Software review series: RocketDock

The Boot Configuration Data or BCD files have the instructions required by the Windows operating system in order to properly boot the computer. So if you experience any trouble when you boot your computer, then it is possible that it is due to some misconfiguration or even corrupted Boot Configuration Data files. And if you also encounter an error saying,

“The boot configuration data store could not be opened”

while you try to carry out any command on the bcedit.exe, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how you can fix this error in Windows 10. This kind of error could pop up if the system is not able to locate the specified file. It is also possible that the requested system device can’t be found or that the boot configuration data store could not be opened. In addition, when you open the System Configuration or MSConfig, you might notice that there is no Boot data, and according to the reports, is that when you try to dual boot the computer, the installer will replace the default bootloader.

Explanation

In case you don’t know, Windows’ earlier versions were stored in the “Boot.ini” file. You can find the entry in the EFI firmware boot manager of the EFI-based operating system which is located at EFIMicrosoftBootBootmgfw.efi. Whatever the cause of the error is, there are several suggestions you can check out to resolve the problem. You can try to set an entry option value in BCD or enable the Advanced options menu, as well as rebuild the BCD. Before you proceed with the troubleshooting options provided below, make sure that you boot your computer into the Advanced Recovery Mode first since that’s where you can find Command Prompt under the Advanced Options. In addition, you also have to suspend or disable BitLocker and Secure Boot on your PC.

Option 1 – Try to set an entry option value in BCD

• Once you’re in the Advanced Options, select Command Prompt.
• Next, execute this command to set an entry point: bcdedit /set {current} Description "TheNameYouWant"
• After the command has been executed, it will enable the system to trust a version of Windows that is not trusted by default. This should fix the problem, if not, follow the next given options below.

Option 2 – Try to specify the BCD file

• In the elevated Command Prompt, execute this command: bcdedit /store c:BootBCD
• Once done, the command will give you a list of options and then execute this next command: bcdedit /store c:BootBCD /set bootmenupolicy legacy
• After that, restart your computer and select your Windows and then tap the F8 key right away.

Note: When you select the legacy option, the Advanced Options menu will be available during the computer boot up and then you can select into which operating system you can boot your computer into.

Option 3 – Try to rebuild the BCD files

The first thing you can do to resolve the issue is to Rebuild Boot Configuration Data or BCD files.

• You can start by booting into the installation environment for Windows 10 from an installation media.
• After that, click on Repair your computer and on the blue screen, select Troubleshoot and then select the Advanced options menu.
• From there, select Command Prompt and once you open it, enter each one of the commands given below by sequence.
  • bootrec /FixMbr
  • bootrec /FixBoot
  • bootrec /ScanOS
  • bootrec /RebuildBcd
• Once you’re done executing the commands given above, type “exit” to close the Command Prompt window and then restart your computer and see if it fixed error code 0xc000014c.

If you own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod you might be aware of the phenomenon of connecting and disconnecting your device. In one moment device is connected and then it somehow loses connection and you have to plug in back again to be recognized. In this troubleshooting guide, we will address ways to eliminate this issue and to connect and have your devices working properly. We will go from the most common ones to the most uncommon so it is advisable to try solutions in order to how they are presented.

1. Check cable

   The most common issue with this kind of behavior comes from a broken cable if you have the opportunity try another working cable to see if the device will behave differently. If everything is working fine with another cable, the issue is in the previous cable.

2. Check USB ports and Cable Jack

   Usually, it is a cable issue, but it can also be a USB jack on cable or even a USB port on a PC, try putting the jack into another port to see if this will solve the issue.

3. Check device settings

   From updates on your device comes a change of setting about privacy which can reflect on connection with the computer. In order to eliminate this, you will need to reset your device. Go to device settings and go to general Scroll down until you find the reset section and go into it In the reset, section click on reset location and privacy You will have to authenticate using your pin/passcode in order to complete the reset function Enter your passcode (or use any other authentication method you have chosen) and you can now reset the Location and Privacy settings. Click on reset Connect the device to PC and choose trust this device

4. Update iTunes

   Outdated iTunes can also be a problem with this particular issue. Go to the apple website and download the latest version of iTunes or updating it via apple updater.

