Fix DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in Windows

Spending a large amount of time working or gaming in front of the computer can take a toll on your health. And as someone who indeed spends a large amount of time in front of the computer, I would like to share some insights about how can you be happy and healthy at the same time by incorporating some practices and habits.

Get good chair

This is first on the list because it matters the most. A proper sitting chair is essential for back health. If your budget allows it, do yourself a favor and get an anatomic sitting chair or gaming chair with lumbar support. It costs but it is worth it.

Learn to sit properly

As the important chair is, sitting properly is also as important as much. Your spine believe it or not is a very important part of your body and you need to take care of it. Sadly long periods of sitting sessions are bad for muscles around the spine that could reflect on the spine itself. Keep your back straight and keep your head not down nor up, place it in a position like when you are walking so the spine that is going from your head is in line with the spine on your back.

Stretch

By medical standards, each hour of sitting should be accompanied by a stretch session since sitting itself is placing too much pressure on certain muscles and blood circulation is lowered. Changing leg position and doing just a little stretch each hour can be really beneficial for your health in long run.

Take breaks

Yes, playing games is fun and most of the time we do not want to stop playing, especially if we are winning but taking breaks is essential for your personal health. Old saying goes that overdoing anything is bad and this applies true even to things that we do for pleasure and relaxation. Take periodic breaks to stretch, stand up and maybe even walk just a little.

Drink water

During long work hours or long gaming sessions, it is not uncommon that we are so focused on our activity that we forget to take our water intake. Approximately 2liters of water per day is needed for an adult person to function properly during that day and if you spend long times in front of a PC do not forget to drink water.

Do not neglect your daily tasks

As enjoyable as it is gaming can make us forget about our daily tasks, do not neglect your life and your tasks. Remember, gaming is only OK if it does not interfere with the daily things that you need to do. Do not postpone going for groceries because of gaming, do not switch shower for another level in the game. Do all of the things you must do first and then sit and game.

Take care of yourself mentally

Having mental health is as important as having a physical one. Playing games is fun, but playing games with someone is even better, do not forget to socialize and invite some friends so you can share some fun times together. Also, detach yourself from outcomes that will come because of gaming, this is very important for gamers that do a lot of PVP games and get annoyed and angry when they lose or when some other player is talking trash. Remember, gaming is for you to relax and enjoy, not to stress you.

Updating your Windows 10 computer isn’t always as easy as it should be since there are times when you might encounter some errors along the way. One of these errors is the error code 0x80246017 that comes with the error message “WU_E_DM_UNAUTHORIZED_LOCAL_USER”. According to Microsoft, the cause of this particular Windows Update error is that “The download failed because the local user was denied authorization to download the content”. So if you got this error when you tried updating your computer, read on as this post will provide you some suggestions on how you can fix it. Before you troubleshoot the problem using the options given below, make sure that you are logged in as administrator. If you are already logged in as an administrator, follow each one of the options carefully.

Option 1 – Try to check the status of some Windows Update Services

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is as follows:
  • Windows Update – Manual (Triggered)
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service – Manual
• After that, check if the Service status of the listed services above is set to Running. If they’re not, click on the Start button to start these services and then check if you can now enable the Windows Update service or not.

Option 2 – Try to grant Full Control of the System Volume Information directory

• First, tap the Win + X key combination and then select Command Prompt (Admin) from the given menu.
• After opening Command Prompt with admin privileges, type the following command and tap Enter to execute it:

c md.exe /c takeown /f "C:System Volume Information*" /R /D Y && icacls "C:System Volume Information*" /grant:R SYSTEM:F /T /C /L

• Once the command is executed, it will run a batch of tasks and will show each one of their statuses on the command line window and once they’re done, exit Command Prompt.
• Now restart your computer and see if it fixed the problem or not.

