Airplane Mode turns on by itself in Windows

The GDI32.DLL is a DLL (Dynamic Link Library) file that was developed by Microsoft. It is an essential file of the Windows OS as it contains instructions and information for exe files to follow. These DLL files also use to store the various procedures and codes for the Windows programs. It is considered an essential component of Windows because it ensures that all the programs on Windows are operating properly. So, if the gdi32.dll not found on your computer, then it can negatively impact your computer and the associated programs. Though DLL files used to be so efficient and convenient, they are extremely vulnerable to errors and issues.

1. Perform SFC scan

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the Windows menu From the menu choose command prompt (admin) In command prompt type sfc /scannow and press ENTER Leave the computer for the operation to be completed and Reboot your computer

2. Run DISM

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the Windows menu From the menu choose command prompt (admin) in command prompt type: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press ENTER wait for the process to be finished and Reboot your computer

3. Update device driver

   Go to your manufacturer's website and update drivers for your components with the latest versions.

4. Update Windows

   If you have an update ready for Windows, update it and see if this will remove the error

5. Scan computer for malware

   Perform a full PC scan for malware to see if this is causing issues with the GDI32.DLL error.

6. Download file

   One solution is to download a file from the official site and place it in the corresponding folder.

7. Perform System restore

   Rollback system restore before the issue happened and your Windows will be working as intended

The newest piece of hardware for PC or console users is not really what anyone has expected and for sure not from a company like Cooler Master. I going to admit right here that I am a big fan of Cooler Master PC cases, I like them and they are always one of the things that I consider when building a new PC, overall I like their ideas and quality so personal for me it was quite a surprise to see that they are one that is making a new generation gaming chair. Now truth to be told Orb X is not your typical gaming chair as you can clearly see from the pictures. The chair itself will come in two colors: white or black and RGB lighting looks to be prominently featured throughout. The chair itself is advertised as both meant and aimed for professional and gaming crowds but I believe the gaming crowd is in general more interested in this hardware piece. Hardware is enclosed in a fully motorized shuttle dome which aims to maximize your privacy, it supports a single 49inch display or three 27inch monitors along with surround speakers if you do not wish to use headphones. It offers an adjustable headrest, lumbar support, and footrest so you can spend some time in it and be comfortable. Controls on the chair itself allow you to raise or lower the dome for easier getting in and out of it. Orb X also has a compartment in its backside, it folds out and has a sliding tray designed to hold your PC or console. Everything is enclosed so wiring is not the issue. Overall Orb X seems really like the computer chair of the future, Cooler Master expects to release the Orb X by December 2021, priced around $12,000-$14,000.

If you have been using Windows for quite some time now then you’re probably aware of the BIOS or UEFI password. This password lock is the one that ensures you enter the set password even before your Windows PC boots up. However, there’s just one downside with the BIOS or UEFI password – there is no recovery option, unlike your Microsoft account. Worry not though for this post will guide you on how you can set or recover a BIOS or UEFI password on your Windows computer. The BIOS or UEFI passwords are stored at the hardware level which means that unless the OEM wants or has configured a way to recover the password, it is pretty much impossible to reset it. There are times when they are so strict that the only way to get through it by contacting customer care. Note that any Windows computer with this lock can’t be unlocked by trying to reinstall Windows. In this post, you’re going to have to remove the CMOS battery temporarily, clear unknown BIOS/UEFI passwords using the bios-PW website as well as call customer care. For more details, refer to the options provided below.

Option 1 – Remove the CMOS battery temporarily

In case you didn’t know, every motherboard comes with a CMOS battery which helps the computer system to keep the clock ticking and in making sure that the BIOS settings are not lost when the computer is powered down. Every time a computer is turned on, the CMOS battery ensures that the information is available for the computer to boot up. So when you remove the CMOS battery temporarily, say about 30 seconds or a minute, the settings will be lost. There are some motherboards that are built-in ways that when you remove the battery for long, it will reset everything including the password for the BIOS or UEFI.

Option 2 – Clear the unknown BIOS or UEFI passwords using a bios-PW website

If the first option didn’t work, you can try using this BIOS Password website at http://bios-pw.org/ to clear the password.

