Should you build a custom PC

Signing in to a computer that runs a Windows 10 version OS is usually fast and straightforward. However, there are instances when signing in takes too long especially if there are a lot of programs in the Startup. So if many things are loading as soon as you log into your computer, it will slow down the sign-in process. Aside from programs in Startup, it is also possible that there are too many users that are logged in to the account. In such a case, you will most likely encounter an error that says, “Your computer is running low on resources, so no new users can sign in. Please use an account that has already been signed in”. If you’ve encountered such an error when you try to log into your computer, read on as this post will be guiding you on how you can fix it. Each time a user signs in to Windows 10, it will allocate resources in order to work smoothly. But, in many cases, the system is running low on resources which is why this error pops up and blocks a sign-in of a new user. To fix it, you can try to log out the existing users, or perform a Cold Boot, as well as run both the DISM tool and System File Checker scan.

Option 1 - Try to logout existing users

The first thing you can do is to log out the existing users. If you have a shared Windows 10 computer, you have to check if someone hasn’t logged out. It could be that some background task or there is an existing program that is still running under that account. So you have to make sure to ask the same user to log out in case there is some unsaved work. On the other hand, if that user is not around, then you reboot the computer right away.

Option 2 - Try Performing a Cold Boot

You could also try to perform a Cold Boot to fix the problem. A Cold Boot is a process that makes sure that the Windows 10 Kernel shuts down properly and releases all the resources held by any account. To perform a Cold Boot, just press and hold the physical power button on your CPU until it goes off. After that, boot your computer regularly and see if you can now log into your account without any error.

Option 3 - Try to run a System File Checker scan

System File Checker is a built-in command utility in Windows that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files that might be the cause why you’re getting the error when you log into your computer. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Boot your computer into the Advanced Recovery mode and from there open Command Prompt.
• 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:

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.

 Now restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 4 - run the dism tool

You might also want to run the DISM tool. This tool is known to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also system issues like the “Your computer is running low on resources, so no new users can sign in” error. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:

• Go to the Advanced Recovery mode and select Command Prompt.
• After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the problem is now fixed.

If you are trying to update your Windows 10 computer using Windows Update but encounter an error code 0x80242006, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing this particular Windows Update error. This kind of error might be due to mishandling by the operating system. It could also be caused by the antivirus program or security software installed in your computer. When you encounter this error, you will see the following error message on your screen as you try to run Windows Update:

“0x80242006, WU_E_UH_INVALIDMETADATA. A handler operation could not be completed because the update contains invalid metadata.”

Here are some troubleshooting tips you can try to fix Windows Update Error 0x80242006.

Option 1 – Try to reset the Windows Update components

If by any chance that the second option didn’t work, resetting the Windows Update components could also help you resolve the problem. How? Refer to the following steps:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following command and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

If resetting the Windows Update components didn’t work, you could also try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing any issues related to Windows Update including this one. 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 3 – Try to disable your antivirus program

Disabling the antivirus program or any security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when the Windows Update process does not go smoothly. So before you try updating your computer again, make sure to disable the antivirus or security program and once the Windows Update is done, don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 4 – Check the Background Intelligent Service and the Cryptographic Service

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is as follows:
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service – Manual
  • Cryptographic Service ­– Automatic
• After that, check if the Service status of the listed services above are set to Running. If they’re not, click on the Start button to start these services and then check if you can now enable the Windows Update service or not.

Option 5 – Run the System File Checker 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 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.

• Restart your computer.

Option 6 – Try running the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the Windows Update error 0x80242006. 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
• After that, wait until the process is finished and do not close the window as the process will probably take a couple of minutes.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Recently Meta has gone viral that it is working on an AI video-making algorithm named Make a Video. AI will like in picture making AI take text input and produce a video from it.

Now, a new player enters the AI video battlefield, its name is GOOGLE!

The Google research project Imagen Video is also text to video generator similar to Meta's Make a Video with one little difference. unlike Meta's offering which includes only sign-up, Google is withholding access for now under the veil of safeguarding issues.

Google has been in the Ai space before with their Imagen, a DALL-E style generator capable of photorealistic picture generation based on text prompts. The new Google tool works in a similar way but with better functions. Ai can generate a diverse range of high-fidelity videos across different aesthetic styles and with a deep understanding of 3D models thus creating high-definition, 24-frames-per-second videos.

