My device used to work, but now it doesn’t

TPM or Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 is a must-have if you plan on upgrading your system to Windows 11. So what exactly is TPM and do you have it?

What exactly is TPM?

TPM is a tamper-resistant hardware technology tasked with generating and storing encryption keys inside it for better PC security. It can be remotely used to authenticate hardware and software by utilizing a unique endorsement key placed into the hardware itself. This technology can be used for example in BitLocker inside Windows in order to have data on a hard drive encrypted so if the mentioned drive is connected to another computer it would not be able to be accessed since the encryption key is stored in the TPM module. Microsoft is pushing its agenda that Windows 11 must be and must feel like safety first OS which will protect user data and user information and requiring TPM means that each Windows 11 will be secure so no additional software patches will be required for an extra layer of security. Windows 11 will assume that each user has TPM encryption enabled and will be built upon that.

Do you have TPM on your computer?

If your computer or hardware has been purchased in 2016 or later there are very high chances that you already have the required technology to run Windows 11. Unfortunately, many gaming motherboards have not been placing TPM in their boards and you might not have it. Also, there is the option of you having it but it is turned off in motherboard settings making Windows unable to detect it. As you can clearly see there are a lot of scenarios around required tech and honestly it is a complete mess. But lucky for you there are ways to find out do you possess the needed module in order to make an upgrade. On your current computer on which you would like to make an upgrade in your current Windows OS press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog. Inside run dialog type in TPM.msc and press ENTER to open Trusted Platform Module Management on Local Computer. You will immediately receive information do you have the required module. If everything is fine, you are good to go, however, if it says that compatible TPM cannot be found there is a chance that either you do not have needed hardware or it might be turned off inside motherboard settings.

Check motherboard UEFI

If you have a newer motherboard but Windows utility cannot detect TPM there is a chance that it might be turned off directly on your board. In order to check this, you will have to boot up your PC into UEFI either by pressing the corresponding key when it is turned ON or from Windows reboot options. Once you are inside UEFI you need to find security options and see if there is an option to turn ON or enable TPM. Since every motherboard is different and has different UEFI software we cannot cover all of the permutations and the best we can do is hope that provided information is enough. You can also visit your motherboard manufacturer to see instructions for your specific case.

Conclusion

TPM itself is generally an OK idea and I can surely see good sides of it but there is this lurking feeling that generally, Microsoft is not really concerned about the security of our data and that the real requirement for this is trying to battle software piracy. I simply cannot trust company which introduced tons of telemetry tracking through ages and which has done everything in their power to battle non-legal use of their software. I do not promote piracy but I support free choice and besides, who can tell me what will happen if TPM malfunctions, will I lose all of my data forever? It is not so uncommon that TPM has malfunctioned in the past and it is only logical to presume it can do it again in the future but this time we will not have the choice not to use it, we will be forced into it.

If you are trying to run or starting a program on your Windows 10 computer and you suddenly get an error message saying, “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time”, read on as this post will show you what you can do to fix the problem. This kind of error pops up since the Application Information Service does not respond to the requests to raise applications to Administrator in Windows 10 like the Task Manager, Service updates, and so on. Thus, you won’t be able to run or open apps and will only get stuck with this error. The “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time” message is a type of network error that typically occurs when there is a temporary mismatch between the requested control and the state of the service to be controlled. It’s most likely that the service is in a state of start-pending, stop-pending, stopped or it may already be used by another user which explains why this error message suddenly appears. You can encounter this error message on any Windows operation. Here are some of the most common occurrences:

• Debugging a Windows service
• Starting Task Manager
• Starting Registry Editor
• Starting Firewall
• Starting services.msc
• Starting dsm.exe
• Updating services
• Asking for file permissions, etc.

According to Microsoft MSDN, the error occurs because:

“There is a temporary mismatch between the requested control and the state of the service to be controlled. The service may be in a state of start-pending, stop-pending, or stopped. Wait a few minutes, then retry your operation.” If after a few minutes, the error still appears, then you may have to follow the options prepared below.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Credential Manager Service

• Go to the Start menu.
• Then type in “services” in the search box.
• From the search results, right-click on “Services” and select the “Run as Administrator” option.
• Next, look for the Credential Manager Service in the Services window.
• Once you found it, double-click on it to open its Properties. From there, you need to click on the Stop button.
• After that, set the Credential Manager Service to “Automatic” and click on the Start button to restart it.

