Microsoft Designer, a new app from MS

ActiveX Controls are plugins you may constantly come across when working with Internet Explorer. An illustration of these kinds of control is the MICROSOFT IE Flash Player. They frequently result into significant problems for the Computer, yet they're vital for IE to operate correctly. You shouldn't ever overlook that after you install Active Controls in your Personal Computer, you effectively provide them with access to other areas of your PC. The ActiveX Controls not only tracks your search routines, but in addition puts malicious software, which might possibly be hazardous to your Computer.

Solution

Error Causes

ActiveX Controls make your Internet Explorer work as required and are usually great and beneficial to your own Computer. Yet, they can function as a source of problems because of the following factors.

• You should stop installing  ActiveX Controls from Un Trustworthy Resources

In the event they are installed by you from un trustworthy resources new threats are likely introduced by ActiveX Controls to your PC. One of the more regular types of ActiveX Controls worth necessary for installation is Flash Player. Yet, never be in a hurry to install these Controls from resources that you don't trust.

• Limit The Number of ActiveX Controls You Install on your PC

Prevent installing java/oracle ActiveX controls, because of its weak security measures which could make your Personal Computer and any additional information there in, open to attacks. Limit to the variety of ActiveX Controls that you install on your PC as these could increase the vulnerability canvas on your computer.

Further Information and Manual Repair

You can manually fix any malfunction that springs up from ActiveX Controls. Yet, more than mending the harm, produce the setting that ensures you never have troubles from them to start with. Just how do you do that?

a) Stop installing or downloading ActiveX Controls from Un Trustworthy Sources

This has been mentioned above, but it's worth repeating because it's the most common reason behind ActiveX Controls malfunctions. You might anticipate that for this kind of obvious reason for ActiveX Controls malfunctions, PC consumers would be extra cautious, however that is never true.

b) Limit ActiveX Controls Softwares

You can restrict ActiveX controls from running automatically on your PC. To limit them, head to Tools in Internet Explorer, and choose Internet Options. Proceed to the Security tab, and select Customs level Browse completely down before you get to the area designated "ActiveX". Subsequently, mark "Prompt" under every choice that you encounter. But don't mark the choice indicated "Run ActiveX Controls and Plug-Ins", together with, "Script ActiveX Controls Marked Safe for Scripting". By performing the measures emphasized above, you happen to be in substance stating that, you will not permit any installation of ActiveX Controls, without express authorization by you. In this manner, you have better control over different forms of ActiveX Controls you permit to be installed, therefore reducing potential threats to your PC.

Windows 7 was an operating system that had one thing which no other Windows had, even today. Official Microsoft desktop widgets. With an attractive design, users loved to exploit the adequacy and neatness of these gadgets. However, Microsoft had to discontinue these gadgets as they posed a serious security threat to the Operating System. It was believed that a potential attacker could even use a gadget to take complete control of your PC. With Windows 10, things have changed big time. You have all the fantastic apps and live tiles at your disposal providing a more native experience. Despite all this, if you still have a fondness for fancy gadgets, we have just the right tool for you to get started with similar “Widgets” on Windows 10. Win10 Widgets is a tool that places the most important information right in front of you, on your desktop.

Win10 Widgets

Win10 Widgets is a desktop app package provided by Rainmeter which is an effective system customization engine for Windows. It brings some informative widgets to Windows 10 which look almost native with their intuitive and sleek design. You can pin them on your desktop to keep an eye on various system figures like CPU usage, data storage, battery usage, detailed computer performance, etc.

Native looking Widgets for Windows 10

These widgets are designed in such a way that it looks totally indigenous to the Windows 10 UI. With a similar design language, visual style, accent color, and even font settings, these widgets almost look like an inseparable system component. You can choose between different size variants to pin on your desktop and arrange them in an orderly fashion to make the most of it.

Highly customizable desktop gadgets

Apart from the default size variants, you can configure several other parameters pertaining to the look and appearance of any widget. As Rainmeter is an open-source program, you are provided with the .ini configuration files which you can customize as per your wish. You can make adjustments to the widget coordinates, position and transparency as well. You can even create your own skins (.rmskin package) using the built-in Skin Packager and publish them for general usage through Rainmeter.

