4 Ways of keeping drivers updated

If your Windows 10 computer is downloading or installing updates but suddenly an error pops up saying, “GWXUX has stopped working”, read on as this post will show you what you can do to resolve the problem. GWXUX is a process responsible for downloading and installing Windows updates and is installed on your computer via Windows Updates. That particular update is known as “KB3035583”. Through this process, the “Get Windows 10” pop-ups are installed and initiated by Microsoft. This process is also capable of checking the compatibility of your PC to run Windows 10 as well as preparing it for installation. However, this process might also result in excessive usage of Disk and sometimes, CPU. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can fix the issue with the GWXUX. Follow the instructions given below carefully.

Option 1 – Disable GWXUX in the Task Scheduler

You will have to disable the gwxux.exe process to run from the Task Scheduler. Thus, you need to follow the steps below to do so.

• Open the Cortana Search box and then type “task scheduler” in the field.
• Then click on Task Scheduler from the related search results that appear to open it.
• After opening the Task Scheduler, navigate to Microsoft > Windows > Setup > gwx on the left panel from the Task Scheduler Library.
• Once you select the GWX folder, you will see two tasks that are listed under that folder. Select both of these tasks and permanently disable them.
• Restart your computer to apply the changes made and check if the issue is now fixed or not.

Option 2 – Uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update

• To uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update, you need to go to Control Panel, and for you to do that, type “control panel” in the Cortana Search box.
• After that, click on Control Panel from the related search results given.
• Once Control Panel is pulled up, search for “View Installed Updates” in the search field from the top right part of the window.
• Next, click on a link labeled, “View Installed Updates” under the Programs and Features menu.
• After clicking the link, you will see the list of all the installed updates in your computer from the Windows Updates.
• Now look for an update named “KB3035583” and select it.
• You should notice the Uninstall button located at the top portion of the sub-menu ribbon as you can see on the snippet below. Click on that button to uninstall the KB3035583 Windows Update.
• After uninstalling the update, make sure to restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 3 – Try using the System File Checker

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 with good system files that might be causing the error 0x80200056. 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.

After running the System File Checker, restart your computer and check if the error with the GWXUX.exe file is now fixed or not.

If you are trying to install or upgrade your Windows 10 computer but suddenly encountered an error message saying, “Windows Could not configure one or more system components”, read on as this post will show you how you can fix the problem. You are not alone in experiencing this problem as other users also reported having the same scenario. Some of them reported getting the following error message:

“Windows could not configure one or more system components. To install Windows restart the computer with error code 0xc1900101-0x30018.”

When you check on the Windows 10 rollback log, you will see a part with the “iisetup.exe” that’s related to the abort. Usually, the upgrade process completes over 50% and gets stuck and then rolls back later on and generates the error logs. This kind of error, in most cases, appears during the upgrade of Windows 10 and is related to the Internet Information Services or IIS in Windows 10. For some unknown reason, it restricts the installation or the upgrade which causes the error to appear. To fix the “Windows could not configure one or more system components” error, you can try to remove the IIS from the Windows Features or rename the “inetsrv” folder. You could also move all the folders related to IIS to another drive. For more details, refer to the options provided below.

Option 1 – Try to remove the IIS from Windows Features

The IIS is installed from the Windows Features and you can find it at Control Panel > Programs. From there, uncheck the checkbox for the Internet Information Services. Once done, click on the OK button to save the changes. Note that this process will get rid of all the related programs, services, and folders from Windows 10. So if you want to, you can just install them later on or use an offline installer from the official site of Microsoft.