• When prompted by the BIOS, enter the wrong password a couple of times as doing so will lock you out of the system.
• After that, you will see a new number or code on the screen which will include a message about System Disabled [XXXXX] Service TAG [YYYYY].
• Next, open the BIOS Password website and enter the XXXXX code in it and make sure to tap the Shift + Enter keys or just enter.
• Now it will open multiple unlock keys which you can use to clear out the BIOS or UEFI lock on your Windows PC.

Option 3 – Call the customer care

If the second option still didn’t work, you have to call customer care and follow their suggestions for they will walk you through fixing the problem using the service tag or might suggest that you visit a service center to make things easier for you. Note: You also have the option to set a BIOS or UEFI password. Although it isn’t recommended, you still can do it if you really want to. Remember that the BIOS or UEFI interface varies from OEM to OEM so you must find something related to either PASSWORD or SECURITY. You will have the following similar options:

• Supervisor password – it’s the same as the master password that can change important system settings.
• User password – with this password, any user can change minor settings.
• Master password – you can use this password for a hard drive or as a general password.

There are several OEMs that offer micro-control where you have to enter the BIOS password. For instance, you’ll have the option to skip for a normal restart, or when you select a boot device while you might have to enter the password for unattended reboots or when your PC is powered on, etc. And if you are here to remove the password, you need to find a remove password option in the same section. You will be prompted to enter the set password once and if it’s correct, it will remove the BIOS password. After that, you have to save and exit the BIOS then restart your computer and check if the settings are properly applied.

If when hovering over the upgrade icon on the taskbar you get:

Your version of Windows 10 would reach the end of service soon, Click to download a newer version of Windows 10 to stay supported. or An unsupported version of Windows will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These updates include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software which can steal your personal information. Windows Update also installs the latest software updates to improve the reliability of Windows—such as new drivers for your hardware.

and you are unable to perform updates then this guide is for you. There are several things you can do to fix this issue presented here, it is advisable to follow them in a way how they are presented for best performance and system safety.

1. Run setupdiag

   Download and run Setupdiag from the official MICROSOFT website. SetupDiag is a standalone diagnostic tool that can be used to obtain details about why a Windows 10 upgrade was unsuccessful. It works by examining Windows Setup log files to determine the root cause of a failure to update or upgrade the computer. Once the scan is completed, check the generated log files. The SetupDiagResults.log will be generated and saved in the same folder where you downloaded Setupdiag. Open SetupDiagResults.log using Notepad. You may need to take a look at these folders:
   • \Windows\Panther
   • \$Windows.~bt\sources\panther
   • \$Windows.~bt\Sources\Rollback
   • \Windows\Panther\NewOS
   If there are any issues or conditions that are blocking the upgrade, they will be listed here.

2. Edit TargetReleaseVersionInfo Registry key

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog In run dialog type Regedit and press ENTER Locate: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate Locate two DWORD files, if they do not exist, create them as: TargetReleaseVersion TargetReleaseVersionInfo Set the value of TargetReleaseVersion to 1 If you are stuck on Windows 10 1909 and want to upgrade to Windows 10 20H2 now, you need to set the value for TargetReleaseVersionInfo to 20H2 Reboot the computer

3. Use Windows 10 update assistant

   Visit Microsoft.com and hit the ‘Update now’ button visible on the page Download tool and run it Click on Update now to start the upgrade process

It is no secret that a few days ago Facebook has been breach and tons of user accounts have been compromised. These kinds of things are very unpleasant experiences for both users and the company itself. User trust lowers significantly in the company and it can greatly increase the chances of users migrating to another platform. This just shows how much a hacker or security breach can produce damage to the business. Sadly we can not offer you guidance or assistance in recovering your stolen data nor can we provide you with removing your data from the hands of the attacker. What we can do is to provide you with information has your data been stolen. Threat actor released the personal information for 533,313,128 Facebook users on a hacking forum, including mobile numbers, name, gender, location, relationship status, occupation, date of birth, and email addresses. This data was originally sold in private sales after being collected in 2019 using a bug in the 'Add Friend' feature on Facebook. Facebook had closed this vulnerability soon after it was discovered, but threat actors continued to circulate the data until it was finally released practically for free. Since then, Troy Hunt has added the leaked data to his Have I Been Pwned data breach notification service to help users determine if a Facebook member's data was exposed in the leak. Go to the site and enter your email address to check and see if your data has been compromised.