Option 2 – Try to start the Application Information Service

You can also try starting the Application Information Service to fix the “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time”. Just open the Windows Services Manager and make sure that Application Information Service is Started. And if you find that it’s already started, you need to restart it.

Option 3 – Try killing the IIS Worker Process via Task Manager

• Tap the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select the Task Manager.
• Next, click on More details to expand the Task Manager and then look for the IIS Worker Process entry which should be displayed in the list under the Processes tab. From there, you can see it in the Background processes. Once you find it, kill its process.
• You can also try to look for the “w3wp.exe” entries and end its process. if you find many entries, right-click on some of them and select the End task option from the context menu.
• Now restart your PC. That should fix the problem.

Error Code 0xC004F00F – What is It?

Error Code 0xC004F00F can appear during the Windows 10 installation and activation process. It is a fairly straightforward error code that occurs when a product key is entered in that is unable to be used to complete the final activation of the new operating system. This error code is most commonly related to the installation of new pieces of hardware on a machine that was already running Windows 10 at a previous time.

Error Code 0xC004F00F can also appear on other versions of the Windows software, so if you are not specifically trying to install and activate Windows 10 when this message appears, you may want to contact a qualified Windows technician to help resolve your system error, as the error code has different causes and resolution methods on other versions of the Windows operating system.

Solution

Error Causes

In some cases, Error Code 0xC004F00F will show up if you are attempting to install Windows 10 on a computer in which the hard drive has been replaced or significantly altered. It can also appear when other major pieces of hardware, like the motherboard, have been changed out.  These pieces may be changed as part of an upgrade to new or better hardware or be changed due to the malfunction of the original pieces of equipment. Because it may appear to the Windows activation servers that you are attempting to use the same product code that you have used before to activate what appears to be a new machine (even if the machine is the same one, just with some new parts), you may see Error Code 0xC004F00F arise.

Error Code 0xC004F00F can also come up if you have installed Windows 10 on your machine in the past and have already used the product key that you are attempting to use again.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Error Code 0xC004F00F most commonly appears for users who have made major hardware or software changes done on their machine. Because this error specifically arises from the Windows activation servers believing that your computer is a new one, you’ll need to get in touch with the Windows support team in order to resolve the error. From their database, they will be able to confirm that you are not using a new computer and will be able to bypass the error, allowing you to complete the Windows 10 Activation process.

If you haven’t installed or replaced any of the hardware on the computer, but are still seeing Error Code 0xC004F00F arise during your Windows 10 installation, you will still need to get in touch with the Windows support team to bypass the error code.

Calling the Windows' Support Team

When you call into the Windows support team, you’ll want to specifically have a list of the following information readily available: Which pieces of hardware have been changed out on your computer prior to the installation and activation, what method you were using to install Windows 10, which version of Windows 10 that you were attempting to install, whether it was a single-use or multiple-use license, and basic details about your PC like its make, model, and age.  You may also want to have the product key that you were attempting to use when Error Code 0xC004F00F first appeared.

By having all of this information ready and on hand ahead of time, you’ll have a greater likelihood that your error will be able to be resolved quickly and efficiently, avoiding long periods spent on the phone with customer service. Make sure that you specifically mention that you are experiencing Error Code 0xC004F00F during the Windows 10 activation process when you call into the Windows support team so that you can be connected to a representative who is equipped to help you resolve this specific problem.

Getting a Qualified Technician

If you are not comfortable in working with the Windows support team or have not been able to successfully resolve Error Code 0xC004F00F even after getting in touch with customer support, contact a qualified technician who is familiar with the Windows 10 activation process and can walk you through the things that you will need to communicate to the Windows support team in order to have them bypass or resolve the error code.

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.

