Remove GIFables - Malware Removal Guide

nslookup is a command-line tool that helps in finding the DNS records of a website. It sends a name server query to the DNS and obtains the corresponding IP address. Aside from that, it can also perform some complex functionality such as finding details about FTP server, Mail server and many more but most of them are used by administrators. The best thing about nslookup is that it queries the DNS server directly and it does not rely on the cache. On the other hand, there is another tool called PING that is used to verify connectivity. PING sends a packet of information to the IP address or Domain and gets back a response in the form of packets. So if everything goes well, all packets are received but if not, it will help you find out where the delay in the network exactly is. However, the ping command does not always attempt a DNS lookup which means that it might be using the DNS cache and use the IP address available in that table. Although both nslookup and PING help you in identifying the host or IP address, however, they don’t always work and sometimes fail. So if your nslookup works but ping fails on your Windows 10 PC when querying the IP address of a website then it could be caused by many reasons. It could be that the nslookup queries work for you but when you try to use PING, it fails. For instance, if you open the abc.com website, here’s how it will look like:

nslookup xyz.com Server: dns.company.com Address: 192.168.1.38 C:> ping xyz.com Ping request could not find host xyz.com. Please check the name and try again.

The domain is converted into an IP address and then data is sent to that IP address when you use PING. So when a reply comes back it means that the data is going back and forth to that domain without any problem. However, if the DNS fails to resolve the IP address of the website or if your PC does not attempt a DNS lookup, you will receive a similar error message that says, “Could not find host” and so on. To resolve this issue, here are some options that might help.

Option 1 – Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS

Resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help you resolve the issue with nslookup and PING. To do so, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator) so you can pull up an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, execute each one of the commands listed below. And after you typed in one after the other, you have to hit Enter.

1. netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
2. netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
3. ipconfig /flushdns – type in this command to flush the DNS cache

• Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.

Option 2 – Force Windows to do a DNS lookup using FQDN

• Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Change adapter options.
• From there, right-click on the network and select Properties.
• Next, in case you’re using IPv6, from the list of connections available in the list, select Internet Protocol Version 4.
• Then click on Properties and click Advanced.
• After that, switch to the DNS tab and select “Append these DNS suffixes (in order)” and click on the Add button and then add “.” as a suffix so that each time you query using PING and another tool, it will add a “.” at the end and will force the lookup.

Option 3 – Make sure that there is only one default gateway

If your computer has more than one NIC connected and there are multiple default gateways, then it will most likely create confusion which is why you need to remove the default gateway from the configuration of all NICs and make sure that there is only one default gateway.

Option 4 – Use the Google Public DNS

You might want to change your DNS to Google Public DNS as it could also help you in fixing the nslookup and PING issues. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is right-click on the network icon in the Taskbar and select Network and Sharing Center.
• Next, click on the “Change Adapter Settings” option.
• After that, search for the network connection that you are using to connect to the internet. Note that the option might be “Wireless Connection” or “Local Area Connection”.
• Right-click on your network connection and click on Properties.
• Then select the new window to choose the “Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/IPv4)” option.
• After that, click on the Properties button and click the checkbox in the new window for the option “Use the following DNS server addresses”.
• Type in “8.8.8.8” and “8.8.4.4” and click OK and exit.

Option 5 – Check the Windows Host file

You can also try to cross-check the Windows Hosts file to find out if the website you are trying to open has been blocked, because if it is, then it’s no wonder why PING fails even when nslookup works. There are instances when some third-party application modifies the file and adds some websites to the blocklists. So if the website is indeed blocked, you need to remove it from the list.

Option 6 – Delete the WLAN Profiles

Deleting the WLAN Profiles might be a good idea if you are not able to connect to the internet on your computer and if you’re using Wi-Fi. It could be that the networks that were connected previously have gone rogue which is why it is not connecting properly. And so deleting the WLAN profiles might help you in fixing the issue with nslookup and PING.

Option 7 – Reinstall the Network Adapter Drivers

• 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 select “Uninstall device”.
• Restart your PC.