Illustro Skins

Over and above the cool widgets, Rainmeter also contains Illustro, a simple collection of skins that shows the range of Rainmeter’s capabilities. You can load the skins on your desktop for a brief look at your system internals. You can also start editing these skins to make them yours by taking advantage of the Rainmeter manual and forum link provided on the Welcome screen. Win10 Widgets is a great tool if you like widgets or gadgets on your Desktop. It blends into the background and puts the important piece of information right on your desktop without you having to look somewhere else. If you already have the Rainmeter application, you can download the Win10 Widgets .rmskin file from here, else you can download the combined bundle for both Rainmeter and Win10 Widgets from here.

Valve has officially announced that Steam Deck will be compatible with Windows 11 despite TPM 2.0 Microsoft requirements. From the beginning, Deck was announced like a mini handheld PC device. Powered with new Steam OS 3.0 based on Linux. However, besides out-of-the-box OS it was also stated that Deck will be a personal device meaning that other PC-based operating systems could be installed on it and even run your typical applications in it. Since Microsoft announced Windows 11 hardware requirements, specifically the TPM 2.0 requirement many users voiced concern that Steam Deck will not be able to connect to Windows 11 TPM 2.0 is something that Microsoft requires for every internal and hardware component that is to connect on a Windows 11 device. This is to ensure that only trusted devices would be included in the array of a PC setup and avoid any problems like malicious hardware injecting software into a system. This would also minimize the compromise Windows would have, as unverified or untrusted devices connect to a Windows PC. However, Valve and AMD are ensuring us that Deck will not have any issue connecting to a PC running Windows 11 or even if you wish to transform Deck itself into a Device running Windows 11.

Code 43 - What is it?

Code 43, Device Manager Error, is reported when Windows doesn’t recognize a hardware device such as the video card, USB, printer, or any other piece of external hardware attached to your PC.

The Device Manager stops the hardware if it reports some kind of unspecified problem. It is mostly displayed in the following format:

“Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. Code 43”

Solution

Error Causes

Code 43 can be triggered due to several reasons. However, 95% of the times it is related to the device driver problems such as:

• Missing Drivers
• Corrupted Drivers
• Outdated Drivers

Driver problems pop up when either new driver versions are available or drivers become damaged due to some underlying reasons like viral infections.

Other than driver problems, code 43 can also pop up when you install and remove the software. This can cause hardware conflict in the registry, altering driver communication.

Code 43 can hamper your ability to use your desired device smoothly.  Although Code 43 is not a fatal error code like Runtime and BSoD errors, it is still advisable to resolve it immediately to avoid inconvenience.

You can sometimes bypass error code 43 temporarily by a simple PC reboot but this will not fix the problem permanently. For a permanent fix, try the methods given below.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To help you repair code 43 permanently from your PC, below are some of the best, easy perform, and effective solutions. Simply follow the steps to get rid of code 43 from your PC.

Method 1 - Launch and Run the Troubleshoot Wizard

This is one way to find the exact nature of the problem that spurred error code 43 to pop up. To launch and run the Troubleshoot Wizard, here’s what you need to do:

• Go to the start menu
• Type Device Manager in the search bar and then press enter
• Click on Device Manager to run it on your system
• Now click on the ‘General Tab’
• After that press Trouble Shoot to launch the Troubleshooting Wizard

The Wizard will diagnose the problem and provide you a solution to resolve it, all you have to do from there is to follow the Wizard’s instructions

Method 2 - Check the Hardware Documentation

If for some reason Method 1 doesn’t work,  another solution would be to check the hardware documentation for more information about diagnosing the problem.

Method 3 - Uninstall Faulty Drivers

If the underlying reason for code 43 is related to driver problems, then the best way to resolve it is to uninstall faulty drivers and then reinstall new drivers. One of the many ways to uninstall drivers is:

• Click on the start button
• Type ‘sysdm.cpl’ in the search box and then press enter to continue
• In the System Properties dialog box open the Hardware tab
• Click Device Manager and then double click Device Type
• Now click on the problematic hardware device reporting code 43
• After that go to the Driver tab and click Uninstall to uninstall that driver completely
• Visit the manufacturer’s website and download the new driver version
• Install it on your system by extracting the .ZIP file

Method 4 - Update Drivers Automatically

Identifying and updating new driver versions manually can be both frustrating and time-consuming especially if you are in a rush and no computer whiz.

Also, after you update the drivers, you need to keep checking them time and again to ensure they don’t become outdated. You need to update them every time new versions are available which can be stressful.

