Software review series: QuickLook

It is common to run multiple programs and applications at the same time and it’s important to be able to switch between them using their Taskbar icons or using the usual Alt + Tab shortcut. However, there are times when you might suddenly find that neither of the aforementioned methods worked and you will no longer be able to switch between programs in the Windows Taskbar. To fix this issue, refer to the options given in this post. For instance, when you have multiple instances of Microsoft Edge running and every time you press the Alt + Tab combo nothing happens so you are left with no choice but to minimize everything and then hover your mouse on the icon and switch between the instances of Edge. You will also notice that the right-click on the taskbar won’t respond back and will only keep on showing the loading circle icon. Here are a few tips you can follow to fix the issue with the Windows 10 Taskbar.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Windows Explorer

This is one of the basic things you can try as restarting Windows Explorer helps in refreshing the user interface and makes most of the things work in relation to the user interface.

• To get started, tap the Alt + Ctrl + Del keys to pull up the Windows Task Manager.
• After opening Task Manager, look for “explorer.exe” under the list of programs.
• Once you find the explorer.exe, right-click on it and click Restart.

Option 2 – Try changing the Foreground Lock Time

Aside from restarting Windows Explorer, you could also try changing the Foreground Lock Time to fix the issue with the Taskbar.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type in regedit in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, go to this registry key – HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
• Next, change the ForegroundLockTimeout value from200000 to 0. After that, it will make sure that no other application will take away the focus from your current program or application. It could be that some other application has taken away the focus and even when you try to actually switch, the focus gets back to the old one. Anyhow, since you already changed the value of ForegroundLockTimeout, it will ensure that the focus is not switched.

Note: If you are running some Full-Screen applications there are some devices especially the gaming ones, disable the Windows key to make sure that you won’t be able to switch. If this is the case, you need to make some modifications to the Full-Screen games.

The latest Windows 11 update has brought with it not so popular widget from Windows 10, the weather widget that will reside into the taskbar and constantly show stuff like temperature, weather conditions, etc. The weather widget is not a bad thing but most users found it a little annoying and turned it off in Windows 10. If you wonder how can you do the same but this time inside Windows 11 please keep reading. The first step is to right-click  anywhere on the taskbar (in empty space) and choose Taskbar settings Once the taskbar settings are opened, find Widgets and click on the switch on the far right to turn it off, immediately no more information will be shown on the taskbar and it will be free again. And that is all there is to it.

One of the most common Blue Screen of Death errors you can encounter on your Windows 10 computer is the Tcpip.sys Blue Screen error. The Tcpip.sys file is a driver file that is associated with the Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol. When you see this kind of BSOD error, you may see any of the following error descriptions:

• IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL
• KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
• PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Whichever error description you got, you need to do use the following instructions below as a reference to obliterate the Tcpip.sys Blue Screen error.

Option 1 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

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

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

Option 2 – Try resetting TCP/IP

In case you didn’t notice, the Tcpip.sys file is associated with the TCP/IP protocols in your computer system which is why resetting TCP/IP can help in resolving the Tcpip.sys Blue Screen of Death error especially when the TCP/IP has been modified.

• First, you need to type “command prompt” in the Windows Search bar and then right-click on the related search result and select the “Run as administrator” option to open Command Prompt.
• After that, type the following command in the elevated cmd window and hit Enter:

netsh int ip reset

• Now reboot your computer after the command has been executed and check if it helped to fix the Blue Screen error.

Option 3 – Try to rollback your Network driver

If you have updated the driver software as of late and you suddenly got this BSOD error, you might have to roll back the device driver – in other words, switch back to the previous working version. To do that, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “devmgmt.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Next, select the driver entries that are labeled appropriately other than anything in the context of the WAN Miniport.
• Then select each one of them and double click to open a new mini window.
• After that, make sure that you’re on the Driver tab and if you are not, just navigate to it then click the Roll Back Driver button to switch back to the previous version of your Network adapters.
• Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 4 – Try to update the Network drivers

You might also want to try updating all your network drivers in order to fix the Tcpip.sys Blue Screen error. To do so, here’s what you have to do:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “MSC” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Then right-click on each one of the Network drivers and update them all.
• Restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the BSOD error.