In case you don’t know, Groove Music is due to retire its OneDrive streaming service this month. Despite that being the case, there is actually a workaround you can try to still continue enjoying music streaming. The app also allows you to play your own local files and if required, you can also modify or tailor the experience with new features – for instance, Groove Music brings an Equalizer to the settings of the app. As the name suggests, the equalizer allows you to tweak frequency responses to your liking. On top of being able to tweak individual bands, the equalizer supports few pre-set settings to enable quick changes. This post will guide you on the process of accessing and using the equalizer in the Groove Music app. To get started, refer to the instructions provided below. Step 1: You need to make sure that you are running the latest version of the Groove Music app or version 10.18011.1211.0 or higher in order to use the equalizer in Groove Music. If needed, you can check the version number from Windows Store. Step 2: Open Windows Store and then click on the ellipses icon and select the Downloads and Updates option. Step 3: Next, search for Groove Music and check its version number. Step 4: Now that you’ve verified the version number of Groove Music, you need to open the equalizer setting. It is enabled by default and to access it, click on the gear icon for Settings and select equalizer under the Playback settings. Step 5: After that, the Equalizer window will pop up. It is where you can configure the equalizer settings using the drop-down menu. Here are the following presets you can choose from:

• Flat
• Treble Boost
• Bass Boost
• Headphones
• Laptop
• Portable speakers
• Home Stereo
• TV
• Car
• Custom

Step 6: Drag the dots upwards or downwards to set your own preferences, as needed. Note: The only downside to this setting is that there is no shortcut available for quick access as you have to navigate through the Settings section manually to access it and change the preset configurations. In addition, the Groove Music app also works on the mobile version of Windows 10.

Microsoft’s initial Windows 11 hardware requirements were not really well received by users and they were not really clearly represented from the start making a lot of potential customers slowly drift away from the hype. It seems that Microsoft has acknowledged this since they have changed their tune about system hardware requirements for the upcoming Windows 11. It seems that Windows 11 will be able to be officially installed on unsupported computers but with a little inconvenience.

What is a catch?

Windows 11 will still have the same hardware requirements and if the PC meets them, that computer will be officially supported, other ones (any that can run Windows 10) that do not meet system requirements can still run Windows 11 but the system will have to be clean installed. So no upgrade option for old computer users, just a clean install. This means of course that you will need to download the ISO image and make a bootable USB in order to install it. Also since you will be doing a clean install do a backup of the hard drive since it will need to be formatted. Also, Microsoft has stated that with unofficially supported PC some driver updates might not be delivered leaving you with either older driver versions or relying on your hardware manufacturer on them. This is still not confirmed by Microsoft, just stated as an option. We will see how it goes.

Conclusion

It is very good that Microsoft has reconsidered its system requirements and will not stubbornly push its initiatives over the top requirements allowing even older computers to install new OS. I am sure over time lot of users will upgrade their hardware and drive into officially supported waters, but it is good that they will be able to use new OS on their current hardware.

If you are using Windows PowerShell and it suddenly throws an error message saying, “File cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system”, then read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix this issue your Windows 10 computer. This kind of error in PowerShell is most likely due to the fact that your user account does not have the required permissions to execute the script. Although this does not mean that you need to have administrator-level permissions as it could also indicate that you have to be unrestricted to run these types of PowerShell scripts or cmdlets. Thus, to fix the error and carry out the task, you have to set the execution policy to be unrestricted. And to do that, you need to use the steps provided below as a reference. Step 1: To get started, you have to check what policies are set for the individual user groups on your computer by tapping the Win + X key combination or by right-clicking on the Start button and clicking on Windows PowerShell (Admin). You can also search for PowerShell in the Start Search and then right-click on Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator. Step 2: If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click Yes to proceed. Once you’ve pulled up Windows PowerShell, type the following command to get the List of Execution Policy for all the scopes on your computer.