To avoid this hassle by repairing code 43 permanently, download DriverFIX. This is an innovative and user-friendly device driver software program exclusively designed to resolve all kinds of driver problems.

Whether code 43 occurs on your PC due to missing or outdated drivers, DriverFIX can resolve the problem easily.

The intelligent programming system embedded in this software enables it to detect problematic and outdated drivers in seconds.

It matches new and compatible versions and updates the drivers immediately, automatically, and on a regular basis in just a few clicks. This resolves code 43 and also ensures that all your drivers remain up to date.

DriverFIX is compatible with all Windows versions.

Click here to download DriverFIX to repair and resolve code 43 right away.

As you know, the Windows Media Creation Tool is a great utility in Windows that helps lots of users in installing Windows on their PCs. However, just like any other program in Windows, it also experiences a couple of issues every now and then. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can resolve a particular issue in the Media Creation Tool which is the error 0x80042405-0xA001A. You can encounter this error while creating a USB installation media used in installing Windows 10. When getting this kind of error in the Windows Media Creation Tool, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“We’re not sure what happened, but we’re unable to run this tool on your PC, Error code 0x80042405 – 0xA001A”

The error 0x80042405 – 0xA001A occurs while creating a bootable USB installation drive. This is a common error faced by many users and it has something to do with the USB hardware. To get this issue fixed, here are some suggestions you could check out.

Option 1 – Try to reformat the USB drive

Reformatting your USB drive might help in fixing error 0x80042405 – 0xA001A.

• Open This PC and right-click your USB drive from there then select Format.
• Next, select FAT32 as the drive type and uncheck the “Quick Format” option.
• After that, try to run the Windows Media Creation Tool again and check if the error is fixed or not. But hopefully, it should work since formatting the drive as FAT32 will give the driver a proper type and would resolve any minor issues in the drive.

Option 2 – Copy the Windows Media Creation Tool to the USB drive

If the first option didn’t work, you might want to copy the latest version of the Media Creation Tool to the USB drive. After you do that, you can run it from inside the drive. This is actually a working fix and can definitely get the USB drive to run with Windows inside it so it should resolve the error 0x80042405 – 0xA001A on the Windows Media Creation Tool.

Option 3 – Run CHKDSK to check the drive for errors

When it comes to some issues concerning the hard drive or removable devices, there is a utility in Windows that might help which is called “chkdsk”. This error check utility can help with several issues in the system including the “Diskpart failed to clear disk attributes” error.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the Search box.
• Then type “command prompt” in the field and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening an elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

CHKDSK [volume [[path] filename]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/C] [: size]]

Note: In the command given above, “[/F]” will try to fix the system errors while “[/R]” will be the one to fix the bad sectors.

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your PC, just tap Y and reboot your PC.
• If CHKDSK is not able to find any errors, tap the Win + E keys and navigate the access window. From there, right-click on the concerned drive and click on Properties.
• After opening Properties, click on the tab Tools and then click on the “Check” button under the Error-checking section.
• Wait until the process is completed and then restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try checking the hardware components

On the other hand, it is also possible that the issue has something to do with a hardware problem and so you need to check the hardware components on your computer to determine that.

If you are tried encrypting or decrypting a file using the default EFS engine but you receive an error message instead saying, “Error Applying Attributes, An error occurred applying attributes to the file: The specified file could not be decrypted”, read on as this post will help you sort out the problem. If you encounter this error you can use the error code in it. You will most likely get error code 0x80071771. This kind of error occurs when the File Explorer’s copy and paste feature was not able to read the source file being encrypted or decrypted. It could also occur if you try to access a file that has been on another computer previously.

To fix error code 0x80071771 when decrypting or encrypting a file, refer to the instructions provided below.

Step 1: You need to check first if you can decrypt the files encrypted by EFS. However, if you can’t, just proceed and then take full control of the file. Step 2: To take control of the file, open File Explorer and right-click on the partition, and then click on Properties. Step 3: After that, click on the Edit button under the Security tab. Step 4: Next, make sure that “Everyone” is selected under the Group or user names section. Step 5: Afterwards, the Permissions for Everyone section will be activated. Just make sure that all the checkboxes for Allow are checked and then click on the Apply button. Step 6: Once you’re done, click on the Advanced button. This will open a new window labeled Advanced Security Settings. From there, click on the Change link under the Owner section. Step 7: Now type your account name in the field and click on Check Names to verify the account name and click OK. Step 8: After that, select the “Replace owner on sub-containers and objects” option and then click OK. Step 9: Next, select Administrators in the Group or User names list and select Full Control in the Permissions for Administrators panel and click OK.

