Disable Speech Recognition feature in Windows

Spring is almost here and with spring comes work, nature wakes up, people wake up, no more heating bills, time to start working, and time to start cleaning your PC. Good day everyone and welcome to another tip & trick for your PC. This time we are talking about cleaning your PC and keeping it up to software tight so you are ready for the upcoming spring season. Thank you for being with us and let's start:

Uninstall applications that you are not using

The unused applications can cause many issues for PC, from taking unnecessary disk space to even causing slower boot times if they have active services that require to be all-time up and running. They could slow down other applications like file explorer if they have extensions installed into them and can take RAM space with their background processes. If you are not using a particular application anymore or do not plan to use it soon it is always best practice to delete it from the system and thus removing all services and processes that go with it freeing so much-needed RAM and disc space.

Remove browser extensions you do not need

Browser extensions like applications can cause some issues with PC performance. if you spend a lot of time on the internet browser extensions can slow down browser and page loadings, they can make browsers take up more RAM memory and if they are outdated they could even present a serious security threat. Best practices are to keep only the extensions that you need all time, maybe some password managers or similar, extensions that you use on a daily basis, the rest should be uninstalled.

Remove things from the startup

Many services are booted along with Windows itself, some of them are crucial to the system even working, some not so. By eliminating not-needed services from the startup menu you will make sure that your boot times and overall performance of the system are in healthy form and that your PC is more responsive.

Organize files, folders, and desktop

The speeding of computer is not the only thing that you need to take care of, in order to be prepared and have maximum efficiency you will need to organize your files and folders as well. In a working environment, we often tend to save and place files all over the place, and in time they clog up desktop and hard drives. If the files are not well organized we will lose precious time trying to find anything that we need and require, so instead of wasting your time in locating files, why not organize them for easy and logical search so you can access them easily when needed.

Clean taskbar and start menu

Taskbar and start menu as well can be clogged with icons and non-organized application shortcuts and document shortcuts. Remove everything you do not need for that tidy and easily accessible access.

Sort bookmarks

It is very likely that you have plenty of bookmarks saved in our browser. It is also very likely that these bookmarks are not sorted and organized and now would be a great time to do it. Like files bookmarks also can cause you a lot of time loss if you need to find a specific one in a sea of many.

Run disc cleanup

Built-in disc cleanup utility will find temporary files, unused ones, and plenty of other junk on your hard drive. Now would be a great time to run it and get rid of junk files from your system.

Physically clean your computer

Now when we have taken care of the software part of our computer and system, it is time to clean up the computer itself. Unplug your computer and clean it, we will not go into details of this procedure, there is already an article on our site which deals with this part in detail so look it up if you need assistance with this part.

Clean your peripherals

Besides the computer for effective and pleasant work take care of your screen, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. All of these devices need to be dust-free and clean if you expect them to behave on top of their game. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

In this post, you will be guided on how you can fix error 0x80070013 while executing various operations in your Windows 10 computer like System Restore, Windows Backup, or Windows Updates. When you encounter error 0x80070013, you will see the following error messages. For System Restore, it states:

“System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer’s system files and settings were not changed. Details: System Restore failed while scanning the file system on the drive <Partition Letter> The drive might be corrupt. You might want to retry System Restore after running chkdsk /R on this disk. An unspecified error occurred during System Restore. (0x80070013) You can try System Restore again and choose a different restore point. If you continue to see this error, you can try an advanced recovery method.”

Whereas in Windows Backup, it states:

“Check your backup, Windows Backup failed while trying to read from this shadow copy on one of the volumes being backed up. Please check in the event logs for any relevant errors. The backup failed, The media is write protected (0x80070013).”

On the other hand, you will see the following error message in Windows Update:

“There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact the support for information, this may help: (0x80070013).”