Option 3 – Try to disable your antivirus program or Firewall

Disabling the antivirus program or Firewall or any other security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when the Windows Update process does not go smoothly. So before you try updating your computer again, make sure to disable the antivirus or security program and once the Windows Update is done, don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 4 – Try running the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the Windows Update error. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• After that, wait until the process is finished and do not close the window as the process will probably take a couple of minutes.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Option 5– Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

If the DISM tool didn’t work in fixing the error, you could also try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing any issues related to Windows Update including the Windows Update error code 0x80246017. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 6 – Run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

Running Microsoft’s online troubleshooter might also help you fix the Windows Update error code 0x80246017. This online troubleshooter is known to help in fixing Windows Update errors, it scans your computer for issues that might be causing the problem and then fixes them automatically.

The ntkrnlmp.exe file is a file associated with the Windows operating system’s NT Kernel and other system processes. It is also related to the “CRITICAL PROCESS DIED” error. So if you encounter a Blue Screen of Death error that’s related to this file, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing the ntkrnlmp.exe Blue Screen error. This kind of Blue Screen error might be caused by the file getting corrupted or infected with some malware. Aside from these causes, the error might also be due to the corruption and malfunction of the graphics card drivers. Before you troubleshoot the problem, you might want to try performing System Restore especially if you tend to create a System Restore point every now and then. Performing System Restore could help you resolve the ntkrnlmp.exe Stop error. You can do this option either by booting into Safe Mode or in System Restore. If you are already in the Advanced Startup Options, just directly select System Restore and proceed with the next steps. And if you have just booted your PC into Safe Mode, refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

If System Restore didn’t help, then proceed to the given options below.

Option 1 – Disable the C-states and EIST in the BIOS

The first thing you can do is try to disable the C-states and EIST in the BIOS. To do that, refer to the steps given below.

• Go to the BIOS and from there look for an option named CPU Configuration which can usually be found under the Advanced menu.
• Next, look for CPU Power Management and under that section, disable both the “Intel EIST” and “Intel C-state” options.
• After you disable them, save the changes you’ve made and exit the BIOS.
• Now restart your computer and check if the ntkrnlmp.exe BSOD error is now fixed.

Option 2 – Try to update, rollback or disable drivers

If the first option didn’t help in fixing the ntkrnlmp.exe Blue Screen error the next thing you can do is to roll back, or update, or disable device drivers in your computer. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 3 – Configure the Driver Verifier Manager

The Driver Verifier Manager is another tool in Windows that could help you fix driver-related issues. And so if you want to fix the ntkrnlmp.exe Blue Screen error you need to use the Driver Verifier Manager:

• Type in the keyword “Verifier” in the Cortana search box to search for Verifier in Windows 10.
• After that, select the option “Create custom settings”.
• Make sure that you have checked everything except the options “DDI compliance checking” and “Randomized low resources simulation”.
• Next, select the option “Select driver names from a list” option.
• Afterward, you have to select all the drivers from any unofficial or third-party provider. To simply put it, you have to select all the drivers that are not supplied by Microsoft.
• Then click on the Finish button.
• Open Command Prompt as administrator and execute this command – verifier /querysettings
• The command you just executed will display the Driver Verifier settings so if you see any of the flags enabled boot your Windows 10 PC into Safe Mode.
• Open the Command Prompt as admin again and run this command – verifier /reset
• The command will reset the Driver Verifier. Once the process is done, restart your PC and check.

Option 4 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like ntkrnlmp.exe. It can be found on the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

HomeworkSimplified is a Browser Hijacking extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark. This extension will set your home page and new tab to MyWay.com.