Error Code 0xc004f210 – What is it?

Error code 0xc004f210 occurs when Windows 8 users fail to activate their Windows operating system. Users will be able to identify error code 0xc004f210 because of the following common symptoms which occur:

• Inability to activate Windows 8 operating system
• Message box with error code 0xc004f210

Solution

Error Causes

If you enter an invalid product key or do not have a digital entitlement for the edition of Windows you are attempting to activate, you may experience error code 0xc004f210. Since this error usually occurs due to these main reasons, you will most likely find success resolving this issue by ensuring you use a valid product key or activate an appropriate edition of Windows based on the edition of your digital entitlement.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Error codes can be resolved through manual repair procedures that seek to fix the underlying issues causing the error. In the case of error code 0xc004f210, you should be able to resolve this error by using the methods below. You may also consider contacting a Windows repair technician if you have difficulty resolving the error code.

Method One: Enter Valid Product Key

To successfully activate your operating system and resolve error code 0xc004f210, you will need to enter a valid product key in the Update & security section of Windows. Follow the instructions below to enter the product key.

• Step one: Click the Start button then select Settings
• Step two: Select Update & security then Activation
• Step three: Click the Change product key
• Step four: Enter a valid product key

If the issue causing error code 0xc004f210 is related to the use of an invalid product key, you should be able to successfully activate your Windows operating system. Should the problem persist, however, you will need to attempt the next manual repair method explained below? Note: Failure to fix this error code might result in other Windows 10 error messages.

Method Two: Ensure Edition of Windows Matches Your Digital Entitlement

Digital entitlement allows Windows users to access activation without using a product key. This digital entitlement only affects Windows 8 users who are attempting to activate versions of Windows 10 that include Windows 10 Pro. Once you are using a genuine copy of Windows 8.1 and your edition of Windows matches your entitlement, you may proceed with the instructions below.

• Step one: Click the Start button then select Settings
• Step two: After selecting Settings, click Update & Security
• Step three: Select Windows Update then the Check for updates tab
• Step four: Click activate Windows 10 update

You should be able to activate your Windows update once you follow the instructions above. Remember error code 0xc004f210 is an activation code related to product keys or your digital entitlement so once these issues are rectified, you should have no problem activating your operating system of choice and enjoying the benefits it offers. If, however, the problem remains unresolved after you have attempted both manual repair methods, there may be unusual issues affecting your system. Contact Microsoft to rectify the issue or get help from a Windows repair technician.

Method Three: Download an Automated Tool

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 8 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.

Microsoft has cut out Russia from downloading ISO files for Windows 10 and Windows 11 as well as installation tools without any explanation or reason behind this.

If you connect via VPN to a Russian server and try to download either ISO files or installation tools you will be greeted with the error 404 and an explanation of File or Directory not found or There was a problem with your request.

At this time you can still download Windows 11 Media creation tool but once you run it will throw a 0x80072F8F-0x20000 error with text: For some unknown reason, this tool failed to run on your computer.

People in Russia can still download files if they connect via VPN and go to a server located outside Russia.

Microsoft has not published any explanation why is this happening, it might be technical difficulty or it could be on purpose.

Other histories of Microsoft vs Russia

Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine Microsoft has been putting restrictions on Russia starting with a suspension of all sales in March, next month in April Microsoft started suspending developer's accounts on GitHub linked to sanctioned companies and the suspension was even if the developer is not working for a given company or left it.

At the beginning of this month, Microsft laid off 400 employees inside Russia as they began scaling back operations in the country but has also stated that they would continue to provide services to all contractors and customers inside Russia so this sudden blocking of downloads is unexpected and it goes against their statement.

