Remove PriceGong from your Windows PC

You might be familiar with the Encryption File System or EFS algorithm if you rather keep your files and folders encrypted. Encryption File System is a built-in feature in Windows 10 which allows users to secure their important files. Although there is an alternative way for you to secure your data on your Windows 10 computer, you can’t ignore the fact that the main advantage of an Encryption File System over BitLocker is that the former can help you encrypt a particular folder rather than encrypting the whole hard drive partition. If you move a file inside a folder encrypted with the Encrypting File System it will automatically get encrypted. There are some users who like this feature but unsurprisingly, there are some that don’t. So if whether you want your files encrypted when you place them in an encrypted folder or if you want to keep it as it is, read on as to how you can do it either way. You can enable or disable automatic encryption of files moved to encrypted folders in Windows 10 using the Registry Editor or the Group Policy Editor. Before you proceed, make sure to create a System Restore Point first because the modifications you’re about to make in your computer might affect its overall functioning so if anything goes wrong, you can always undo the changes. Once you have that covered, refer to the options given below to enable or disable automatic encryption in Windows 10.

Option 1 – Enable or disable automatic encryption using Registry Editor

• Press the Win key + R key at the same time to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and press Enter to open the Registry Editor and if a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click Yes to proceed.
• After opening the Registry Editor, navigate to this key location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
• Next, right-click on Explorer and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and then name the newly create DWORD to “NoEncryptOnMove” and press Enter to save it.
• After that, double click on the NoEncryptOnMove DWORD and set its value to the following preferences:
  • 1 – Disable Auto Encryption of files moved to encrypted folders.
  • 0 – Enable Auto Encryption of files moved to encrypted folders.

• Now close the Registry Editor and restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 2 – Enable or disable automatic encryption using the Group Policy Editor

• Press the Win + R keys to open the Run box and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• After that, navigate to this path: Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesSystem
• Next, look for the “Do not automatically encrypt files moved to encrypted folders” option and double click on it to set the policy. From there, you will see the following description:

“This policy setting prevents File Explorer from encrypting files that are moved to an encrypted folder. If you enable this policy setting, File Explorer will not automatically encrypt files that are moved to an encrypted folder. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, File Explorer automatically encrypts files that are moved to an encrypted folder. This setting applies only to files moved within a volume. When files are moved to other volumes, or if you create a new file in an encrypted folder, File Explorer encrypts those files automatically.”

• Now select one of the radio buttons below depending on your preference:
  • Not Configured or Disabled: Enable Auto Encrypt of files moved to EFS Encrypted folders.
  • Enabled: Disable Auto Encrypt of files moved to EFS Encrypted folders.
• Then click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made.
• Exit the Group Policy Editor and restart your computer.

Error Code 0x800ccc13– What is it?

0x800ccc13 is an error message related to sending email using Outlook. Many people are receiving this error after making an upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. The error message appears when you try to send an email message with the use of a POP3 account or an IMAP account in an Outlook profile that has an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox configured. A common complaint would be: Since upgrading to Windows 10 I cannot send email from Outlook 2013. Mail stays in the Outbox, and I get: Error 0x800CCC13. Cannot connect to the network.

Symptoms

This problem may arise under the following situations:

• You are using Microsoft Office Outlook in online mode to connect to a Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 mailbox
• When you add an additional POP3 or IMAP account in the same Microsoft Outlook profile
• You are sending an attachment through email.
• You try sending an email by selecting POP3 or IMAP account as the sender

During these circumstances, the email message stays in the Outbox and you receive the following error message: Task '<the POP3 account or the IMAP account> - Sending' reported error (0x800CCC13): 'Unable to connect to the network. Check your network connection or modem.'