Option 2 – Try renaming the inetsrv folder

The next option you can check out to resolve the problem is to rename the “inetsrv” folder. If you have uninstalled IIS from the Windows Features, this should remove the folders as well, however, it didn’t remove the folder then you have to delete the folders that are related to the IIS by following these steps:

• First, you have to boot into the Advanced Recovery Mode and from there, open Command Prompt.
• Next, execute this command to rename the folder from this location, C:Windowssystem32inetsrv: rename C:/Windows/system32/inetsrv/inetsrv.old
• Once done, boot into your computer normally and try to upgrade Windows 10 again, and check if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 3 – Try to move the folders related to IIS to a different drive

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
• Next, look for the Application Host Helper Service from the list of services and stop it.
• Once done, take ownership of the “WinSxS” folder and then move the *windows-iis*.*” folders to another drive. You can just search using the “*windows-iis*.*” keyword in the Start Search.
• Next, tap the Ctrl + X keys and paste the folders to another drive.
• After that, start the update process for Windows 10 again.

We are all waiting for the release of Intel’s Alder Lake series of processors and real-world results on its performance. Sadly lately it came to our attention that some games might have issues with the processor. Now before you go on the bandwagon on bashing Intel itself take note that it is not Intel’s fault at all. The issue that arises is mostly due to DRM software and how it works. As you might know or not, Alder Lake has two sets of cores, standard performance cores, and power cores, and with Intel’s Thread Director on-chip right cores will be used for the right tasks, and here lies the issue. DRM software might detect Thread Director as something suspicious and malicious, and then cut access to the game because of this. Intel, of course, has reached DRM manufacturers and places documentation about how software should be developed with this hybrid technology in mind. Of course, newer games will be updated if needed and everything will work fine, also games on GOG will work fine because of GOG’s policy of no DRM store but some older ones might be left in limbo. They could work fine but DRM might be triggered and prevent them from loading, usually, game developer itself removes DRM protection after some time but that is not really always the case and there is a chance that some games might simply just not work on Alder Lake CPU only because of DRM protection.

Conclusion

I will admit that I have not been a great fan of DRM in general, I understand that game developer want to protect themselves from piracy but how it looks they were not really successful with it. Even today single-player games get pirated on the day they are released and legally bought ones always make trouble for people that actually paid for them. I remember times when DRM was awful and you could install a game a limited number of times, luckily this was removed but it seems that many old habits still remain sadly and DRM is present even today in various forms. GOG is proof that people will buy DRM-free games and that they will support this kind of model. Maybe it is time to forget about fighting against piracy, you will not make it go away and people who do not want to buy games will not buy them, on other hand many users that do buy games, if they cannot use them they will rest to pirated version since that one will work. It is sad to see that pirated software can work better than a legal one and offer a more pleasant experience.

If you were trying to print some documents but encounter the HIDCLASS.SYS Blue Screen error instead, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing any Blue Screen errors related to the HIDCLASS.SYS file. HIDCLASS.SYS is a Windows operating system driver file. HID or Human Interface Device includes Keyboards, mice, and other input devices. HIDCLASS.SYS is a critical system driver file that is responsible for connecting different kinds of devices all over the system, including the functionality where a Word Processor can access the printer to print documents. This file comes under the category of kernel-mode device drivers and if the driver fails, it can result in a Stop Error. There are a lot of Stop errors related to the HIDCLASS.SYS file, such as:

• KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION
• DRIVER POWER STATE FAILURE
• PAGE FAULT IN A NONPAGED AREA
• SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED
• DRIVER VERIFIER IOMANAGER VIOLATION
• IRQL NOT LESS EQUAL

The fixes for the Blue Screen errors related to the HIDCLASS.SYS files are pretty simple but before you troubleshoot the problem using these fixes, make sure that you boot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking first. After that, get started on these tips:

Option 1 – Update or rollback or disable concerned device drivers

To fix the HIDCLASS.SYS error, you can also try to roll back, or update, or disable the concerned device drivers.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers particularly the ones that are under the sections of Keyboard, Mouse, USB, and HID Drivers.
• Next, 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. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions or disable them.

Option 2 – Check for any incompatible devices

The next thing you can do to troubleshoot the HIDCLASS.SYS Stop error is to plug in and out each one of the different hardware that is connected to your computer. Doing so will help you determine which one of the hardware is the one that’s triggering the error to pop up. You will also know what hardware drivers or anything else that could be causing this error which includes external devices like mouse, keyboard, printer, as well as internally attached components like the Graphics card and so on.