Get-ExecutionPolicy –List

Step 3: After you execute the command, it will give you a list of the User Groups as well as their Execution Policy status, and under the Scope column, look for “LocalMachine”. Once you find its Execution Policy you will notice that it’s either set to Undefined or Restricted. Step 4: Now that you’ve determined the Execution Policy, you need to set it to Unrestricted if it is set to Restricted. To do that, you have to enter the following command in the very same PowerShell window.

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Step 5: After you execute the command, you will see a message that asks for various permissions for which you either have to tap Y to say Yes to each one of the messages individually or tap the A key to say Yes to all the messages to once. However, if the command throws another error, you can just force the Execution Policy to change by executing the following command.

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force

Step 6: Once you’re done, it will finally set the Execution Policy for the Windows PowerShell scripts as well as cmdlets to be Unrestricted and fix the “File cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system” error.

Updating your computer does not always end up successfully as there are a number of things that could go wrong with the Windows Update module in your Windows 10 computer. One of the issues you could face when you update your computer is error 0x80244019. This error could be caused by a number of factors. If you are currently having problems fixing this Windows Update error, read on as this post will help you resolve this problem. Here’s the full content of the error:

“There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80244019).”

In this kind of Windows Update error, you might not be able to get the download file of the requested update started to your computer and this could be due to some third-party application or the overall internal components that contribute to the functioning of the Windows Update module. Refer to each one of the following options to fix the Windows Update error 0x80244019.

Option 1 – Restart your computer

The most basic thing you can do to fix the problem is to restart your computer. It usually works in fixing common issues like the Windows Update error 0x80244019. However, if it didn’t work, proceed to the next given options below.

Option 2 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

The Windows Update Troubleshooter will help you in fixing error 0x80244019. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any issues with Windows Update. So this is worth a try to solve the problem. To use the Windows Update Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

• Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
• Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
• Under the Troubleshoot section, on your left-hand side, scroll down to find Windows Update and then click on Run the troubleshooter option and follow the on-screen instructions and then see if it fixes the problem.

Option 3 – Try configuring the Windows Update-related Services

Configuring all the Windows Update-related services could also help in fixing the error as it makes sure that all the required services are available.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “cmd” in the field and tap Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.
• Next, execute the following commands. Note that you have to type and enter each command one after the other.
  • SC config wuauserv start= auto
  • SC config bits start= auto
  • SC config cryptsvc start= auto
  • SC config trustedinstaller start= auto
• The commands you executed will make sure that the Windows Update-related services are available. Once it’s done, restart your computer and see if the Windows Update error is now fixed.

Option 4 – Run Windows Update in a Clean Boot State

It could be that some third-party application is the one that’s causing the problem so it’s best if you put your computer in a Clean Boot state. During this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.

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

Note: If you are able to install the app without any trouble at all then it means that the error is caused by some third-party application on your computer. You need to look for the culprit and uninstall it once you found it.

Option 5 – Try to fix the Proxy Settings

• In the Cortana search box, search for Internet Explorer and then click on the related search result.
• After that, tap the Win + T keys on your keyboard and click on Internet Options.
• Next, navigate to the Connections tab and click on LAN Settings.
• Then click on the Advanced button and delete all the entries in the list generated in the Exceptions section. And if the Advanced button is disabled because the “Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)” option is disabled then you are good to go. Now proceed to the next step.
• Tap the Win + X keys or right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or you could also search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• If a User Account Control appears, click on Yes to proceed. After that, type each one of the commands listed below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type each one of them.
  • netsh winhttp reset proxy
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net start wuauserv

• Now restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not by checking for Windows Updates again.

Ehshell.exe Application Error - What is it?

Ehshell.exe is a type of .exe (executable file). This file functions as an essential component of the Microsoft Media Center.  By default, it is located in a subfolder of C:\Windows. Ehshell.exe application error is an error code that pops up when tasks in the Media Center freezes. The Ehshell.exe application error is usually displayed on the screen in the following format:

“ehshell.exe – Common Language Runtime Debugging Services Application has generated an exception that could not be handled. Process id=0xa18 (2584), Thread id=0xa24 (2596).”