From the Terms of Use: As part of the download process for the Toolbar, you may be given the option to reset your Internet browser’s homepage to an Ask homepage product and/or reset your new tab page to an Ask new tab product. If you do not wish to reset your homepage and/or new tab page to the Ask homepage and/or Ask new tab product(s), you can decline/opt-out of these features by checking or unchecking the appropriate box(es) during the download process for the Toolbar. While installing this extension monitors user browsing activity and sends it back to Mindspark servers, where they are later used/sold to better target and inject unwanted ads and sponsored content into your browsing sessions.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is regarded as the web’s constant danger that targets web browsers. It is a kind of malware program that redirects the web browser requests to some other suspicious websites. Browser hijacker malware is developed for numerous reasons. Typically, browser hijacking is used for earning advertising revenue that comes from forced ad clicks and website visits. It may appear harmless, but the majority of such websites are not legitimate and will pose a major threat to your online safety. Additionally, hijackers will make the whole infected system vulnerable – other harmful malware and viruses will take hold of these opportunities to get into your computer effortlessly.

Indications of browser hijack

The typical signs that signify having this malicious software on your computer are: 1. your homepage is reset to some mysterious website 2. you observe new unwanted bookmarks or favorites added, usually directed to advertisement-filled or pornography sites 3. the default search engine is changed and the web browser security settings have been brought down without your knowledge 4. you’re getting new toolbars you have never seen before 5. you may notice numerous pop-up adverts on your computer screen 6. your browser has instability problems or exhibits frequent errors 7. you’ve prohibited entry to certain web pages, including the website of an anti-malware software developer like SafeBytes.

How they get into your computer or laptop

There are several ways your computer can become infected by a browser hijacker. They usually arrive through spam e-mail, via file-sharing networks, or by a drive-by download. They are generally included with toolbars, add-ons, BHO, plug-ins, or browser extensions. Browser hijackers sneak into your pc along with free software application downloads also that you unwittingly install alongside the original. Typical examples of browser hijackers include CoolWebSearch, Conduit, OneWebSearch, Coupon Server, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com. Browser hijacking may lead to serious privacy issues and also identity theft, disrupt your browsing experience by taking control of outbound traffic, considerably slows down your computer or laptop by depleting a lot of system resources and result in system instability as well.

How you can get rid of a browser hijacker

Some kinds of browser hijackers can be removed from the computer by uninstalling malicious software programs or any other recently added shareware. But, certain hijackers are very hard to identify or remove since they might get themselves connected with certain crucial system files which allow it to operate as a necessary operating system process. You should think about undertaking manual repairs only if you happen to be a tech-savvy individual, as potential risks are associated with tinkering with the system registry and HOSTS file. You might opt for automatic browser hijacker removal by just installing and running an efficient anti-malware application. To eradicate any browser hijacker from your computer, you should download this certified malware removal application – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Employ a system optimizer (like Total System Care) together with your anti-malware software to correct various computer registry issues, eliminate system vulnerabilities, and boost your computer overall performance

How To Get Eliminate Virus That Is Preventing Anti-Malware Downloads?

All malware is inherently harmful, but certain kinds of malware do a lot more damage to your computer than others. Some malware variants modify web browser settings by adding a proxy server or change the PC’s DNS configurations. In these instances, you will be unable to visit some or all of the websites, and thus not able to download or install the necessary security software to remove the malware. If you’re reading this article, you may have got affected by malware that prevents you from downloading a security application like Safebytes Antimalware on your PC. Do as instructed below to eliminate malware in alternate ways.

Get rid of viruses in Safe Mode

The Windows-based PC includes a special mode known as “Safe Mode” where only the bare minimum required applications and services are loaded. In the event the malware is blocking access to the internet and affecting your PC, launching it in Safe Mode enables you to download anti-virus and run a diagnostic scan whilst limiting possible damage. In order to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press the F8 key while the system is booting up or run MSCONFIG and locate the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you are in Safe Mode, you can attempt to install your antivirus application without the hindrance of the malware. At this point, you can run the antivirus scan to remove viruses and malware without any hindrance from another application.

Switch over to an alternative browser

Certain viruses might target vulnerabilities of a particular web browser that obstruct the downloading process. If you are not able to download the security application using Internet Explorer, this means the virus may be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you must switch over to another browser such as Chrome or Firefox to download the Safebytes Anti-malware program.

