For a while now, Microsoft has been working hard to add various built-in troubleshooters in Windows 10. In fact, there is a troubleshooter for almost every standard or common error in Windows 10. And now with the newly released Windows 10 v1903, Microsoft has added the Recommended Troubleshooting which allows Windows 10 to automatically fix a lot of critical issues on your computer, and in this post, you will be guided on how you can turn on or off the Recommended Troubleshooting in Windows 10.
The Microsoft Diagnostic & Feedback data only provides two settings – Basic and Full. So if you want to turn off the Recommended Troubleshooting for some reason, the only way to do so is to stop it from collecting complete data from your PC. And to turn it on or off, you can choose to switch between them. To do that, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback and from there, select Basic under the Diagnostic Data section. After that, go back to Settings and go to Update & security > Troubleshoot. Once you’re there, you should see a warning message saying, “Share Full Diagnostic data to get additional troubleshooting recommendations”. Based on the message, Microsoft will only offer the recommended troubleshooting based on the Full Diagnostic data which it collects from your computer.
On the other hand, if you know how to navigate and use the Windows Registry, then you can enable or disable the Recommended Troubleshooting via Registry Editor but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point. Once that’s covered, follow these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoft
From there, look for the key named “WindowsMigration”. If you can’t find it, just right-click on the left pane and create a new key and then name it “WindowsMigration”.
After that, create a DWORD “UserPreference” and double click on it to set its value to “0” if you want to turn it off or “1” if you want to turn it on.
Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Note: The Recommended Troubleshooting functionality can look into the error logs sent back to the Microsoft team and use an algorithm to set up a solution for you and they’re nothing but Diagnostics and Feedback data that Windows collects and sends back to Microsoft. Moreover, the recommendations are only visible if you are connected to the internet, else it will show the same message.
This post will guide you in fixing the “Communication with service process failed” error in Windows 10. This error is related to the Intel Driver and Support Assistant application. Although this error does not reportedly cause any loss of functionality in the computer, however, it still indicates that there is something wrong with some of your driver modules.
Intel has taken a bold step and combined its older modules into this new application (Intel Driver and Support Assistant) recently. This application enables users to scan their computers for any available updates from Intel. This is the main application of Intel and provides users a way to update their driver software automatically instead of manually updating it. However, with the recent reports submitted by some users, it seems that something is wrong with this application, and users to have to deal with the “Communication with service process failed” error. This error might be caused by several reasons, for one, it could be that the application is corrupted or incomplete in its nature which is possible since this is still a developing and newly released app. It could also be that there are other utilities or modules that conflict with the Intel software. Whichever the reason may be, you can try out the options given below to resolve the problem but before you proceed, make sure that you have an administrator account as well as an active and stable internet connection.
Option 1 – Disable DSATray in Startup
If you receive this error message every time you start your computer then this means that the application is not able to launch properly. Like pointed out, it could be that it is still incomplete in nature or it conflicts with other applications. Thus, you can try to disable the service from the startup and check if it fixes the problem.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “taskmgr” in the field and hit Enter to open the Task Manager.
After that, go to the Startup tab and look for the Intel Driver and Support Assistant app.
Right-click on the app and select Disable.
Restart your PC and check if the error is now fixed or not
Option 2 – Reinstall the Intel Driver and Support Assistant
If the first option did not work, you can try reinstalling the Intel Driver and Support Assistant app. To do so, follow these steps:
In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
From there, look for Intel Driver and Support Assistant and select it and then uninstall it.
After you have the app uninstalled, open your browser and go to Intel’s official website. From there, download the driver utility manually.
Once the download is finished, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator” and install the app on your PC with elevated access.
Restart your PC and then check if the error is now fixed.
Disk Write Error in Steam is thrown at you while you try to download or update the game in your library. If you are an unfortunate user of Steam that has encountered this error do not sweat, the error is usually tied to permission in windows or file corruption and not to hardware issues and can be easily resolved.
In this guide, we will go through solutions for this specific error and it is advisable to go through solutions as they are presented since they go from the easiest and most common issues.
Restart PC and Steam
The easiest and quickest way of resolving this issue is just a simple restart of the Steam client. Just completely quit Steam and they run it again, if this has not solved the issue try rebooting your PC. In most cases, this can solve the issue since this error is known to be introduced with some communication issues with OS (Windows)
Set Write permissions
Disk write permissions could also cause this error because if by any chance the Steam library folder has been set or changed to the read-only client would be unable to write anything in it. To easily solve this issue completely exit the Steam client and rerun it as administrator. Just right-click on it and select Run as Administrator. If this has solved your issue run Steam always as an administrator.
To run always as an administrator right click on the steam executable, go to properties, and inside properties go to the compatibility tab. In the compatibility tab check run as administrator and click on OK.
