Disable Telemetry & Data Collection in Windows

Recently, a number of users reported an error while trying to update their computers. This particular Windows Update error has an error code of 0x80073701. If you are one of the users who encounter this error, then read on as this post will guide you on how exactly you can fix it. Here’s the exact context of the error:

“Updates failed. There were problems installing some updates, but we’ll try again later. 2019-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1903 for x86-based Systems (KB4507453) – Error 0x80073701”

The Windows Update Error 0x80073701 also comes with a code “ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING” which indicates that some system files are missing on your computer that caused the update installation failure error. Although this Windows Update error does not cause any severe issues, it is still being reported in the section of Windows Update where it is marked as “Update failed”. There are several potential solutions you can check out to resolve this error. You can try to run the DISM tool or the SFC or System File Checker scan. You could also try to run the Windows Update troubleshooter. For more information, make sure to follow the options given below.

Option 1 – Restart your computer and try installing the Updates again

Restarting your computer can also help in fixing the Windows Update failed to install error 0x80073701. There are cases where the issue resolves on its own as it could just be some simple network or PC error.

Option 2 – Try to run the DISM tool

Running the DISM Tool helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in this command: exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

After you run this tool, a log file is created at C:WindowsLogsCBSCBS.log. On the other hand, if the Windows Update client is already broken, you will be prompted to use a running Windows installation as the repair source or use a Windows side-by-side folder from a network share, as the source of the files. Although the chances of this happening is less, if it turns out to be the case, you need to run an advanced command in the DISM tool to repair a broken Windows Update. Just repeat the process above but use the following command instead:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:RepairSourceWindows /LimitAccess

Option 3 – Try to 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 to good system files that might be causing the error 0x80073701. 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.

• Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the Windows Update error 0x80073701. 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.

Computer viruses are malicious applications that have the ability to self replicate and spread over the system and various devices, just like viruses in organisms. We all know that computer viruses are bad and that you should avoid them however you can. So in this spirit, we are taking a deeper dive into what kind of viruses exist and how they function.

1. File-infecting Virus

A virus that attached itself to an executable program. It is also called a parasitic virus which typically infects files with .exe or .com extensions. Some file infectors can overwrite host files and others can damage your hard drive’s formatting.

2. Macro Virus

This type of virus is commonly found in programs such as Microsoft Word or Excel. These viruses are usually stored as part of a document and can spread when the files are transmitted to other computers, often through email attachments.

3. Browser Hijacker

This virus targets and alters your browser setting. It is often called a browser redirect virus because it redirects your browser to other malicious websites that you don’t have any intention of visiting. This virus can pose other threats such as changing the default home page of your browser.

4. Web Scripting Virus

A very sneaky virus that targets popular websites. What this virus does is overwrite code on a website and insert links that can install malicious software on your device. Web scripting viruses can steal your cookies and use the information to post on your behalf on the infected website.

5. Boot Sector Virus

These viruses are once common back when computers are booted from floppy disks. Today, these viruses are found distributed in forms of physical media such as external hard drives or USB. If the computer is infected with a boot sector virus, it automatically loads into the memory enabling control of your computer.

6. Polymorphic Virus

This virus has the capability to evade anti-virus programs since it can change codes every time an infected file is performed.

7. Resident Virus

A resident virus stores itself on your computer’s memory which allows it to infect files on your computer. This virus can interfere with your operating system leading to file and program corruption.

8. Multipartite Virus

A type of virus that is very infectious and can easily spread on your computer system. It can infect multiple parts of a system including memory, files, and boot sector which makes it difficult to contain.

If a program tried and failed to use the Graphics rendering capabilities of a computer, Windows 10 will most likely throw a Blue Screen error that says, “ THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER ”. 0x000000EA is the Stop code for this particular Blue Screen error and could be caused by a bad display driver or bad video card. Whatever the cause is, here are some suggestions you need to check out to resolve this Blue Screen error.

Option 1 – Try to rollback, update, or disable the Graphics card drivers

Since the THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER Blue Screen error has something to do with Graphics card drivers, you can either roll back, update or disable them depending on your preference in order to resolve the error.

