How to Fix: MSConfig Stopped Responding, Access Denied, Not Found

Infopackets Reader Craig D. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

In the past I've used the msconfig utility many times to clear items from the Windows Startup. However, recently I tried to run msconfig and Windows reports that msconfig has stopped responding and my PC freezes. This is very frustrating! Any ideas why my msconfig stopped working? "

My response:

This is a very common problem, though you didn't say which Windows operating system you're using. As such, I'll provide solutions for Window XP and onward because most likely other users are having the same problem. Here are some of the most common error messages related to msconfig not working:

• msconfig stopped responding
• msconfig not found
• msconfig access denied

Please note: all sections below are cumulative; please execute all suggestions below in order to resolve the problem.

Problem: MSConfig Stopped Responding Error

The "msconfig stopped responding" error may be due to a dirty file system, virus infection, corrupt windows files, or insufficient access rights to run the msconfig utility (administrator access rights are required).

How to fix: MSConfig Stopped Responding Error

Scan the File System for Errors

A dirty file system can cause all sorts of problems which may be related to msconfig. As such, the first step is to scan your file system for errors. To do so: click Start, then go to My Computer / This Computer; right click C drive and select Properties. Go to the Tools tab and under the Error Checking heading, click on "Check now". Click Start on the proceeding window that opens up. You will have to reboot your computer to have Windows perform error checking on the C drive. If any errors are found it will be reported at the boot up screen.

Scan the System for Viruses

Many viruses will purposely delete msconfig from the system, or simply cause strange operating system errors. As such, you should scan your system to ensure it's virus free before proceeding with the rest of the instructions on this page. If you already have antivirus installed, make sure your virus definitions are up to date and then scan the entire hard drive (do not do a "quick" scan). If you don't have antivirus installed on your PC, you can get free antivirus online; I recommend Avast! antivirus or Grisoft AVG.

Scan and Fix Corrupt System Files

Corrupt operating system files can cause all kinds of strange Windows errors, often with cryptic error messages, system freezes -- including preventing msconfig from working properly. To scan the system and fix corrupt files you will need to open up a command prompt. To do so:

For Windows XP: click start -> run, then type in "cmd" and press Enter. A black command prompt window will appear; type in "sfc /scannow" (no quotes) and press Enter. Windows will begin scanning the system for errors. You may need your Windows XP CD to complete the scan.

For Windows Vista, 7 or 8: go to the Start menu and type in "command prompt" in the search box but do NOT press Enter on the keyboard. When the "command prompt" appears, right click it and "run as Administrator". A black command prompt window will appear; type in "sfc /scannow" (no quotes) and press Enter. Windows will begin scanning the system for errors. For Windows 8, continue on with the DISM tool after the SFC command has completed. To do so, type in "DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth" and press Enter.

Resolve Insufficient Access Rights (Administrator Access)

You need administrator access to run msconfig and this applies to all versions of Windows. This also means that your Windows user account must have "administrator" access level in order to run any command as the administrator (including the msconfig utility). If you don't have admin access rights, then msconfig won't work, or you will see an "access is denied" error, or msconfig will simply stop responding. Running msconfig as administrator requires a number of steps, depending on which version of Windows you're running.

For Windows XP: First, you need the latest service pack to help resolve the Windows XP msconfig insufficient access rights error. Following that, ensure that your Windows user account has Administrator access. To do so: go to Control Panel, then user accounts, and click on your user account and ensure it has Administrator access. Following that you should be able to run msconfig as the administrator. Click start -> run -> then type in "msconfig" (no quotes) and press Enter.

For Windows Vista, 7, and 8: Oftentimes users will receive the error "You do not have sufficient privileges to run system configuration. Please run this utility as a user in administrative group." if they don't have administrator access when trying to run msconfig. To ensure that your Windows user account has Administrator access, go to Control Panel, then user accounts, and click on your user account and ensure it has Administrator access. Now, try and run msconfig as the administrator user: click Start, then type in "msconfig" in the search box; do NOT press Enter; when msconfig shows up in the search box, right click it and select "Run as Administrator". Msconfig should now launch.

Problem: MSConfig Access Denied Error

The "msconfig access denied" error is most likely to do with either a virus infection, or your user account does not have administrator access which is required to run the msconfig utility.

How to fix: MSConfig Access Denied Error

To fix the "msconfig access denied" error, you will need to first scan your file system for errors, then scan your system for viruses, then scan and fix corrupt system files. Following that, you will need to ensure that you user has administrator access and then you should be able to run msconfig as an administrator user.

Problem: MSConfig Not Found Error

The "msconfig not found" error is most likely the result of a virus infection which purposely deleted the msconfig utility from your system.

How to fix: MSConfig Not Found Error

To fix "msconfig not found" error, you will need to first scan your file system for errors, then scan your system for viruses, then scan and fix corrupt system files. Following that, you will most likely need to copy the msconfig utility back onto your system. To do so, you will need to check for the msconfig file on your system as noted in the instructions below.

For Windows XP

For Windows XP, msconfig.exe is located at C:\Windows\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\msconfig.exe. To check if it's there: click Start and then click on My Computer. Go to the C drive and then navigate to C:\Windows\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries folder, and look for msconfig.exe. If you don't see it, you will need to extract a copy from your Windows XP CD.

To extract it from CD, open a command prompt and then enter the following commands:

EXPAND -R D:\I386\MSCONFIG.EX_ C:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\BINARIES

You will also likely need a Windows XP msconfig registry fix after expanding the msconfig file, as most virus infections will also corrupt the registry in addition to deleting it. In that case, download the msconfig registry fix and run it. Once that's finished you should be able to launch msconfig as an administrator user, assuming you have administrator access rights.

For Windows Vista, 7 and 8

For Windows Vista, 7, and 8, msconfig.exe is located at C:\Windows\System32\msconfig.exe. To check if it's there: click Start and then click on My Computer / This Computer. Go to the C drive and then navigate to C:\Windows\System32 folder, and look for msconfig.exe. If you don't see it, look for a second copy located in the C:\Windows\WinSXS folder. If you find it there, simply copy and paste msconfig.exe to the C:\Windows\System32 folder. If msconfig.exe isn't listed in the C:\Windows\WinSXS folder, you will need to extract a copy from your Windows DVD / install media.

To extract msconfig.exe from the Windows DVD, you will first need to download and install 7-Zip. Once that's done, go to My Computer / This Computer and right click over the Windows DVD and select "Explore". A Windows Explorer window will appear; navigate to the Sources folder, then double click the install.wim file, which will open up inside of 7-Zip. Inside the install.wim file you will find various numbered folders; double click to open any folder at this point, then navigate to Windows\System32 where you will find a copy of msconfig.exe. Simply right click over msconfig.exe and select Copy, then navigate to C:\windows\system32 and paste msconfig.exe into the folder. You should be able to launch msconfig as an administrator user, assuming you have administrator access rights.

Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!

I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question -- or even a computer problem that needs fixing -- please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.