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 0x800ccc13 occurs because the system files in Windows 10 during the upgrade became corrupted and most likely caused authentication issues. It can happen with any version of Outlook. Damaged data files will also cause error code 0x800ccc13 to manifest. Overall, the corruption of the Microsoft Windows System could be a result of an installation partially done (or an incomplete one), deletion of any application or hardware erroneously, and or malware or adware infestation.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Method 1:

Use the Windows System File Checker to repair corrupted files Verify that your SMTP, username, and password settings are correct. Now, in order to correct missing or corrupt Windows System files, try the following solution by running a command. This is known as the System File Checker. Follow the steps below to invoke the program using a command prompt command:

1. At first, you need to open the command prompt. To do so, right-click the Windows button in the bottom left of the screen, and select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Now, enter the following command

sfc/scannow

When it is done, a message will confirm that Windows found some corrupt or missing files and it has successfully repaired those. Check the Outlook and see if your emails are sending. If the problem persists, don’t worry there is another way to solve this. Users have found another command helpful is using the NetShell utility from the command prompt, which is similar to the above solution.

1. Open the Command prompt by Right-clicking the Windows button in the bottom left of the screen and select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Enter the following command

netshwinsosk reset

This helpful command will reset the network adapter to its default settings. Hope this will solve your problem. If not, you may want to try the Method 2 listed below.

Method 2:

For this method, you need to consider the following things:

• Are you using POP3, IMAP, or Exchange server for your email account?
• How many email accounts have you configured in your Outlook?
• Is there an undelivered email stuck in your Outbox?
• If you are trying to send an attachment, what is the size of the attachment?

Try the following:

1. Move or delete any undelivered email that is stuck in the Outbox folder, and then try sending an email and verify the result
2. Start Outlook in Safe Mode by following the instructions below

Hold down Windows key + R. Copy this command Outlook /safe Note, there is a space between Outlook and / Paste it in the open box and press Enter If Outlook in Safe Mode works, disable the add-ins by following the steps below and determine if the problem is caused by add-ins.

• Click File menu, click Options, Add-ins, Go button beside Manage Com-in Add.
• If there are add-ins listed, clear the checkbox.
• Close Microsoft Office and restart it.
• Disable the add-ins one at a time. Now, restart Outlook and repeat the procedure once more. If the problem appears again, it will help you find which add-in is causing the problem.

3. Start the computer using the clean boot. Now, try to send an email and see the result.
4. If the problem still lingers, create a new profile and configure the email account.

If you do not possess the technical expertise required to accomplish this yourself or do not feel comfortable doing so, download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.

Windows and Devices chief Panos Panay has revealed new focus sessions feature that will be in Windows 11 on his Twitter account today. He himself is referring to it as a game-changer especially with Spotify integration.

So what is a focus session?

From the video clip provided on Twitter, we can see that focus session users will be able to choose a specific task from the previously made task list, choose songs that will play in the background while the task is active, and set a timer for the chosen task with breaks. Maybe the best comparison and explanation would be a desktop google calendar task with music, basically, that’s it. A neat and good organizer inside your Windows 11 operating system. I think that this is generally a good idea and for sure it will find its audience.

Keyboard shortcuts are undeniably one of the most utilized ways and are helpful in maximizing productivity through the various applications at top speed in Windows 10. It offers the option to create custom keyboard shortcuts that allow users to launch apps, and even websites, instantly. There are already tons of keyboard shortcuts that are built-in in Windows 10 but in case you don’t know, you can actually create new ones. Doing so is not a difficult task and in this post, you will be guided on how you can exactly create custom keyboard shortcuts in your Windows 10 computer. Most users would create desktop shortcuts or pin the apps in the taskbar to speed up the process of working on their computers. It is an easy task to do since you can easily do it by dragging an app from the Start Menu to the desktop or by simply right-clicking on the executable app and selecting the “Create Shortcut” option. However, doing so would take physical effort and there are times when you have to minimize all the apps to get to the desktop so you can click the shortcut and this is where the Custom Keyboard Shortcuts come in handy. You can create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10 for various programs – from the traditional desktop apps to the new universal apps – you can fling in a shortcut so that you can instantly open them faster compared to when doing it manually and besides this also wouldn’t affect any of the ongoing system activity. To get started, you need to follow the steps provided below carefully.

