Bluetooth Headset in Windows gets disconnected

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL will cause your computer to go to the blue screen of death but do not worry there are solutions around this and we are here to instruct you on how to solve this.

1.  Uninstall and install network drivers

   DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL is most commonly tied to bad network drivers, whatever that be a corruption of the driver files or their incompatibility. So first thing is to check if this is the case. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the hidden menu in Windows and click on Device Manager. In the Device Manager expand Network adapters, choose adapter, right-click on it and choose Uninstall. Install latest driver or reboot so Windows will install the driver automatically

2. Update driver

   If you do not want to reinstall the driver or you are unable to for whatever reason updating the driver might do the trick. To update driver: Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the hidden menu in Windows and click on Device Manager. In the Device Manager expand Network adapters, choose adapter, right-click on it and choose Update Driver.

3. Fix via Command prompt

   If both of the beforementioned solutions fail, try running the command prompt and fix the issue from there. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the hidden menu in Windows and click on Command Prompt (administrator) In command prompt type next line and press ENTERDEL /F /S /Q /A “C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mfewfpk.sys Reboot the system

4. Scan your PC for malware

   Sometimes corruption in the system is caused by malware, Scan your system for malware, viruses, etc.

5. Check connections or other hardware issues

   If all methods fail, open your PC case and check to see if connections everywhere are properly connected and tight. Clean your PC and turn it back ON

6. Use system restore

   If anything fails, use Windows system restore and bring back computer into a state where everything was working fine.

One of the most important User Interface elements in a Windows 10 operating system is the Start Menu. Not too long ago, Microsoft has added some new features and redesigned the Start Menu a couple of times as well. Thus, it is not uncommon for Windows 10 users to use several monitors. That’s why in this post, you will be guided on how you can move the Start Menu to your second monitor in Windows 10. There are a lot of advantages in using more than one monitor like a better and widescreen as well as help in improving and increasing productivity. Usually, the Start Menu and the taskbar is present in the original monitor only. In most cases, it helps users in moving the Start Menu to the second monitor and helps users in segregating tasks, and uses separate monitors for each kind of task. There are two simple steps to move the Start Menu to the second monitor. You have the option to unlock and drag the taskbar, as well as make adjustments in the settings. To get started, refer to each one of the following options to move the Start Menu to the second monitor.

Option 1 – Move the second monitor by unlocking and dragging the taskbar

The first option you can try to move the Start Menu to the second display is to simply unlock and then drag the taskbar. To do so, follow these steps:

• First, click on the Taskbar and unlock it.
• Next, uncheck the Lock the taskbar feature in the menu of the Taskbar Settings. This will free the taskbar so you can move or drag it around.
• After that, push the Start Menu to the furthermost corner of the screen and then transfer it to the second monitor.

Option 2 – Move the second monitor using the keyboard

• The first thing you have to do is to tap the Windows key to open the Start Menu.
• Next, close the Start Menu by tapping the Esc key.
• After that, the controls will shift back to the taskbar.
• Now open the context menu of the taskbar by tapping the Alt + space bar together. This will move the Start Menu to the second monitor.

Option 3 – Move the Start Menu to the second monitor via Settings

If you find that the Taskbar is moving to the wrong monitor automatically or if the program does not start on the same monitor as the taskbar, then you can try this option.

• Click on Start first and click Run.
• Then type “desk.cpl” in the field and click OK.
• Alternatively, you could also right-click on the desktop and select the Screen Resolution option from the drop-down menu.
• After that, click on the monitor that you want to use as the primary monitor and select the checkbox labeled “Make this my main display”.
• Once done, you have to choose the “Show desktop” on only 1 from the drop-down menu of Multiple displays.
• Now click the Keep Changes option and select the Extend these displays from the Multiple displays drop-down menu and then click on the Apply button to save the changes made.
• Afterward, click the Keep changes option once the dialog box pops up.