If you got an error message saying, “Windows could not start the Windows Update service on Local Computer, Error 87. The parameter is incorrect” while you were trying to start the Windows update service on your computer, then this post could help you resolve the problem. Along with this error, you might also get any of these error codes such as 0x80240034, 0x80244019, 0x80070643, and so on. Aside from these error codes, you will also notice that the Windows Update service has been stopped. To fix this issue, here are a couple of suggestions that might help but before you go on, you need to create a System Restore point first.

Option 1 – Try checking Services Dependencies

Dependencies of a Windows Service in Windows 10 are when windows services depend on other services. Such is the case with the Windows Update service – it also depends on three different services such as the Remote Procedure Call or RPC service, DCOM Server Process Launcher, and the RPC Endpoint Mapper. Meaning to say, if two of these services are not working as expected, then the dependant service will also be affected. This could be the reason why the Windows Update service could not start.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services:
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
  • DCOM Server Process Launcher
  • RPC Endpoint Mapper
• After you find these services, double click on each one of them and check whether the Startup type for all is set to Automatic and the Service status is set to Running or not.
• If the service status is not running, then click the Start button. Afterward, check if you can now run the Windows Update service.

Option 2 – 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 is 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 3 – Reset Windows Update components

If the first two options did not work then you might want to reset the Windows Update components manually. Follow the steps below to reset them.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands 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 4 – 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 5 – Try removing a value from the Windows Registry

If running the Windows Update troubleshooter didn’t help and you receive a message instead saying, “Service Registration is Missing or Corrupt”, you can try to remove a value from the Windows Registry.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Registry.
• Next, navigate to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsSelfHostApplicability
• From this path, look for a value named “ThresholdOptedIn” and if you find it, delete it.
• Exit the Registry Editor and see if you can now enable the Windows Update service.

If your Windows 10 computer is having problems connecting to a wireless network and it takes too long to respond and only keeps on displaying the “Checking network requirements”, then you’ve come to the right place as this place will walk you through fixing the problem. There are two things that can happen when your computer connects to a wireless network. Windows can either connect to the wireless network successfully or return an error message that says, “Cannot connect to the network. However, if none of these things happened, and it only remains at the “Checking network requirements” message, then it could be due to obsolete or incompatible drivers in your computer, particularly the network adapter drivers. To fix this problem, you can try to update or reinstall these drivers, reset the TCP/IP, or run the Network Adapter troubleshooter, as well as reset the Network. For more information, refer to the given options below.

Option 1 – Update the Network Adapter drivers

The first thing you can do to resolve the problem is to update the Network Adapter drivers by following 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 them.
• Look for the Broadcom Network Adapter and right-click on it, as well as other network adapters that have an exclamation icon, and update them all.
• Restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the problem.

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. To reinstall the network adapter drivers, refer to these steps:

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Option 2 – Try to reset the TCP/IP

As you know, the TCP/IP or the Internet Protocol is the most important thing if you want to use the internet on your computer. That’s why if it ends up getting corrupted, you need to reset the TCP/IP to fix the problem. To reset TCP/IP, refer to these steps:

• In the Windows start the search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results.
• Then select the “Run as administrator” option to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, execute this command: netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt
• Once it’s done, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer and then check if the error is now fixed.

Option 3 – Run the Network Adapter troubleshooter

To run the Network Troubleshooter, refer to these steps:

• Open the Search bar on your computer and type in “troubleshoot” to open the Troubleshoot settings.
• Next, scroll down and select the “Network Adapter” option from the right pane.
• Then click on the Run Troubleshooter” button.
• After that, your computer will check for any possible errors and will pinpoint the root cause of the problem if possible.
• Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try to perform Network Reset

You can also try to perform a Network Reset to resolve the problem. This will reset the entire network configuration including your IP address. To perform Network Reset, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• From there, go to the Network and Internet section.
• Next, scroll down and look for “Network Reset” under the status pane.
• After that, click on Network Reset and then on Reset now to start resetting the network configuration. Once done, check if it is able to fix the error or not.

