Microsoft added Dark Mode in the newer edition of the Windows 10 operating system, and it works smoothly on most of the computers. Many consumers are reporting that Windows 10 Dark Mode is not working and the File Explorer remains white all the time. You can solve the problem because it isn’t a major drawback.
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1. Windows Theme
Microsoft rolled out the update some time ago, but it is not working properly in many copies of the operating system. Several consumers have reported that they solved the problem (temporarily) by applying the theme again. If you are not using the default theme, then this is the solution, and you can change the wallpaper to the default one, which is another trick to solve it.
Step 1: Press Windows key + X and then click on “Settings” to begin the process.
Step 2: The settings window shows up on the screen and then clicks on “Personalization” to continue.
Step 3: Select “Themes” and click on the default theme from the “Change Theme” panel.
Or,
You can change the wallpaper to the default version if you are already using the default theme.
Overall, you have two options here, and you can either switch to the default theme for a few minutes or change the wallpaper to the default one.
2. Update Windows 10
Yes, I mean it you have to update the Windows edition to the latest build version. I have been in that position, where I was forced to upgrade to the latest build version through the “Assistant” program. Windows 10 launched in 2015 making it 5-years old operating system and plenty of things have changed throughout the years.
Sometimes Windows update does push build version updates.
But,
I’m not talking about “Windows Update” and I’m talking about Microsoft’s “Update Assistant” that upgrades the firmware. I want to clear as possible that this is a time-consuming process because I had to wait for 12-hours for the entire upgrade process to complete on a low-end laptop.
Laptop Specifications:
Processor: AMD A4-6210 clocked at 1.8GHz – This is a low-end processor, so I cannot complain.
RAM: 4GB DDR3L (3.46GB usable)
HDD: 1TB (5200RPM) – I went through 100% utilization nightmare.
Architecture: Windows 10 64-bit OS.
I had layout the specifications as the majority of the Windows consumers are on low-end or mid-range rigs. Overall, I went through a hard time because I did not know how much longer I had to wait. Of course, everything worked perfectly and normally after the upgrade.
3. Corrupted System Files
I installed fresh Windows 10 using Microsoft Media Tool and I did not expect some of the system files were corrupted within a week. Don’t get surprised or assume that your copy of the operating system is fresh and doing well in most cases. We don’t realize the flaws until or unless specific errors show up on our screen, and this is one of them.
Step 1: Press Windows key + S and then open “CMD” as administrator.
Step 2: Type “sfc /scannow” and hit enter. Be patient throughout the process because it consumes 10 minutes to 20 minutes to complete the process on the older machines.
Step 3: You can monitor the scanning from 0% to 100% and it takes some time.
Step 4: Microsoft inbuilt tool will fix the corrupted files if it finds any. I have also encountered a result, where Windows detected the corrupted files but could not fix it.
Do not run any other applications in the background and pause the work until the scanning finishes. I’m asking you to stop the work because some of the applications won’t work and goes in to “Not Responding” mode. If Windows could not fix the corrupted system files, then reinstall the fresh OS. In the past, I have tried many software fixes but it didn’t help at all, and I was forced to install a fresh copy of the operating system.
4. Apply Dark Mode using Registry
Administrators can force the software to apply Dark Mode on desktop using key element “Regedit” and that’s what we are going to do now.
Step 1: Open the “Regedit” run application or search bar.
Step 2: Go to this location (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize) or copy and paste the location similar to the web browser, and hit enter to reach it.
Step 3: Double-click to open “AppsUseLightTheme” from the window.
Step 4: Change the number from 1 to 0 and then click on “Ok” to save changes, and then exit the window.
Step 5: Windows 10 Dark Mode enabled.
You can reboot the computer for the previous session data to be dumped in the trash can and start a new session. The Regedit method worked in my case and Dark Mode is enabled, and you can disable Dark Mode by changing the number from 0 to 1.
Bottom Line
I want to inform the readers that Windows Upgrade & Windows Update is the permanent solution. However, I do want to notify the readers that Microsoft is pushing unstable updates recently, which could land your PC in trouble. For instance, the latest 2004 build version has plenty of bugs and non-working features Cortana (in some countries it’s not working), so make sure to look out for it.