Solution

Error Causes

Ehshell.exe application error is triggered when PC users perform repetitive tasks in Media Center on a Windows XP Media Center Edition. The computer stops to respond and the error message is displayed. This error occurs if users perform one or more of the following repetitive tasks in the Media Center:

• Repeated resize, restore and minimize the Media Center Window
• Schedule TV shows to record
• Repeatedly change the channel while Media Center is in a window
• Ehshell.exe file corruption due to malware infection or registry issues

Though this is not a fatal error, to avoid any kind of inconvenience, it is advisable to fix the error right away.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To fix the ehshell.exe application error on your system, you don’t have to hire a professional and spend hundreds of dollars on repair. Here are some of the best and most effective do-it-yourself methods that you can try to resolve this issue on your PC immediately.

Method 1 - Install the Latest Service Pack for Microsoft Windows

To repair the issue, install the latest Windows service pack. A service pack is basically a Windows update, often combines previously released updates that help make Windows more reliable. These are offered free of charge on Microsoft’s official website.  To get started, simply log on to Microsoft’s official website and download the latest service pack compatible with your Windows version. The installation process may take 30 minutes to install. And you will be prompted to restart your PC about halfway through the installation process. Once the Windows Service Pack is installed, the ehshell.exe application error will be fixed. If the error still persists, then try method 2.

Method 2 - Scan for Malware

Ehshell.exe application error may also appear on your PC due to malware infection. Malware programs like viruses, Trojans, and worms deliberately give their malicious processes similar .exe file names, so it is hard to identify the malware. In such an event, it is advisable to download a powerful antivirus and scan your entire PC. Run it to remove all the hidden malware programs on your system. Once malware is removed, the ehshell.exe application error will be resolved.

Method 3 - Clean Registry

Sometimes .exe files can also get corrupt when the registry gets overloaded with unnecessary and obsolete files. If this is the underlying reason for the error code occurrence then it is advisable to download Restoro. This is a multi-functional and user-friendly PC Fixer deployed with a registry cleaner. It removed all the unnecessary files, cleans and repairs the registry in seconds thereby fixing all registry-related errors. Click here to download Total System Care and resolve the Ehshell.exe application error on your PC.

Running the Windows Setup does not always go smoothly as you could encounter some errors along the way. One of these errors is the “Something happened, Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error. The only given option in such cases is to click the Close button and exit the setup. This kind of error in Windows setup can occur when you try to downgrade to the previous version of Windows using the built-in mechanism. This error could be caused by a corrupted image or it is also possible that the set of files are incomplete. Aside from that, it could also be due to compatibility issues or that the module used to downgrade the Windows operating system is not configured properly. To fix this error, you have to run the Windows Setup program in compatibility mode so that you can downgrade Windows. You could also use the image for the lower version of Windows that’s available on the official site of Microsoft. But before you do any of these, make sure that you’re logged in as an administrator. To fix the “Something happened, Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error, follow the given options below sequentially.

Option 1 – Try to run the Installer of the downgraded version in Compatibility Mode

This is the first thing you can try to resolve the issue instead of going right ahead on making a bootable device. So if you are downgrading Windows, you can try to run the installer in the compatibility mode for that specific Windows version.

• Look for the setup file.
• Once you find it, right-click on it and select Properties from the context menu.
• After that, go to the Compatibility tab and mark the checkbox for “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and from the drop-down list, select either Windows 7 or Windows 8.
• You also have to check the “Run as administrator” option.
• Now click the Apply button and then click OK to save the changes made and check if it has resolved the issue or not.

Option 2 – Try to troubleshoot compatibility

This option is almost the same as the first one except it is an alternative way of fixing the “Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error in case the first one didn’t work. In this option, you will troubleshoot the compatibility issue.

• Look for the setup file.
• Then right-click on it and select the “Troubleshoot compatibility” from the context menu.
• After that, click on the “Try recommended setting” option. Once the process is done, the error message should be gone.

Option 3 – Run the DISM tool

You can run the DISM tool as well to help fix the error code 0x80244022 during Windows Update. 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
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Option 4 – Try using the image from the official site of Microsoft

If none of the options given above worked, you can try to use the image from Microsoft’s official site. This would help, especially if the error is caused by a corrupted image or image folder with incomplete files.