There are instances when you open a picture or an image in the Windows Photo Viewer and instead of displaying the image, it displays nothing and you’ll see an error message instead that says, “Windows Photo Viewer can’t display this picture because there might not be enough memory available on your computer”. Although this may look like a clear-cut issue of less storage space or low RAM in your computer, that’s not always the case. Security experts noticed that even when your computer has enough resources and disk space, this kind of problem could still occur. So if you experience the same thing, you need to check the Color Profile of your screen. For more information, refer to the detailed instructions provided below but before you proceed, make sure that you close some processes in the Task Manager or restart your computer and see if it helps in fixing the problem. You can also try using the Disk Cleanup tool. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “cleanmgr” in the field and hit Enter to open the Disk Cleanup window.
• After that, select the drive you want to clean.
• Now click OK to clean the disk and restart your computer.

If the Disk Cleanup tool didn’t help in resolving the issue, refer to the instructions below. Step 1: In the search box, type “color management” and then select the “Change advanced color management settings for display” option from the search results. Or you could simply go to Settings > System > Display, Advanced display settings, and from there, select display and click on the Display adapter properties of Display. Step 2: Next, switch to the Color Management tab and click on the Color Management button. Step 3: Select the monitor where you’re getting the “Windows Photo Viewer can’t display this picture because there might not be enough memory available on your computer” error in the next window. And if you have two displays, make sure that you select the primary display. You also have an option to identify the monitor. Step 4: Once confirmed, select the “Use my settings for this device” checkbox. Step 5: After that, select the Profile listed under the “Profiles associated with this device” option and then click on Remove. Step 6: Next, go to the Advanced tab and make sure that all settings are set to System default which includes a device profile, perceptual images, rendering intent, Relative Colorimetric, and many more. Step 7: Once you’re done, you have to restart your computer and then try to open the same image you were trying to open earlier and then check if you can now open it instead of seeing the error.

Although there are several Windows 10 devices that are touchscreen-based, the mouse still remains to be an important part of usage for many users especially the ones who do some hardcore work on their Windows 10 computers or laptops. If you’re one of the users who often edit images or videos either for fun or work, using Touch is difficult as it’s a bit hard to drag on the screen so nothing really beats the mouse. However, as awesome as the mouse is, there are times when you encounter issues while using it. One of these issues is when your mouse pointer lags or freezes so in this post, you can try out a few tips that can help you resolve the issue.

Option 1 – Clean both the mouse and the mousepad

It might sound silly but it is a fact that either the mouse or the mouse pad themselves is the problem. Even though mouse balls are long gone, the laser lights that replaced them are not immune to some dirt which is why you need to clean the bottom of the mouse and then clean the mouse pad afterward.

Option 2 – Try changing the USB port

This is another basic thing you can do to resolve the problem since there are instances when USB ports where either your mouse is connected have gone rogue so you need to try switching to a different port and then see if the problem’s fixed or not.

Option 3 – Switch back to the default settings of the mouse

Switching your mouse back to its default setting is always a good idea since you are dealing with a pointer issue. To go back to the default settings of the mouse, here’s what you have to do:

• Click on Mouse and Touchpad.
• Next, click on Additional Mouse Settings located in the right pane.
• After that, click on the “Use Default” option under the Pointer tab.
• Then click on Apply and OK to save the changes made.

Option 4 – Try disabling Smooth Scrolling

You have to slow down both the horizontal and the vertical scrolling of the mouse in the settings which are called “Smooth scrolling”. This will help if you think that the websites you are visiting scroll up and down way too fast.

Option 5 – Try to update or rollback mouse drivers

If the first few options didn’t work for you, then it’s time to either update or roll back the mouse drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated the mouse driver then you need to roll back the driver. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below. The problem may be caused by a corrupted or outdated driver. So 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 6 – Try to check if your laptop is turning off the mouse

In case you don’t know, the power management can turn off the devices that are not in use to save battery power if you use a laptop. And this can also happen on USB-based devices like the mouse. Thus, you need to verify if your laptop is turning off the mouse.