When we are working on our computer, we have tendencies to make it look and behave to our best needs and however, best suits us. The Internet has crawled into our lives and made itself a must-have in modern society, internet browsers as a crucial piece of software for viewing the web have also grown and made themselves to be more open for user settings and personalization, Chrome, one of the most popular browser has the option to open a specific set of pages one it is opened and that is what we will cover today in this tutorial. No matter would you like to by default open some online store, maybe an email or news website, you can open each of them or all of them once Chrome is run, making your daily routine more enjoyable and stress-free. The first thing, of course, is to start Chrome itself, once Chrome is up, click on three dots in the upper right corner of the Chrome window and select settings. When you are in settings, on the left side move toward the bottom until you run into a tab that says On Startup and click on it. On right, a new section will open, click on Open a specific page or set of pages. You will be presented with the option to add a new page by typing its URL or getting it from bookmarks or using a specific opened one. You can repeat this process until you have added all pages that you wish to be automatically opened once Chrome is opened for the first time.

BONUS:

If you have noticed right above the setting that we have used for opening a specific set of pages there is the option Continue where you left off, this option will open each page exactly where it was when Chrome was shut down letting you keep viewing where you have left off. This is useful if by any chance your battery ran out or you had to quickly turn the computer off for whatever reason.

What is 0x0000007E?

 Error 0x0000007E is a Windows Stop error message that is displayed on a blue screen. This may appear when browsing the internet, listening to music on some media player application or while working on an important document on MS Word or Excel.  This message strikes terror as the screen goes blue without any warning.

Solution

Error Causes

The error code 0x0000007E is triggered because of:

• Faulty hard drive
• When the hard drive is full and there is no storage space
• When you need to update your BIOS (Basis Input Output System)

Further Information and Manual Repair

If you experience this error on your PC, you don’t have to panic and call a professional. This error is rated as an easy fix. And you can easily resolve the issue even if you don’t have a piece of strong technical knowledge about computers. Here are some quick fixes to repair the error 0x0000007E on your PC in the shortest time and without any hassle:

• Cause: Faulty Hard Drive

Solution: In the event of a faulty hard drive, it is best to create a backup of all your data and get a new hard drive. However, first, it is advisable to use the Windows tool called Chkdsk (Check Disk) to identify and determine if the hard drive is faulty or not. To do so, click on the start menu and type CMD into the search box. Click on it to run. Now a black box will be displayed on the screen, simply type the command Chkdsk and run it to find out if your hard drive is faulty and damaged. If so, then get a new hard drive.

• Cause: Hard Drive is full

Solution: Error 0x0000007E may also occur if the hard drive is full. To check the storage space on your hard drive, go to My Computer. If the space is full, then it is advisable to delete some files or uninstall heavy and recently installed programs to free up some space.

• Cause:  BIOS not updated

Solution: You may come across this blue screen error if your BIOS is not updated. To update your BIOS, restart your computer and press F2 to enter setup.  Now go to SATA Operation and change RAID AHCI to RAID ATA. Save changes and then exit. By doing so, you can update your BIOS and fix the error 0x0000007E immediately. It’s that easy!

What is Windows Update Error 0xC1900209? Before you can install any updates on your Windows 10 computer, there are a lot of conditions that have to be fulfilled and one of these conditions is software compatibility. It is one of the important factors in installing Windows Updates. So if one of the software in your computer is not compatible with the new Windows Update for your OS, then the Windows 10 setup will not proceed and will block the installation of the new update. This both applies to the cumulative updates and feature updates. In such cases, you will get the following error message when you run Windows Update:

“0xC1900209, Incompatible software is blocking the upgrade process. Uninstall the application and try the upgrade again.”

This error message comes under the umbrella of the Windows 10 pre-upgrade validation using Setup.exe. And for you to identify the incompatible app, you need to grab a Windows 10 install image using the Windows Media Creation tool to download the suitable Windows 10 version and mount it. After that, execute the setup.exe file that’s located in the root folder of the Windows 10 install image. Once you execute the setup file, the upgrade wizard will give you a list of incompatible apps. Once you have determined which software is not compatible with the Windows Update, there are two options you can try to resolve the Windows Update error 0xC1900209 – you can either try to update the conflicting software or uninstall it. For more details, follow the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to update the conflicting software

If you are using an older version of the software that’s in conflict with the Windows Update, you might want to update it to its latest version and then try to apply the updates again to your Windows 10 computer. You can update the concerned software by visiting the official website of the software or any of its distribution sources. On the other hand, you can also use the Check for updates feature of that particular software if it’s available.