"With the help of progressive distillation, Imagen Video can generate high-quality videos using just eight diffusion steps per sub-model. This speeds up video generation time substantially, by a factor of ~18x,”

Jonathan Ho, author of the research paper

Despite filtering for “undesirable content”, the team admits “there is a risk that Imagen has encoded harmful stereotypes and representations”. So, until the AI - and its users - can be trusted, Google refuses to release Imagen Video without additional safeguards in place.

I must admit that I am a big Western Digital fan, I have been using their hard drives really long time and I must admit that I am very happy with their products. Sometimes they could be a little more expensive than other drives on market but security and performance are on their side. If you ever wanted to purchase Western Digital or WD hard drives or you are considering getting one, no doubt that you have come across their color cryptic line of products. 1TB Hard drive can come in 6 different colors in your search products query and if you are not familiar with the WD color coding of hard drives you might be a little lost as to which one is right for you and what are the differences. This article is made to explain exactly that, what are WD colors representing so you can choose the right one for your needs. Western Digital has decided to use color codes in order to mark their series of disks which means that each color represents different hard drive series and it is made and aimed for different use, we are going to explore in detail each series below:

WD BLUE

Blue series is all around typical hard drive made and meant for daily use in desktop computers for all kinds of tasks. You can use it in casual gaming or for storage, its purpose is tailored for all-around casual daily users.

WD RED

WD Red HDD is designed for NAS and RAID systems. Its purpose is to be turned 24/7 who ever need access to it. Get this series if you need to have constant access to files or if you need a reliable RAID hard drive.

WD GREEN

Green series of the hard drive is manufactured for low power consumption and for storage, they are meant to be used for storage and not accessed regularly.

WD PURPLE

Purple line of hard drive products is designed solely for video surveillance systems. Instead of having a preference on reading data like WD RED, the PURPLE series is given preference on writing, constant writing to be more precise.

WD BLACK

The black series is made for an external storage medium with high performance. Due to the high performance, WD Black hard drives are much popular among photo editors and high-end gamers.

WD GOLD

WD Gold HDD provides a long-term cold storage medium. Therefore, this series of Western Digital hard drives are suitable for data centers. These hard drives can handle many sophisticated systems simultaneously and work well with different servers That's it, I hope that you have now a more clear understanding of the WD color-coding of its hard drive series. As always thank you for reading and I hope you will have a great day. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

Error Code 0x8007232B (Code 0x8007232B) – What is it?

Error code 0x8007232B (Code 0x8007232B) is an error that occurs when you attempt to activate Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista.

Common symptoms include:

• Attempting to activate Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2012 and you receive an error message.
• The error message says: “Windows could not be activated. Key management services host could not be located in domain name system, please have your system administrator verify that a KMS is published correctly in DNS”
• The error message says “The directory name, file name, or volume label syntax is incorrect”.

Error Causes

• Error Code 0x8007232B occurs when you attempt to use media that is volume licensed to install: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2.
• This error code also occurs when the activation wizard is unable to connect to a Key Management Service host computer.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Error code 0x8007232B can be seen when you are trying to activate windows, on several different operating systems. This problem can usually be easily corrected, but in the event that it can't, please contact a computer repair technician. When you try to install any of the previously mentioned Windows products, they use a generic product key to install the volume-based license software. If you do have a KMS host computer configuration and see these error codes, that means the correct DNS entries are not being seen on the computer. If there is not a KMS host computer setup, you need to do this setup, otherwise switch to a MAK product key method, and activate the volume license installation that way.

Method One:

Using a Multiple Activation Key as opposed to KMS activation

1. Click the Start icon, click on All Programs, click on Accessories, right-click on Command prompt.
2. Click on “Run as administrator”. Type in the password or provide confirmation if prompted for administrator password or confirmation.
3. When asked for the command prompt, enter in the following and then hit the Enter buuton: slmgr -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx  Note: this placeholder represents the MAK product key.

Method Two:

Configure a KMS host server for the clients to activate against.

A KMS host server needs to be configured for the clients to activate against. When there are no KMS host servers configured near you, install and activate a KMS server key. After this, configure a computer on the network to host this KMS software and publish the Domain Name System (DNS) settings.

Method Three:

When the client cannot locate a KMS host on the network for activation:

1. Verify that your computer has the KMS host installed and activated by using a KMS key that is registered in DNS. You will follow these steps to do that:

1. Click the Start button, click on All Programs, click Accessories, and then right-click on Command Prompt.
2. Click on Run as Administrator. Type the password or provide confirmation if you are asked for an administrator password or for confirmation.
3. In the command prompt box, type the following command and press ENTER: nslookup -type=all _vlmcs.tcp>kms.txt
4. Then open the KMS.txt file generated by this command. The file will contain at least one entry that relays the SRV service location.