There are several suggestions you can check out to fix the error depending on where you encountered it. If you encountered it while running Windows Updates, then you can try to reset the Windows Update components or run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. And if you got the error when running System Restore, you can try to run a System File Checker scan or the DISM tool as well as the CHKDSK utility. Lastly, if you got this error when running the Windows Backup service, you can try to check its status in the Services Manager. Error 0x80070013 in Windows Updates:

Option 1 – Try to reset the Windows Update components

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution/SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:/Windows/System32/catroot2/Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

You might also want to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing error 0x80070013. 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. Error 0x80070013 in System Restore:

Option 3 – Try to run both Systems File Checker scan and DISM tool

Running the System File Checker scan as well as the DISM tool can help you resolve error 0x80070013 while performing System Restore. Refer to these steps to do so.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt, execute this command to run a System File Checker scan: sfc /scannow
• Once the scan is completed, restart your computer and then see if the error is now fixed. If not, you can run the DISM tool.
• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges again.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them in order to properly run the DISM tool:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism /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.

Option 4 – Run the CHKDSK utility

• 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.

Error 0x80070013 in Windows Backup:

Option 5 – Try checking the status of the Windows Backup Service

• First, you need to tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and click OK or tap Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
• After that, you will see a list of services and from there, look for the Windows Backup Service and double click on it to open its Properties.
• Then check if its Startup type is set to Disabled. If it is, then change it to “Manual”. Note that this service is essential as it provides backup and restores capabilities.
• Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then restart your computer. Check if the error is now gone.

Stumbling upon downloader.dll not found error is not pleasant to experience, usually, it means that desired application can not be started. There could be several reasons why this error happens from user mistakes, corrupted files, bad installation, and even bad RAM memory. Whatever the reason might be solutions provided are the same for all and offer a fix to this issue. it is advisable to follow provided solutions from start to finish not skipping any one of them since they are tailored to address the simplest solutions and issues and move toward more complicated ones.

1. Reinstall application

   If you are receiving Downloader.dll not found when trying to run just a single certain application, reinstall the application, there is the possibility that the application has somehow corrupted downloader.dll during the installation process. Reinstalling might fix the problem.

2. Run SFC scan

   SFC scan is the tool meant to scan all files and fix any corrupted ones. To run this tool, open the command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking on the windows start button and then left-clicking on the command prompt (admin). When you are in command prompt type in SFC /scannow and let the whole process finish.

3. Update device driver

   If previous steps have not provided results, go to device manager and visually check is there a device with an exclamation or other sign next to it, if there is, right-click on it and choose update driver.

Where all have been there, we are downloading something and for any kind of reason chrome closes, internet breaks, etc. And our download is interrupted and gone forever, and we need to start again. You will be glad to hear that chrome has side a download manager which tracks each download you made and you can use this manager to resume interrupted downloads. Please note that some websites have certain scripts that will prevent you to resume interrupted downloads, in this case, using chrome's download manager will not work and you will have to start the download again. All of this being said, if your download has been interrupted, and went away, pin Chrome press CTRL + J to open download manager, find your interrupted download, and press the resume button. That's it, you have successfully resumed your download.

If you spend a large amount of time gaming or working on a computer gaming chair is a very important asset. One other thing that is mostly looked past but could help greatly is a good desk. A great chair accompanied by a great desk can make your long sitting sessions more pleasant and more healthy which is very important in the long run. Hey, but it is only a desk, what is so special about having an expensive desk? Well truth to be told desk is just a desk and any kind of desk can serve the purpose of hosting a keyboard, mice, and screen. But a good desk will offer some other advantages that may not seem so important but they could mean a lot like adjusting desk height so it fits perfectly on your size and sitting position making long hours more pleasant and lower stress on hands sitting on it.

Advanced desk features

Bytezone might not be a company that will sound familiar to you, mostly because they manufacture gaming chairs and desks, now in the gaming chairs world there are a lot of competitors and Bytezone has managed to make a name for itself despite this fact. But they are more popular in their gaming and office modern-looking desk category. The advanced desk is made from carbon steel and plastic combination, it is very durable and it weighs 27kg. Now that is not really light but it is not very heavy if we compare it to wood desks. The top layer of the table is made from easy-to-clean material and the desk comes with a large mouse and keyboard pad. The table itself includes a cup holder, headphones bracket under the table and it has a cable management drawer in the back. The desk is sized 66x120x76 cm. Also for anyone interested desk itself comes also with RGB lights for that true gaming feel.

Windows Vista had in it animated wallpapers on desktop but sadly how they were heavy on system resources Microsoft abandoned the idea. Moving forward a couple of years later we have Windows 10 but still, we do not have live animated wallpapers. Since I am the kind of person who does not want to wait on Microsoft and now it is time to bring animated wallpapers back I am going to make one all by myself and you are welcome to join the ride and do the same for you as well. Enough talk, let's dive into how we can make animated wallpaper for our Windows 10.