Install anti-malware on a USB drive

Another option is to store and run an anti-malware software program entirely from a Pen drive. Adopt these measures to use a USB drive to fix your infected computer system. 1) Make use of another virus-free computer to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Mount the pen drive on the same computer. 3) Double click on the exe file to run the installation wizard. 4) Select the flash drive as the destination for saving the file. Follow the activation instructions. 5) Now, transfer the pen drive to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the EXE file to open the Safebytes tool right from the thumb drive. 7) Click on the “Scan” button to run a full system scan and remove malware automatically.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware - More Protection For You Personally

If you’re looking to install anti-malware software for your PC, there are plenty of tools on the market to consider but you cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is free or paid software. A few of them are good, some are ok types, while some will harm your computer themselves! You need to be careful not to select the wrong product, particularly if you purchase a premium application. While considering the dependable programs, Safebytes AntiMalware is certainly the strongly recommended one. SafeBytes anti-malware is a highly effective and user-friendly protection tool that is made for end-users of all levels of computer literacy. With its outstanding protection system, this software will easily detect and remove most of the security threats, including adware, viruses, browser hijackers, ransomware, PUPs, and trojans.

SafeBytes possesses a plethora of wonderful features that can help you protect your PC from malware attack and damage. Listed below are some of the best ones:

Real-time Active Protection: SafeBytes provides an entirely hands-free live protection and is set to check, prevent and remove all computer threats at its first encounter. It’ll regularly monitor your computer for hacker activity and also provides users with superior firewall protection. Anti-Malware Protection: This deep-cleaning antimalware application goes much deeper than most anti-virus tools to clean out your PC. Its critically acclaimed virus engine detects and disables hard-to-remove malware that conceals deep inside your PC. Website Filtering: SafeBytes gives an instant safety rating to the web pages you are going to visit, automatically blocking harmful sites and ensuring that you’re certain of your safety while browsing the world wide web. Light-weight: SafeBytes is a lightweight and easy-to-use antivirus and antimalware solution. Since it utilizes low computer resources, this application leaves the computer’s power exactly where it belongs to: with you actually. Premium Support: You will get 24/7 technical support to quickly resolve any issue with your security application. On the whole, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is a solid program since it has lots of features and can identify and eliminate any potential threats. You can be sure that your PC will be protected in real-time once you put this tool to use. For the best protection and the best value for your money, you can’t get better than SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you’d like to manually get rid of Homework Simplified without using an automated tool, it might be possible to do so by removing the application from the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of web browser extensions, going to the browser’s AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You’ll likely also want to reset your web browser. To ensure the complete removal, find the following Windows registry entries on your computer and eliminate them or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for experienced users only and could be difficult, with wrong file removal causing additional PC errors. Furthermore, some malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to eliminate. Carrying out this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is suggested.

If your Windows 10 computer is having problems connecting to a wireless network and it takes too long to respond and only keeps on displaying the “Checking network requirements”, then you’ve come to the right place as this place will walk you through fixing the problem. There are two things that can happen when your computer connects to a wireless network. Windows can either connect to the wireless network successfully or return an error message that says, “Cannot connect to the network. However, if none of these things happened, and it only remains at the “Checking network requirements” message, then it could be due to obsolete or incompatible drivers in your computer, particularly the network adapter drivers. To fix this problem, you can try to update or reinstall these drivers, reset the TCP/IP, or run the Network Adapter troubleshooter, as well as reset the Network. For more information, refer to the given options below.

Option 1 – Update the Network Adapter drivers

The first thing you can do to resolve the problem is to update the Network Adapter drivers by following these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “devmgmt.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand them.
• Look for the Broadcom Network Adapter and right-click on it, as well as other network adapters that have an exclamation icon, and update them all.
• Restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the problem.

