Now we'll just have to see how long Microsoft takes to fix it. It would seem as if the association of the protocol is removed when closing the Settings app, followed by a brief window until it is re-associated by something else in the background. I have at times been able to reproduce it through using Run to launch ms-settings: as well (second error message). So far I haven't been able to determine what exactly is causing the bug. This article broadly covered the following related topics: windows 10 settings wont open windows 10 settings command line windows cannot find ms-settings. Takes about 2-3 times to successfully reproduce for me. Just right click on desktop and click either Display settings or Personalize, then when the Settings app opens just close it immediately, followed by trying to open the Settings menu again through the same procedure.

The bug has been a part of Windows 10 for a while and is quite easy to reproduce. It seems as if the association of ms-settings protocol (seems to be used to open sections in the Settings app) is sometimes disassociated for some reason upon closing the Settings app.

Windows cannot find ms settings