Disk Write Error in Steam is thrown at you while you try to download or update the game in your library. If you are an unfortunate user of Steam that has encountered this error do not sweat, the error is usually tied to permission in windows or file corruption and not to hardware issues and can be easily resolved.
In this guide, we will go through solutions for this specific error and it is advisable to go through solutions as they are presented since they go from the easiest and most common issues.
Restart PC and Steam
The easiest and quickest way of resolving this issue is just a simple restart of the Steam client. Just completely quit Steam and they run it again, if this has not solved the issue try rebooting your PC. In most cases, this can solve the issue since this error is known to be introduced with some communication issues with OS (Windows)
Set Write permissions
Disk write permissions could also cause this error because if by any chance the Steam library folder has been set or changed to the read-only client would be unable to write anything in it. To easily solve this issue completely exit the Steam client and rerun it as administrator. Just right-click on it and select Run as Administrator. If this has solved your issue run Steam always as an administrator.
To run always as an administrator right click on the steam executable, go to properties, and inside properties go to the compatibility tab. In the compatibility tab check run as administrator and click on OK.
Clear download cache
If for any reason cache has become corrupted there is a big chance that this might be an issue why there is a disk drive error in Steam. To clear download, cache goes into your client, and on top drow down menu click on steam. Find and open settings and inside go to the downloads tab. Locate a clear download cache and immediately you will be prompted to restart Steam. After restart, you will be asked to login into steam and the issue with disk write should be gone.
Repair library folder
Library folder issues can also be the source of disk write annoyance so let's repair them. Click steam in the top left and go to the settings. Locate and click on Downloads and then go to Steam library folders. You will be here shown all disk drivers you are using for steam games and all of the games that are downloaded.
Select the game you are getting errors with and click on three dots on the far right. From the menu choose the repair folder option. Take note that the more games you have installed, the more time the repair process will need.
Change download server
Sometimes the issue is not at your end at all, servers can experience problems and outrages and this can directly reflect at your end with a disk write error. If any of the previous solutions have not resolved the issue this is the next logical step to try. If the server is facing issues then changing the download server will resolve the issue at your end.
Click on settings in the top drop-down menu and then click on the Steam library folder. Find the downloads page and then click on download region, Choose another server than one nearest to your location since that's what will Steam choose by default.
If you are trying to install or upgrade your Windows 10 computer but suddenly encountered an error message saying, “Windows Could not configure one or more system components”, read on as this post will show you how you can fix the problem.
You are not alone in experiencing this problem as other users also reported having the same scenario. Some of them reported getting the following error message:
“Windows could not configure one or more system components. To install Windows restart the computer with error code 0xc1900101-0x30018.”
When you check on the Windows 10 rollback log, you will see a part with the “iisetup.exe” that’s related to the abort. Usually, the upgrade process completes over 50% and gets stuck and then rolls back later on and generates the error logs. This kind of error, in most cases, appears during the upgrade of Windows 10 and is related to the Internet Information Services or IIS in Windows 10. For some unknown reason, it restricts the installation or the upgrade which causes the error to appear. To fix the “Windows could not configure one or more system components” error, you can try to remove the IIS from the Windows Features or rename the “inetsrv” folder. You could also move all the folders related to IIS to another drive. For more details, refer to the options provided below.
Option 1 – Try to remove the IIS from Windows Features
The IIS is installed from the Windows Features and you can find it at Control Panel > Programs. From there, uncheck the checkbox for the Internet Information Services. Once done, click on the OK button to save the changes. Note that this process will get rid of all the related programs, services, and folders from Windows 10. So if you want to, you can just install them later on or use an offline installer from the official site of Microsoft.
Option 2 – Try renaming the inetsrv folder
The next option you can check out to resolve the problem is to rename the “inetsrv” folder. If you have uninstalled IIS from the Windows Features, this should remove the folders as well, however, it didn’t remove the folder then you have to delete the folders that are related to the IIS by following these steps:
First, you have to boot into the Advanced Recovery Mode and from there, open Command Prompt.