Note: If updating the network drivers didn’t help in fixing the problem, you can also try to uninstall the very same drivers and restart your Windows 10 PC. After that, the system itself will reinstall the drivers you just uninstalled. Alternatively, you can also download and install the drivers from the manufacturer’s website directly. To reinstall the network adapter drivers, refer to these steps:

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Option 2 – Try to reset the TCP/IP

As you know, the TCP/IP or the Internet Protocol is the most important thing if you want to use the internet on your computer. That’s why if it ends up getting corrupted, you need to reset the TCP/IP to fix the problem. To reset TCP/IP, refer to these steps:

• In the Windows start the search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.
• Then select the “Run as administrator” option to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, execute this command: netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt
• Once it’s done, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer and then check if the error is now fixed.

Option 3 – Run the Network Adapter troubleshooter

To run the Network Troubleshooter, refer to these steps:

• Open the Search bar on your computer and type in “troubleshoot” to open the Troubleshoot settings.
• Next, scroll down and select the “Network Adapter” option from the right pane.
• Then click on the Run Troubleshooter” button.
• After that, your computer will check for any possible errors and will pinpoint the root cause of the problem if possible.
• Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try to perform Network Reset

You can also try to perform a Network Reset to resolve the problem. This will reset the entire network configuration including your IP address. To perform Network Reset, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• From there, go to the Network and Internet section.
• Next, scroll down and look for “Network Reset” under the status pane.
• After that, click on Network Reset and then on Reset now to start resetting the network configuration. Once done, check if it is able to fix the error or not.

The Windows 10 system allows users to change the default location of the User folders to another drive. This is probably to make sure that the files stay safe in case the system suddenly crashes. However, in some cases, while changing the path to another drive, for instance, the D drive or any folder, the Windows system recognized it as a hard drive as well so even though the files will be saved on that folder, it will appear as a hard drive in the Windows Explorer or look merged with another folder. It could also be that you had dragged and dropped a user folder to another user folder by accident. So if you’re wondering how you can unmerge the User folders, read on as this post will guide you on how exactly you can do that. Take note that even if you try to use the File History to restore the User folders, it still won’t work and you won’t be able to move them back to their previous locations nor restore the folders back to their previous versions and it would only state that they are not available. In the instructions given below, we are using the Downloads folder as an example.

• Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Step 2: Next, type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Step 3: After opening the Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key:

ComputerHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders

• Step 4: Then double-click on the multi-string value {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} located in the right hand pane. And in the Value Data, copy and paste the following value:

%USERPROFILE%Downloads

• Step 5: Now click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Note: Look close enough and you’ll see that the multi-string values belong to each one of the folders. From there, you have a Desktop, Favorites, Skydrive, Music, Pictures, and many more.

• Step 6: Restart your computer. After that, the operating system will pick up the new folder location during the startup. Here are the values for the other folders:

Music – {1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE} Pictures – {3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA} Videos – {A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C} Documents – {A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0} Desktop – {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}

• Step 7: Now all you have to do is to change the location correctly. Start by tapping the Win + E keys to open the Windows File Explorer.
• Step 8: After that, right-click on the Downloads folder located in the right-hand pane.
• Step 9: Then click on Properties and go to the Location tab then type “D:\Downloads” in the location box.
• Step 10: Click the Apply button and then the OK button to save the changes made. Doing so would ensure that not only the Downloads folder is restored but also that it does not stay merged to another folder or appear as a drive.

If you encountered an error message saying, “We couldn’t find any drives, To get a storage driver, click Load driver” when you try to install Windows in a VirtualBox machine, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing this error. This error message is displayed on the screen where you have to choose a partition to install the guest operating system. This error is most likely due to the lack of correct settings as well as a corrupted virtual disk. To fix this error, you have to remove existing storage devices, create a new storage device and select the correct ISO file.

For complete instructions, follow the given steps below.