ConvertDocsOnline is a Browser Extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark Inc. This extension offers users a quick and easy way to convert documents without any additional applications installed on their computer, it also has quick access links to popular websites that the average user might find interesting. While all this may look appealing and nice, this extension injects itself into your browser.

While installed, ConvertDocsOnline will monitor your browsing activity and record visited websites, clicked links, downloads, and even viewed products. All this information is later used/sold to Mindsparks Ad network to better serve user-targeted ads.

Browsing the internet with this extension installed will result in ad placement throughout your browsing sessions. These ads might appear as normal links (sponsored content), ad links, or even pop-up ads.

ConvertDocsOnline has been marked as a Browser Hijacker by several Anti-Virus scanners and is therefore recommended for optional removal from your PC.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijackers (sometimes referred to as hijackware) are a type of malware that changes web browser settings without the user’s knowledge or permission. These types of hijacks are increasing at an alarming rate around the globe, and they can be truly nefarious and sometimes dangerous too. There are plenty of reasons why you may have a browser hijack; however commercial, marketing, and advertising are definitely the primary reasons for their creation. In most cases, browser hijacking is used for earning advertising revenue that comes from forced ad mouse clicks and site visits. It might appear naive, but the majority of these sites are not legitimate and may pose a significant threat to your online safety. In a much worst case, your internet browser could be hijacked to download malicious software that can do a lot of damage to your PC.

Symptoms of browser hijacker malware

Symptoms that a web browser is a hi-jacked include: 1. the browser’s homepage is modified 2. your internet browser is constantly being redirected to adult websites 3. the default online search engine and/or the default browser settings are altered 4. you see many toolbars in your internet browser 5. you might find endless pop-up adverts on your computer screen 6. your web browser gets slow, buggy crashes very often 7. you can’t navigate to certain web pages, such as computer security software-related websites.

How they infect computer systems

Browser hijackers can enter a PC in some way or other, for example via downloads, file sharing, and e-mail also. Many browser hijackings come from add-on software, i.e., toolbars, browser helper objects (BHO), or plug-ins added to browsers to give them extra functionality. Browser hijackers sneak to your computer in addition to free software downloads also that you unwittingly install alongside the original. Examples of popular browser hijackers are Fireball, CoolWebSearch. GoSave, Ask Toolbar, RocketTab, and Babylon Toolbar. The existence of any browser hijacker on your computer could drastically diminish the web browsing experience, record your internet activities that lead to critical privacy issues, degrade overall computer efficiency, and result in application instability also.

Removing browser hijackers

Certain hijackers could be removed by simply uninstalling the related freeware or add-ons from the Add or Remove Programs in the Windows control panel. But, many hijacking codes are certainly not very easy to get rid of manually, since they go deeper into your operating system. Beginner PC users should not try for the manual form of removal methods, as it calls for thorough system knowledge to perform fixes on the system registry and HOSTS file. Browser hijackers can be effectively removed by installing and running anti-malware software on the affected PC. To get rid of any browser hijacker from your laptop or computer, you should download this particular certified malware removal application – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Along with the antivirus tool, a system optimizer, like SafeBytes’s Total System Care, will help you in getting rid of all related files and modifications in the computer registry automatically.

Virus Blocking Access To Safebytes Website And Preventing Anti-Malware Downloads - What You Should Do?

All malware is bad and the level of the damage will vary greatly in accordance with the type of infection. Some malware types modify browser settings by including a proxy server or modify the PC’s DNS configuration settings. In such cases, you’ll be unable to visit some or all of the websites, and thus unable to download or install the necessary security software to remove the malware. If you are reading this now, you may have probably realized that a malware infection is the cause of your blocked net traffic. So how to proceed when you want to install antivirus software such as Safebytes? Do as instructed below to remove malware through alternate ways.

Get rid of viruses in Safe Mode

The Windows operating system includes a special mode known as “Safe Mode” where just the bare minimum required programs and services are loaded. If the malicious software is set to load immediately when PC boots, switching into this particular mode can prevent it from doing so. In order to enter into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press the F8 key while the PC is starting up or run MSConfig and look for the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you are in safe mode, you can try to download and install your antivirus software application without the hindrance of the malware. Now, you can actually run the antivirus scan to eliminate computer viruses and malware without hindrance from another malicious application.