Note: If updating the network drivers didn’t help in fixing the problem, you can also try to uninstall the very same drivers and restart your Windows 10 PC. After that, the system itself will reinstall the drivers you just uninstalled. Alternatively, you can also download and install the drivers from the manufacturer’s website directly.

Option 5 – Try to disable both the Antivirus program and Firewall temporarily

There are times when antivirus programs and the firewall blocks a website that they consider to be malicious or even because of false-positive effects which is why you have to disable these programs temporarily as it might be the reason why you’ve encountered the error when trying to browse the internet.

If you’re having some problem browsing multiple websites on the Firefox browser on your Windows 10 computer, then this post might be of help. One of the most common problems you could encounter in Firefox is mostly related to HTTPS and one of them is the MOZILLA PKIX ERROR MITM DETECTED or ERROR SELF SIGNED CERT or SEC ERROR UNKNOWN ISSUER error which means that Firefox was unable to trust certificates issued on secured websites. If you encounter the MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_MITM_DETECTED error in Firefox, this indicates that something in your network or system is interrupting your connection and injecting certificates and when that happens, Firefox won’t trust it. In such cases, one of the culprits is malware. Malware will try to replace a legitimate certificate with its certificate. Another cause is security software where it keeps a tab on a secure connection and creates a false positive, for instance:

“In Microsoft Windows accounts protected by Family Safety settings, secure connections on popular websites like Google, Facebook and YouTube might be intercepted and their certificates replaced by a certificate issued by Microsoft in order to filter and record search activity.”

And if you are connected to a corporate network, there might be a monitoring/filtering product that could be replacing certificates. Moreover, there are also users who reported getting this issue when they use the Nightly version of Firefox. And if that’s the case, you have to try accessing secure websites using only the stable build especially when it comes to payments. However, if you are not doing that, then here are some options you need to check out.

Option 1 – Try turning off HTTPS Scanning on your security and antivirus programs

Each security-based software has a security option that allows you to turn off the HTTPS scanning functionality. They may be available under different names such as HTTPS Scanning, Scan SSL, Show safe result, Do not scan encrypted connections, etc. Find what is applicable for your security or antivirus software and then try turning it off temporarily and see if it helps in fixing the MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_MITM_DETECTED error in Firefox.

Option 2 – Try to disable security.enterprise_roots.enabled

The next thing you can do if the first option didn’t work is to disable security.enterprise_roots.enabled which is an HTTPS certificate check on Firefox. Note that this is not recommended but you have to at least try in order to fix the error.

• Open Firefox and then type “about: config” in the Firefox address bar and hit Enter.
• After that, if an info message appears, confirm it.
• Next, search for the security.enterprise_roots.enabled preference and once you found it, double click on it.
• Then change its value to true and restart the Firefox browser once. This will import all the custom certificates from the other security software into Firefox. As a result, it will make sure to mark those sources as trusted and you won’t get the MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_MITM_DETECTED error.

Yes, you read that right, KFC is making a console partnered with Cooler Master. Bizzare at it sounds, it is even more bizarre that the console is designed to keep your food warm!!! You can pull out the drawer from the console out on its top and place some food there in order to keep it warm. The console itself is coming in cylindrical shape powered by Intel CPU and ASUS GPU of the unknown chipset. It has Seagate Baraccuda 1TB SSD and it is VR-ready. The console will have raytracing and will be 4K ready.

My thoughts

Well, my thoughts are somewhat strange, on one side I am not really sold on food heating gimmicks and without specific hardware specifications, it is difficult to say how much power the console will have. Price is also not leaked so that is also a stumbling stone for making an informed opinion. I am a little puzzled and concerned about this whole heating food thing because personally, I can see 2 issues: Console overheating and fat dripping on inside hardware, I am sure they have somehow eliminated this but I would be very interested to see how.

Error Code 46 – What is it?

Error Code 46 is a device driver error that occurs when Windows fails to access the connected peripheral device to the computer as Windows is in a process of shutting down.

Users experience this error on any Windows 2000 and later operating system versions and usually see a pop-up with the following message:

“Windows cannot gain access to this hardware device because the operating system is in the process of shutting down. (Code 46)”

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 46 is caused when there is a temporary problem with windows system files which prompts that the system is undergoing a shut down when in fact is it not.

This prevents access to the connected devices. This error may also be caused by a registry issue in which case it has either become corrupted or damaged.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Unlike all other Windows error codes, code 46 is relatively easy to fix with the right knowledge and does not pose any serious threat to the well-being of your PC. Here is how you can do it.