Next, execute this command to rename the folder from this location, C:Windowssystem32inetsrv: rename C:/Windows/system32/inetsrv/inetsrv.old
Once done, boot into your computer normally and try to upgrade Windows 10 again, and check if the problem is fixed or not.
Option 3 – Try to move the folders related to IIS to a different drive
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
Next, look for the Application Host Helper Service from the list of services and stop it.
Once done, take ownership of the “WinSxS” folder and then move the *windows-iis*.*” folders to another drive. You can just search using the “*windows-iis*.*” keyword in the Start Search.
Next, tap the Ctrl + X keys and paste the folders to another drive.
After that, start the update process for Windows 10 again.
Hello and welcome everyone, today we will be talking about dreaded keyloggers, why they are dangerous, and how to know if you might have one in your system. Keylogger is a malicious application placed in your system and hidden with only one goal in mind, to get information about what are you typing and by that means for a person who infected you to get information about your credit card information or other sensitive data. They can be introduced into your systems in various ways and often can not be detected easily. Modern antivirus applications have ways of detecting them and removing but this tutorial aims to teach you how to spot them all by yourself since new keyloggers are produced daily and sometimes relying on antivirus alone is not enough.
Unlike viruses and trojans, keyloggers are not heavy on system resources and you will not feel slow down on your computer if you have one which makes them harder to sport with regular work. Some of them can be even tracking you on the website and not even be physically present on your computer. Generally, we could categorize keylogger into 4 categories:
Web browser-based keylogger. Some websites would have CSS scripts, input web forms, or so-called man in the middle keylogger. Lucky for us even Windows defenders with the latest update can detect this type of keylogger and successfully deal with it and how keylogger itself is not present on our system we are safe.
General spyware keylogger. This keylogger is present in your system, usually, it infected it via email attachment, social media download, torrent download, some malicious so-called fixer application, etc. Most antivirus applications and windows defenders can detect these types as well and remove them successfully.
Kernel-level keylogger. This keylogger is a more dangerous type they tend to operate underneath Windows as a rootkit and can go undetected by antivirus and windows defenders.
Hypervisor-based keylogger. This is the most dangerous keylogger, they use virtualization techniques to hide and mask themselves as a replica of the operating system and they scan all keystrokes by the user. These are very rare keyloggers but they do exist.
If you suspect that you have a keylogger or just want to check your system for precaution reasons follow these tips and guides and luckily you will solve your issue in no time and your data will be safe.
Use Task Manager to find suspicious entries.
Task manager is a great application implemented in Windows that is constantly monitoring and showing all services, applications, and processes currently running on your system and thus a great tool to monitor your system if you know how to use it.
First, open task manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC
Then take a good look into it, try to find suspicious names, probably duplicate of running application, something like Windows logon application, or keylog or anything similar which seems out of ordinary. If you manage to find a suspicious running application right-click on it and close it. Also while you are in task manager jump into the startup tab and check to see are there some unusual applications starting with your Windows, if you find anything, disable it right away.
This is the most simple and quickest way to get some information right away if you suspect to have some simpler keylogger in your system.
Use the command prompt to monitor your network.
In order to check connections to your computer and find potential suspicious ones start the command prompt in administrator mode, press ⊞ Win + X, and choose command prompt (administrator).
type in netstat -b and press ENTER. All website and application connections to your computer are now visible. ignore svchost, edge browser, windows store, etc ad check the IP of the remaining ones using the internet.
Use keystroke encryption.
Install encrypting software and even if you have a keylogger, the application will encrypt each stroke and all that attacker will get is gibberish
Please remember to always download files from trusted sources, do not open unknown emails, and do not share your information publicly. Take common protection steps in order to protect yourself in the digital world.
To function properly and as intended, Windows 10 depends on a number of resources and software components. Even with a simple task as powering the machine, there are already several smaller software components supporting it. However, if any of these resources or components experience issues, it will affect the overall function of the computer. One of the errors reported is the Kernel Power Blue Screen error which is triggered by the Windows Kernel that mostly comes with a Windows Kernel Event ID 41 error. This kind of error can turn off and reboot the computer randomly.