Option 3 – Try running the ChkDsk utility

Running the ChkDsk utility can also help you resolve any Blue Screen errors related to the HIDCLASS.SYS file. To run this tool, refer to these steps:

• First, open This PC and right-click on your operating system partition for Windows.
• Next, click on Properties and navigate to the Tools tab.
• Then click on Check under the Error Checking section.
• After that, a new mini window will be opened and from there click on Scan drive and let it scan your disk drive partition for any errors and then restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try checking the Memory for any errors

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
• After that, it will give two options such as:
  • Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
  • Check for problems the next time I start my computer
• Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.

Note: After you select the option, your PC will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them.

Option 5 – Run the System File Checker

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 with good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right-click on the appropriate search result.
• Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• 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.

• Now restart your computer and see if the Blue Screen error is fixed or not.

When you get the “HTTP Error 304 Not modified” error in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge, there can be lots of reasons why you’re getting this error. The HTTP Error code 304 means redirection, technically. It could be that the DNS has some issues or the cache is already reusing the existing information to look for a website or it could also be that your browser might be infected. In this post, we will show you what you can do to fix the “HTTP Error 304 Not modified” error when you are not able to open a website on your browser. Here are the exact details of the error message:

“This status code is returned if the client has already downloaded resources since the last visit and is displayed to notify the client browser that the requested resources is already stored in the browser cache which hasn’t been modified.”

Follow each one of the given fixes below to resolve the issue.

Option 1 – Clear the browsing data on your browsers

The first thing you can try is clearing the browsing data on your browsers.

Microsoft Edge:

• Open Microsoft Edge.
• Then click on the three horizontal dots to open the menu.
• From there, click on Settings. And under Settings, click the “Choose what to clear” button under the Clear browsing data section.
• Next, check all the checkboxes and then click the Clear button to clear the browsing data in the Edge browser.
• Restart Edge.

Google Chrome:

• Open Chrome and then click on the three vertical dots located at the top of the window.
• Then click on Settings.
• After that, click on Advanced. And from the Privacy and Security section, click on the “Clear browsing data” option.
• Now click on the CLEAR DATA button.
• Restart Chrome.

Mozilla Firefox:

• Open Firefox and then click on the three horizontal lines to open the menu.
• From there, click on Options.
• Next, select Privacy & Security.
• After that, click on the Clear Now button under the Cached Web Content section and then click the Clear All Data button under the Site Data section.
• Restart Firefox.

Option 2 – Flush DNS and reset the TCP/IP

There are some websites that don’t resolve since the DNS in your computer still remembers that old IP address. And so you need to flush the DNS as well as reset the TCP/IP on your computer.

• Click the Start button and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After opening Command Prompt, you have to type each one of the commands listed below. Just make sure that after you type each command, you hit Enter
  • ipconfig /release
  • ipconfig /all
  • ipconfig /flushdns
  • ipconfig /renew
  • netsh int ip set dns

After you key in the commands listed above, the DNS cache will be flushed and the TCP/IP will reset.

Option 3 – Try using the Google Public DNS

Changing your DNS to Google Public DNS might also help you in fixing the “HTTP Error 304 Not modified” error. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is right-click on the network icon in the Taskbar and select Network and Sharing Center.
• Next, click on the “Change Adapter Settings” option.
• After that, search for the network connection that you are using to connect to the internet. Note that the option might be “Wireless Connection” or “Local Area Connection”.
• Right-click on your network connection and click on Properties.
• Then select the new window to choose the “Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/IPv4)” option.
• After that, click on the Properties button and click the checkbox in the new window for the option “Use the following DNS server addresses”.
• Type in “8.8.8.8” and “8.8.4.4” and click OK and exit.

Option 4 – Run Cleanup Tool and disable Extensions

You might also want to run the Cleanup Tool in Chrome if you are using this browser as well as disable all the extensions as some of them, if not all, might be the reason why you’re getting the “HTTP Error 304 Not modified” error.