External hard drives have become essentials as they store data. However, they are also prone to issues and one of them is the “The device is not ready”. You could encounter this error when you try to access your connected hard drive. This error won’t allow you to access the contents of your hard drive so unless you fix it, you won’t be able to access any of the files on your hard drive. One of the most likely causes of this error is a hardware defect. Aside from that, it could also be due to loose connections, obsolete device drivers, as well as compatibility issues between the operating system and the hard drive. Before you start troubleshooting the problem, you need to determine if you were able to access your hard drive before you encountered the error or not. If not, you need to check the compatibility of the device with your operating system as it could be the reason why you’re getting the error. There are several potential fixes you can check out to fix this error. You can try to check the hardware connections, run the built-in Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, as well as the USB troubleshooter. You could also run the CHKDSK utility or update the drivers of the device or the USB drivers.

Option 1 – Try checking the hardware connections

The first thing you have to do before you further troubleshoot the problem is to check the hardware connections of your computer and see if there are damaged ones, just like with USB ports, it would also affect the overall connectivity of the device with the computer. So if you notice some irregularities in the connecting cable physically, you might have to buy another one and replace it and then see if it fixes the problem or not.

Option 2 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooters

• The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
• After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
• From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
• Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
• After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.

Note: You could also try to run the USB troubleshooter as it could also resolve the problem.

Option 3 – Run the CHKDSK utility

As you know, the CHKDSK utility can help you in identifying the bad sectors in a drive and fix them automatically. Thus, you can run it to fix the “The device is not ready” error when you connect your USB drive to your computer.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Next, type and enter this command to execute it: chkdsk /f <drive>
• Now, wait until the process is completed and exit Command Prompt.
• Restart your computer and try connecting the USB drive again and see if the error is fixed.

Option 4 – Try to update the drivers of the device

Although you can always update the device drivers using the Device Manager, you might want to try downloading the latest set of drivers directly from the manufacturer’s website. Once you’ve downloaded them, install them right away and then correct the external hard drive.

Option 5 – Update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver

If updating the drivers of the device did not fix the “The device is not ready” error, you can try to update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers instead of using the Device Manager. Refer to the following steps:

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right-click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.

Note: If it is a regular USB drive, then it will be listed as a USB Mass Storage Device but if you have a USB 3.0 device, then look for a USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller.

• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

Note: If updating the USB Controller drivers didn’t work, you can try to reinstall them instead.

Option 6 – Restart your computer in a Clean Boot State

If the first three given options didn’t work and you still see the error when you connect external devices, you can try putting your computer in a Clean Boot State and then try connecting them again.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• Now try to connect the external devices and check if the error is now gone.

Qualcomm Atheros Qca61x4a Driver is a software driver used in WI FI communication between OS and device itself. When this driver stops working usually it means loss of connection and no internet available. This error knows to comes frequently and repeat itself over long periods of time which makes it quite annoying. If you are one of the unlucky users of Windows who get this error please keep reading in order to eliminate it and continue working on your computer normally.

1. Disable & Enable the Qualcomm Adapter Driver

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu, click on the device manager. In device manager expand network adapters. Right-click on Qualcomm Atheros Qca61x4a wireless network adapter and click on disable Right-click on Qualcomm Atheros Qca61x4a wireless network adapter and click on enable

2. Rollback the Qualcomm Adapter driver

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu, click on the device manager. In device manager expand network adapters. Right-click on Qualcomm Atheros Qca61x4a wireless network adapter and click on properties Under properties, window click on Driver tab and left-click on Roll Back driver (if the option is greyed there is no previous driver, follow next step) Choose your reason and click on OK

3. Update Qualcomm Atheros driver to the latest version

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu, click on the device manager. In device manager expand network adapters. Right-click on Qualcomm Atheros Qca61x4a wireless network adapter and click on Update Driver

4. Install the new driver in compatibility mode

   Right-click on the installer package and choose properties Go to the compatibility tab Choose compatibility settings and install.

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