Here’s an example of a Bugcheck code entry with the same event:
This kind of BSOD error is caused by an issue with the Power Supply components in both the software and hardware parts of your computer. In such cases, if your computer is stuck in a reboot loop, you need to troubleshoot the problem via Safe Mode or in the Advanced Startup options screen.
Option 1 – Try disabling Overclocking
If you have enabled Overclocking, you might have to disable it as some users reported that the Kernel-Power Blue Screen error started to appear right after overclocking. To disable it, follow the steps below.
Go to the Start Menu and open Settings.
Next, select Update and Security and go to the Recover tab.
From there, click on Restart now in Advanced startup. This will restart your computer.
Once you’re in the Advanced startup, go to Troubleshoot and then select Advanced Options.
From there, select the UEFU Firmware Settings.
Now click on Restart. Once your computer has restarted, it will automatically open BIOS.
From the BIOS, go to the Advanced tab and navigate to Performance and then look for Overclocking.
Once you’ve found Overclocking, make sure that it is disabled. If it’s not, then disable it and then save the changes made by tapping the F10 key.
Start your computer normally and check if the Kernel-Power Blue Screen error is now fixed.
Option 2 – Try to run the Power troubleshooter
The next thing you can do is to run the Power troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:
Go to Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
After that, look for the “Power” option from the given list of built-in troubleshooters and click on it.
Next, click on the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Power troubleshooter.
Once the troubleshooter is done identifying the problems, follow the next on-screen instructions to resolve the problem.
Note: You could also try to run the Blue Screen troubleshooter to fix the Kernel-Power BSOD error. You can find it under the same page as the Power troubleshooter.
Option 3 – Try to replace the Power Supply Unit
You could also try to consider physically replacing the Power Supply Unit or PSU of your computer and see if that helps or not.
Option 4 – Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool
Since this error could be caused by some issues in the memory, you can try running the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool and see if it helps.
Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type 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 the option, your PC will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them and if there’s no issue found, then it’s most likely not a memory-based issue so you should try the other options given below.
Option 5 – Try to check physically check your RAM
In this option, you have to check your RAM physically especially if you tend to use multiple physical RAMs on your computer so it can be quite tricky and technical. You have to check first if they are of the same frequency and then verify if the chip is compatible or not. You also have to check if the sockets are attached using some adapter or non-recommended apparatus as it can cause some problems while giving performance hit to your computer.
Option 6 – Try to update the BIOS
Updating the BIOS can help you fix the Kernel-Power BSOD error but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
Now restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Note: If updating the BIOS didn’t help, you might want to consider resetting it instead.
Option 7 – Disable Fast Start-up
If you want your computer to boot faster, then you might have enabled Fast Start-up. This feature is ideal for computers that are using a hard disk drive. However, turning on this feature also means that when the computer boots, it might lag some drivers that are loaded when it initially boots up. Thus, it might be the potential cause of the Kernel-Power BSOD error. Thus, you need to disable Fast Start-up. To do that, follow these steps:
Boot your PC into Safe Mode.
Then tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type in “control” to open Control Panel.
After that, select Hardware and Sound and click on Power Options.
Select “Choose what the power buttons do” from the left side menu pane and click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
Afterward, uncheck the “Turn on fast startup (Recommended)” entry and click on Save Changes.
Now restart your PC for the changes to take effect and then check if the problem’s fixed afterward.
If you encounter Windows Update error 0x80092004 while trying to update your Windows 10 computer, then this post is for you. This kind of Windows Update error could be due to many reasons but none of them includes your hardware or installed driver software. Microsoft releases updates that are either not supposed to go out, or you install them when you click on the Check for Update button which can install updates that have not finished testing yet. As a result, you may encounter the Windows Update error 0x80092004
To resolve the Windows Update error 0x80092004, here are some fixes you can try.
Option 1 – Try removing recent updates and packages
When a Windows Update fails, it mostly rolls back and cleans up all its residues. However, there are times when it doesn’t and you can clean that package manually. To remove recent updates and packages, you can go to the Update History and find out what KB updates were installed and once you’ve figured it out, you can execute the DISM tool to remove it manually.
Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
After that, execute the “Dism /online /Get-Packages”. This will give you a list of packages that were recently installed.
