Breath new life in your laptop

The first major update for Windows 11, 22000.65 has brought some bug fixes and some new features. The previous update was just a bunch of small fixes but this time Microsoft has brought much more with this one.

Bug and security fixes:

• Patch for the PrintNightmare vulnerability.
• Taskbar icons not displaying after you rotate the screen back and forth.
• Date and time not following format settings.
• Contrast issues with File Explorer title bar
• Search dropping the first keystroke when you press the Windows key and type
• Blurry windows in ALT + Tab

Besides bug and security fixed newest update has also brought us some functional changes:

• The start menu can no longer be moved from center
• A search box appears at the top of the Start menu.
• Taskbar appears on secondary monitors.
• The refresh option appears on the jump list when you right-click the desktop. It was on the "Show more options" list before.
• New look for certain dialog boxes such as "battery low" or "display change"
• New snap layouts for portrait mode screens.
• Option to troubleshoot sound problems when you right-click the volume icon.
• Power mode settings on Power & battery settings menu.
• Right-clicking .ps1 files offers a "Run with PowerShell" option.
• New GIFs in the emoji panel in China

Honestly, I really like a search box on top of the start menu but really dislike the option to move it to left, I am sure that there are a lot of users who would feel more like at home if they could still move and set Windows to function and work how they want. It is very strange to me that Windows 10 was made to be so user-focused and been able to be user specific and Windows 1 takes most of these things away. I am not sure why Microsoft is going this way but I cannot really see how moving the taskbar on left is a programming issue or why it is wrong for example.

If you are a person which spends a lot of time in front of the computer doing work, then you are aware of the importance of having a proper backup of your archive so if anything bad happens you will lose almost none of the work. We can never tell when we might experience HDD failures or when we might be a victim of cyber attacks, natural disasters,s and other unpredictable circumstances where we could lose all of our data in a matter of minutes. Having a backup of our data is very important but sometimes we are too busy or not around and we miss that data backup we wanted to do, and if in this case disaster strikes we are out of luck and data is lost. To avoid such circumstances, you can set up automatic Windows Backups at a scheduled time. This way it will help to have the loss of important files and documents from unexpected hazards. in order to create automatic backups of your files, you have several options, and below we will explore each one in hopes that you will find one that best suits your needs.

1. Create automatic file backup with OneDrive

   This is probably the best way to do it because each time when you sign in OneDrive files get backed up right away, files are stored in the cloud and can be accessed on any device via a Microsoft account. To get started, open the Settings app first. Click on the Update & Security category Select the Backup tab from the left pane. Move to the right page and click on the Back up files button that is available under Back up files to OneDrive. Select the folders you want to backup in the cloud, and remove those ones you don’t want to backup. On the next page, click the Start backup button to start the procedure.

2. Create a backup using File History

   File History is an inbuilt feature that allows users to create automatic file backup on Windows 10. File History allows the users to back up their files in an external or cloud drive at different intervals of time. To create automatic file backup using File History: Press the ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open the Settings app. Click on the Update & Security category and then select the Backup tab from the left pane. Under the Back up using File History section, click on Add a drive button. Now choose the drive to store the backup files. Windows will use this drive for File History. Then turn on the toggle button under Automatically back up my files. This will back up your data to the drive automatically whenever you connect it to the system. Below the toggle button, click on the “More options” link to set how frequently File History will back up. Use the Keep my backups drop-down menu to get the option to configure the time for how long you want to keep your backups. By default, it will keep your backups forever. Under the section Back up these folders, tap on the Add a folder button in order to add one more folder to the backup. Then click on the Add a folder button, under Exclude these folders. This will exclude the files that you don’t want to back up. You can stop the drive from storing backup files to change the backup storage location. To do this, click the Stop using drive option under the Back up to a different drive category.

3. Backup using Windows backup & restore tool

   Open Control Panel Click on the System and Security option Scroll down and select the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) button Next click on the Set up backup button, available under the Back up or restore your files section Under the Save backup on section, select the Backup Destination where you want your backup files to get stored On the “Set up backup” page, Windows will ask you to choose the way to backup, check Let me choose checkbox, and then hit the Next button Under the section Computer, select the files and folders you want to backup. Then uncheck the box next to the Include a system image of drives option, and then hit the Next button Now click on the Change schedule link. Set the time and check the box beside Run backup on a schedule button Click OK then select the Save settings and run backup option

As you know, you can encounter Blue Screen errors at any given point after your computer boots up and can just reboot it randomly which results in loss of unsaved work. One of these Blue Screen errors is the “REGISTRY_ERROR”. This kind of Stop error has a bug check value of 0x00000051 which indicates your computer’s registry has encountered a severe error. There could be a number of causes for this error but at the time of writing, it is quite difficult to narrow them down to one component. If you face this kind of Blue Screen error, worry not as this post will guide you in fixing it. As mentioned, this error indicates that there is something wrong with the registry, particularly an I/O error while it tried to read one of its files. This may be caused by hardware issues or file system corruption. It could also be due to failure in a refresh operation which is only used by the security system and only when resource limits are encountered. To fix the Registry_Error Blue Screen, you can try to use the CHKDSK utility or the System File Checker, or the DISM tool or run the Blue Screen troubleshooter. You may also try to reset your computer or repair Windows by using installation media.