In case you don’t know, Windows now comes with an all-new Light Mode theme which gives a light accent color to the Taskbar, Start, and Notification Area. Aside from that, it also brings new improvements and features. This new theme is somewhere between dark and completely white and in this post, you will be guided on how you can enable this new feature in your Windows 10 computer. Although the Light Mode sure looks stunning and a lot of users love it, it actually switches all the apps plus the Taskbar and Start Menu to the light mode which was not the case before. In addition, the icons in the system tray area, as well as the notification center, are also inverted. To resolve that, there are several ways you can customize the light mode theme as well as activate it in the Windows 10 v1903. How? Refer to each one of the options given below.

Option 1 – Via Theme settings

Windows 10 brought a new theme called “Windows (Light)” which will enable the light mode automatically and will set the accent colors to automatic. This will also apply the new Windows 10 wallpaper on your desktop. To enable Windows (Light), all you have to do is right-click on the desktop and select Themes from the left menu. After that, select the Windows (Light) option under the Change Themes section. This will apply to the Windows (Light) mode.

Option 2 – Via Color settings

The second and more customizable way to activate the light mode is via Settings. Aside from the Light and Dark, Windows also introduced a Custom color option which allows you to decide the default Windows and App mode independently. To enable Light mode via Settings, refer to the steps below.

• First, open Settings and go to Personalization.
• After that, select “Colours” from the left menu.
• Next, select Light under the “Choose your color” section to activate the light mode in Windows 10. This will activate light mode all over your computer.

Note: If after activating light mode, you find that you don’t like it and you want to keep things as they were before (Light App Mode and Dark Windows Mode), you can achieve that using the Custom option. All you have to do is select Custom from the drop-down menu to decide the default Windows and app mode independently. After that, select light under the default app mode and dark under the default Windows mode so that you can keep things as they were before the update. On the other hand, you can also try the opposite version of the light Windows mode and Dark app mode since Windows increased the level of customizability which allows users to use an option of a completely light mode.

Error Fmod.dll - What is it?

This is a type of DLL error code. DLL is the abbreviation of Dynamic Link Library. DLL files contain small programs which are similar to executable files. One DLL file may be used to load and run several programs. Fmod.dll is created by Electronic Arts Inc. and associated with Crysis. This file is developed for the Windows OS. This error code occurs when you are unable to access, run and load programs supported by Crysis on your PC. Fmod.dll error code message is displayed in different formats such as:

• "Fmod_event.dll not found."
• "The file fmod_event.dll is missing."
• "This application failed to start because fmod_event.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."
• "Cannot start Crysis. A required component is missing: fmod_event.dll. Please install Crysis again."
• "Fmod_event.dll Access Violation."
• "Cannot register fmod_event.dll."
• "Cannot find C:\Windows\System32\fmod_event.dll."

Error Fmod.dll may pop up when you start-up or shut down the PC or even during the installation of a program.

Solution

Error Causes

Narrowing down to one cause for Fmod.dll error code is impossible virtually because this error may result due to different reasons on your system. Some of the common causes associated with this error code are:

• Viral Infection
• Hardware failure
• Missing, Corrupt, or Deleted Fmod.dll file
• Improper program installation
• Registry issues

No matter what the underlying cause of the reason may be, it is recommended to resolve the issue immediately to avoid serious PC threats.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve this error on your system, try the methods discussed below:

Method 1 - Check the Recycle Bin

As mentioned above, Fmod.dll is a DLL file that is used to run and load a variety of programs on your system. There is a possibility that you uninstalled a program that was supported by the Fmod.dll file and accidentally deleted it. In such a scenario, the easiest way to resolve the Fmod.dll error code is to re-install the deleted file from the recycle bin. For this, go to the recycle bin and search for the file. If you find it reinstall if you can’t then simply download the Fmod.dll file from a reliable website.