Clear download cache
If for any reason cache has become corrupted there is a big chance that this might be an issue why there is a disk drive error in Steam. To clear download, cache goes into your client, and on top drow down menu click on steam. Find and open settings and inside go to the downloads tab. Locate a clear download cache and immediately you will be prompted to restart Steam. After restart, you will be asked to login into steam and the issue with disk write should be gone.
Repair library folder
Library folder issues can also be the source of disk write annoyance so let's repair them. Click steam in the top left and go to the settings. Locate and click on Downloads and then go to Steam library folders. You will be here shown all disk drivers you are using for steam games and all of the games that are downloaded.
Select the game you are getting errors with and click on three dots on the far right. From the menu choose the repair folder option. Take note that the more games you have installed, the more time the repair process will need.
Change download server
Sometimes the issue is not at your end at all, servers can experience problems and outrages and this can directly reflect at your end with a disk write error. If any of the previous solutions have not resolved the issue this is the next logical step to try. If the server is facing issues then changing the download server will resolve the issue at your end.
Click on settings in the top drop-down menu and then click on the Steam library folder. Find the downloads page and then click on download region, Choose another server than one nearest to your location since that's what will Steam choose by default.
Error 103 is an error that is usually encountered by those who use Google Chrome. This error is usually generated because of a conflict arising between Google Chrome and the antivirus program running on the user’s computer. Primarily, error 103 is an incompatibility issue. It is not critical in nature.
However, since it will disrupt the smooth functioning of the browser, it is strongly advised to rectify this error that is generated due to any temporary conflicts between the logic of the two programs namely Google Chrome and antivirus.
In layman's terms, it would be only justified to say that this error has a lot to do with the way programs react to each other in real-time.
Solution
Error Causes
When the error is displayed to the user, it usually states something like ‘chrome error 103 connection aborted’, ‘chrome error 103 err_connection_aborted’ or ‘Error 103 (net: ERR_CONNECTION_ABORTED): Unknown error.
This begs the question, what triggers this error? Here it is important to understand that Google Chrome constantly applies to upgrade.
In most instances, the upgrades almost go unnoticed. In the meanwhile, there are other programs running on any system such as firewall, Antispyware, or antivirus programs. All such programs govern the functionality of the web browser.
Now, when the web browser attempts to update and any programs on the system view the update as a threat, the connection to the internet will be terminated. It is also important to understand that these programs will keep you from upgrading or from doing anything with your browser.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Before we move on to the discussion of fixing the underlying causes for error 103, it is important to understand all those programs that are most likely to generate this error. A list of all such programs is outlined below as follows.
Kaspersky Pure 3.0
Kaspersky ONE
Kaspersky small office security 2013
Kaspersky internet security 2013
Kaspersky antivirus 2013
A downside associated with error 103 is that it won’t disappear on its own. That’s why it is important to make some manual changes as there are no tools available online to rectify this error automatically. Follow the steps listed below to easily fix the problem.
Click on the Start button.
In the search box, enter ‘expand.exe’.
Right-click on the file that appears and select the option ‘Open Folder Location’.
Now, copy the file and paste it at the destination ‘C:\Windows\System32’.
If you are not able to find the file, it is advised you copy it from Windows Installation Disk.
Now, click on the ‘Start’ button again.
Find and select ‘Run’.
Now enter ‘C: ’ in the search box and press Ok.
Now right-click anywhere on the screen, select new, and then select folder.
Rename this folder. Change the name from ‘New Folder’ to ‘Temp’.
Now go to the Start button again.
Select ‘Run’ once again.
Type ‘cmd.exe’ in the command prompt and press Ok.
Now type Command. Press enter.
Now type this code as it is: ‘set TMP=C:temp’ and press enter.
Now restart the browser.
If it fails, install Google Chrome once again.
Just make sure everything is in sync to avoid any data loss.
In case you don’t know, Windows 10 now allows users to check the Bluetooth battery level of devices. More often than not, the accessories or peripherals users use for their Windows 10 devices are connected to it using Bluetooth technology. This high-speed low-powered wireless technology is designed to link mobile devices, computers, and other network devices over a short distance wirelessly.
Monitoring the battery level of a device where Bluetooth is enabled isn’t an easy task as most of these devices do not support the Bluetooth battery monitor or the battery level display. And even when on devices that do, you still have to install additional software to find it. However, Windows 10 eliminates this requirement and all you have to do is add a Bluetooth device and connect that Bluetooth device. How? Follow the instructions provided below.
Step 1: Adding a Bluetooth Device
The easiest way to get your Bluetooth device battery to be displayed on your Windows 10 screen is to simply add a Bluetooth device. To do so, follow these sub-steps:
First, turn on the Bluetooth mode on your device.