Option 1 – Run the Check Disk utility

The first thing you can do to fix the REGISTRY_ERROR Blue Screen error is to run the Check Disk utility. How? Follow these steps:

• In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Drive Letter>: /f /r /x /b
• The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
• Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.

Option 2 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like REGISTRY_ERROR. It can be found in the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

Option 3 – Run System File Checker

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, execute this command: sfc /scannow
• Once the scan is completed, restart your computer and then check if the REGISTRY_ERROR is now fixed.

Option 4 – Run the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the REGISTRY_ERROR Blue Screen error. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish. Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Option 5 – Reset your computer

• Tap the Win key or click on the Start button located in the Taskbar.
• Then click on the Power button at the bottom right portion of the screen.
• Next, press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and then click on Restart. This will restart your Pc into the Advanced Startup options.

Note: Once you have access to the Advanced Startup options, you have to go to the setting which allows you to Reset your Windows 10 PC. All you have to do is select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC to reach the following screen Afterward, select either the “Keep my files” option and then proceed to the next on-screen instructions that follow to reset your Windows 10 computer without losing your files.

Option 6 – Try to perform repair install by creating a Windows 10 installation media

• Click this link and then click the Download Tool Now button.
• Next, click the “Use the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file)…” option and follow the next given instructions on the screen.
• Now select the ISO file option in step 5.
• After that, you should now have an ISO file.
• Next, go to the location where you’ve downloaded the ISO file.
• Then right-click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select the Open with option and then select File Explorer.
• Now click on “setup.exe” and follow the next instructions that appear on the screen. When asked, you have to select either Nothing (clean install) or Keep personal files only option. Take note that you must not select the “Keep personal files, apps, and Windows settings”.

As you know, Microsoft constantly releases new updates with the main goal of fixing bugs as well as deliver users with new and exciting features. However, there are times when the latest update comes with an unwanted bug. One of these bugs is an error message saying, “Low Disk Space. You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (G:). Click here to see if you can free space on this drive.” So if you have recently installed a Windows 10 update, then you’ll most likely see a completely new drive on your computer which will appear right after the installation of the update and you’ll also start seeing the aforementioned error message. It gets irritating as this error message keeps on popping up even if you still have a lot of free space on your other drivers. Obviously, the main reason why this error message pops up all the time is the bug brought along by the Windows Update. This bug unhides the recovery partition drive and allocates it a drive letter which is why you are seeing a new drive in your computer. Thus, you can get rid of the pesky error message by simply removing the letter of the new drive. Just remember that you must not delete anything from the recovery partition drive nor format the drive. Formatting or deleting the recovery partition drive can heavily affect the recovery of Windows since the data on the drive is used by the Windows Recovery Environment or your system’s manufacturer. A lot of users have reported that removing the drive letter has resolved the issue. And if you worry that removing the drive letter will delete the drive, you are mistaken. This solution is basically harmless and is proven effective to make the notifications go away. Carefully follow the instructions below to get rid of the Low Disk Space notification by removing the drive letter.

• Step 1: Tap the Windows key once.
• Step 2: Next. In the Windows Start Search, type in “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option or you could simply tap Win + R keys and then input “cmd” and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
• Step 3: After opening Command Prompt, type in “diskpart” and tap Enter.
• Step 4: Next, type in “list volume” and tap Enter. After that, you will see a list of drives.
• Step 5: Take note of the letter associated with the newly created drive.
• Step 6: Afterwards, type in “select volume <drive letter>” and tap Enter. Take note that you must replace the <drive letter> with the drive letter you’ve found in Step 5.
• Step 7: Now type in “remove letter=<drive letter>” and then tap Enter. Once again, replace the <drive letter> with the letter you took note of in Step 5.