• Go to Device Manager > Universal serial bus controllers > USB Root Hub > Power Management.
• After opening Power Management, uncheck the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” option.
• If you have lots of USB Root hubs, you can try changing each one of them and see if it works or not.

Option 7 – Try updating the Graphics Drivers

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. If you see a red or yellow sign that shows up against the driver, right-click on the driver’s name and select “Update Driver Software” or “Uninstall”. And if you find any “Unknown device”, you need to update it as well.
• Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
• Restart your PC.

Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturer and check if there’s a new update – if there is, download it.

Option 8 – Try setting the No Delay option for Touchpad

If you are using a laptop that’s touchscreen-based, you can try setting the delay to zero in the settings. To do so, simply go to Settings > Devices > Mouse and Touchpad. From there, you can set the delay before clicks to “No Delay”.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 have automatic dynamic screen brightness depending on the surrounding light inside the room. Please take note that this option is available only on devices with build-in screens like laptops, tablets, and all in one desktop PC. If you are connected with your PC via an external monitor you will not have these settings available and probably feature is not even working.

Some computers will also allow automatic brightness changes also on what is displayed on the screen. This option is meant to save battery life on devices. Microsoft calls this automatic brightness feature Content adaptive brightness control. In order to change this setting, we will go to settings inside Windows.

Disabling automatic brightness inside Windows

Open Settings inside Windows, in Windows 11 press WINDOWS + I to open settings, then click on the system in the sidebar and then go to Display. Click on the small arrow beside the Brightness slider in order to expand a small menu and then uncheck Help improve battery by optimizing the content show and brightness. If you see Change brightness automatically when lighting changes, uncheck that as well. Close the settings and you are good to go, now brightness will always be as set in settings.

Inside Windows 10, go to Settings and then go to System and then in Display under the Brightness and Color section look below and locate the box that says Automatically adjust contrast based on the displayed content to help improve battery and uncheck it, if the box below with text Change brightness automatically when lighting changes exists, uncheck it as well. Close settings and you are done.

Error Code 48 – What is it?

Error Code 48 is a device driver error code that users can encounter on any Windows 2000 operating system and later versions.

It occurs when the connected peripheral device cannot be run as the Windows operating system’s driver required to install the programs for peripheral devices has either been corrupted or is incompatible with the system.

It prompts the user with the following message on the screen:

The software for this device has been blocked from starting because it is known to have problems with Windows. Contact the hardware vendor for a new driver. (Code 48)

Solution

Error Causes

Like most other Windows error codes, error code 48 is triggered by the following factors.

• Corrupted system registry files
• Presence of viruses in the device
• The device driver is out-of-date

If this error code is not rectified, it could give birth to other driver device errors such as error code 52.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Method 1 – Run a complete scan for malware and spyware

Identifying and removing the viruses in the system registry and in the connected devices is the easiest method to fix the corrupted registry files.

Viruses such as spyware and malware infect the registry entries and eat up the files that lead to incomplete or missing data. This creates problems for installing external devices as the driver required to install them is not complete.

Method 2 – Use System Restore

You can also use system restore to eliminate the problem. Here is how you can use it:

• Log in using an Administrator account
• Click ‘Start’ button and select All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore
• Click ‘Restore my computer to an earlier time’ and click ‘Next’
• Select the last Windows to restore point from the ‘On this list, click a restore point’ list, and click ‘Next’
• Click ‘Next’ on the confirmation window to proceed
• Restart your PC after restoration is complete

By restoring the system via the last saved system checkpoint, you can obtain undamaged Windows system registry files that can help resolve the error code.

Method 3 – Manually uninstall and reinstall the device driver

Since Error Code 48 is due to a missing or an out-of-date device driver, uninstalling and then reinstalling the device driver can help solve the error.