Next, go to Windows Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.
From there, click on the “+” button next to the ‘Add Bluetooth or other devices” option and select the type of device you want to add.
Step 2: Connecting the Bluetooth Device
Once you’ve added the device, it will be visible under the “Add a device” screen.
Now select the newly added Bluetooth device and click the “Done” button.
After that, it will now be connected. Go back to the “Bluetooth & other devices” window and scroll down to the section of “Mouse, Keyboard, and Pen”.
From there, move the cursor alongside the connected device to display its battery level.
Keep in mind that there are several ways in which you can display the battery information of the Bluetooth device. However, Windows 10 understands only one of them per se. So if your device is not a Bluetooth Low Energy device, Windows 10 won’t be able to show its battery information and won’t display its battery level.
If you are running the Windows Update service but decided to stop it but you encountered an error message instead that says, “The Windows Update service could not be stopped”, read on as this post will help you fix the problem.
This kind of error appears when you use the Command Prompt to stop the Windows Update service, especially if you are using cmd without admin privileges. A lot of users reported that they were not able to disable the automatic Windows Update in Windows 10 using Command Prompt. The command used to stop the Windows Update service is the “net stop wuauserv” command. However, when some users executed this command, they got the error message. So if you are one of these users that can’t stop the Windows Update Service via Command Prompt, you can try to fix that using PID as well as checking the Service dependencies. For more details, follow the given options below.
Option 1 – Try to stop the Windows Update service via PID
In case you don’t know, each running service or process has its own unique ID or PID and you can find it in the Task Manager. You can use it to stop the Windows Update service. How? Refer to these steps:
Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Next, go to the Services tab and look for the service named “wuauserv” and get its PID.
After that, type “cmd” in the Windows Start search and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
After opening Command Prompt with admin privileges, execute this command: taskkill /f /pid <PID>
Note: You need to replace “<PID>” with the PID of the “wuauserv” service. For instance, the PID is 6676, then this is how the command should be “taskkill /f /pid 6676”.
After you execute the command, you will this message on your screen, “SUCCESS: The process with PID 6676 has been terminated” which indicates that you have stopped the Windows Update service successfully.
Option 2 – Try to check the Service dependencies
Dependencies of a Windows Service in Windows 10 are when windows services depend on other services. Such is the case with the Windows Update service – it also depends on three different services such as the Remote Procedure Call or RPC service, DCOM Server Process Launcher, and the RPC Endpoint Mapper. Meaning to say, if two of these services are not working as expected, then the dependant service will also be affected. This could be the reason why the Windows Update service could not start.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
From the list of Services, look for the following services:
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
DCOM Server Process Launcher
RPC Endpoint Mapper
After you find these services, double click on each one of them and check whether the Startup type for all is set to Automatic and the Service status is set to Running or not.
If the service status is not running, then click the Start button. Afterward, check if you can now run the Windows Update service.
If we are to believe news from Intel, new series of processors based on Alder Lake architecture are about to be released somewhere in October. Alder Lake is the 12th Generation Core of Intel processors and it is meant to have all advantages of the current CPU structure.
I9 is aimed to pack a punch against its competitors with technology including eight high-performance Golden Cove cores (P-cores) with Hyper-Threading and eight energy-efficient Goldmont (E-cores) equipped with a 30MB L3 cache and operating at high clock speeds.
During the benchmark test, the new CPU outperformed all of Intel’s previous Rocket Lake structure processors which is logically expected but the big surprise came from results that indicate better performance than Apple’s new M1 processor even in single-threaded performance which is supposed to be best in that field.
Another surprise was really beating AMD Ryzen 9 in each field. If we take into account that i9 has 16 cores in total and can process 24 threads against Ryzen 9 with 16 Cores and 32 threads this is an impressive feature.
Now truth to be told Alder lake has massive L3 cache and microarchitectural advantages and consumes much more power but the results of performance are high. Also, note that this early CPU is not really a mass production one and maybe some things will still change but early results are very satisfactory.
We will see what will price tag be since in this age of shortage and competition that will also play a big role in its overall success. Speaking of competition I eagerly await AMD’s response to this, in any way it seems that the CPU market is for some turbulence which is always a good thing for the final customer and I welcome it.
In case you didn’t know, the new Windows 10 v1903 has brought tons of new features around Windows 10 Updates. One of these features is the ability to automatically adjust the Active Hours based on your computer activity. This feature is really useful as it tells the operating system when to install the Windows Updates.
A lot of users use the Active Hours feature to ensure that the Windows Update won’t force them to restart their PCs to install the update. So if your computer is turned on, it won’t apply the update during the active hours you’ve specified. In addition, the active hours change for many users and they are not that strict. For instance, if you set the active hours between 10 am to 5 pm, Windows Update won’t be forcing you to restart your computer to install the updates at those times.