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.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 2 – Try removing hardware or drivers that you’ve installed recently

If you have recently installed some hardware or drivers, you might want to disable or remove them since external devices are proven to be one of the factors that trigger Blue Screen errors like THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER. All you have to do is physically disconnect any external devices that are connected to your computer and then check if it fixes the BSOD error or not.

Option 3 – Run System File Checker at boot time

• Once you get to the Welcome Screen part, click on Next.
• Afterward, click on the Repair your computer option located on the bottom-left part of the window.
• Then click on Troubleshoot.
• Next, select the Advanced Options and then Command Prompt.
• After opening Command Prompt, type the “sfc /scannow” command and hit Enter to run the System File Checker scan.
• Wait until the process is completed and type “exit” to close Command Prompt and then restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 4 – Try to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

As you know, the Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like the THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER error. It can be found in 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.
• After that, 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.

Option 5 – Try to manually check the Graphics Card hardware

You might also want to check the physical status of your Graphics card and you can do this by disconnecting the Graphics card or any other external device connected to your computer. Once you’ve removed the external device, check it for any damages. If there’s none, connect it back to your computer and check if the THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER Blue Screen error is fixed or not.

Option 6 – Uninstall any faulty drivers

You can also uninstall any faulty drivers via Device Manager. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run dialog box.
• Then type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and tap Enter to open the Device Manager.
• From there, look for any faulty drivers. You can identify them easily as they will be marked with a yellow exclamation point. And then check which entries would not affect the normal functioning of your PC.
• Now click on the entries of every faulty driver and click on the Uninstall option.
• Once you’ve uninstalled them, restart your computer to allow your computer to reinstall the faulty drivers you’ve just removed.

In case you don’t know, Microsoft Edge, the new default browser of Windows 10, is equipped with the essential tools that are needed to help web developers in testing their websites in the Edge browser. However, it is not without its flaws as there are instances when you could also encounter some errors when using DevTools. One of these errors is the “An error occurred while starting the profiling session” error. You can see this error message in the DevTools Memory Panel, worry not for this post will help you resolve it. A memory panel is one that primarily measures your memory resource usage and compares heap snapshots in different states of code execution. The Memory panel also provides profiling of three different types, such:

• Head Snapshot
• Record Allocation timeline
• Record Allocation profiles

Using a memory panel, you can find issues that affect the page performance in the most common scenarios like bloats and memory leaks. There are two steps you need to carry out to fix this error that’s associated with the Memory Panel of Microsoft Edge (Chromium) DevTools. First, you need to access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service. Second, you need to restart this service. For detailed steps, follow the instructions provided below. Step 1: Access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service To access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK.
• This will open the Services Manager. Here, look for the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Service from the Services panel that opens on the right-hand side.

Step 2: Now restart the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Hub Standard Collector Service

• After accessing the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service, right-click on it and select the Restart option.
• Once it’s done, exit the Microsoft Edge Developer Tools as well as the tab.
• Next, open a new tab and navigate to your page and tap the F12 key.
• Now, try to check if profiling begins.

If you encounter the NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE Blue Screen error while using your Windows 10 computer, then read on as this post will guide you in resolving this kind of Blue Screen of Death error. NMI HARDWARE FAILURE or “Non-Maskable Interrupt” Blue Screen error occurs when there is some hardware malfunction in your computer. When you encounter this Blue Screen error, you may get a stop code of 0x00000080 which can randomly occur while you use your computer. However, a lot of users reported encountering this error while they were trying to update or install their Graphics Card drivers. The stop code that you may get for this BSOD error is 0x00000080. The error can occur randomly during your usage of the computer – but a large number of users have reported this error while they are updating or installing their Graphics Card drivers. In this post, we will be covering all the possible fixes for this error. NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE error on Windows The NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE bug check has a value of 0x00000080. This bug check indicates that a hardware malfunction has occurred. There are various hardware malfunctions that can cause this kind of Blue Screen error. However, pinpointing the exact cause is quite difficult. Worry no more for the following fixes provided below can help you resolve the NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE Blue Screen error no matter what the cause of the problem is.

Option 1 – Try removing hardware or drivers that you’ve installed recently

If you have recently installed some hardware or drivers, you might want to disable or remove them since external devices are proven to be one of the factors that trigger Blue Screen errors like NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE. All you have to do is physically disconnect any external devices that are connected to your computer and then check if it fixes the BSOD error or not.