You can do this by firstly logging in as Administrator and opening Device Manager. Select the device that is causing the problem and double click it; make sure that the peripheral is connected properly to the PC.

Upon opening, click on the ‘Driver’ tab and then select ‘Update Driver’. Make sure to refer to the system documentation that you received with your PC or computer to check for the motherboard details and driver specifics.

Method 4 – Use software to automatically download the driver

Manually uninstalling and reinstalling the driver will do the trick; however, it may be time-consuming especially when you would have to resort to your hardware user manual. Therefore, using a program such as DriverFIX can save you a lot of time and frustration in having your device work properly on your computer. DriverFIX, with its user-friendly approach to help you fix your PC issues, comes with an integrated database that detects which drivers you need to reconfigure within just a few seconds and downloads it automatically. It further ensures that your drivers are installed in their entirety leaving no room for any incomplete files to remain that create Error Code 48. It also has the added advantage of being able to backup and restores your files should there be the slightest possibility of system file damage. DriverFIX is the answer to fixing your PC error codes accurately and quickly. Click here to download DriverFIX to fix Error Code 48 quickly and effectively!

Windows 11 provides several different ways to make your cursor stand out and be easier to spot inside it. You can make the mouse pointer larger, invert it, or change its color.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
2. Click on Accessibility in the sidebar
3. Select Mouse Pointer and Touch
4. Adjust mouse cursor size with size slider by clicking on circle and dragging it left or right
5. Under Mouse Pointer Style pick desired style from White, Black, Inverted, and Custom
   1. White: The cursor is white with a black outline (standard setting)
   2. Black: Cursor is black with a white outline
   3. Inverted: Cursor automatically changes color to an inverted version of the color it is currently hovering over
   4. Custom: You can pick the color for the cursor that you want.

And that is all about it, once you are done with pointer customization just close settings, all changes are saved automatically.

Error Code 40 – What is it?

Error Code 40 is a device driver error that users encounter on any Windows 2000 and later operating systems. It occurs when the peripheral device that you connect to your PC cannot be accessed due to a change in the system registry.

This is due to the presence of invalid sub-keys of the device driver in the system registry. It is a common error that users come across and appears on your PC with either of the following messages:

“Information in the registry entry for this driver is invalid”

OR

"Windows cannot access this hardware because its service key information in the registry is missing or recorded incorrectly. (Code 40)"

Solution

Error Causes

As mentioned above, the error code is triggered when the device driver’s invalid sub-keys appear in the registry, effectively changing it. This happens when the windows system files get damaged due to the following factors:

• An incomplete program uninstallation
• An incomplete program installation
• Hardware is not removed properly
• System recovery from viruses
• An improper system shut down

Factors such as incomplete installations or uninstallations or an improper system shut down can cause files to become damaged that threaten the health of your computer.

Removing viruses from the computer is also another factor as it removes the entries in the Windows system files which contain the viruses including spyware or malware

Further Information and Manual Repair

Fixing Error Code 40 is similar to fixing other device manager error codes. Here are a few methods you can try.

Method 1 – Use System Restore

You can use system restore to eliminate the problem. Here is how you can use it:

• Log in using an Administrator account
• Click ‘Start’ button and select All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore
• Click ‘Restore my computer to an earlier time’ and click ‘Next’
• Select the last Windows restore point from the ‘On this list, click a restore point’ list, and click ‘Next’
• Click ‘Next’ on the confirmation window to proceed
• Restart your PC after restoration is complete

By restoring the system via a last saved system checkpoint, you can obtain undamaged Windows system registry files that can help avert the error code.

Method 2 – Manually uninstall then reinstall the device driver

If using system restore also does not work in removing the error code, you may have to resort to manually uninstalling and then reinstalling the device driver causing the problem.

This would be necessary since the remaining incomplete files due to a partial removal or installation of programs is what contributes to the error code. By uninstall and reinstalling the device driver program, it would lead to the completion of the files.

