restart. In my case, my taskbar behaviors won't save, keeping the 'Automatically hide the taskbar' option enabled despite continuously re-disabling it. A similar issue is happening with the slash lighting on the front plate of my Zephyrus G16, where it resets the lighting pattern to default upon restart.

What have I tried?
In trying to diagnose the issue myself, I've tried enabling the admin account and applying the changes through it. This did not work, which would suggest an OS issue.
To check for OS issues, I ran the sfc /scannowcommand as admin, but it only gave the output "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations".

That is where I am at now. Any help is appreciated!

Windows Version Number: 24H2 (OS Build 26100.3476)

You don't mention it in your post, but are you using any 3rd party applications for modifying Windows behavior or settings?

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T10:17:25-0400

Sir_George said:
You don't mention it in your post, but are you using any 3rd party applications for modifying Windows behavior or settings?

Right that's an important detail I forgot to mention, I'm using Windhawk for UI modifications. Although as far as I can remember, the issue started a little after setting up Windhawk, so I didn't consider a direct correlation at the time.

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T10:26:53-0400

AaronLennon said:
Right that's an important detail I forgot to mention, I'm using Windhawk for UI modifications. Although as far as I can remember, the issue started a little after setting up Windhawk, so I didn't consider a direct correlation at the time.

You could uninstall Windhawk and check the results. I would start by making a full backup up the system as it is currently and then uninstall the app. The instructions for uninstalling per their website; To uninstall Windhawk, you can go to your computer's settings, find the list of installed programs, select Windhawk, and choose the uninstall option. If you want to keep your settings and mods, make sure to follow the prompts carefully during the uninstallation process.
PS: I use Revo Uninstaller for removing apps to insure a more complete removal, of course, it's up to you.

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T10:55:10-0400

Sir_George said:
You could uninstall Windhawk and check the results. I would start by making a full backup up the system as it is currently and then uninstall the app. The instructions for uninstalling per their website; To uninstall Windhawk, you can go to your computer's settings, find the list of installed programs, select Windhawk, and choose the uninstall option. If you want to keep your settings and mods, make sure to follow the prompts carefully during the uninstallation process.
PS: I use Revo Uninstaller for removing apps to insure a more complete removal, of course, it's up to you.

I used Revo Uninstaller as suggested and uninstalled Windhawk entirely. I just restarted, and the issue persists sadly.

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T11:04:58-0400

AaronLennon said:
I used Revo Uninstaller as suggested and uninstalled Windhawk entirely. I just restarted, and the issue persists sadly.

Well, so much for my first suggestion. You can try using DISM to repair system files;
Step 1: Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges. You can do this by searching for cmd in the Windows search, right-clicking on "Command Prompt," and selecting "Run as administrator."
Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, type or copy the following command and press Enter to scan for file corruption:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
( it can take awhile for the process to complete, so be patient))

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T11:12:44-0400

Sir_George said:
Well, so much for my first suggestion. You can try using DISM to repair system files;
Step 1: Open Command Prompt with administrative privileges. You can do this by searching for cmd in the Windows search, right-clicking on "Command Prompt," and selecting "Run as administrator."
Step 2: In the Command Prompt window, type or copy the following command and press Enter to scan for file corruption:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
( it can take awhile for the process to complete, so be patient))

According to the output of that command, "The component store is repairable".
I wasn't sure if the command was supposed to repair automatically, so I reran it to see the output, and it was the same.

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T11:19:30-0400

AaronLennon said:
According to the output of that command, "The component store is repairable".
I wasn't sure if the command was supposed to repair automatically, so I reran it to see the output, and it was the same.

If you haven't already, restart the system. Then try running SFC again and check the results.

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T11:39:00-0400

Sir_George said:
If you haven't already, restart the system. Then try running SFC again and check the results.

Not sure if I'm just being impatient, but I restarted and reran the command, it got to 61.3%, and then completely stopped for over 5 minutes. Decided to close the terminal and retry, and now the command wont even start to work, with it stuck at the point before the progress bar displays. The command is still working too because I cant type in the terminal.

OAT · 2025-03-22T11:42:33-0400

AaronLennon said:
Not sure if I'm just being impatient....Decided to close the terminal and retry,

You were and should not have closed the terminal.
You must reboot and try again.

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T11:51:40-0400

AaronLennon said:
Not sure if I'm just being impatient, but I restarted and reran the command, it got to 61.3%, and then completely stopped for over 5 minutes. Decided to close the terminal and retry, and now the command wont even start to work, with it stuck at the point before the progress bar displays. The command is still working too because I cant type in the terminal.

The post from OAT is correct, if you just mistyped the 61.3% and meant it to be 62.3%. The pause at 62.3% is a known issue and can take quite awhile to proceed.

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T11:54:18-0400

Sir_George said:
I have encountered stuck at 62.3%...is that what you meant? It is a known issue and many times the process will complete over a period of time, which can be lengthy! If, at some point you don't want to wait any longer, visit the site listed below for additional help;

Sorry yes, it was and is currently stuck at 62.3% If it is still working away then Ill probably just let it run, so long as it won't take multiple hours...

OAT · 2025-03-22T11:55:07-0400

Sir_George said:
I have encountered stuck at 62.3%...is that what you meant? It is a known issue and many times the process will complete over a period of time, which can be lengthy! If, at some point you don't want to wait any longer, visit the site listed below for additional help;

@AaronLennon, Go and do something else otherwise it may seem endless if you wait.

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T17:02:51-0400

Sir_George said:
The post from OAT is correct, if you just mistyped the 61.3% and meant it to be 62.3%. The pause at 62.3% is a known issue and can take quite awhile to proceed.

Just an update, it's been at 62.3% for 5 hours now...

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T17:23:43-0400

AaronLennon said:
Just an update, it's been at 62.3% for 5 hours now...

I believe, when I encountered the issue on my wife's computer, it took overnight to complete or about 9 hours.

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T17:25:36-0400

Sir_George said:
I believe, when I encountered the issue on my wife's computer, it took overnight to complete or about 9 hours.

Oh man, thats long. What exactly is it doing?

Sir_George · 2025-03-22T19:17:11-0400

AaronLennon said:
Oh man, thats long. What exactly is it doing?

To the best of my knowledge, when it gets stuck at 62.3% most likely Windows Update is struggling to retrieve some repair files. If it is still running, try visiting the website;

AaronLennon · 2025-03-22T20:06:11-0400

Sir_George said:
To the best of my knowledge, when it gets stuck at 62.3% most likely Windows Update is struggling to retrieve some repair files. If it is still running, try visiting the website;

So I watched that video and at the end it said to double press esc if the first method didn't work. Doing this immediately made the bar jump to 77%, and then 100%. After it had completed the process, I restarted, but no luck. The issue persists.

antspants · 2025-03-22T21:24:12-0400

AaronLennon said:
Edit: Forgot to mention, I am using Windhawk to modify my Windows UI.

Any mods used can cause adverse issues. Removing Windhawk is one thing, but did it permanently change registry entries or something, is another.

I’d suggest a repair install in-place upgrade:

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...

www.elevenforum.com

dacrone · 2025-03-22T22:31:44-0400

antspants said:
Any mods used can cause adverse issues. Removing Windhawk is one thing, but did it permanently change registry entries or something, is another.

I’d suggest a repair install in-place upgrade:

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...

www.elevenforum.com

definitely wouldn't have been windhawk. windhawk only injects c++ temporarily while running. it doesn't change any system files. @AaronLennon any other mods been made? reg/gpo/manually replacing dll or other system files?

Windows 11 system settings only temporarily applies changes - resets upon reboot

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