Method 2 - Scan for Malware

Malware usually enters through phishing emails and downloads. These malicious programs then hide in your system disguising as either DLL or EXE files. The occurrence of fmod.dll file error may be due to malicious programs hiding in your system. Therefore scan your entire PC with a powerful anti-virus. An antivirus detects and removes all malicious software programs such as viruses, malware, Trojans, spyware, and adware. Try this, to resolve error code Fmod.dll and see the results.

Method 3 - Fix Hardware Problems

Fmod.dll file error may also pop on your screen due to hardware failure. If this is the reason, then we advise you to use the Device Manager an in-built tool in Windows 7 and 8 to fix hardware failures. For this go to the start menu then control panel. Now click on the ‘hardware and sound link’ and then click on the Device Manager. If you find any devices in red exclamation point, then this means this device is problematic. Uninstall the driver for that hardware device and then update the driver. Install the latest version to resolve. Remember, hardware problems are mostly related to outdated drivers.

Method 4 - Restore Points

Use System Restore, an in-built utility also known as the recovery tool, to restore points and ensure your PC is back to its previous working condition before the error code occurred. Simply put, it helps undo recent changes. You can find the System Restore tool in the System Tools folder.

Method 5 - Clean and Repair the Registry

The registry is that part of your PC that stores all the information, activities performed, and files including the junk files, invalid keys, bad entries, and cookies. When these files accumulate on your PC, they take up all the registry space and corrupt the important system and DLL files also stored in the registry, thereby generating such errors. Now you can clean the registry manually. But this process can be time-consuming and slightly technical, hence we advise you to download Restoro. This is a PC Fixer integrated with a registry cleaner. It is easy to use deployed with an intuitive interface. The registry cleaner scans the entire PC and removes all registry errors. It wipes out all the obsolete files and repairs the damaged DLL and system files. Click here to download Restoro.

What is Error Code 100?

Error Code 100?? Whenever a Setup error contains error codes in the message, this indicates what the setup was operating on, let’s say copying files. The text in the error message will determine whether that it is fatal or not. An error code 100 is a system error that is displayed as ‘ERROR_TOO_MANY_SEMAPHORES’ or as a value 0x64. This error means that the system ‘cannot create another system semaphore.’ A semaphore is used in controlling access to parallel programming or a multi-user platform through multiple processes. This error can prevent certain features of your Windows to perform properly, like trying to get a print, copying files, deleting files, or any other routine computer activities.

Solution

Error Causes

Error code 100 can affect a wide range of activities that you normally perform on your PC. This error can occur for a number of reasons, of which some of the common ones include:

• When the Microsoft SQL Server fails to start the service
• When the account used for starting AOS does not match the database in SQL Server
• When the AOS licenses have exceeded their limit
• When the SQL Server database is incorrectly case sensitive

Though these are the common causes for error code 100, there can be other ways through which this error can occur. To find out the specific cause for error code 100, follow these steps:

• Go to Start and select All Programs. Go to Administrative Tools and click Even Viewer
• Click Application in Even Viewer
• Locate the error message in the right pane by scrolling down
• Click on the error message and see if the message applies to the error code.

Further Information and Manual Repair

In order to manually repair this error, you will have to work with your Network Administrator as they will have security privileges to take the steps. However, there are more than one ways to resolve this issue, for instance:

1. Starting SQL Server Service
   • A likely cause of an error code 100 can be that your SQL Server service is not started. To activate it, follow these steps:
   • Got to Start and Click on All Programs, go to Administrative Tools and click on Services
   • Find SQL/MSSQLServer service
   • Right Click on it and click Start to activate the service
2. Network Resolve

If you are connected to a network, then you can work with your network administrator to fix error code 100. Follow these steps to resolve this error:

• Got to Start and then Run. Type dcomcnfg and press Enter
• Locate Default Security and click it
• Find Default Access Permissions and click Edit Default
• You should locate System and Interactive, listed in the Allow Access. If they’re not listing, you can add them by clicking Add
• Find the local computer in the list and click on Allow Access
• Click Ok on the following three steps
• Log off the computer and log in again.

Stop C00002lA Fatal System Error- What is it?