You can do this by firstly logging in as Administrator and open Device Manager. Select the device that is causing the problem and double click it and make sure that the peripheral is connected properly to the PC. Upon opening, click on the ‘Driver’ tab and then select ‘Update Driver’.

Make sure to refer to the system documentation that you received with your PC or computer to check for the motherboard details and driver specifics.

Method 3 – Use software to automatically download the driver

Manually uninstalling and reinstalling the driver will do the trick, however, it may be time-consuming especially when you would have to resort to your hardware user manual.

Therefore, using a program such as DriverFIX can save you a lot of time and frustration in having your device work properly on your computer.

DriverFIX, with its user-friendly approach to help you fix your PC issues, comes with an integrated database that detects which drivers you need to reconfigure within just a few seconds and downloads it automatically.

It further ensures that your drivers are installed in their entirety leaving no room for any incomplete files to remain that create Error Code 40.

It also has the added advantage of being able to backup and restores your files should there be the slightest possibility of system file damage.

Thus, registry damage can be averted by letting the software roll back the system files to an earlier healthy checkpoint. Driver Assist is the answer to fixing your PC error codes accurately and quickly.

Click here to download DriverFIX to fix Error Code 40 quickly and effectively!

Operating systems now give users a feature that allows them to create separate partitions out of HDD or SSD-based storage in order to store data in an organized manner. This small yet powerful feature has always been supported by Microsoft. However, there are times when users might fill up on some particular very soon. This may result in the lack of space for that partition which makes the entire process of using PCs slower since there is a large chunk of files that has to be indexed in a smaller partition. If you are one of the users experiencing this dilemma, you need to either delete the other partitions to allocate their storage to the partition that is short on storage or simply recreate the partition so that all the useless data will be deleted and you can start afresh with the overflowing partition. In this post, you will be guided on how you can delete any storage partition from your Windows 10 PC via Disk Management, Command Prompt as well as Windows PowerShell.

Option 1 – Delete storage partition via Disk Management

This is one of the simplest ways you can use to delete a storage partition. Go to the WinX Menu and from there, open Disk Management and then select the Drive you want to get rid of, right-click on it and then select Delete Volume.

Option 2 – Delete storage partition via Command Prompt

• Tap the Win + X keys or right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or you could also type in “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on the Command Prompt icon and then select the “Run as Administrator” option from the context menu.
• Once you have Command Prompt pulled up as admin, type in and enter this command – diskpart
• After entering this command, the Diskpart Utility will start. Diskpart Utility is a command line-based utility just like Command Prompt but it will get a UAC Prompt after you invoke it so you have to click Yes for the UAC Prompt.
• After that, type in list volume and tap Enter to see the list of all the partitions created on your PC. This includes both types of partitions that are visible to a normal user in the File Explorer as well as the ones that are created by Windows 10 by default which helps it in storing the boot files and other essential system files.
• You should see a list of all the partitions made on your computer. Select the partition you want to delete by its Unique Identification number as Volume X where X denotes the Unique Identification Number.
• Next, type in the select volume number command and hit Enter to select the desired volume.
• Then delete the volume you’ve selected and type in the delete volume command and hit Enter to delete the volume you just selected and convert it into unallocated space.

Option 3 – Delete storage partition via Windows PowerShell

• Start by tapping the Win + X keys or simply right click on the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or you could also type in “windows powershell” in the Cortana search box and right-click on the Windows PowerShell icon and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Once you’ve opened the Windows PowerShell, type in the Get-Volume command and hit Enter to get a list of all the partitions on your PC.
• Next, select the drive letter you want to delete and then type in the Remove-Partition –DriveLetter command and hit Enter to delete the selected partition. Note that you need to replace the drive letter with the letter of the partition you want to get rid of.
• After that, it will ask you for confirmation. Just hit the Y key for Yes or hit the A key to say Yes to All. This will delete all the partition you’ve selected and will move them in as unallocated space.