One of the smoother things that Microsoft did with the Windows 10 operating system is to separate Cortana from Search. This means that Cortana is strictly now a voice assistant and many users have seen it coming since not everyone uses Cortana. In addition, it also paved the way for other virtual assistants like Alexa to get on board with Windows 10. And now in the newly released Windows 10 v1903, Windows has brought the Voice Activation under Privacy. In this post, you will be guided on how to perform the Voice Activation troubleshooting on your Windows 10 computer. To use Voice Activation in Windows 10, follow, in the Start Search, type “voice activation” and click on “Voice activation privacy settings” listed in the search results. And from there, you can choose to allow apps to use Microphone, like listen in the background as well as select which app can access it. Each time enabled voice assistants continue to listen via microphone for the voice keyword, the app will activate itself for the keyword and will react depending on what you ask it. So if you are using a voice assistant and it didn’t respond when you speak the keyword, just go to Settings > Privacy > Voice Activation and follow these steps:

Option 1: Check the App permission to use the voice activation feature.

You have to make sure that the toggle button for the Voice activation feature is turned on globally. It can be found under the “Allow apps to use voice activation” section. You also have to ensure that the microphone is available for apps that use this feature.

Option 2: Voice activation is not working under the lock screen.

If you tend to use the voice assistant even when your computer is locked, Microsoft has a specific setting that you have to turn on. You need to make sure that the toggle button for the “Allow apps to use voice activation when this device is locked” option is turned on. However, keep in mind that the voice assistants are not locked to only recognize your voice as they also answer to anyone who will use the voice keyword.

Option 3: Check the individual permissions of apps.

If the voice assistant is not working, you have to check each one of the apps’ permissions for voice keyword, and the option to work under locked condition works.

Option 4: Run the Microphone troubleshooter.

If you’ve verified that the settings are in place, then you have to run the Microphone troubleshooter by simply going to Settings > Privacy > Microphone. From there, make sure that the toggle button for the following options is turned on:

• Allow apps to access your microphone
• Enable microphone access for the voice assistant

And if it’s a desktop app, you have to enable the toggle on at the end.

REevil is one of the most active and successful hacking groups connected to Russia and operating all over the world. The group recently demanded a huge bitcoin ransom for an attack targeting IT firm Kaseya in the USA. Since Tuesday blog and payment site run by REvil group cannot be longer reached without any kind of explanation or why. The reason behind the disappearance is unknown but has sparked speculation that the group may have been targeted deliberately by authorities. US President Joe Biden said he raised the issue with Vladimir Putin during a phone call on Friday, after discussing the subject during a summit with the Russian president in Geneva last month. Mr. Biden told reporters that he had "made it very clear to him...we expect them to act" on information and also hinted the US could take direct digital retaliation on servers used for intrusions. The timing of Tuesday's outage has sparked speculation that either the US or Russian officials may have taken action against REvil - though officials have so far declined to comment and cyber experts say sudden disappearances of groups are not necessarily uncommon. The development comes after a series of high-profile ransomware attacks which have hit major US businesses this year. The FBI accused REvil - also known as Sodinokibi - of being behind a ransomware attack on the world's largest meat processing company JBS last month.

One of the most interesting innovations that were released by Microsoft is the Surface Dial. This only goes to show that Microsoft is very competent not just in hardware but in overall innovation. Although it’s quite a piece of technology and as far as the consensus is concerned, it works pretty well, there are still some issues encountered by users. One of the particular issues experienced by users is that the Surface Dial fails to pair with every Windows 10 PC. At a time of writing, it is still not clear what the cause of the problem really is. However, their possible solutions are provided in this post that might help you resolve the problem. Before you get started troubleshooting the problem, make sure that there are two AAA batteries fitted inside properly.

Option 1 – Check if your PC supports Bluetooth 4.0 LE

In case you don’t know, the Surface Dial only works with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and later PCs that support Bluetooth 4.0 LE. Thus, you have to check if this is supported or not before you troubleshoot further.

• Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Device Manager.
• From there, click on Bluetooth and select “Microsoft Bluetooth LE Enumerator” from the drop-down menu. However, if it is not there, then it simply means that your computer does not support this standard which is most likely why you were unable to pair with other Windows 10 PCs. On the other hand, if you were able to see it, then proceed to the next troubleshooting steps below.

Option 2 – Check if Bluetooth is on

The next thing you have to do is to check if Bluetooth is turned on. As you know, the Surface Dial connects to your computer using Bluetooth and so you need to check if it’s really on or not. Aside from that, you also have to verify pairing.

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Next, select Devices from the menu and click on Bluetooth.
• After that, make sure that the toggle switch for Bluetooth is turned on.
• Now all you have to do is to verify pairing by pressing and holding the pairing button located beside the batteries and then wait for a few seconds until the Bluetooth light begins to flash.
• Then go back to the Bluetooth section and click on Bluetooth or other devices.
• From there, click on Add Bluetooth and select Surface Dial.
• Follow the next instructions on the screen and click on Done once everything is completed. That should fix the problem.