Method 1 – Restart your PC

The simplest method to resolve Error Code 46 is to run a restart of your computer.

The error is most commonly a temporary registry glitch that prevents you from accessing the device connected to your computer. Upon restarting your computer, it will resume working properly as before.

There is no need to run a troubleshooting wizard, use system restore, or run anti-virus software to scan and remove malware or spyware. A simple restart is all that is needed.

Method 2 – Install DriverFIX

Although the error code can be resolved upon restarting the computer, there’s a possibility of damaged or corrupted Windows registry files. This can be fixed by using a program like DriverFIX.

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

It further ensures that your drivers are installed in their entirety leaving no room for any corrupted or damaged registry.

Error Code 46 may not be much of an issue, however, to prevent any risk of a Windows system corruption can be disastrous for your computer.

DriverFIX helps you fix your PC registry and device driver problems with user-friendly software and an integrated database. The database which consists of detailed information on what device driver needs to be installed will automatically download the required device driver without you need to refer to your hardware instruction manual.

Registry problems resulting from incomplete program installations and viruses such as malware and spyware damaged registry files. This affects your PC in serious ways.

DriverFIX further has an automatic backup and restoration system that helps create system ‘checkpoints’ which allow you to roll back to a healthier state and resume operations. This can help you avert any Windows error codes in the future.

Click here to download DriverFIX now!

Pinned Windows 10 Taskbar Items. One of the most used interfaces in the Windows environment is the Taskbar. It is where users like to pin their most-used programs as well as shortcuts with extra privileges and automated tasks. In fact, it’s a lot better than the Start Menu. So if any Windows Update messes up with your computer, or if you’ve just switched to a different computer, setting up the Taskbar with the very same set of programs you used to have is definitely not an easy task. But worry not as this post will guide you on how you can backup and restore the items on your Taskbar either manually or automatically.

Manual Backup:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run prompt.
• Then type “%AppData%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchUser PinnedTaskBar” in the field and hit Enter to open the folder where you can see all the shortcuts or pinned items in the Taskbar.
• After that, copy all the files in the folder and paste them somewhere else as a backup. For instance, E:\Pinned Items Backuppinnedshortcuts.
• Next, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run prompt once more, and then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. When the User Account Control dialog box appears, click Yes.
• After opening the Registry Editor, navigate to this key – HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerTaskband
• Then right-click on the Taskbar folder and select Export.
• Now save the file with the .reg extension to another location like the E:\Pinned Items Backup folder and then name it.
• Close the Registry Editor.

Manual Restore:

Make sure to copy all the files to one of the drives if you are using another computer and then refer to the following steps.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run prompt.
• Then type “%AppData%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchUser PinnedTaskBar” in the field and hit Enter to open the same folder where you just copied all the shortcuts. Make sure to keep it open.
• Then open the backup folder where you saved all the pinned items and copy all the files there.
• Next, go to the Taskbar folder (%AppData%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchUser PinnedTaskBar) and then paste your files in there. If you encounter a problem while doing so, just replace it with your own set of files.
• After that, go to E:\Pinned Items Backuppinnedshortcuts and then double click on tb-pinned-items.reg. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes. This will add the registry file into the main registry hub. You will also get a dialog box that will confirm that data has been added to the registry successfully. Click OK.
• You should now see the items on the Taskbar. You have to restart Windows Explorer. To do so, end its process in the Task Manager.

Automatic Backup:

Backing up and restoring the pinned Taskbar items in your Windows 10 computer can be done automatically as well. But before you get started on the process, you need to understand what’s going on behind the hood first. First, you need to create two bat files and name them “Backup Pinned Taskbar Items” and “Restore Pinned Taskbar Items”. After you have that covered, refer to the following steps:

• Open the Notepad app and paste the following details and save it as “Backup Pinned Taskbar Items.bat.

REG EXPORT HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerTaskband “E:\Pinned Items Backuptb-pinned-items.reg” xcopy “%AppData%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchUser PinnedTaskBar” “E:\Pinned Items Backuppinnedshortcuts” /E /C /H /R /K /Y

• After that, run the newly created bat file with admin privileges.

Automatic Restore:

• Open the Notepad app and paste the following details and save it as “Restore Pinned Taskbar Items.bat”.