Step_1: The first thing you have to do is remove all the existing Storage devices and since this option is already available in VirtualBox by default, there is no need for you to install any third-party software. Step_2: After that, open VirtualBox and select the virtual machine and then click the Settings button. Step_3: Next, switch to the Storage section and on your right-hand side, you will see “Controller: SATA” and two other sub-labels. From there, select Controller: SATA and then click on the red cross button that says, “Remove selected storage controller”. Step_4: Now click on the Add new storage controller icon and select the “Add SATA Controller” option from the given list. Step_5: Afterwards, click the “Add hard disk” button and select the “Create new disk” option, and then you have to create a new virtual disk for your virtual machine. Step_6: Verify if you have selected Dynamically allocated while you create the virtual hard disk. Once the process is completed, you will get a “.vdi” file in the list. Step_7: Next, click on the “Add optical drive” button and select the “Choose disk” option. Here, you have to select the ISO file and if you can find an ISO file in the given list, select it from there, else, you have to click the Add button and navigate to the folder where the ISO file is located. Step_8: Once you’re done, click the OK button and boot your virtual machine. You should see options instead of the “We couldn’t find any drives, To get a storage driver, click Load driver” error message. If you see the options, you can now create a new partition and start the installation process of the Windows operating system in the VirtualBox machine without any problem.

DOTA2 involves teams of five players each, where each player chooses a “hero” character. Each game has two teams pitted against each other, on opposite sides of a map. Once you start, you and your teammates try to level up by fighting and defeating heroes from other teams as well as non-player characters who exist within the game universe. Once you have a strong enough team, you would then try to attack an opposing team’s base. If you destroy their “ancient,” your team wins. The teamwork and interactivity required to play the game are some of its biggest attractions. You can text and voice chat as part of the Dota 2 gameplay, enabling you and your team to come up with strategies to take over your opponents’ base and fortifications. For this reason, a properly working microphone and headset are important if you are to get the most out of this exciting online game. However, there are many times when you find that there are audio dropouts when you try to speak into your microphone. The question “How do I get my mic to work on Dota 2?” is one of the most commonly asked on gaming forums related to this game. Here are solutions for why this can happen:

1. You are logged in to another computer that is running the STEAM client

   While entirely rare, there are cases where the microphone in Steam is disabled because the same account is active and in use on a different computer. It may not notify you that your account is in use elsewhere. If this is the error, try to log out on other devices and then test it on only one system. If you cannot access the other computer that has access to your account, then change your password. This will automatically disconnect your Steam account from the other computer and let you enjoy voice chat in Dota 2 and other Steam games.

2. Your microphone is not properly set up in Dota 2

   From the main Dota 2 menu, before you start a match, you can set up your microphone for voice chat. At the top, left-hand corner, click the gear icon to open Settings Select the AUDIO tab and ensure that the Sound Device and Speaker Configuration are set to default. On the same tab, activate Voice (Party) and set your Push to Talk shortcut key for your team. Select the appropriate Open Mic Threshold using the slider at the bottom of this tab to get your microphone recorded at a comfortable level.

3. The Windows Audio Enhancements setting is turned on

   If you still cannot get your microphone to work properly, then your problem could be Windows Audio Enhancement. It is possible to get your microphone to work with Dota 2 by disabling these features. Right-click your volume icon on the system tray and select Recording Devices. Choose your active microphone then click its Properties button. On the Microphone Enhancements tab, make sure the checkboxes marked Voice enhancements and Acoustic Echo cancellation is unchecked Reboot your PC and retry using your microphone to chat.

4. Your audio drivers need to be updated

   If you try all of the steps above and still have Dota 2 not recognizing your mic input update mic drivers by going in device manager and choosing update driver.