Option 2 – Try to uninstall the conflicting software

If updating the problematic program didn’t work, the next option you can try is to uninstall it. All you have to do is follow these steps to uninstall it successfully:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and tap Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
• Next, arrange the list of installed programs in the order of the installation date.
• After that, look for the problematic program and right-click on it, and then select Uninstall.
• Once the uninstallation process is done, restart your computer and see if the Windows Update error 0xC1900209 is fixed or not.

As you know, the Windows 10 operating system has support for a dedicated high-end graphics processor that brings in capabilities inside to support Graphics Cards from NVIDIA or AMD. This helps the operating system to function in a much better way by segregating the graphics-intensive operations from the CPU to a dedicated processor. However, there are times when it also experiences some issues that lead to some errors like the “Failed to create a graphics device” error. It is possible that your computer has more than one screen or graphics card which is why you’re getting this error. To fix it, you need to try reinstalling DirectX or reinstall the Graphics Card driver. You could also try to manually check the hardware or power cycle of your computer. To start troubleshooting the “Failed to create a graphics device” error, follow the given suggestions below.

Option 1 – Try running the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Since the error has something to do with the DirectX Graphics APIs, you can run the DirectX Diagnostic tool to resolve the problem.

Option 2 – Try updating or re-installing DirectX

If the DirectX Diagnostic tool didn’t work, you can try to update or reinstall DirectX instead. This can help in fixing the problem because when you reinstall or update DirectX, it will replace the incompatible or corrupted components of DirectX from your computer.

Option 3 – Update or reinstall the Graphics card drivers

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in MSC into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for the Display Adapters and click on them.
• After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters and select the “Uninstall Device” option from the menu.
• Now restart your computer.
• After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.

Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.

Option 4 – Try to physically check the hardware of your computer

You might also want to check the physical status of the hardware in your computer. You can clean the dust off the hardware components like the Graphics Card of the computer. In doing so, you have to use a small blower or you could also use a soft cloth and run the components gently. Make sure that you don’t damage any parts with moisture or cause harm to any circuits while you carry out this task.

Option 5 – Try to power cycle your computer

You could also try to power cycle your computer to fix the error. To do that, you have to turn off your computer in a way that the power is completely cut off and all the fresh configurations of files are loaded when your computer is booted up. The first thing you have to do is to shut down your computer and if you are using a laptop with a removable battery, you must remove the battery for a couple of minutes before you plug it back in and boot your laptop. On the other hand, if you are using a desktop computer, press and hold the power button until the CPU goes off and take out the power cable for a minute or so and then plug it back in. Boot your computer and see if the error has been resolved.

If you have a dual monitor setup on your Windows 10 computer and you mostly use the second screen when you are presenting something, this makes the Taskbar completely unnecessary and is not really required. So if you are using your computer generally and do not want the taskbar on your second screen, read on as this post will guide you in disabling Taskbar on your second display. The good thing is, Windows comes with a built-in feature to disable Taskbar on your second screen or projector connected to your computer. In this post, you will be guided on how you can hide or disable the Taskbar from the second monitor in Windows 10. This post is coming in handy especially if you are using projectors or multiple displays. Refer to the steps given below to disable Taskbar on the second display in Windows 10. Step 1: Go to Settings and click on Taskbar from the left menu. Step 2: After that, scroll down to lo look for Multiple Displays. Step 3: Next, turn off the toggle labeled, “Show taskbar on all displays”. Note: After completing the steps given above, it will disable the Taskbar on all the secondary displays. Bear in mind that these settings will work only if you are running a second screen in Extended mode. Contrariwise, if you are in the Duplicate mode, this setting will not work but you can always set your Taskbar to Autohide so that it won’t be displayed.

On the other hand, if you are facing some issues in finding which screen is primary and which one is secondary, refer to these steps:

Step 1: Go to Settings and select System. Step 2: Next, from the left menu open Display. Step 3: From there, select the desired display and make it the primary one as required by your setup.