REGEDIT /S “E:Pinned Items Backuptb-pinned-items.reg” xcopy “E:Pinned Items Backuppinnedshortcuts” “%AppData%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick LaunchUser PinnedTaskBar” /E /C /H /R /K /Y

• After that, run the bat file with admin privileges.

Note: Just so you know, there is a drawback to this process as we’ve noticed that any pinned apps that were downloaded from the Windows Store don’t appear in these places and any items downloaded and installed separately from the internet and then pinned.

In the past, CDs, DVDs, and floppy drivers used to be the primary sources of external storage for many users – that is until the USB storage devices took over. These days, a lot of devices no longer have a built-in CD or DVD writer or reader as it contributes to the thickness of the device. On the other hand, there are still various devices that still come with a built-in CD or DVD writer or reader. However, recently, users who still use CD or DVD on their devices reported a problem where the CD or DVD icon is not visible in the File Explorer as well as in “This PC” or the My Computer page. The cause of this issue is still unknown at the time of writing, but there are still some potential fixes you can try to fix it. You can try to update or roll back the device drivers or apply some tweaks in the Registry Editor. For more details, refer to the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to update or rollback device drivers

The first thing you can try to fix the missing CD or DVD icon is to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties. Note that the concerned drivers will be listed under the DVD/CD-ROM drives section as well as the IDE/ATAPI Controllers section.
• From there, look for the following drivers:
  • ATA Channel 0.
  • ATA Channel 1.
  • Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller.
• Now, right-click on each one of the listed drivers and update them all. You could also try to roll them back to their previous versions.

Note: You can also directly download the relevant drivers of your computer from the manufacturers’ website. So if you have an SSD, the issue might be due to an old storage driver.

Option 2 – Try to use the Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlClass{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
• After that, look for the DWORD values named “UpperFilters” and “LowerFilters”.
• Right-click on each one of these DWORD values and select Delete.
• Now restart your computer and see if it fixes the problem.

Option 3 – Try creating a new Registry entry

There is another option you can try in the Windows Registry to fix the missing icon of the CD/DVD. You can try adding a new entry. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win ­+ R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesatapi
• From there, right-click on “ATAPI” and select New > Key.
• After that, name it is “Controller0” and right-click on the sub-key and then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• Now name it as “EnumDevice1” and double click on it and then set its value data to “1”.
• Click OK and restart your computer to apply the changes made successfully.

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.

Steam has cemented itself as the largest digital game shop in the World. First, release all the way back on September 12^th, 2003, it was meant to be a standalone software client aimed to deliver updates to Valve’s games. It was soon expanded to include titles from third parties. The greatest Steam expansion and its popularity started in 2004 with the release of Half-life 2. Steam allowed prepurchased editions to be downloaded before the official release of the game making it available for play the moment it was officially out. Very soon after Steam gained its popularity, Valve has opened doors to other developers and offered them to use Steam as means for a digital distribution platform. Today it hosts over 30000 different game titles, not including DLC or applications. And how soon Valve’s steam deck is coming out soon we would like to share some great tips and tricks about Steam itself for easy everyday gaming.

Steam guard account security

Security of any of your accounts should be something that you really take seriously. So as always use a strong password for Steam but if you want an extra layer of security for it, and you should, use the Steam built-in feature: Guard Account Security. In order to activate Security Guard go to Steam>Settings>Account>Manage Steam Guard Account Security. Once enabled you will be able to use the Steam mobile application for special code when opening Steam or your email address.

Use Steam beta feature

Once a Steam account is created by default you will download and install the client. In the client, you will have the latest features available but there are more Steam features than default ones, beta features that can offer some improved and new functionality, and do not worry, they are stable and bug-free. I have been in Steam beta for years and not even once have I had any issues with the client itself but I have always had the latest features that will come to regular users later. To enable beta participation to go to Steam>Settings>Account, open the drop-down Beta participation menu, and choose Steam Beta Update. Confirm on OK and restart the Steam client. You will now get all the latest features first.

Manage your library via Collections

The collection is a neat idea for organizing your large game library into different collections or sections easily expanded and contracted for easier navigation and organization. To add the game to a collection just right-click on it and select Add To>New Collection, make a name for a collection like action, RPG, or whatever rocks your boat, and you are done. Once the collection is created other games can be added to it simply just by dragging it into the desired collection.