Choosing the application

First, we will need some form of application which can we look at our animated wallpapers and since they are animations it means video, so we will need a video player and what better choice than a VLC player, an open-source light weighs all-format player. Get a VLC player from here and install it.

Finding video source

The next thing is to of course have some looping video that we will use as background. There are many sites and ways to get seamless loop videos, I use this youtube channel for my backgrounds. Altho you can use any video footage you want it is recommended that it is not too long, that it is hi-resolution so we do not have pixels on-screen, and if you can, get it as seamless since we do not want to see stutter when the video is lopped from the beginning. So hopefully you have desired video and VLC player installed.

Putting it all together

Copy the following code and paste it into your search bar in Windows to open the Startup folder, or navigate to the Startup folder yourself via file explorer if you know where it is. %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup Now, next thing is to copy and past the VLC shortcut into this folder so it is started when Windows is first time booted. Right-click on the shortcut and in the edit field paste this: "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" --video-wallpaper --qt-start-minimized --no-qt-fs-controller --repeat --no-video-title-show --qt-notification=0 "C:\videopath\filename.mp4" where "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" is the path where VLC is installed, point this to where you have installed it "C:\videopath\filename.mp4" is the path where you have your video that you wish to use as animated wallpaper. Please note also that in my case there is mp4 as an extension but it does not need to be mp4, just use any extension VLC can open and play.

Conclusion

And that's it, you have successfully made an animated background or live wallpaper on your Windows 10 computer. You can change your wallpaper anytime by editing shortcut and giving it a new path to a new video or simply overwrite the existing one with a new baring same name.

Error Code 0x80004002 - What is it?

Error Code 0x80004002 is a Windows-based error code that affects Windows 10 and previous operating systems, including Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. In most instances, the message box that shows Error Code 0x80004002 pops up as you attempt to install new software or programs on your machine.

Common symptoms include:

• Problems running programs that once worked
• Slow response time of your computer to commands entered with the keyboard or mouse
• Trouble shutting down or starting up your machine
• Error message regarding your registry, updates, or response time.

There are a number of different solutions that you can use to attempt to resolve Error Code 0x80004002. Because there are multiple causes to the issue, some of the methods used to successfully address the problems at hand are fairly simple, while others require advanced knowledge or abilities to complete. If the methods below are not successful in the resolution of the issue or if you aren’t confident in your skills to implement these methods, contact a qualified Windows repair technician to assist you. Once this error message is not rectified, you could be exposing your computer to other error messages, including error code 0x80240020.

Solution

Error Causes

There are many different issues that can contribute to the appearance of Error Code 0x80004002. The most common causes for this particular error message include:

• Errors in registry files
• Missing system files that have accidentally been associated with other programs and deleted
• Viruses or malware that cause corruption in program or system files
• Installations that have failed to complete fully

Further Information and Manual Repair

Due to the number of causes that can contribute to Error Code 0x80004002, there are a number of methods that you can use to attempt to resolve the issues behind the error. While some of these methods are fairly easy to implement, others may require you to use programs like registry cleaners and driver installation wizards, so if you are not comfortable using these kinds of software, contact a certified Windows repair technician to assist you.

Here are the top ways that you can attempt to address Error Code 0x80004002:

Method One:  Run Your Windows Registry Cleaner

Many different registry cleaning tools exist on the Internet, but not all of these are provided by trustworthy sources. Rather than trusting a file from an unknown publisher, you can use the registry cleaning program included in your Windows software package.

Run this tool to complete a scan of your files, discovering which ones may need to be repaired. In most cases, the registry cleaner itself can repair the necessary files and resolve the error.

It is always a good idea to restart your computer after you have run the registry cleaning tool to ensure that your machine can accurately assess the newly repaired files.

Method Two:  Update Your Drivers and Software

In some cases, Error Code 0x80004002 arises when drivers are out of date. If you believe that this is the case, you can check on the status of your various drivers by going into the settings for your operating system and selecting the “Update Drivers” option.

You can also check your system for any necessary updates to your Windows software, which may serve to address the error code.