Option 3 – Check if Surface Dial is connected to another PC

If you think that connecting a Bluetooth device to two different PCs at the same time is wise, then think again as it does not really bode well for the overall user experience. Thus, you need to disconnect the Surface Dial from the system that you are currently using. On the other hand, if everything fails, then it’s most likely that the Bluetooth adapter is the one at fault. So you may have to get a third-party device that connects to your system via USB and then see if it works or not.

If you’ve tried resetting your Windows 10 computer using the Reset This PC option in order to restore your computer’s factory settings and the process suddenly fails for some reason and you got an error message instead stating, “There was a problem resetting your PC, No changes were made on your Windows 10 computer”, then this post might help you resolve the problem. Carefully follow each one of the options given below to resolve the “There was a problem resetting your PC error on Windows 10.

Option 1 – Try renaming the System and Software hive

• If you’re still able to boot to the desktop of your Windows 10 PC, open an elevated Command Prompt from the WinX menu.
• Now use the CD command and change the directory to Windows\System32\config folder. Simply type in the following command and hit Enter:

cd %windir%system32config

• After that, you have to rename the System and Software registry hives to “System.001” and “Software.001”, respectively. To do that, just type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you type each of them.
  • ren system system.001
  • ren software software.001

On the other hand, if your Windows 10 PC isn’t able to boot to the desktop, you can just access Command Prompt from the Advanced Startup options or you can also boot into Sage Mode and open Command Prompt from there and then run the given commands above. Note: If you only want to use the Refresh your PC option, you must only rename System hive and not Software hive. On the other hand, if the Software hive is really corrupted, you might not be able to use the Refresh your PC option in such a case. Thus, you really need to rename the Software hive as well. Once you’ve renamed the Software hive, you won’t be able to use the Refresh your PC option but only the Reset your PC option.

• Type “exit” to close the Command Prompt and then restart your PC and try resetting your PC again.

Option 2 – Try to disable and re-enable the Windows Recovery Environment

If the first option didn’t help, you can try disabling the Windows Recovery Environment and then enable it back again. To configure a Windows Recovery Environment or Windows RE boot image and recovery options, you have to use the REAgentC.exe tool.

• Tap the Win + S key and type “REAgentC.exe” to open the REAgentC.exe tool.
• After that, type the following command and hit Enter to disable the Windows RE:

reagentc /disable

• After disabling the Windows RE, you need to enable it back by typing the following command:

reagentc /enable

Option 3 – Try to boot the USB recovery drive

If the two previous options failed, you need to try another workaround which is to boot to the USB recovery drive > Troubleshoot > Recover from a drive. From there, follow the on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Error Code 0x80004002 - What is it?

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

Common symptoms include:

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

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

Solution

Error Causes

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

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

Further Information and Manual Repair

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

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

Method One:  Run Your Windows Registry Cleaner

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

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

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

Method Two:  Update Your Drivers and Software

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

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

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

Method Three:  Reinstall Your Windows Software

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

Method Four:  Run Your Virus Scan Software

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

Method Five: Use An Automated Tool

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.

In the last article, we have covered various advantages of Apple hardware over Windows PC, however, PC has their own strengths and advantages over MACs as well. Join us as we explore why would you choose Windows PC over MAC.

Hardware customization

If you like to customize and build your own hardware and customize your existing computer then MACs are out of the picture, on other hand, computers based on Windows operating system are much more flexible in terms of customization.

While Apple hardware is locked and only allows small changes to it, computers running on Windows are free and open to various upgrades and modifications so if you like to play with hardware Windows is your platform.

Gaming

There are games on MAC true but their numbers can not compare to games available for the Windows platform. On top of that, most latest and best gaming hardware is not even available on Apple platforms so if you plan to game in high resolutions and play the latest games there really is no option other than Windows.

Windows Platforms also has multiple emulators that you can use to play games from other older platforms and Microsoft since it owns Xbox has some great plans for both PC and Xbox gaming.

Software back compatibility

Since the introduction of the new MAC OS X, apple really lost a lot of application back compatibility, and a lot of old legacy software can not be run on modern Apple computers. Windows on the other hand have always tried and succeeded in keeping maximum compatibility with older and legacy software.

Also on the Windows platform, there is a lot of community support for old and legacy software so even if it is not officially supported it is backed up by the community.

Software variability

In terms of where can you find the most different software, you need to look no further than the Windows platform. How Windows itself has great backward compatibility and a lot of developers are using it to create new software thanks to Visual Studio and .NET Windows has cemented itself as a platform with the most available software.

The popularity of Windows as the home operating system and as a gaming platform has made it quite interesting in eyes of various developers and tons of small applications are made daily for it. Windows 11 has also brought native android support to it and that has just expanded its already impressive catalog of applications.

Freedom of choice

Overall Windows PC is most appealing for users that like to be able to choose everything, from hardware components to software they would like to use. No other platform will give you larger freedom of choice and better personalization options.