C00002lA Fatal System Error is a blue screen of death error that may occur when you start your Windows NT 4.0 based computer. This error causes the screen to turn blue and the system also shuts down. The stop C000021A error message is displayed in the following format:

Stop c000021a {Fatal System Error} The session manager initialization system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc0000017 (0x00000000, 0x0000000) The system has been shut down.

Error Causes

The stop C000021A error occurs when either Crsrss.exe or Winlogon.exe fails. When the Windows NT kernel identifies that either of these processes has failed, it stops and the error code stop C000021A appears on the computer screen. Here are some of the underlying causes for the stop C0000021A error:

• The incompatible third-party program
• Hard disk issues
• Service pack installation has failed
• Mismatched system files have been installed
• Bad and invalid registry keys

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve the stop C000021A Fatal System Error on your PC try the following solutions:

• Remove Incompatible Third Party Programs

If the error occurred after you recently installed a new program, then it is advisable to remove that program. The error occurs due to the incompatibility of the program. To remove the program go to the start menu and click on the control panel. Now click on Add/Remove Program tab and double click on the program name that you recently installed and remove it from the list. Once removed, not reboot your PC. Reinstall a compatible program and run it. It is most likely to resolve the issue. However, if the stop C000021A error still occurs, then it means the problem is critical. It is related to the registry.

• Repair and Restore the Registry

This procedure is slightly long and tricky. To try it, you need to be technically sound. Here’s what you have to do: first create a parallel installation of Windows NT. Start your PC to the parallel installation and then open the Registry Editor. On the Registry Editor’s Windows menu click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine and then click Load Hive. Now type the path %systemroot%system32configsystem into the System hive of the prior installation. Then click open. Here you will be prompted to enter the name of the key, type TEST. Note the setting for the current DWord value in the preceding registry key. This is 0x1 and is denoted by CURRENT:Reg_Dword: 0x1. This value indicated that the Current Control Set for your original Windows NT installation corresponds to ControlSet001 in this window. Now if the value is 2, it indicated that the Current Control Set corresponds to ControlSet002. Now locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINETESTControlSetXXXControlSession Manager. XXX is the Current Control Set Value. And delete any pending file rename operation entries. Then click TEST hive and then click Unload Hive. After that again repeat the process, open the registry menu and click load hive, here type the path %systemroot%system32configSoftware to the Software hive of the prior installation and then click open. Now you type TEST 2 when you are prompted for the name of the key. Remove any pending file rename operations entries in the following registry keys: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINETEST2MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunOnce HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINETEST2MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunOnceEx Now click TEST2 hive and then click unload hive. Quit the Registry Editor and then restart your original installation. This will resolve the stop C000021A error.

If you encounter an error message that says, “<Drive>: is not accessible, The File or directory is corrupted and unreadable” when you try to connect your USB or external device, then the File System could have been corrupted or the external device might be infected with malware. On the other hand, it is also possible that the device might have some physical damage. To fix the “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error, you can try to run Check Disk or scan your computer for malware or you could also format the destination drive. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below.

Option 1 – Run the Check Disk utility

You can also run the Check Disk utility to fix the error when you connect your USB or external device.

• In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /f /r /x /b
• The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
• Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.

Option 2 – Try to format the destination drive

Formatting the drive can also help you resolve the error. To format it, follow these steps:

• To get started formatting your drive, tap the Win + E keys and then go the access page of the drive.
• Next, right click on the drive and select Format.
• After that, uncheck the “Quick Format” option and then format your drive properly.
• Now once the formatting process is finished, unplug the drive and plug it back in afterwards.
• Check if the error is already fixed. If the drive is not initialized, tap the Win + R keys and hit Enter.
• After opening the Run dialog box, type “diskmgmt.msc” and hit Enter to open Disk Management.
• From there, right click on the drive volume and select initialize Disk.
• Next, select the correct partition type and proceed.

Option 3 – Try scanning your computer for malware using Windows Defender Your computer could be infected with malware which might have triggered the “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error. To fix this, you need to scan your computer using a reliable program like Windows Defender.

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
• Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
• Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
• Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.