2.  A KMS host server registers a DNS SRV record once every 24 hours by default. You should check the registry to see if the KMS host server is registering with the DNS. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Click on Start, type in regedit, and then press Enter.
2. Locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsNTCurrentVersionSL and then click on it.
3. The KMS server does not register in DNS if the DisableDnsPublishing subkey is existing and has a value of 1. If this subkey is missing altogether, create a DWORD value called the DisableDnsPublishing. If the dynamic registration is suitable, the subkey value should be changed to 0. Right-click DisableDnsPublishing, click on Modify, enter 0 into the Value data box, and click OK.

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.

There are not many applications for creating mind maps, even fewer that are completely free, so it is with great pleasure to present you with Freeplane. Freeplane is mind mapping, Knowledge Management, and Project Management software completely free and open source. You can it here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/freeplane/files/latest/download

And from developers git page and I quote:

Freeplane is a free and open-source software application that supports thinking, sharing information, and getting things done at work, in school, and at home. The core of the software is tools for mind mapping (also known as concept mapping or information mapping) and using mapped information. Freeplane is written in Java using OSGi and Java Swing. It runs on any operating system that has a current version of Java installed. It can be run locally or portably from removable storage like a USB drive. We use Github only as of the main code repository, all other project parts are hosted at the source forge. So all bugs and feature requests are managed in a separate issue tracker. There is a drop-down box for selecting different types of issues. Other sources of inspiration are our new forum and old forum. Some users write their ideas there. Every contributor and every team member freely decides what task he is going to work on, but for making the best decision we can communicate our self-set goals in the above forum. It is supposed to enable early discussions and community feedback and also to motivate you and other people.

How to start hacking and contributing

People new to the project can start with implementing a new small feature or doing some refactoring or documentation and not with the bug fixing. Not all bug reports seem to be equally important, and if there are important bugs they usually get fixed by people who broke the functionality. I think you should first get there :). For internal developer discussions, there is a private mailing list. It is held private to avoid spam mails. If you want to be subscribed let us know what mail address you are going to use with it. This list is the preferred way to ask all code-related questions because they usually get answered soon and by the most competent team member. Some documentation for new developers is available in Freeplane wiki https://www.freeplane.org/wiki/index.php/How_to_build_Freeplane and also here and here. It is written for new guys and should also be maintained by the new guys to stay up to date. Looking forward to any questions and contributions, Freeplane development team

If you have just updated your Mozilla Firefox browser as of late and you noticed that it’s showing wrong or no bookmark favicon at all, then read on as this post will provide you with potential solutions that can help you resolve the problem. The basic thing you can do to fix it is to either refresh or reset the cache for favicon and then force restart the favicon service. However, if you’ve already tried this and it didn’t work, then there are still other options you can try. You can try to rebuild the configuration file for the favicon or restart the favicon service. You could also try disabling all the add-ons on your browser or scan your computer for adware. For more details, refer to each one of the options laid out below.

Option 1 – Try to rebuild the favicon configuration file

Mozilla Firefox actually creates a file each time you bookmark a webpage and this is called “favicons.SQLite”. This file is located on your computer and for you to fix the issue in Firefox, you need to rebuild this file and in order to do that, follow these steps:

• First, you need to unhide the hidden files in your computer by enabling the “Show hidden files” option so that you’ll be able to see the hidden files in your computer.
• After that, navigate to this path: C:Usersyour_usernameAppDataLocalMozillaFirefoxProfilesyour_profile_name
• From there, you need to find the “favicons.SQLite” file and once you found it, delete it.
• Next, you have to open the Firefox browser and create the same favicon configuration file which should be automatically created.
• Now check if you can now see bookmark favicons on your Firefox browser or not.

Option 2 – Try to restart the favicon service

If the first option didn’t work, you can try to restart the favicon service instead. Restarting the favicon service can help if you do not see the correct bookmark favicon on your Firefox browser. To restart this service, follow the steps below.