Switch to an alternate internet browser

Some malware only targets certain internet browsers. If this is your situation, make use of another internet browser as it can circumvent the malware. If you’re not able to download the anti-virus program using Internet Explorer, this means the virus could be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you need to switch to a different internet browser like Firefox or Chrome to download the Safebytes Anti-malware program.

Install antivirus on a USB drive

Another option would be to make a portable anti-malware program on your USB stick. Adopt these measures to run the anti-malware on the infected PC. 1) On a clean PC, download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Plug the pen drive into the clean PC. 3) Double click on the downloaded file to open the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the pen drive as the place where you would like to store the software files. Follow the instructions on the computer screen to finish up the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the thumb drive to the infected PC. 6) Double-click the anti-malware program EXE file on the pen drive. 7) Run Full System Scan to detect and clean-up up all kinds of malware.

Review of SafeBytes Anti-Malware

If you are planning to purchase anti-malware for your desktop, there are plenty of brands and utilities for you to consider. Some are good ones, some are decent, while some are simply just bogus anti-malware applications that can ruin your personal computer themselves! You have to pick a tool that has got a good reputation and detects not only computer viruses but other sorts of malware also. When thinking about trustworthy programs, Safebytes Anti-Malware is certainly the strongly recommended one. Safebytes is one of the well-established PC solutions companies, which provide this all-inclusive anti-malware software. Using its cutting-edge technology, this application will assist you to get rid of multiples types of malware including computer viruses, trojans, PUPs, worms, ransomware, adware, and browser hijackers.

SafeBytes anti-malware takes computer protection to a whole new level with its advanced features. These are some of the highlighted features included in the tool.

Real-time Active Protection: SafeBytes gives real-time active monitoring and protection against all known viruses and malware. It’ll monitor your PC for suspicious activity continuously and safeguards your PC from illegal access. Robust, Anti-malware Protection: Built upon a highly acclaimed anti-virus engine, this malware removal tool has the capacity to find and get rid of several stubborn malware threats such as browser hijackers, PUPs, and ransomware that other typical antivirus applications will miss. Extremely Speed Scanning: SafeBytes Anti-Malware has got a multi-thread scan algorithm that works up to 5 times faster than any other anti-malware software. Web Protection: Through its unique safety score, SafeBytes informs you whether a site is safe or not to access it. This will make sure that you’re always certain of your safety when browsing the world wide web. Light-weight: SafeBytes is really a lightweight tool. It uses up an extremely small amount of processing power as it operates in the background so you’re free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want. 24/7 Assistance: Support service is available 24 x 7 x 365 days through chat and email to answer your concerns. SafeBytes can keep your personal computer protected from most advanced malware threats automatically, thus keeping your online experience secure and safe. Malware issues will become a thing of the past once you put this software program to use. You’ll get the best all-around protection for the money you spend on SafeBytes AntiMalware subscription, there is no doubt about it.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

To eliminate ConvertDocsOnline manually, go to the Add/Remove programs list in the Control Panel and choose the program you want to get rid of. For internet browser extensions, go to your web browser’s Addon/Extension manager and select the add-on you intend to remove or disable. You might also want to reset your home page and search engine providers, as well as delete browsing history, temporary files, and internet cookies. In order to ensure the complete removal, manually check your hard drive and Windows registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values as needed. But bear in mind, this can be a tricky task and only computer professionals could carry it out safely. Furthermore, certain malicious programs are capable to defend against its removal. It is advised that you carry out the removal process in Safe Mode.

Internal Error 2753 - What is it?

Internal error 2753 is associated with Windows Installer failure. The Windows Installer is basically an in-built software program in Windows 7 and 8. It installs all programs on the system smoothly, saves the program in the computer program files and in the Windows Registry. Though this can be carried manually Windows Installer makes the installation process much easier. However, internal error 2753 can cause a great deal of distress and frustration during program installation. This error prevents you from installing your desired program successfully.