As you can notice in Blue Screen errors, most of them point out a file that’s related to the errors. One of these files is the Storport.sys file which is a system file related to the storage of data in the storage unit of a computer. This file is created by the Microsoft Storage Port Driver. So if this file ends up getting dragged on Blue Screen errors, there can be a number of reasons for why it’s happened. Blue Screen errors related to the Storport.sys file may include conflicts with the hardware, incompatible firmware issues, corrupted drivers, missing or corrupted system files, to name a few. Here are some of the common Blue Screen errors related to the Storport.sys file:

• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
• KERNEL DATA INPAGE
• PAGE FAULT IN A NONPAGED AREA
• SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION

Microsoft Windows is the one that provides the Storport.sys file a storage port driver that is suited especially for the use of high-performance buses like fiber channel buses and RAID adapters. There are a number of advantages in using Storport instead of the SCSI Port, according to Microsoft:

• “Improved performance, both in terms of throughput and the system resources that are utilized.
• Improved Miniport driver interface that addresses the needs of high-end storage vendors, particularly host-based RAID and fiber channel vendors.”

If you encounter any of the above-mentioned Blue Screen of Death errors, then here are some troubleshooting options that might help but before you get to them, you can try to perform a System Restore first especially if you have the habit of creating System Restore points. This might fix the problem. To perform a system restore, refer to these steps:

• First, 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 in fixing the Blue Screen error, now’s the time for you to resort to the troubleshooting tips provided below but before you get started, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. In addition, you also have to boot into Safe Mode with Networking before you carry out the troubleshooting steps below.

Option 1 – Try to update or rollback your device drivers

The first thing you can try to fix the Storport.sys Blue Screen error is to either update or roll back the device drivers. 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. Note that the main drivers that might be the cause behind the Storport.sys Blue Screen error will be listed under the “ID ATA/ATAPI controllers” section as well as the “Storage controllers” section.
• 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 also directly download the relevant drivers of your computer from the manufacturers’ website. So if you have an SSD, the issue might be due to an old storage driver. Option 2 – Try to recreate the Storport.sys file If the first option didn’t work, the next thing you can do is to recreate the Storport.sys file. Every time your Windows 10 PC boots up, it looks for all the system drivers in place and if it is unable to find them, it tries to create them. This is why if you remove your corrupt driver file, chances are, you might get a fixed file recreated just for you. How? Refer to the steps below.

• Boot your Windows 10 PC in Safe Mode.
• Then open File Explorer and navigate to this location: C:/Windows/System32/drivers
• From there, look for the file named sys and rename it to Storport.old.

Note: As you can see, the file’s extension has changed from .sys to .old.

• Now restart your computer and check if the Storport.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 3 – Run System File Checker or SFC scan

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

 Reboot your PC.

Option 4 – Try to run the DISM commands

You might want to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also trigger the Storport.sys Blue Screen error. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:

• Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
• After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the dxgkrnl.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 5 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death errors wouldn’t be complete without the Blue Screen troubleshooter. As you know, it is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like Storport.sys. 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.

Microsoft just released Windows 11 ISo file, based on the latest Insider Preview Build 22000.132. Inside build, you can try all-new features like clock updated app, snip tool, and everything releases so far via various patches. You can also use Windows 11 ISO file to do a clean install on your computer, but if you go with this option all of your existing files will be deleted. Microsoft says it added the ability to name your PC during the setup experience. You’ll also get to experience the Get Started app that’s designed to help you get going on your new Windows 11 PC (even if it’s not actually a new one).

Download ISO

• Go to the Windows Insider Downloads page. You will need to sign in with a Microsoft account registered with the Insider Program.
• Scroll down to Select Edition and select the build you want to download. You will most likely want the one at the top from the developer channel, as this is where Windows 11 should arrive first. So far, only Windows 10 builds are available. Click confirm.
• Select your preferred language. Not all languages ​​available for Windows are compatible with the Insider program, so you may have to stop depending on where you are from.
• Click the download button and the ISO file will start downloading.
• This is definitely an easier method, but unfortunately, it is not available yet. We will update this article once Windows Insider ISOs are available. Later, once Windows 11 64 bit is available to everyone, you can also download the stable build of Windows 11 iso. Microsoft offers the Media Creation Tool and Upgrade Assistant, which usually do just that. It will be some time before Windows 11 versions of the tools are available, as the operating system is only getting closer to this holiday.