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Sometimes when trying to change/disable the Windowws 10 pin or alter some other sign in options, the settings app in Windows 10 will freeze:

Frozen in this screen

How to solve this problem?

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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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Some services that have been stopped by user can make the freezing problem happen.

  1. Press 'Windows button' +"R" and Run "Services.msc"
  2. Start the service named "Credential Manager" (and make it 'autostart' for later case)
  3. Start the service named "Windows Biometric Service" (make it 'autostart' for later)
  4. Start the service named "Web Account Manager" (make it 'autostart')

Then, try opening the 'Sign-in Options" menu again.

For detailed screen shots, go to https://www.isumsoft.com/windows-10/sign-in-options-missing-from-login-screen.html

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  • thanks for the contribution. I previously posted this question and answered it myself to show how i solved it. You can look at my answer below and you'll see how I did it in my case. It's been a while (almost 6 months) since I had this issue, but I remember distinctly that I had all of these services you mentioned enabled and running. My issue was actually data corruption in the C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc folder. which corresponds to Windows' sign in options configs.
    – Ezequiel Barbosa
    Commented Jan 30, 2021 at 13:12
  • Ah, I see. I thought the person below was another person. For me, starting those related services solved my problem. Then, why don't you accept your own answer.
    – konahn
    Commented Jan 31, 2021 at 15:53
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The problem:

I found out two possible causes for this issue:

  1. The Credential Management service is disabled
  2. Incorrect/corrupt data or permissions C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc, the path where Windows stores the sign-in configuration

The Solution:

First try finding if the problem you have is the first. Press Win+R and type services.msc and find the service named "Credential Manager", double click it and check if the initialisation parameter is set to "Automatic". If it's not, that was the culprit, enable it, click ok and restart.

If that was not the case, go to %SystemRoot%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc and take ownership of the folder (taking ownership of folders and files is beyond the scope of this answer, but a tip if you're having trouble is to get SetACL, a handy permission manager for Windows, it's totally free - just remember to look for the serial key in the download page).

Once you've taken ownership of that folder you'll be able to see it's content. Enter it, delete whatever is in there, reboot.

Done!

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  • resetting NTFS-permissions for %SystemRoot%\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Ngc (it was empty) to make them inheritable and enabling autostart (with delay) for Credential Manager service fixed the issue in my case on Windows 10 21H1.
    – AntonK
    Commented Apr 16, 2022 at 20:20
  • it seems autostarting Credential Manager service isn't important in my case (the service is actually started on request by the system, so manual mode is OK). The Sign-in options "panel" appears with significant delay, and you can change the options, BUT... only once - the next time you open this panel it hangs, and you have to reboot. BTW the system also complains about faulting application svchost.exe_WbioSrvc (which is a kind of biometric service)
    – AntonK
    Commented Apr 17, 2022 at 10:39
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In my case (Windows 10 21H1) the issue with hanging Settings window when clicking Sign-in options was related to dysfunctional biometric service caused by crashing fingerprint driver (FocalTech fingerprint reader).
It was either incompatible with my hardware, or had internal bug.
I've uninstalled the software and after reboot the issue with Sign-in options doesn't happen any more. The Device manager now shows FT9201Fingerprint.̚ in Other devices and the fingerprint reader doesn't work, but I don't use it anyway, so it's a minor inconvenience.

The issue could be revealed in the Event Viewer:

Faulting application name: svchost.exe_WbioSrvc, version: 10.0.19041.546, time stamp: 0x058e175a
Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 10.0.19041.906, time stamp: 0x2f2f77bf
Exception code: 0xc0000409
...

The errors may look different in your case. It makes sense to check the Event Viewer for errors (especially for critical ones) before making any changes.

Before the "fix" I could open the Sign-in options panel (with a delay around 1 minute), but only once after reboot - the next time it just hangs, and you have to reboot to open it again.

Enabling autostart for the related services (Credential Manager, Windows Biometric Service, Web Account Manager) had no effect (actually these services can be started by the system on demand even in manual mode).

See also:

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Having experienced the 'hang' problem today in an attempt to use biometric login, I tried the services solution, then the Ngc folder solution but no luck with either.

Then inspired by @Antonk's comments I uninstalled the biometric device along with its drivers in the device manager, had it automatically re-detected and re-installed and... voila! I could immediately open the Windows Hello login options in Setup (actually the window, laying behind the device manager's, came from hang state to live instantly), add my fingerprint and use it for login and user authetication.

My laptop is a bit old: Lenovo Thinkpad T510 running Windows 10 22H2. A great machine. The built in fingerprint scanner stopped working upon upgrading Windows from the factory-installed 7 to 10 (the latest version of the driver available in Lenovo's support site is said to be compatible with Windows 8.1 x64 only). However, interestingly, my original fingerprint data were still there (don't ask me where) and usable.

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