Solution

Error Causes

The 2 known causes for Internal Error 2753 are:

• Viral infection
• Windows Installer not properly registered

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve internal error 2753 on your system, try the methods discussed below. These methods are easy and require no technical expertise. Let’s get started:

Method 1 - Remove All Malicious Programs

Malicious programs like viruses, malware, adware, Trojan and spyware can corrupt programs on your PC like Windows Installer. If this is the underlying cause of error code 2753, then simply download a powerful antivirus on your system. Run it to scan for all such malicious programs and remove them. Once your PC is clean, try installing your desired program. This will hopefully resolve the issue. If the error still pops up then try method 2.

Method 2 - Register Windows Installer Properly

To do this, go to the start menu and then open Run and type ‘cmd’ in the box, and press OK. This will open the DOS command window. In the command prompt type "regsvr32 vbscript.dll" and then press Enter to proceed. After that, you will see a message that will read as "DllRegisterServer in vbscript.dll succeeded." This means Window Installer files have been successfully registered on your PC.  Now you can try installing your desired program again. If the installation begins and completes successfully, then the error is resolved.

Method 3 - Undo Recent Changes

If nothing works, then use the Windows System Restore Utility tool to undo recent changes. This will bring back your PC in the former state before you experienced the error 2753 on your PC. To access System Restore Utility, press Start and type System Restore in the search box. Now follow the steps in the Wizard to choose a restore point. Once you select the point, reboot your system to activate changes.

If you encounter the ERR_SSL_VERSION_INTERFERENCE error on your Google Chrome browser then this means that the browser is trying to load a website with SSL protocol but is not able to do so. This error can occur for many reasons and in this post, you will be given potential fixes that could help you in resolving the problem. But bear in mind that these potential fixes are not that straightforward forward so if you encounter an option you don’t understand much, just skip to the options you have the knowledge of. There is no direct fault in the browser for the ERR_SSL_VERSION_INTERFERENCE error as there are issues with caching the website data locally on your computer. Moreover, this kind of error can also appear when a website is coded incorrectly or if there are conflicting browser extensions installed in the browser that prevents the website to function properly. Refer to the suggestions given below to fix the ERR_SSL_VERSION_INTERFERENCE error in Chrome on Windows 10.

Option 1 – Try clearing browser data

There are times when some data in the browser is conflicting with the loading of the website and triggers errors like ERR_CACHE_MISS. And so you can try to clear your browser’s data. This might be a very basic solution but oftentimes it works in fixing this kind of error in Google Chrome. Follow the steps below to clear the data in your browser.

• Open your Google Chrome browser.
• After that, tap the Ctrl + H keys. Doing so will open a new panel that allows you to delete the browsing history and other data in your browser.
• Now select every checkbox that you see and click on the Clear browsing data button.
• Then restart your Chrome browser and check if you can now open any website or not.

Option 2 – Try disabling TSL 1.3

If clearing the browser data didn’t fix the problem, you can also try to disable TSL 1.3 in Chrome. To do so, refer to these steps:

• Open Google Chrome.
• Next, type in “chrome://flags/#tls13-variant” in the address bar and tap Enter.
• After that, you should see the experimental features page for Google Chrome where you can set TSL 1.3 to disabled.
• After disabling TSL 1.3, restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 3 – Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS cache

Resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help in resolving the ERR_SSL_VERSION_INTERFERENCE error just follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator) so you can pull up an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, execute each one of the commands listed below. And after you typed in one after the other, you have to hit Enter.

1. netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
2. netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
3. ipconfig /flushdns – type in this command to flush the DNS cache

• Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.

Option 4 – Get rid of any conflicting browser extensions

• Open Chrome and press Alt + F keys.
• Go to More tools and click Extensions to look for any suspicious browser extensions or toolbars.
• Click the Recycle bin and select Remove.
• Restart Chrome and press Alt + F keys again.
• Proceed to On Startup and mark Open a specific page or set of pages.
• To check if the browser hijacker is still active, click Set pages, if it is active, overwrite the URL.

Option 5 – Reset Google Chrome

Resetting Chrome can also help you get rid of the error. Resetting Chrome will restore its default settings, disabling all the extensions, add-ons, and themes. Aside from that, the content settings will be reset as well and the cookies, cache, and site data will also be deleted. To reset Chrome, here’s what you have to do:

• Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
• After that, click on Settings.
• Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
• After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
• Now restart Google Chrome.