Windows Terminal is a new free Microsoft terminal sort of application. When you open either Power Shell or Command Prompt in Windows they will be opened in different windows, and if you want several of each you will have several windows of each on your screen. Windows Terminal fixes this by opening each of the Instances of Command Prompt and Power Shell as separate tabs inside itself making it much easier to manage multiple instances of named applications. You can also run both Power Shell and Command prompt tabs in the same Windows Terminal. Luckily running command prompt and power shell in different tabs is not the only thing you can do. Windows Terminal lets you choose your own theme, it has emoji support, GPU rendering, split panes, and many more customizable options. Windows 11 will have Terminal as the default command-line environment for opening Power Shell or Command prompt, even Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Setting Windows Terminal as the default application

If I was successful I have managed to show you that Windows Terminal is something that you should use even if you do not or cannot upgrade to Windows 11. You can use it inside Windows 10 also. First thing is to download and install it. You can get Windows Terminal from the official Microsoft website here: Windows Terminal page After download and installation are completed, open the Terminal app and select the down arrow menu, click Settings. Alternatively, you can use CTRL + + shortcut. Inside Settings by default Default Terminal application would be set to Windows Console Host Click on the Default Terminal application to bring a drop-down menu and choose Windows Terminal from the list. Now by default once opened Windows Terminal will use Power Shell as the default profile, however, you can change this by clicking on the drop-down for the default profile where you can choose between Command Prompt, Power Shell, Windows Power Shell, or Azure Cloud Shell. Pick one that you prefer, click on Save and it will be opened as default on the next run.

The Local Security Authority Subsystem Service or LSASS.exe is a process in the Windows operating system that is valuable as it enforces the security policy on the computer. Every time you log in to the Windows Server, the LSASS.exe is the one that handles the password changes and creates the access tokens while updating the security log. However, it is also frequently targeted by malware and is often imitated. The original location of this file is at “C:/Windows/System32” so if you open the Task Manager and notice that a process with a similar name has a different location then it is definitely a threat and is exploiting the security of your computer. To resolve issues related to LSASS.exe, here are some fixes that could help.

Option 1 – Use the Performance Monitor’s Active Directory Data Collector

Note that this option will only work on the recent Windows server versions. Refer to the steps below to use the Performance Monitor’s Active Directory Data Collector set on your computer.

• Tap the WINKEY + R button to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Perfmon.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance Monitor and from there open the Server Manager.
• Next, navigate to Diagnostics > Reliability and Performance > Data Collector Sets > System from the left side of the navigation bar.
• Then right-click on “Active Directory Diagnostics” and select Start from the context menu. This will take about 5 minutes or 300 seconds depending on the performance capabilities of your hardware to gather the data required and then take some more time to compile a report from the gathered data. Note that these timings are dependent on one another.
• After the report is compiled, you can find it under Diagnostics > Reliability and Performance > Reports > System > Active Directory Diagnostics. The report will contain all the information as well as conclusions. However, it does not mean that it will also contain the exact cause of the problem with LSASS.exe. Nevertheless, it should help you in fixing the problem.

Option 2 – Try to run the System File Checker

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 that might be the cause why the LSASS.exe file is having some issues. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right-click on the appropriate search result.
• Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• 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 3 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

If none of the options given above helped, you can try putting your computer in a Clean Boot State as this can help you in finding any incompatible programs that’s causing the problem.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.

Once you’ve found any incompatible programs, you need to uninstall them. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
• After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
• From there, look for the concerned program and select it and then uninstall it.

Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.

After so many years World of Warcraft is still among the most played MMORPG games in the world. It is still constantly updated with new content and tweak graphically in order to be relevant and fresh. But even the best or most popular ones can still have some minor issues and bugs from time to time. CAS System Was Unable to Initialize is the error that was reported lately by WOW players all around the globe and it happens in multiple Windows systems. In this guide, we will take with this issue and provide you with solutions on how to fix it so you can get back to enjoying the game itself.