Option 2 – Try to rollback, update, or disable the Graphics card drivers

Since the NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE Blue Screen error has something to do with Graphics card drivers, you can either roll back, update or disable them depending on your preference in order to resolve the error.

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.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 3 – Make sure that all memory modules have the same type

This third option is quite technical and tricky. If you often use multiple physical RAMS on your Windows 10 computer, then you have to check first if they are of the same frequency. After that, the first thing you should verify is if the chip is properly compatible or not. And if the sockets are attached using some kind of adapter or non-recommended device, it could cause some issues while giving a performance hit to your computer.  If you were able to find such a setup, you have to undo it or install the proper and recommended as well as compatible hardware.

Option 4 – Try to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

As you know, the Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like the NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE error. 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.

As you know, the Win + X menu, which is the shortcut context menu, is a useful way to launch several utilizes in Windows such as Power Options, Windows PowerShell, Event Viewer, Device Manager, and so on. However, there are times when you might experience difficulty in identifying the required utility. This is actually a part of the Windows 10 shell that goes out of scope in the customization of Windows 10. However, there is an easy trick you can use to do that. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can rename the options in the Win + X menu in Windows 10. In case you don’t know, the context menu is divided into three groups. Microsoft has categorized the bottom-most part as Group 1, while the middle part is categorized as Group 2 and the first part as Group 3. To rename these options, you need to use File Explorer and follow the instructions laid out below. Step 1: First, tap the Win + E keys to open File Explorer. Step 2: Next, navigate to this path: %LocalAppdata%MicrosoftWindowsWinX Step 3: From there, you should see three folders as Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Open the appropriate folder of your choice. Step 4: After that, right-click on the shortcut option you want to rename and then select Properties. Step 5: Next, navigate to the Shortcut tab under the Properties window. Step 6: Now in the text field of Comment, enter the new name of the option you selected. Step 7: Click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. Note: You can now either Sign back in or sign out of your Windows 10 User Account to see the result of the changes you’ve made. You could also restart the process of File Explorer via Task Manager. This will close the File Explorer as well as the shell components and then only launch the shell components again. In addition, you can check the Win + X menu to see the customized name that you’ve just set for a particular option. As you can see, even though it does not add anything extra, it is still a lot better in knowing how you can customize it.

Windows 11 has some cool animations including fading effects which make working in it feels nice and futuristic but the cost of this is that there is a slight delay to certain actions performed. If you want the snap fast feature in Windows 11 and do not care about this eye candy there is an easy way to turn animations off inside it.

• First, open Windows Settings by pressing ⊞ Windows + I on your keyboard
• Alternatively, click on Start, search for Settings, and then click its icon.
• When Settings appears, look in the sidebar and select Accessibility.
• In Accessibility settings, click on Visual Effects.
• In Visual Effects, switch Animation Effects to Off.

That’s it, changes will be applied automatically, you can close settings and continue working inside Windows 11 without animations and fades. You can always switch animations back On via settings if you change your mind.

Windows 11 is released and its adoption goes slower than Microsoft would like but nevertheless, it is slowly getting adopted, especially among new computers. Windows 11 has brought us a new modern look of OS but if you would like to personalize it a little more you can. Follow the guide on various things that you can change inside Windows 11.

Personalize list of recently added apps, opened items, folders

The recommended section that shows recently added apps and recently open items can be turned off and hidden now to be shown. In order to do this follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Settings by pressing WINDOWS + I
2. Click on personalization in the sidebar
3. Click on START and go through the options
4. Turn OFF switch beside recently accessed files
5. Additionally, you can also change which folders appear on the Start menu.

Remove apps or change app order on the Start Menu

To remove application not to be shown in the Start menu at all follow this simple guide:

1. Right-click on app
2. Choose unpin
3. To place the application on Start click on All Apps, right-click on the app and choose Pin to Start
4. To drag and rearrange apps, simply click on them and drag them to the new place.

Change the Start Menu location

When Windows 11 was first released Start Menu could only be located in the middle of the screen but thanks to plenty of backlash from users now it is possible to move it on a more traditional left side.