Now run the Remove Package program to remove the concerned update and package.
Note: Keep in mind that the remove package command is made for AMD 64-bit machines specifically.
Option 2 – Try deleting the files from the SoftwareDistribution folder and resetting the Catroot2 folder
The downloaded Windows Updates are placed in a folder called “SoftwareDistribution”. The files downloaded in this folder are automatically deleted once the installation is completed. However, if the files are not clean up or if the installation is still pending, you can delete all the files in this folder after you pause the Windows Update service. For complete instructions, refer to the steps below.
Open the WinX Menu.
From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.
net stop wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:
Type each one of the following commands.
net start wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer.
Option 3 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the “We couldn’t install some updates because the PC was turned off” error. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.
Option 4 – Try to manually install the Windows Updates
Windows Update Error 0x80092004 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:
Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.
Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.
It has been some time since the release of Diablo 2 resurrected and overall reception was pretty good. People are enjoying the old classic game in hi-def. resolution and with new and improved visuals. Sadly some server issues are present still until this day and somewhat spoil the experience for players.
The greatest lag and server crashes are pinpointed to game-creating events. When a player creates a new online game, the server needs to pull a lot of details from the database and make a game, due to some legacy code present this process takes some time and it is demanding a bit on the server-side, and although code was optimized to cater to more modern approach some legacy code still remains.
Another thing that was spotted to affect performance itself is player behavior, to be more specific, modern gamer behavior. Where players find good builds and runs on the internet and then go to farm-specific areas or bosses for loot or experience points, which in return boils down to making plenty and short runs that are made by creating games and after run eliminating them. Now pair that with the previous statement about legacy server and database code and you can add 1 and 1 and see how this might be an issue.
A lot of short games over legacy code are placing games in a state it was not designed for back in 2001 and therefore we have issues. Sadly solutions without completely rewriting the whole code are not very promising and they include rate limiting, which will prevent players to create many games in succession in a short period of time and maybe even login queues to drop a load on servers.
Blizzard reached to people in the whole company, even old diablo 2 developers to ask for advice and they say that they are working on solutions so they could lift limitations and have everything running fine.
One of the important processes in the Windows operating system is the Setting Synchronization or SettingSyncHost.exe. This process is the one responsible for synchronizing the settings of your computer with other devices. It is the one that replicates settings like OneDrive, Internet Explorer, wallpapers, and so on, to other systems. However, it has been known to cause high CPU usage in Windows 10 and there are times when it causes the system to freeze or system lags. So if you notice that the SettingSyncHost.exe process is causing high CPU usage in your computer, worry not for this post will guide you in fixing them.
You have to be cautious when you notice high CPU usages caused by system processes since cybercriminals mostly set the names of viruses in a way that the system or the user won’t be able to identify them. Cyber crooks could name the virus and malware the same as one of the system processes like SettingSyncHost.exe to make it seem like it’s a legitimate process. Thus, you need to keep in mind that original system processes like the SettingSyncHost.exe file are located in the System32 folder.
The original SettingSyncHost.exe file is located in the System32 folder. To check for the same, right-click on the troublesome process in the Task Manager and select Open file location. If the place is any other than the System32 folder, run a full system anti-virus scan on the system.
The SettingSyncHost.exe causes high CPU usage when it gets stuck in the sync process and is not able to come out of the loop. To fix this problem, you need to follow the solutions offered below but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point first.
Option 1 – Apply some registry tweak
The first thing you can do is to apply some tweaks to the Windows Registry. To get started, follow these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInputPersonalizationTrainedDataStore
From there, right-click on the key and select Permissions.
After that, check the box next to “Allow” for Full Permission for every user group.
Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
Then restart your computer.
Option 2 – Close the Host process for setting synchronization
If the registry tweak didn’t work, you can try to close the host process for setting synchronization, especially if this process continues to hog resources. You can terminate this process by opening the Task Manager. From there, end the process or task of the host process. On the other hand, you can also turn off the Host process for synchronization by opening Settings > Accounts > Sync settings located in the left pane. After that, turn off the Sync setting.