After you have checked and installed any necessary drivers, make sure to restart your computer to fully apply any changes that the installation process has introduced.

Method Three:  Reinstall Your Windows Software

In some cases, the best way to address the missing or corrupt files that can cause Error Code 0x80004002 is to simply reinstall your copy of Windows. Always make sure to back up your files before reinstalling your software.

Method Four:  Run Your Virus Scan Software

Because Error Code 0x80004002 can also be caused by malware or a virus, you can run your virus scan software to detect and resolve the problem. After doing so, run the registry repair tool to fix any affected files and restart your computer.

Method Five: Use An Automated Tool

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.

One of the selling points of Windows 11 was the ability to run Android apps natively in it without the need for any third-party software. It is not a big surprise that even after its release Microsoft is evolving and expanding Windows 11 and its features.

Microsoft is now rolling out an update for the Windows Subsystem for Android on the Dev Channel of the Windows Insiders program. The new version upgrades the core operating system from Android 11 to Android 12.1 (also known as Android 12L), which means the new system and app features in Android 12 and 12.1 are now available on Windows for the first time. However, not the new features in those updates apply to the modified version that runs on top of Windows. For example, one of the main improvements in 12.1 was a dual-pane notification panel for larger screens, but Android app notifications on Windows just show up in the Windows notification panel.

The upgrade also improves how Android apps integrate into Windows. The Windows taskbar will now show which Android apps are currently using the microphone, location, and other system services — similar to many native Windows applications. Toasts messages (the small popups that some apps use for temporary messages) are now displayed as Windows notifications, and the titlebar on Android apps will use the current activity name for the title.

Full changelog

• Windows Subsystem for Android updated to Android 12.1
• Advanced networking on by default for newer x64 Windows builds
• Updated Windows Subsystem for Android Settings app: redesigned UX and diagnostics data viewer added
• Simpleperf CPU profiler recording now works with Windows Subsystem for Android
• Windows taskbar now shows which Android apps are using microphone and location
• Improvements to Android app notifications appearing as Windows notifications
• Reduced flicker when apps are restored from minimized state
• Apps are not restarted when devices come out of connected standby on recent Windows builds
• New video hardware decoding (VP8 and VP9)
• Fixes for on-screen keyboard in apps
• Fixes for full-screen Android apps and auto-hidden Windows taskbar
• Windows Subsystem for Android updated with Chromium WebView 100
• Added support for Android NetworkLocationProvider in addition to GpsLocationProvider
• Improved general stability, performance, and reliability

The new update is limited to Windows Insiders for now, but once Microsoft fixes all the bugs, it should start rolling out to everyone on Windows 11 that has the Android Subsystem enabled.

Portable small Bluetooth speakers are nothing new on the market, most of the time they have given the opportunity for music listening during picnics and walks in nature and also replaced some car speaker systems. The latest star in small portable speakers in JBL Clip 4, small in size, waterproof, and with an incredible high-quality sound.

Performance and quality

Out of the box and after first look speaker looks great, it has excellent design and is very intuitive to work with. Everything is laid out logically and you can start using it right away without reading instructions.

The sound quality is surprisingly very good and clear. I must say I have not expected this clarity and power from a speaker of this size. The volume range is also incredibly good and will fill most needs even on small picnics outdoors where you can hear it loud enough. One thing to mention is that even on their loudness levels sound is still clear without distortion which, to be honest, is to be expected from someone like JBL.

Where you can take JBL Clip 4

You can take it where ever you want, Its size and clip make it perfect for beach and pool trips. Speaker is waterproof and gas IP67 rating, meaning that sand and dirt will not affect it either. Do not take this speaker to your diving adventures since that will break it but a depth around 1 meter underwater should be safe. After your trip do not forget to wash Clip 4 with clean water so all dirt, salt, and other stuff are properly cleaned for longer life of the device.

How long it will play?

JBL claims that the battery will last 10 hours of continuous play. Note that this is meant probably on the largest volume setting so when you use it on lower settings battery is lasting longer. Playing of course on low volumes will extend playback time even longer but here we come at one feature that I do not like, there is no indication of any kind how much battery is left in the speaker, the only indication is a red light when the battery is almost empty which means you could be outside at that point and did not know that low battery was there in the first place when you were packing. Some battery indication would be a great addon.