1. 1. Repair WOW

      In battle.NET launcher select WOW and click on Options Click on Scan and Repair Let the process finish and then launch the game again

   2. Clean Windows registry

      Windows cleaning registry operation is a complex task and we will not cover each possible scenario here, instead of trying manually to find issues and clean registry download and install third party registry cleaner software.

   3. Run WOW with command line argument

      One of the solutions for this particular error is to run WOW with a specific command line switch: Run battle.NET client as administrator by right-clicking on it and choosing run as administrator If you are not signed in, sign in now Click on World of Warcraft to select it Click on options Click on Game settings Check the box associated with Additional command-line arguments When the box is selected you should've able to add inline argument or switch, add -uid wow_engb and confirm Run World of Warcraft

   4. Enable Secondary logon service inside Windows

      It was reported that enabling this service can fix the issue. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog Inside run dialog type in services.msc to open services windows Locate the Secondary Logon service Right-click on Properties from the context menu Inside the properties, screen click on the general tab Change the Startup type to Automatic and hit Apply to save the changes Run World of Warcraft

   5. Delete the cache folder

      Both indices and cache folder needs to be deleted in order to reset corrupted data. Make sure that both World of Warcraft and battle.NET are fully closed For this step to work, you will need to go into the folder where you have installed the World of Warcraft game. By default this is in C:/Program Files/World of Warcraft/ but if you have used another folder go there via file explorer. Once you are inside the folder locate the indices folder and delete it After that locate and delete the cache folder as well Restart your computer and start battle.NET

   6. Remove read-only attribute from WoW folder

      Another reason for CAS System Was Unable to Initialize error is because the World of Warcraft folder has been set to read-only and since the client does not have write privileges it will throw this error. To remove the read-only attribute from the folder go to your World of Warcraft installation folder but do not enter it Right-click on it instead and choose properties Under properties uncheck the read-only box and confirm. Run World of Warcraft

BigTech platforms Google and Facebook were hit with a series of antitrust lawsuits by the US federal government and states on charges they are operating monopolies and abusing their power. Below is the status of the cases, as well as government probes of Apple and Amazon in their current states

Two lawsuits against Facebook

In a defeat, Judge James Boasberg said the Federal Trade Commission, which had sued Facebook in December asking that Facebook be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram, failed to show that Facebook had monopoly power in the social-networking market, among other problems. However, the FTC could file a new complaint by July 29. He threw out a related state lawsuit entirely, saying that the attorney's general had waited too long. They are looking at their options.

Four lawsuits against Google

The US Justice Department sued Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals. A trial date was set for September 12, 2023. A lawsuit by 38 US states and territories accuses Google of abusing its market power to try to make its search engine as dominant inside cars, TVs, and speakers as it is in phones. This was consolidated with the federal lawsuit for purposes of discovery. Texas, backed by other states, filed a separate lawsuit against Google, accusing it of breaking antitrust law in how it runs its online advertising business. Dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on July 7, alleging that it bought off competitors and used restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones.

Justice Department investigates Apple

This probe, revealed in June 2019, appears to focus on Apple's app store. Some app developers have accused Apple of introducing new products very similar to existing apps created by other developers and sold in the Apple Store, and then trying to banish the older apps from the store because they compete with Apple's new product. Apple says it seeks to have only the highest-quality apps in the app store.

Justice Department probing Facebook and Amazon

In July 2019, the Justice Department said it was expanding its Big Tech probes to include "search, social media, and some retail services online", an apparent reference to Facebook and Amazon.

Federal Trade Commission on Amazon

In its investigation of Amazon, the FTC is likely looking at the inherent conflict of interest of Amazon competing with small sellers on its marketplace platform, including allegations that it used information from sellers on its platform to decide what products it would introduce.