Option 3 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter or the Performance Troubleshooter
Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter:
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.
Performance Troubleshooter:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type “exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.
Option 4 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender
As mentioned, it is possible that the SettingSyncHost.exe could be infected with a virus or malware. To eliminate it, you have to scan your computer using security programs like Windows Defender.
Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.
Although the Windows Updates do bring in new features and improvements, there are times when they also introduce issues as well. The main cause for these arising bugs is the incompatibility between the old and new software components. One of the issues brought in by such bugs is Clock is missing, invisible or black
This problem was experienced by users after they recently installed a feature update. This particular bug can make the Windows clock in the taskbar appear to be black or invisible which makes it hard for users to read the time on their computers. According to experts, this bug has something to do with the Windows Themes and Aero styling. To fix this issue, here are some suggestions that could help but before you get started, you have to restart Explorer first and see if it can help in resolving the problem – if it didn’t, follow the options given below carefully.
Option 1 – Try to disable Custom Theme
It could be that the reason behind the black or invisible Windows Clock can be an old or an incompatible theme. You might have a custom theme in place and it became incompatible after an update. Thus, you can try switching to one of the default themes and then recreate your custom theme afterward. To do so, follow the steps below.
Right-click on your desktop and select Personalize.
Next, select Themes from the left menu and then select Windows 10 as your theme.
After that, you can delete all the other custom themes and create them again from scratch. This should fix the black or invisible Windows 10 Clock.
Option 2 – Try to edit your existing themes
If you don’t want to get rid of your existing themes, there is an alternative solution you can try to fix the missing Windows 10 Clock albeit it’s a bit of a complex one. Follow the given steps below to modify the existing themes and fix the missing or black Windows Clock.
First, you need to save your existing theme. Just simply right-click on your desktop and select Personalize and select Themes from the left menu.
Next, click on the Save Theme button below your custom theme to save it. You can name the theme anything.
After that, you can now modify the saved theme by going to C:/Users/UserName/AppData/Local/MicrosoftWindowsThemes.
From there, look for the file with the theme name you just saved, and then right-click on the file and open it with notepad or any other text editing app.
Now you have to look for the line that says, “Path=%SystemRoot%resourcesthemesAeroAeroLite.msstyles” and change it to “Path=%SystemRoot%resourcesthemesAeroAero.msstyles” and then save the file and rename it with some other name.
Afterward, go back to themes and select the new theme you’ve created. This should resolve the Windows Clock issue as well as other Themes and Taskbar issues.
Option 3 – Try disabling the small icons in Taskbar
This option should help you fix any Windows Clock cases. So if your Windows Clock is nowhere to be found, you can try to disable small taskbar icons on your Windows 10 PC.
Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
From there turn off the toggle button for the “Use small taskbar buttons” option. Note that this solution is only a temporary one and it may or may not work in some cases.
In today's modern world many households have internet access, most of the connection nowadays is done via Wi-Fi or wireless but there is a high probability that you have also a few devices connected via cable. There are of course many disadvantages and advantages between cable connection and wireless connection.
The main advantages of a hard cable connection are of course faster speed and stability compared to Wi-Fi. But if we look into the cables themselves there is also a big difference between them. Not all cables are the same and quality as well as speed vary a lot between them. Choosing the right cable is essential in order to make a maximum of your internet and we have some great tips and explanations of what cables do so you can make the right choice and enjoy your full internet potential.
Not all cables are the same
Cheap cables and expensive ones are not the same no matter what everyone tells you. The old proverb you get what you pay is true and more expensive cables will be made from better materials and will have a higher transfer rate.
Quality network cables are separated into different categories with proper markings and when buying one you should always look for these markings on the cables themselves, do not buy cables that do not have markings since they will often provide lower transfer rates or will not be shielded from outside influences resulting in packet drops and instability in a network.
Categories and what they mean are:
Cat-5 with a maximum speed of 100Mbps, typically unshielded.
Cat-5e with a maximum speed of 1Gbps, available in both shielded and unshielded varieties.
Cat-6 with a maximum speed of 10Gbps for runs under 55 meters (around 180ft), available in both shielded and unshielded varieties.