What is Out of Memory error while copying files? As you know, both the hard drive and RAM play a major role in performing any operation on a computer since every process or task that takes place in the system requires some RAM storage as well as hard drive storage to be executed. However, there are times when you may receive the following error messages when you try to copy files from one location to another:

“Out of memory or system resources, Close some windows or programs and try again.” “There is not enough memory to complete this operation – copying files.”

These errors are caused by the Desktop Heap limitation when there is no longer enough memory to complete the operation while copying the files. If you encounter any of these errors, you will be guided in this post with the help of some potential fixes that can increase its limit and will hopefully fix this error on your Windows 10 computer. You may try to close all the open windows and programs and then try copying the file again and see if that helps. If not, then proceed to the instructions given below. But before you do that, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. This way, you can undo the changes you’ve made any time in case there are some unwanted changes you want to reverse. After you create a System Restore point, refer to the steps provided below. Step 1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor. Step 2: Next, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerSubSystems Step 3: Now double click on the DWORD named Windows to modify it. Step 4: Change the values for SharedSection in the Value Data field. It should be in the format of “SharedSection=aaaa,bbbb,cccc”. Note that you have to change the value of “bbbb” and “cccc”. So in case you are using an x86 operating system, set the value of bbbb to 12288 and then set the value for cccc to 1024. On the other hand, if you are using an x64 operating system, set the bbbb value to 20480 and the cccc value to 1024. Step 5: Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made. Note: The bbbb value in the SharedSection registry is the size of the desktop heap for each interactive window station while the cccc section of the SharedSection value is the size of the desktop heap for each non-interactive window station. In addition, you must keep in mind that setting the value of bbbb to more than 20480 KB is not really recommended. On the other hand, there is another tool that could help in resolving the Out of Memory error. This tool is called the Memory Diagnostic tool in windows can help resolve the Out of Memory error by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.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 your preferred option, your computer will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them.

If you suddenly find the middle mouse button not working as you use it on your Windows 10 computer, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will provide some suggestions that can help you fix the issue. This kind of problem can affect your experience in using your computer as the middle mouse button helps you in scrolling through long web pages and screens with a lot of data. So if that stops, you will end up using your keyboard instead which is kind of a hassle compared to using the middle mouse button. It is possible that this problem could have something to do with either the hardware or software. To isolate the possibility of a hardware failure, you can try to connect the mouse to a different computer and see if it works just fine there or if it still has the same problem. If the mouse works properly on a different computer, then the issue is software-related. It is possible that a software update, especially gaming software, could have been misconfigured in a way that the middle button does not respond like it’s supposed to. To resolve the problem, you might want to try reinstalling or updating the mouse drivers or run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter. You can also install OEM-specific mouse drivers or modify some entries in the Windows Registry.

Option 1 – Reinstall or update the Mouse driver

The problem may be caused by a corrupted or an outdated mouse driver. To fix it, you have to update or reinstall the mouse driver. How? Follow these steps:

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the Mouse and other pointing devices and right-click on the mouse driver 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, disconnect the mouse and plug it back in to reinstall the mouse driver.

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.

Option 2 – Try running the Hardware Troubleshooter

The next thing you can do to fix the problem is by running the Hardware Troubleshooter. Although it won’t make much of a difference, there’s still a possibility that it could automatically fix the problem with these function keys. To use it, refer to these steps:

• The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
• After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
• From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
• Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
• After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.

Option 3 – Try to install OEM specific mouse drivers

Aside from updating or reinstalling the mouse drivers, you might also want to try installing OEM-specific mouse drivers. When you install Windows, it will use a generic driver for all its components. The disadvantage of generic drivers for the mouse is that it limits its functionality. In fact, some also configure the middle mouse button to respond to specific action which does not work without the correct drivers. In such cases, you need to visit the website of your computer’s manufacturers to download and install the latest drivers and then open the software and configure it the way it was before. Keep in mind that some OEMs also offer gestures, so you also have to check on that.

Option 4 – Try to modify some entries in the Registry

If a Windows Update is the one that caused the problem, you could correct it by making some modifications in the Registry but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point first.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
• After that, double click on the “WheelScrollLines” entry on the right pane to open its Properties.
• Now change its value data to “3” and exit the Registry Editor and then see if the issue with the middle mouse button is fixed or not.