1. Press WINDOWS + I to open the settings app
2. Click on Personalization
3. Look for taskbar behaviors
4. Inside taskbar behaviors look for Taskbar alignment
5. Change alignment to left

Change the Start Menu color

In order to change the color of the Start Menu follow the next steps:

1. Open Settings app
2. Go to personalization settings
3. Go to Colors
4. Switch to custom
5. Under accent color pick a color you like or make your custom one.

If you are starting to get into the “wonderful” world of coding there is a high chance that you have heard of GitHub or Git for short and there is a slight chance that you might be confused about what exactly GitHub is. If this is the case, we are welcoming you to go through our article and find everything about it and why it is so popular and used all around the world.

What exactly is GitHub?

If we want to go all technical and just point the obvious we could say that GitHub is basically a WEB site and cloud service used for storing and managing code in all languages. But to truly understand why you should use GitHub and not Dropbox or any storage service instead you need to understand concepts like Version Control and Git.

Version Control

Version control is meant to help developers to work separately on different parts of codes and update is separately not breaking the original one. Take note that this option is meant when there is a big project and has more than one coder working on it. If you are a solo coder on your personal project this might not be anything groundbreaking for you personally. But let’s now assume that you are part of a team and that your task is to edit only one function of a project and other people working will also have their tasks. With version control, you could take only part of the code and work on it and once you are finished merge it back into the main repository. All changes in the main code are automatically tracked and can be easily reverted back if needed. The good stuff is that rolling back can be used only let’s say on a code you submitted and other changes made to the source can be kept. As you can see this makes a very good and efficient working space and a good coding environment.

Git

Git itself is a specific version control system, an open-source version control system to be more precise created by Linus Torvalds in 2005. It is a distributed version control system, which means that the entire codebase and history is available on every developer’s computer, which allows for easy branching and merging. Currently, over 87% of worldwide developers are using Git on a daily basis.

So GitHub is?

GitHub is a profit company that offers a cloud-based Git repository hosting service, in other words, it automates and makes it easy for everyone to use Git for version control and collaboration. It focuses on user interface and ease of use so even beginner coders can use it right away without any large confusion and using command lines and setting it themselves manually. GitHub also has a free personal plan in which you can host a public code repository completely free. This option placed GitHub very popular with open source projects. If you are a company you can purchase a plan to have a private code repository shared only to members of your team or company.

Conclusion

As stated almost every developer on a planet uses some version of Git, many of them are on GitHub and there is a lot of open source projects on it. Some employers even ask to see your GitHub repository when deciding if they want to employ you, think of it as a portfolio for coders. There is not a single disadvantage and not a single argument against using it, especially it has a personal free option. So if you want to look better and more professional in the coding world go, make an account and place some code on it, share it with the world, and see how it goes. You might even get some help on projects from other coders if you need it.

A newfound bug in Google docs is causing it to crush and upon reopening it will crush again making it very difficult to re-access your document. The bug is manifested when a series of the same word is typed into a document and Show grammar suggestion is turned on.

How was it found

A Google Docs user, Pat Needham brought up the issue on Google Docs Editors Help forum.

"I've only tried in Google Chrome, with documents from three separate Google accounts (personal, G Suite Basic, and work one which might be enterprise). All three experience this same issue".

"It's case-sensitive. So trying with 'and. and. And. and. And.' doesn't cause it to crash."

While Needham publicly reported the bug, it appears that the issue was discovered by Eliza Callahan who was writing a poem novel for her novel using Google Docs.

Needham's findings have also been confirmed by other users running Firefox 99.0.1

Another user, Sergii Dymchenko, said strings like "But. But. But. But. But." triggered the same response. Some also noticed putting any of the terms like "Also, Therefore, And, Anyway, But, Who, Why, Besides, However," in the same format achieved the outcome.

A YCombinator HackerNews reader suspected the cause to be the "Show grammar suggestion" option in Google Docs.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the presence of the issue adding, "we're aware of this issue and the team is working on a fix."

How to recover your document

First thing first, turn off Show grammar suggestions so you do not run into issue by accident. In order to turn it off go to Tools and then into Spelling and grammar and untick Show grammar suggestions.

Now, if you already have a document that has been crushed, fear not because there is a workaround to access it. For some strange reason this bug does not manifest on Google Docs mobile app, so you can open the crushed document in the mobile app, delete words that have caused the bug and reopen the document on your desktop.

Until Google comes up with the solution this is currently the only way to address the issue.