Cat-6a with a maximum speed of 10Gbps, shielded.
Cat-7 uses a proprietary GG45 connector rather than the standard RJ-45 connector seen on other cables for speeds of 10Gbps, shielded.
Cat-8 with a maximum speed of 25Gbps (Cat-8.1) or 40Gbps (Cat-8.2) at a distance of around 30 meters (around 100ft), shielded.
Unless stated, these standards are typically rated at their quoted speeds for a run of around 100 meters (around 330 ft) and use a standard RJ-45 Ethernet connector. Each generation of cable is designed to be compatible with the generations that came before it, so it’s possible (for example) to use a Cat-6a cable with a router that only supports speeds of 1Gbps.
Shielded cables
When purchasing higher quality cable you might not be able to choose if you have shielding or not since some standards like Cat-6a, Cat-7, and Cat-8 are always shielded. But if you do not have the need for these and you are satisfied with Cat-5e for example you can choose.
Shielded cables are a little more expensive but they will provide you with a coating that will eliminate interference from outside waves making cables more reliable. Of course, if the cable will go through a room that does not have many radio waves or some other interferences then buying a shielded cable is a waste of money.
Cable platings
Usually, there are two types of connector platings on connectors, silver, and gold, and people usually think that gold is much better but there are major differences between silver and gold platings and truth to be told there is no better one, both are different and should be considered depending on your need.
Silver plating will provide you with faster speed since its conductivity is larger than gold, but gold is slower on the oxidation front so its life span is longer. On the other hand, if your cables are always connecting and disconnecting gold will be first to be scrubbed off from the surface since the gold coating is much thinner.
Overall if you would only connect cable once and have slower internet than cable capacity gold is the way to go, in another case if you would use the cable as always connecting and switching and your internet plan is the same as cable transfer capacity you might want to go with silver one.
Cable material quality
Network cables are made from copper, your standard conduction material but even here there are differences in quality and therefore the chance of pocket losses over it. More quality less loss and more stable connection and this will depend on the purity of copper that is used in the cable itself. More purity in copper, more stability, simple as that.
Conclusion
So as you can see, there are a lot of different things that will influence your pick of proper network cable but the overall best advice is to get one that will fit well into your needs and setup. pair it up with your router and your internet plan since just simply buying something that you can not use is really a waste of money.
Recently, a lot of users reported to Microsoft about getting an error code 0x80096004 while trying to update their Windows 10 computers. This kind of Windows Update error occurs during the initial download and verification process. It also affects the Windows features (FODs) and when you encounter this error, you will also see this error code, “TRUST_E_CERT_SIGNATURE”. This error code indicates that the signature of the certificate could not be confirmed. This is caused by a broken certificate store or a corrupt copy of the Windows operating system is installed.
Here’s the complete error message:
“There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80096004).”
To fix Windows Update error 0x80096004, you can check out the options provided below.
Option 1 – Delete the contents in the Software Distribution folder and Catroot2 folder
Open the WinX Menu.
From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.
net stop wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:
Type each one of the following commands.
net start wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer, and then try to run Windows Update once more.
Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter is one of the things you can first check out as it is known to automatically resolve any Windows Update errors like error code 0x80096004. To run it, Refer to these steps:
Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
From there, click Update and Security and go to the Troubleshoot section.
Next, select Windows Update and click the “Run the troubleshooter” button and wait until it’s finished, and then try to run Windows Update again.
Option 3 – Try to temporarily disable anti-virus and Windows Defender Firewall
As mentioned, the error could be due to the antivirus program or the Windows Defender Firewall installed on your computer. Thus, disabling them or any security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when you’re not able to access the shared drive on your computer. There are times when you encounter problems like Error Code 0x80096004 due to interference of antivirus or security programs. Thus, you have to disable both your antivirus program and Windows Defender Firewall for the meantime and check if it fixes the error or not.
Option 4 – Try to replace the DLL file with a trusted source
You can also try to replace the crypt32.dll file as it could help in fixing the Windows Update error. Just make sure that you get one from a trusted source.
First, you need to get the new DLL file from another computer with preferably the same file version number.