There are times when we delete a system files without meaning to on your Windows 10 computer. This happens a lot for users sometimes mistake a system file for a malware-laden file or junk file when it’s actually a system file from the System32 or SysWOW64 folder. In such cases, it could affect your computer. For instance, you might not be able to reboot your PC or open Settings. If you have removed system files from any of these folders by accident and you desperately want to restore them, read on, as this post will guide you in resolving the problem. Restoring them isn’t actually hard, just make sure that you have system admin access. The good thing is that there exists Windows Resource Protection which protects registry keys and folders and even critical system files. So if there are any detected changes to a protected system file, the modified file is restored from a cached copy located in the Windows folder. However, if the Windows Resource Protection program fails to restore these files, you need to check out the given fixes below.

Option 1 – Run System File Checker scan

To restore the system files you deleted, you can try running System File Checker or SFC scan. System File Checker is a command utility built into your computer that helps restore corrupted files and missing files. Refer to the following steps to run it:

• Boot your PC into Safe Mode.
• Hit the Win + R keys 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 while before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

• Reboot your computer.

Option 2 – Try to run the DISM tool

Aside from System File Checker, you can also run the DISM or Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management Tool as it could help in restoring the system files on your Windows 10 computer. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth” which could help you resolve the problem.

• 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.

Option 3 – Try performing a System Restore

Running System Restore can also help you bring back the system files. You can do this option either by booting into Safe Mode or in System Restore. If you are already in the Advanced Startup Options, just directly select System Restore and proceed with the next steps. And if you have just booted your PC into Safe Mode, refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 4 – Try to run Automatic or Startup Repair

Startup Repair, previously known as Automatic Repair, is an advanced tool in Windows that can help you diagnose various system issues, including this one. This tool will scan system files, configuration settings, registry settings, and so on in order to fix the problem on its own. To run Startup Repair, all you have to do is boot into the Advanced Startup Options and then go to Troubleshoot > Advanced option > Startup Repair and then run it. This will resolve the problem if you have deleted any system file that’s essential to your Windows 10 PC.

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.

intelppm.sys blue screen of death is linked to an outdated driver, if you received this error do not sweat we have simple solutions for you. Please keep on reading in order to find out what can you do to fix this error.

1. Update driver Go to the device manager and manually update old-dated drivers. Note that this will take some time because you will need to update each device manually through the device manager but in the end, it will fix the issue.
2. Use automated application Instead of going through each device one by one manually get a dedicated driver fixing device like DRIVERFIX and update all drivers automatically.

If you are using your computer and you notice that Hard drive shows high space utilization even if you only have a few applications installed on your computer, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to sort this problem. Upon noticing the odd state of your hard drive and you check the actual volume that’s occupied by the apps in your drive and you see that they are not really occupying a lot of space. This kind of issue could indicate that your hard drive is not showing the correct value for the free storage space of the drive-in your Windows 10 computer. This kind of problem could be passed off as a system bug, however, it could also be a serious problem. In fact, as you are aware, there are hidden folders and files in your computer that could be occupying space and since most of them are associated with system applications, you might not realize it unless you thoroughly check the folders.

The most common causes of the issue are as follows:

1. The system information folder might be utilizing a lot of space. If you wonder where the information for the system restore points is stored, they are stored in the system information folder which in turn is stored in the drive as a hidden file.
2. An issue with system maintenance could cause the problem.
3. Malware or some other software might have created an undetectable hidden file.
4. Space could be occupied by the trashbin folder.
5. These hidden files could occupy significant space in the folder, thus slowing down the system and impacting its performance. If you face this issue, try our suggestions and see if they help you.
6. Run ChkDsk
7. Clear all Junk files
8. Reduce the space occupied by the system restore points
9. Run the System Maintenance troubleshooter

Option 1 – Run CHKDSK utility to check the drive for errors

When it comes to some issues concerning the hard drive or removable devices, there is a utility in Windows that might help which is called “chkdsk”. To use it, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the Search box.
• Then type “command prompt” in the field and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening an elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

CHKDSK [volume [[path] filename]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/C] [: size]]

Note: In the command given above, “[/F]” will try to fix the system errors while “[/R]” will be the one to fix the bad sectors.