Note that Windows Update allows enabling an option using where it can monitor the active hours in your computer and change it. To configure this setting, here’s what you have to do:
Frist, go to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update.
Next, take note of your current active hours and click on the “Change active hours” link.
Then toggle the option that says, “Automatically adjust active hours for this device based on activity”. This will change the active hours and if you match it with the previous one, it should be different.
As you can see on the image given above, the earlier active hours were between 8:00 to 17:00 and were changed to 11:00 to 19:00. If you have been using this feature for a while you’ll find how useful and handy it is especially when you’re using your computer and don’t want any notifications like the prompts for Windows Updates to bother you while working.
In case you don’t know, Groove Music is due to retire its OneDrive streaming service this month. Despite that being the case, there is actually a workaround you can try to still continue enjoying music streaming. The app also allows you to play your own local files and if required, you can also modify or tailor the experience with new features – for instance, Groove Music brings an Equalizer to the settings of the app.
As the name suggests, the equalizer allows you to tweak frequency responses to your liking. On top of being able to tweak individual bands, the equalizer supports few pre-set settings to enable quick changes. This post will guide you on the process of accessing and using the equalizer in the Groove Music app. To get started, refer to the instructions provided below.
Step 1: You need to make sure that you are running the latest version of the Groove Music app or version 10.18011.1211.0 or higher in order to use the equalizer in Groove Music. If needed, you can check the version number from Windows Store.
Step 2: Open Windows Store and then click on the ellipses icon and select the Downloads and Updates option.
Step 3: Next, search for Groove Music and check its version number.
Step 4: Now that you’ve verified the version number of Groove Music, you need to open the equalizer setting. It is enabled by default and to access it, click on the gear icon for Settings and select equalizer under the Playback settings.
Step 5: After that, the Equalizer window will pop up. It is where you can configure the equalizer settings using the drop-down menu. Here are the following presets you can choose from:
Flat
Treble Boost
Bass Boost
Headphones
Laptop
Portable speakers
Home Stereo
TV
Car
Custom
Step 6: Drag the dots upwards or downwards to set your own preferences, as needed.
Note: The only downside to this setting is that there is no shortcut available for quick access as you have to navigate through the Settings section manually to access it and change the preset configurations. In addition, the Groove Music app also works on the mobile version of Windows 10.
The latest steam beta update has introduced code that will prevent downloading and installing previous game versions via the steam client.
For many people that are playing online games, this is not such a big deal since they always must have the latest version in order to play their games but for other ones, this has arrived as a bit of a problem. Many people preferred older game versions since often updates can change certain mechanics inside the game making it different as an experience or introduce some elements that not everyone likes.
So far, people could use the steamDB site to find depo of the game versions you would like to play and download it but if this beta code goes live that will not be an option anymore. Now, playing old games without updates could also be used for nostalgic reasons and these people have also been cut off with this update.
It is important to point that update is still in beta client only but users have already started to voice their opinions asking Valve not to place it live. In the end, it will all depend on Valve’s decision will they listen to their customers or decide to push updates on live service.
System image backup error 0x807800A1 & 0x800423F3 appears when you are trying to create a system image backup and the operation fails to do so.
If you’re faced with any of these error codes, try our recommended solutions in the order presented below and resolve the issue.
To restart the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) on Windows 10, do the following:
Press ⊞ Windows + X to bring up the Windows menu.
Click on command prompt (admin)
In the command prompt window, type the commands below and hit Enter after each line:
net stop vssnet start vss
Once the commands execute successfully, try the system image backup again. The operation should complete successfully.
You need to also check if the Software Protection Service is disabled. If it is, then Start it and ensure that it is set to default which is Automatic (Delayed Started).
Create System Image using PowerShell
Command lines are less prone to errors provided the syntax is correct, unlike GUIs that can suffer a glitch every now and then.
To create a system image with PowerShell do the following:
Open the Windows PowerShell as administrator. To create a System Image in Windows 10 using PowerShell, you will have to run the Wbadmin command.
Inside the Powershell window type, then press Enter: wbadmin start backup-backup target: E:-include: C:-quiet-allCriticalE: is the target drive where you’re going to save the system image, and C: is the system root drive where Windows is currently installed
To extract the created system image, starting over from Windows 10 USB installation media, select advanced startup or open run and type: C: \ Windows \ System32 \ Shutdown.exe / r / o
Use third-party imaging software
If the previous two solutions have not managed to solve the issue there is always an option to use a third-party imaging solution. There are free open source and buying options offering various advantages each. Find out which one works best for you and use it.