• You need to first open the Firefox browser and in the address bar, type “about:config” and tap Enter.
• After that, you will see a page that displays a warning message. On that page, you need to click the “I accept the risk!” button to proceed.
• Next, using the search box on the page, look for the “devtools.chrome.enabled” option. The value for this option should be set to “False” by default.
• Double click on this option to set its value to “True”.
• Once done, go to Menu > Web Developer > Browser Console or you could also tap the Ctrl + Shift + J keys, alternatively.
• Afterwards, paste this command in the pop-up window that appears and then tap the Enter button: var fS = Components.classes["@mozilla.org/browser/favicon-service;1"] .getService(Components.interfaces.nsIFaviconService); fS.expireAllFavicons();
• Once you’re done, restart your Firefox browser to check if it fixes the problem or not.

Option 3 – Try to disable all the add-ons in Firefox

The next option you can try to fix the problem is to disable all the installed add-ons in Firefox. More often than not, add-ons can cause issues in the browser so it is possible that one of the add-ons in Firefox is causing it to show incorrect or no bookmark favicon. To resolve this problem, you have to disable all the add-ons by opening Firefox and then going to Menu > Add-ons or you could also tap the Ctrl + Shift + A keys. After that, go to the Extensions section and click on the respective Disable buttons for each one of the add-ons. Once done, restart your computer and check if you can now see the bookmark favicons or not.

Option 4 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender

It is possible that the bookmark favicon problem is caused by some adware in the Firefox browser so you have to scan your computer to check by 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.

Error Code 0x8007001 - What is it?

Error Code 0x8007001 occurs during installations that take place in Windows 10.  Various versions of this same error have also been present in previous editions of the software and the methods to resolve the error across these versions are the same

Common symptoms include:

• Inability to complete the installation process for updates, programs, and system versions.
• Installations quitting out in the middle of the process, particularly as the files are unpacked.

Several solutions for Error Code 0x8007001 require the user to complete semi-complex tasks. If you aren’t comfortable with the processes necessary to finish the methods below, make sure that you get in touch with a certified professional who is familiar with the Windows operating system to assist you in the resolution of the error code.

Solution

Error Causes

In many cases, Error Code 0x8007001 is caused by an installation disk that is not functioning properly or installation files that have been corrupted or changed. When this is the case, the operating system will not be able to begin actually installing the files and will instead hang up as the files are unpacked from the installation set.

Further Information and Manual Repair

For Error Code 0x8007001 to be repaired properly, the missing or corrupted installation files need to be repaired or the system needs to be able to recognize the files that it is missing. This can require some advanced computing knowledge. If you don’t feel comfortable with the idea of undertaking the methods below on your own, contact a computer repair technician who can assist you in following these steps.

Method One:  Load the Install Files on an Alternative Disk

In some cases, the operating system simply cannot recognize the installation files that are present on the disk in question, whether it is on a hard drive, a set of downloaded files, or files from a flash drive. If this is the case on your particular machine, the simplest way to work around the problem is to load the installation files onto an alternative disk source, whether it be a flash drive, CD, DVD, or secondary hard drive. After these files have been properly loaded onto that alternative disk, attempt to run the installation from the alternative source instead.

If this method is successful, it means that the system may have had trouble recognizing the files involved in the installation from the first source, but that the files themselves were not corrupted or changed.

Make sure that you save the alternative disk source after your installation is complete in case you ever need to do a fresh installation on your machine.

Method Two:  Clean Your Disc and Your Drive

If you are installing files from a DVD or CD, check to make sure that the back of the disc is free from scratches and dust. If there are no visible marks on the disc, you may need to open up your disk drive to see if there is a build-up of dust or debris inside of the drive. If this is the case, simply clean your drive and re-attempt your installation process from the included disk.

Method Three:  Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter and Update Your Programs

If the error code is still appearing on your machine, you can open up your Windows Update tool and run the troubleshooting wizard, which will then scan your machine to see if there are any potential problems that it can fix. Next, run the Update tool itself if there are any updates that need to be performed. Sometimes, this can resolve the error at hand. Make sure to restart your computer after any updates or changes have been made so that you can ensure that they are applied by the operating system appropriately.

Method Four: 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.

It really sucks when you can’t fully enjoy the newest version of your favorite OS.

Windows 11 is still relatively fresh and consequently has some annoying little bugs that really ruin our experience. The good news is that you’re not alone and most of them are easy to fix.

Here are 5 commonly reported Windows 11 issues and what you can do to get rid of them.

1. Windows 11 audio problems

One of the absolute most irritating things in the world is struggling with the sound on your computer. Windows 11 users have reported facing the issue of low or no sound. If you’re currently experiencing the same frustration, you can be relieved. Chances are fixing it will only take a few minutes.