After that, you need to boot your PC into Safe Mode and navigate to the paths listed below and then replace the file using a USB drive or other external storage devices.
x86: This PC > C:/Windows/System32
x64: This PC > C:/Windows/SysWOW64
Next, type “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt, and select “Run as administrator” to open it with administrator privileges.
Now type the “regsvr32 crypt32.dll” command and hit Enter.
Restart your PC and check if the error is now fixed.
Option 5 – Try downloading and installing the Windows Updates manually
Error Code 0x80096004 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:
Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.
Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.
Option 6– Run System File Checker or SFC scan
System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Reboot your PC.
Option 7 – Try to run the Windows Update Service in a Clean Boot State
There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing Windows Update error. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.
Log onto your PC as an administrator.
Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
Click Disable all.
Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
Now try to run the Windows Update Service again and see if Windows Update error 0x80096004 is now gone.
Creating a System Restore point is definitely a must especially when you are about to make some changes to your computer. This will help make sure that the system settings and files can go back to an earlier point, should something go wrong, without affecting any personal files. However, there are cases when creating a System Restore Point does not go smoothly and you encounter an error that says, “The shadow copy provider had an unexpected error while trying to process the specified operation ( ox8004230F )”. Aside from creating System Restore Point, you can also encounter this error when you create a system image or backup.
According to reports, this error pops up when the required services are not running or not properly responding. And to fix it, there are several recommendations that will be provided in this post to fix the Error 0x8004230F when creating System Restore point in Windows 10. You can try to check the Volume Shadow Copy Services status or run the VSSADMIN tool. You could also check the status of the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider Service or create System Restore Point in a Clean Boot State. For more details, refer to the provided options below.
Option 1 – Try checking the status of the Volume Shadow Copy Service
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
From the list of services, look for the Volume Shadow Copy service and double-click on it.
After that, this will open the Properties where you have to make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic (Delayed Start) and then click on the Start button underneath it.
Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made.
Now try creating a System Restore Point again and see if the error is already fixed or not.
Option 2 – Try to run the VSSADMIN tool
In case you don’t know, the shadow copy provider is sensitive and some other backup, disk cloning, etc. can make it malfunction. To fix this, you can run the VSSADMIN tool by following these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “cmd” and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
Next, execute this command to check if you have other third party VSS admin providers: vssadmin list providers
After that, if it finds any, you need to disable them but if it does not find anything, then proceed.
Option 3 – Try to check the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider Service status
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
From the list of services, look for the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider Service and double click on it.
After that, this will open the Properties where you have to make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic (Delayed Start).
Once done, click Apply and OK to save the changes and then try creating System Restore Point again.
Option 4 – Troubleshot the problem in a Clean Boot State
It is possible that some third-party program installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing the ox8004230F when you try to create a System Restore point. Thus, you can try to boot your computer in a Clean Boot State and then try to perform the task again.
Log onto your PC as an administrator.
Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
Next, click the Services tab and select “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
Click Disable all.
Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And to configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
Once your computer has restarted try to create a System Restore Point again and if it now works, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.
The greatest lag and server crashes are pinpointed to game-creating events. When a player creates a new online game, the server needs to pull a lot of details from the database and make a game, due to some legacy code present this process takes some time and it is demanding a bit on the server-side, and although code was optimized to cater to more modern approach some legacy code still remains.
Another thing that was spotted to affect performance itself is player behavior, to be more specific, modern gamer behavior. Where players find good builds and runs on the internet and then go to farm-specific areas or bosses for loot or experience points, which in return boils down to making plenty and short runs that are made by creating games and after run eliminating them. Now pair that with the previous statement about legacy server and database code and you can add 1 and 1 and see how this might be an issue.
A lot of short games over legacy code are placing games in a state it was not designed for back in 2001 and therefore we have issues. Sadly solutions without completely rewriting the whole code are not very promising and they include rate limiting, which will prevent players to create many games in succession in a short period of time and maybe even login queues to drop a load on servers.
Blizzard reached to people in the whole company, even old diablo 2 developers to ask for advice and they say that they are working on solutions so they could lift limitations and have everything running fine. 