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your PC, just tap Y and reboot your PC.
• If CHKDSK is not able to find any errors, tap the Win + E keys and navigate the access window. From there, right-click on the concerned drive and click on Properties.
• After opening Properties, click on the tab Tools and then click on the “Check” button under the Error-checking section.
• Wait until the process is completed and then restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try to delete the temporary files

The error could be caused by some temporary or junk files in your computer and so you need to clear them up to fix the problem. You can achieve that using the Storage Sense feature.

• Open Setting > System > Storage from the WinX Menu.
• From there, you will see a list of all the local and connected storage devices along with the details on the free space. Make sure that Storage Sense is on.
• Next, find a link that says “Free Up Space” and click it to open.
• After that, a screen which is the built-in program in Windows 10 will appear and will scan your computer for the following junk files so you can free up disk space: 
  • Windows Upgrade Log Files
  • The system created Windows Error Reporting Files
  • Thumbnails
  • Temporary Internet Files
  • Previous Windows Installation Files
  • Delivery Optimisation Files
  • DirectX Shader Cache
• Choose the files you want to get rid of and then click on the remove files option. Note that you’ll have an idea of the total size as you select any of the junk files listed above.
• Now go to the “Free Up Space Now” section and click the Clean Now button. This will get rid of all the temporary or junk files in your computer and should hopefully fix the error.

Option 3 – Try to reduce the space occupied by the system restore points

In case you don’t know, system restore points actually occupy a significant space in your computer which is stored in the System Information folder. Thus, you need to check the size of this folder and unhide the folders and files and then click on the folder. The size of the folder should be displayed in the right pane of the window. To fix the storage space problem, you could delete all the old System Restore Points as well as Previous versions of files or you could also restrict the disk usage of the System Restore points.

Option 4 – Try to run the System Maintenance troubleshooter

The problem could also be caused by the System Maintenance and to fix it, you have to run the System Maintenance troubleshooter by following these steps:

• In the Windows Search bar, type “control panel” and double click on Control Panel from the search results.
• Next, go to this path: Control PanelAll Control Panel ItemsTroubleshootingSystem and Security.
• After that, click on the System Maintenance troubleshooter to run it.
• Once the process is completed, restart your computer.

What Is Installation Error 1628?

Installation Error 1628 is, as the name suggests, an installation error. When it occurs, a generic 1628 message is displayed to the user. When this message appears, it is either a problem with the install files or an issue with the InstallShield.

Solution

Error Causes

Installation Error 1628 is caused because every Windows-based program or application has been designed that such that it has to be installed on the computer for use. This installation process is important because it not only moves files to the appropriate location on one’s hard drive but also because the process creates registry entries in Windows System files. A vast majority of these programs and applications have a built-in tool that’s responsible for aptly performing this installation. This built-in tool is the InstallShield. This establishes that when this error occurs, it is either because of some unforeseen issue that occurred during the installation process or because of some problem with the InstallShield.

Further Information and Manual Repair

In order to keep this error from occurring in the future, some recommendations are outlined below.

• Check the installation disc and determine if there are any smudges, scratches, or fingerprints on it. If the system is unable to read data from the disc, Installation Error 1628 will be generated. In order to ensure that the Installation Disc is clean, use a microfiber cloth. Dampen it lightly with water and clean the disc. Wipe the inside of the disc lightly in an outward direction, making sure that it is not wiped in a circular pattern. Try to reinstall the application or program after cleaning the disc. The issue should be resolved. However, if it persists, some problems may be with the InstallShield.
• The alternative solution is to repair the InstallShield and the procedure goes as follows.

1. Stop InstallShield’s running process. It may have been crashed and simply needs to be restarted. Now access task manager. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and the task manager will open. Now go to the processes tab and disable ‘idriver.exe’ and ‘msiexec.exe’ from here.
2. Now go to ‘C: Program Files/Common Files’. Here you will find the ‘InstallShield’ folder. Select ‘rename’ and modify the folder name to ‘InstallShield1’. Confirm rename and start the installation process again. Now Windows will try to re-install any InstallShield files one needs.
3. If the error persists after renaming the InstallShield folder, download the Windows Installer from Microsoft’s website. This file will determine whether or not your version is valid. Old versions often have bugs that cause problems. Your system is now ready to be used.