There are situations, especially while using Windows 10 gen OS (Windows 2016+ Servers included) a user might not able to type inside
- Windows Search Textbox
- WIFI Password Textbox
For some strange reasons, typing inside these text boxes are supported by “CTF Loader”(C:\Windows\System32\ctfmon.exe)” & that is loaded into computer’s memory normally after a restart/reboot.
This is facilitated by one of the Windows Tasks & certain attempts like using KMSPICO tool to activate Microsoft software, which is ILLEGAL and many times breaks this Task.
So, how do we fix it? There are two different approaches
- Rebuild the Task
- Using Registry
We’ll see both methods in detail now.
1# Rebuild the Task
If the KMSpico tool or other reason corrupts the Task, you will not find any entries in the folder “TextServicesFramework”
when an intact task should look like below
So how do we recreate this task, that is a custom handler?
Browse to “C:\WINDOWS\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\TextServicesFramework” & check whether you can find a file “MsCtfMonitor” inside the folder. If you cannot find the file in this folder, copy the file from another Windows machine that has the same version.
Copy the file to desktop and add the extension “.xml” to it.
Opening the file with notepad or another text editor should look like the following:
Go back to Task Scheduler and right click on “TextServiceFramework” and select “Import Task”
Point to the xml file that you have created in the desktop & apply. This should create a new task under the folder “TextServiceFramework”
Restart and confirm you can type in the search box and WIFI password text boxes. Alternatively you can use the Task Manager to check whether “CTF Loader” has been loaded.
2# Registry
Remember, registry entries might get removed through updates/new versions. However, as a temporary measure you can use the following hack to address the keyboard issues.
Make a full backup for the Registry. You must know, tampering registry could force you to a fresh installation of the OS!
Once a full backup for the Registry is made, browse to “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run”
Create a new string key and call it anything that you want. Example
I have called the string key as “CTFLoader” and for the Value make sure to enter “ctfmon”=”CTFMON.EXE”
Reboot the computer and check whether the typing issues resolved. Alternatively use Task Manager to check whether CTF Loader has been loaded.
Although both fix the typing issues, the right way is to recreate the missing Task. Choose wisely & don’t pirate! We know many interesting software are pricely and many of us cannot afford them. There are free alternatives for maximum pirated software like
And many more software that you need for Office/School/Home works! Piracy not only breaks the businesses that develop them, helps cyber criminals to unleash attacks like Ransomware through serial number generators and patches.
Hope this has helped you today.