How to fix a Windows Terminal startup issue
Microsoft released Windows Terminal 1.16 Stable and Windows Terminal 1.17 Preview earlier this week. It appears that the stable release has a bug that prevents it from starting. Windows Terminal is the default command line application on Windows 11.
The issue is caused by a setting in Terminal that is off by default. In short: Terminal needs to have been updated to version 1.16 and the setting needs to have been enabled in the past for the issue to occur.
Windows Terminal may be updated via the Microsoft Store or manually, depending on the installation source.
According to our colleagues over at Deskmodder, the issue is caused by Windows Terminal's "run as administrator" setting for the active profile. Profiles include Microsoft PowerShell, the Command Prompt, Linux terminal and others.
The issue affects any profile that is set to run as administrator. There are two workarounds for the issue.
Getting Windows Terminal to start up again
If one of the available profiles is not configured to start with elevated privileges, then it can be used to open Terminal and modify the preference in any profile that is affected by the issue.
PowerShell is the default profile and it may not run anymore because the "run this profile as administrator" setting was activated. Command Prompt, on the other hand, may start fine. To launch it, simply type cmd.exe in Start and select the Command Prompt result.
Terminal should start fine in this case. Now repeat the following steps for any Windows Terminal profile that is not starting on Windows:
- Select the drop-down arrow icon in the tab bar and then Settings from the menu
- Select one of the available profiles under "Profiles".
- Toggle the setting "Run this profile as Administrator" to off.
- Activate the save button to save the change.
Windows Terminal should startup up normally after the change has been made.
Windows Terminal can't be started anymore
The situation is more problematic if Windows Terminal can't be started anymore, because there is no profile with the administrator preference set to off.
Here is the workaround for that situation:
- Load %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState in the File Explorer address bar.
- Create a backup copy of the file settings.json.
- Open the file settings.json with an editor, e.g., Notepad, and search for "elevate": true,.
- Change true to false in all cases and save the file.
Windows Terminal should start up fine afterwards.
Windows 11 lists the version of Windows Terminal under Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.
Now You: do you use Windows Terminal?
There is not still W11 23H2 and these instructions are nonsense by now. :[
It worked for me just fine. You’re probably not following the instructions clearly.
Just tried the password option and the OOBE option and didnt work.
Worked perfectly. Thank OP.
Worked perfectly for me just now. Specifically, the regedit option.
Is this cut and paste from a Microsoft PR paper, because it 1000% BS:
“By listening to user insights, Microsoft has demonstrated its commitment to refining the Windows experience based on real-world needs.”
Windows 11 is proof they don’t give a s*it.
Worked for me just now
I agree! Windows 11 was a downgrade to me and I kept all 8 computers in our family on Windows 10 as a result. They didn’t listen to any customers. The taskbar was THE main reason I stayed away from Windows 11. With 6 monitors, it is impossible to navigate so many browser tabs, without the feature. I will try the new version in the virtual box to see if it is worth it yet.
Microsoft did a terrible job with this implementation.
They simply need to employ the creator of StartAllBack to fix Windows. He is smarter and more talented than the entire campus of Microsoft employees.
lol
Thank you so much! I work in IT and this is extremely useful information!
Thanks man. The second method worked great!
I used the second method, and i got exactly what i expected.
Using the Bypass 2: Use a banned email address email worked fantastically as I had gone to far to use the bypass 1.
I will be back when I next have a problem.
Keep you the great work
W11 File Explorer is the worst crap ever done. W11 is the biggest shame ever.
Just one more reason for me to go to Linux when Windows 10 ages out.
@ MarineRecon,
Be careful which Linux distro you choose. Some of them don’t include the Wayland protocol which is a security issue i.e. apps can copy, paste and inject data without user interaction.
It’s included in Fedora: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/latest/system-administrators-guide/Wayland/
How about a DARK MODE for your website? That would be oh so nice.
Something like this : [https://img.justpaste.me/image/8617] maybe?
Done with ‘Dark Reader Extension for ? Firefox’ [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/darkreader/]
This comment was written on [https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-installation-has-failed-how-to-fix-this-upgrade-error/#comment-4573155}
Definitely NOT! Once you get older and your eyesight starts to fail you’ll positively loathe dark mode.
Microsoft completely ruined File Explorer by converting to XAML/WinUI/whatever new bloated modern garbage. Its worse than it ever was.
i tested it on win10 current edition. speeds up explorer like a charm
SO what is the priority numbers to give preference to ethernet over wireless?
Worked very well happy to have Windows Photo Viewer back in action in Windows-11
Worked for me (registry option) thank god, I can use the search option to find things on my computer again. Thank you so much!
Install Everything Search and dispense with Microsoft’s crappy search tool. https://www.voidtools.com/
Martin wrote an article on it: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/10/09/add-everything-search-to-the-windows-taskbar-for-even-faster-searches/
I presume the text “WindowsCopilot,,” is a typographical error (2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/). The broken comment system unfortunately looks like it is populating itself via AI autopilot.
Hopefully, this Windows Copilot nonsense fails even more spectacularly than Cortana. Who requested this? We want all of the UX features removed back in 11, not this copilot nonsense.
I really don’t mind all of these Windows enhancement but Microsoft get one thing very wrong. ‘Opt in’, is far better than seek information and work to disable.
Turn off Windows Copilot entirely is not good enough.
How to uninstall Copilot entirely ?
@ ilev,
Use Gpedit or the registry. Explained in this article: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/17/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows/
With that snake oil salesman Panos gone, hopefully Windows can return to a normal desktop operating system without all the insanity it has right now in Windows 11.
Can we please stop being ‘politically correct’ (lying) and call them ads again instead of ‘suggestions’?
This is why I use windows 11 N.