More stability for JBL Clip 4

The clip itself has been improved from the previous Clip 3 model, it is wider, it goes all the way around the casing, and feels overall better and more stable. Since the clip is now all around casing this means a wider opening can be made making it fit around stuff Clip 3 was not able to.

Conclusion

All in all, Clip 4 is an incredible speaker and one that would highly recommend, the price goes around 79 USD but it can be found even as low as 50 USD on discounts and promotions and if you manage to get one at that price it is a great buy. Sound is good, portability is great, dirt and waterproof are excellent and battery life is really good.

Today most people have Facebook accounts where they keep in touch with friends and family. But large Facebook network of users is also very interesting to another party as well, hackers. There are many ways hackers can steal your data via direct hacks, trickery, and social engineering in order to get your credentials, emails, and many other things using them to wreak further havoc. Once a hacker has needed information it is very difficult to minimize impact and all of your information could be compromised from a list of friends to credit card numbers. Keep on reading to learn how can you protect yourself against these attacks and learn about common practices that hackers use in order to steal your data.

Stealing Facebook data via email

A couple of years ago there was a lot of talk about not opening suspicious emails. Well, it still holds today. The difference is that today’s fake emails have become very difficult to differentiate from official ones since hackers put the effort into creating them copying fonts and layout, making them identical to original ones. So if emails look and feel like original ones how do you know if it is fake? Very simple, you do not click anything in it. If Facebook or for that matter any company wants to contact you they will do via their platform. Clicking inside a hacker's email will lead you probably to a fake Facebook website replica where you will have to type in your username and password providing an attacker with your login credentials, etc. If you receive this kind of mail where there are threats about terminating an account, missing payments, etc. it is always the best thing to go directly to Facebook and see if you have any kind of notifications there. Do not trust any emails that ask for account information, request money, or threaten to suspend your account.

Phishing attacks

As stated previously if you click on the link inside fake mail it will probably lead you to a website replica of the original. Although hackers can pretty much copy all things from an original website like layout, fonts, colors, etc. There is one thing that he cannot, web address. Take a good look into your browser address bar to see if there is a typo or anything strange in the address of a website. Also, make sure to check for the secure icon in the web address before signing in.

Fake Facebook buttons

If by any chance and for whatever reason, you end up on a fake Facebook site be vary careful about like and other buttons since buttons themselves behave and act like links inside your browser. IF when you click on like you get a prompt to sign in, it is almost 100% that you ended up on a phishing fake website.

Password brute force attack

Having complex and long passwords is a must. If your Facebook password is 12345 there is a very high chance that if a hacker wants he can easily guess it via trying out the most used and simple passwords via simple guessing. To avoid being hacked just for having poor passwords try to think of something longer, combine letters and numerical characters, place special characters inside it or just simply as the best solution use a password manager and create passwords with it.

Password grab outside Facebook

If you use the same password for multiple accounts which is a big no-no and you should not do it then hackers can use passwords from other services and login into your Facebook in order to steal data. Avoid these situations by having different passwords for different accounts or use a password manager to keep everything in order.

Hacking via key logger

Some time ago we have made an article which explained in detail everything you need to know about key loggers here: https://errortools.com/windows/how-to-know-if-you-have-keylogger-in-windows/ Anyway, this is a more advanced hacking technique in order for hackers to steal your data and it includes placing malicious applications into your system that records your keystrokes and sends them directly to hackers. Since this is an application best protection against this type of attack is to have a security suite installed and active on your PC or device you use to go to Facebook.

Connecting and surfing on an unsecured network

Using no password and unsecured WI FI or any other type of network is risky at least. You can have all protection installed on your device and have a strong password but hackers also logged in to the same network can track all outgoing stuff going through mentioned network leaving you again exposed to attacks. It is better to connect to your mobile operator network than on free WI FI, at least there is some level of security in your operator network while free WI FI is completely unsecured. Getting a virtual private network or VPN is also one thing you could think about for protection since almost all VPN services will encrypt your data thus providing you with a security layer even on unsecured Wi-FI.

Conclusion

Hacking and stealing have come a long way from their infant stages and in today’s world when we use a lot of gadgets and have plenty of online presence taking some steps for security is a must. I hope that you have found anything here informational and helpful so you can avoid getting your data compromised.