The first thing to check would be whether you accidentally muted your device by pressing the mute button on your keyboard. Yes, we know it sounds a lot like the old “have you tried turning it off and on again?” But it’s important to leave no stone unturned, and the most obvious things are usually the ones we easily overlook.

Moreover, if you have several audio output sources, check whether the right one is selected. You can do this via the Action Center or through Settings. If you want to use the same source every time, we also recommend you set it as the default one.

It’s also important to have a good, up-to-date audio driver. More often than not, this will be the true cause of your audio struggles. Make sure to update your driver, and if that doesn’t work out, you can always un- and reinstall it or install a different one. 

Lastly, if all attempts remain unsuccessful, run the audio troubleshooter to figure out what’s actually going wrong.

2. Unable to find files

Such a powerful new operating system, yet it can’t seem to do the simplest thing imaginable? The File Explorer not responding on Windows 11 is one of the most frustrating and most common problems with Microsoft’s newest iteration of its awesome OS.

However, 9/10 times it can be fixed by simply restarting your PC. You could also try killing the Windows Explorer process in the Task Manager and then rerunning it.

If these don’t help, check whether there are any pending Windows 11 updates. A single missing update can compromise your PC’s functionality, so always make sure to install them all on time. 

Should none of that work, then there are other ways to solve the File Explorer problem. However, then the issue is probably a bit deeper and it’s no longer in the ‘easy fix’ territory.

3. Start menu not working

Just like the File Explorer, the Start menu is a fundamental element of your OS. So, it’s only natural that its malfunction grinds your gears. It may be more customizable than on previous Windows versions, but it doesn’t always work smoothly. 

If you’re facing the so-called Start menu critical error, there are a few things this could be caused by. Usually it means you turned off your system while an important update was still being installed, there is a corrupt file on your PC, or Windows forcefully stopped a program. 

Whatever the reason, the solution should be pretty simple. Try the basic steps: restarting your File Explorer (like we explained above) and signing out and back into your account. If that doesn’t do anything, you may want to try uninstalling third-party start menu apps (if you have any), since they can interfere with your default programs’ functionality.

Now, those are the easy fixes. If you get nowhere with them, you might need to identify the root cause and search for more complex solutions than that.

4. Snipping tool not working

Our beloved screenshot tool was introduced with Windows 10 and Microsoft decided to keep it. However, you were probably just as disappointed as us when you tried to run it and failed. 

Normally, this can be fixed by installing the latest Out-of-band (OOB) update, or even pending updates in general. Even if your system appears to be up-to-date, run the checker just in case.

Another cool thing Windows 11 lets you do is ‘Repair’ and ‘Reset’, which is the easiest way to troubleshoot your Snipping tool. If this fails, you can also try the good old un- and reinstall method. Simply uninstall the tool through the Control Panel and reinstall it from the Microsoft Store.

Furthermore, in the case of an upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, it may be that the old Snipping tool version is interfering with the launch of the new one. If you don’t care that much about the additional options available with the enhanced screenshot tool, you can use the old version instead.

Simply go to your C Drive, find the Windows.old folder, search for the tool and open it from there. Make sure to pin it to your taskbar as well, if you know you’re going to use it often.

5. Can’t install the latest update

The latest Windows 11 version, 22H2, has brought tons of enhancements to our dearest operating system. Unfortunately, a lot of users still haven’t had the opportunity to experience it. A mere update of your OS version should be the one thing that goes smoothly, but sometimes that’s not the case.

Failure to install 22H2 can be caused by a few things. Most commonly, the issue is caused by lack of storage space or corrupted files, but there could be other culprits.

There are a couple of things you could try. For example, it’s crucial that your drivers be up-to-date and some important services be enabled. These are: Windows Modules Installer, Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Cryptographic Service, Windows Update services.

To enable them, search ‘Services’, find the service you need and right-click on it. Open ‘Properties’ and select the startup type ‘Automatic’.

It may also be necessary to unplug all peripherals that aren’t crucial and disable third-party antivirus tools until after the update is finished. 

Ultimately, you can run the Windows Update troubleshooter to detect and fix other possible issues.

Summary

Tiny bugs like these are nothing out of the ordinary. That said, we still all hate when they happen.

Hopefully some of our solutions have helped you to a smoother Windows 11 experience. But if you’re still struggling, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!