Make shelves

Shelves are ways to see your collections in the larger areas of the Steam clients. By clicking Add Shelf>Choose a Shelf, you can now add your collection to a shelf on the larger part of the client as a horizontal scrolling container with your chosen games. There are also some predefined shelves like All Games, Recent friend activity, and more.

Hide Game from Library

By right-clicking on a game and selecting Manage>Hide This Game you will remove the game from the active view of your Steam library. Note that the game will still be owned and a part of your library, you will just not be able to see it. This is a great feature when for example you have some things that came as a part of the game pack you are not really interested in when you have 2 different versions of the same game as for example standard and deluxe edition or just by simply not wanting to have game visible in the library. You can find a hidden game by typing its name in the search box and from there you can unhide it.

Play game soundtracks inside Steam

Some games offer you to purchase their soundtracks if you like music from them and some even include OST with a regular purchase. Steam lets you play these soundtracks and even lets you import your own music library folder into it in order to play all of your music inside the client itself. It has even options to automatically stop music playing once the game is run and you can make playlists as well. Your purchased game soundtracks are automatically included, the rest you will need to add by pointing Steam to the folder where you keep music in.

Configure gamepad

Inside Steam, you can configure your gamepad’s general settings, big picture settings, desktop settings, etc. Steam embraced the idea that many OC users these days own and play with gamepads so it has implemented configuration options inside it. To configure your pad go to Steam>Settings>Controller.

Use big picture Steam mode

Big picture mode is Steam's idea of making Steam an entertainment center. Once it is activated it switches from the application into full-screen mode aimed at large TV screens or monitors. You can easily navigate through it via gamepad, mouse, keyboard, or other devices. You have access to the store, your game library, etc. Same as your typical steam app but a little different. You can easily activate it via View> Big Picture Mode and see for yourself is this something you prefer over a standard application layout.

Enable Steam Cloud

Steam Cloud is a great feature that uses cloud storage to save your game progress meaning that you can easily switch to another PC, install games there and continue where you have left off. Many games support this feature instead of keeping saves locally and it is a great feature worth turning it ON. To turn and use Steam Cloud service go to Steam>Settings>Cloud>Enable Steam Cloud Synchronization. Just remember to check does game you are playing supports this option.

Share your Games via Family sharing

Family sharing is a Steam feature allowing you to share your game library with up to 5 accounts on up to 10 different devices. This is a great way to let other members of your family or even close friends enjoy some games you have or vice versa. They will get as well their own save games so you can sleep safe knowing that your progress can not be changed or hindered. Family sharing can be turned ON by logging into PC Steam client where you would like to share your library and navigate to Steam>Settings>Family and then clicking on Authorize Library Sharing On This Computer.

Refund a game

Sometimes the game is not the same as advertised, sometimes it will not work on your PC, sometimes hardware specifications are too high making the game unplayable, etc. For whatever reason, you might have Steam offers you a full game price refund if you wish to do so, you only need to meet 2 criteria, the game must have been purchased within 2 weeks period, older purchases cannot be refunded, and your game playtime must not be over 2 hours of game time. If you fit into this category all you need to do in order to get the full money back is going to Help>Steam Support, pick a recent game from the eligible list, and ask for a refund.

Gift a game

As you can buy gifts for your friends or loved ones in real life, Valve made sure you can do it in digital as well. Gifting game via Steam is simple and straightforward. Choose a game you wish to gift, go to your shopping cart and instead of clicking Purchase for myself, click on Purchase As a Gift, from there you will be taken to your friend list to choose to whom you would like to gift a game along with the option to write a little note to the receiver like happy birthday, enjoy or whatever.

Stream games in Steam itself

Although Steam is not there yet in streaming as Twitch or Facebook gaming is, there is an option to stream your game sessions on it. Click on Steam>Settings>Broadcast to make all adjustments and start streaming. You can also watch streams from your friend list and Steam is now broadcasting popular streams directly to its client if you want to watch it.

Take a game screenshot

By pressing F12, you can take a screenshot from any game and save it inside your Steam cloud library. You can change of course this default screenshot key via Settings>In-Game and if you would like to see your screenshots you can always do it under View Screenshot Library on a game’s page. That’s it, our Steam tips and tricks for easy and good gaming life, I hope to see you soon on errortools.com for your daily articles, tips, and tricks.