And that’s how you delete a Drive Partition or Volume in Windows 10. Note that you should only follow the last two options given in case the Disk Management is not able to fulfill the user requirements.

Often when we connect to the internet were browsing indexed pages through some well-known search engine, usually Google. But beneath the so-called normal internet lurks deep and dark web. You might have heard of the deep web and dark web if you have some geeky friends and we are here to explain what exactly is the deep and dark web. The first thing to know is that the deep and dark web is not the same thing and they coexist separately from one another, you could say that beneath the deep web lies the dark web, yet another layer of the internet. So let us explore first the deep web. What is exactly a deep web?

Deep web, hidden web, or invisible web

as sometimes referenced are part of worldwide web not indexed by search engines, meaning that engines do not basically see and index content of deep web sites. The content of the deep web is hidden behind HTTP forms and includes many very common uses such as webmail, online banking, private or otherwise restricted access social-media pages and profiles, some web forums that require registration for viewing content, and services that users must pay for, and which are protected by paywalls, such as video on demand and some online magazines and newspapers. The content of the deep web can be located and accessed by a direct URL or IP address but may require a password or other security access to get past public website pages. While it is not always possible to directly discover a specific web server's content so that it may be indexed, a site potentially can be accessed indirectly (due to computer vulnerabilities). To discover content on the web, search engines use web crawlers that follow hyperlinks through known protocol virtual port numbers. This technique is ideal for discovering content on the surface web but is often ineffective at finding deep web content. For example, these crawlers do not attempt to find dynamic pages that are the result of database queries due to the indeterminate number of queries that are possible. It has been noted that this can be (partially) overcome by providing links to query results, but this could unintentionally inflate the popularity of a member of the deep web.

Dark WEB

The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on darknets: overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communicate and conduct business anonymously without divulging identifying information, such as a user's location. The dark web forms a small part of the deep web, the part of the Web not indexed by web search engines, although sometimes the term deep web is mistakenly used to refer specifically to the dark web. The darknets which constitute the dark web include small, friend-to-friend peer-to-peer networks, as well as large, popular networks such as Tor, Freenet, I2P, and Riffle operated by public organizations and individuals. Users of the dark web refer to the regular web as Clearnet due to its unencrypted nature. The Tor dark web or Onionland uses the traffic anonymization technique of onion routing under the network's top-level domain suffix .onion.

Dark & Deep WEB difference

The dark web has often been conflated with the deep web, the parts of the web not indexed (searchable) by search engines. The dark web forms a small part of the deep web but requires custom software in order to access its content. This confusion dates back to at least 2009. Since then, especially in reporting on Silk Road, the two terms have often been conflated, despite recommendations that they should be distinguished. Darknet websites are accessible only through networks such as Tor ("The Onion Routing" project) and I2P ("Invisible Internet Project"). Tor browser and Tor-accessible sites are widely used among darknet users and can be identified by the domain ".onion". While Tor focuses on providing anonymous access to the Internet, I2P specializes in allowing anonymous hosting of websites. Identities and locations of darknet users stay anonymous and cannot be tracked due to the layered encryption system. The darknet encryption technology routes users' data through a large number of intermediate servers, which protects the users' identity and guarantees anonymity. The transmitted information can be decrypted only by a subsequent node in the scheme, which leads to the exit node. The complicated system makes it almost impossible to reproduce the node path and decrypt the information layer by layer. Due to the high level of encryption, websites are not able to track the geolocation and IP of their users, and users are not able to get this information about the host. Thus, communication between darknet users is highly encrypted allowing users to talk, blog, and share files confidentially.

Darknet

The darknet is also used for illegal activity such as illegal trade, forums, and media exchange for pedophiles and terrorists. At the same time, traditional websites have created alternative accessibility for the Tor browser in an effort to connect with their users. ProPublica, for example, launched a new version of its website available exclusively to Tor users.