There are times when the Windows Search doesn’t work and you wouldn’t have a clue as to why it happened since it does not give any error codes. In such cases, you have to check the error logs in the Event Viewer to find out more about the problem. From there, look for an error with the Event ID 3104 in the Windows error logs and if you see an error message that says, “Enumerating user sessions to generate filter pools failed”, read on as this post will guide you in fixing the problem. Apart from the error message, you might also see more information in the details section of the log that says, “(HRESULT: 0x80040210) (0x80040210)”. This kind of error is most likely caused by something that prohibits the search function from initializing. A lot of users assumed that it could be due to Cortana but it’s actually not. While some users also reported that they encounter the issue after they restarted their computers. This error was also reported with the same event ID 3104 on the Windows Server. According to security researchers, this error could be caused by problems in the Registry entry of Windows search. It could also be due to an issue with the SYSTEM account where it hasn’t been added to the DCOM Security. It is also possible that the Windows Search function has not been initialized. To fix this error, you can try to rebuild the Search Index manually or run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter. You can also check the startup type of the Windows Search service or try some registry tweak.

Option 1 – Try to rebuild the Search Index manually

The first thing you can do to fix the problem is to manually rebuild the Search Index. You can do that by going to Control Panel > Indexing Options and from there, click on Advanced. After that, go to the Index Settings tab and then click on Rebuild > OK. Once you’re done, check if it fixed the problem.

Option 2 – Try running the Search and Indexing troubleshooter

You could also run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter in Windows 10 as it checks whether the settings are in place and automatically corrects any issues with the Windows 10 search function. To run this troubleshooter, just click on the Start button and select Settings > Updates and Security > Troubleshoot. From there, select the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter. Once the troubleshooter is done, restart your computer and see if it fixed the error.

Option 3 – Try checking the startup type of the Windows Search Service

In this option, you have to check the startup type of the Windows Search service since the service won’t start. To do so, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Services Manager.
• Next, from the list of services, look for the Windows Search Service or WSearch. Once you find it, right-click on it and select Properties.
• After that, change the Startup type to Automatic and click on the Start button if the service is in the Stop state.
• Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try changing the Registry entry for Windows Search

Before you apply some registry tweak, you need to create a System Restore point first. Once you have that covered, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• If a User Account Control prompt appears, just click Yes to proceed.
• After opening the Registry Editor, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows Search
• From there, click on Windows Search and look for the key named “SetupCompletedSuccessfully” and change its value to “0”. Just right-click on it and select Modify.
• Then input “0” as its value data and click on OK to save the changes made.
• Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
• Now check if the Enumerating user sessions to generate filter pools failed is fixed or not.

In trying to upgrade your Windows 10 computer, you might have come across the error 0x800F0923. This kind of Windows upgrade/update error is caused by an incompatible driver or software that’s installed on your computer. Thus, to fix the problem, you need a working fix which you can choose from below. As mentioned, you can try updating the concerned application or software to its latest version to resolve the compatibility issue and in turn, fix error 0x800F0923. Note that depending on where you had installed the application, your steps will change. So if you have it installed directly from the website, refer to these steps:

• Look for the built-in option to check the updates since the most application has this option.
• You also have the option to go to the website of the application and check if there is a new version available. If there is, download and update the app.

On the other hand, if you have downloaded the app from the Microsoft Store, here’s what you have to do:

• Open the Store and click on the three dots located at the top-right of the window.
• Next, click the Download and Updates option.
• From there, check if there is an update available for the store. If there is, update it.

Option 2 – Try to uninstall the application or software

If updating the app or software to its latest version didn’t help and you’re still getting the error 0x800F0923 every time you attempt to install the Windows Updates, you may have to uninstall it. You will need to use the usual Program and Features to uninstall it if you have downloaded it from the website.

• In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
• After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
• From there, look for the concerned program and select it and then uninstall it.

Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.

Option 3 – Try to disable your antivirus program

Disabling the antivirus program or any security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when the Windows Update process does not go smoothly. So before you try updating your computer again, make sure to disable the antivirus or security program and once the Windows Update is done, don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 4 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the Windows Update error 0x80073712. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button.

Option 5 – Try to do the Update in a Clean Boot state

Putting your PC in a Clean Boot state can also help you install Windows Updates or Upgrades without any trouble because, during this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” checkbox and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” checkbox.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.

Option 6 – Try running Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

You also have the option to run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter which could help you fix Windows Update errors including the error 0x800F0923.