To add Custom Keyboard hotkeys to a program and website desktop shortcuts, here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: First, you have to right-click on the app or website and select Properties. Step 2: After that, go to the Shortcut tab and from there, you will see the “Shortcut key” textbox which allows you to enter a new or custom keyboard shortcut for the app or website. Step 3: In the textbox field, input your preferred letters to set up the new hotkey. Keep in mind that this custom shortcut has to be combined with the Ctrl + Alt keys which means that if you want to select “N”, you have to tap the Ctrl + Alt + N keys. Step 4: Once done, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then close the window. Step 5: After that, tap the newly created keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + Alt + N keys again to open the app or website you’ve set up earlier.

To add Custom Keyboard hotkeys to a desktop app or an independent program that can be installed using direct download, here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: First, open the Start Menu and look for the icon/tile of the required app in the menu. However, if you are not able to find the desired app, then just click on the All Apps option to navigate through all the apps that are installed on your PC. Step 2: Once you find the app, just right-click on it and select More and then click on the “Open file location” option. Step 3: This will open a new window with the shortcut icon. Right-click on the app’s shortcut icon and select Properties. Step 4: This will open the Properties window where you can add the shortcut combination. Keep in mind that just like the previous method, the custom shortcut has to be combined with the Ctrl + Alt keys. For instance, if you select E, then you also have to set a keyboard shortcut that includes Ctrl + Alt, so it will be, Ctrl + Alt + E. Step 5: Once you’re done, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. You should now be able to use the custom shortcut key you’ve set.

There are instances when the Windows 10 installation needs interaction before it reaches the file process. And so if you suddenly encounter the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error under the Windows Update History, then you need to get it fixed. When you encounter this kind of Windows Update Error, you will see an error message that says, “The operation did not complete because there is no logged-on interactive user”. This error also indicates the “WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER” code. To resolve this issue, in this post we’ll walk you through a couple of steps but before you get started, know that you don’t have to run any troubleshooter or delete any file just to fix this error since all you have to do is enable one option that can automatically login with your account and complete the installation for you. With that said, just make sure to only try running Windows Update once you’re told to do so. There are two ways you can enable the option that could resolve the Windows Update Installation Failure 0x80240020 error. One is via Settings while the second one is via Registry Editor.

Option 1 – via Settings

Step 1: Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in Options. Step 2: From there, toggle on the “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device and reopen my apps after an update or restart” option. Step 3: After that, it will make sure that the interaction part is removed from the Windows Update process. Note: If your device is joined in a domain or if some work or email policies are applied to your device by your company or organization, then you wouldn’t be able to see this option in Settings and that’s where the Registry Editor comes in. Just make sure that you’re logged in as an administrator and that you create a System Restore Point first since registry hacks are sensitive and could highly impact how your computer behaves or functions. Once you have that covered, follow the steps below.

Option 2 – via Registry Editor

Step 1: In the Start search, type “Regedit” and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Step 2: Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgrade

Note: If the above-given registry key does not exist, you can simply create it. All you have to do is right-click on the WindowsUpdate key and then select the New Key option and type “OSUpgrade” as its name. Afterward, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it “AllowOSUpgrade” and set its value to 0x00000001. Step 3: Restart your computer and check if the error is now fixed. And then try to update your Windows 10 computer again and while you’re at it, make sure that you’re around your computer to interact with the prompts needed to complete the installation process.

If you have been stuck on allocating disk space on steam you know how annoying this error could be. Here you are, with your new game eager to play it and relax a little and all of the sudden steam gets stuck on allocating disc space. Luckily this error is fixable, follow provided guide to fix the error and continue with installing the game.

1. Restart computer

   An old age solution of turning it off and turning it back on but in this case, it works 90% of the time.

2. Run Steam as administrator

   Allocating disk space when done by a third-party application can be a task that requires privileges higher than the normal user. Find the steam executable file in the installation folder, right-click on it and run it as an administrator

3. Clear Steam cache

   Launch Steam in admin mode. Once in the client, click on Steam at the top left corner of the screen. From the drop-down box, click on Settings. Once in the Settings, navigate to the Downloads tab. Click the Clear Download Cache option. Click OK on the prompt to confirm your action. Wait for the process to complete. When done, save changes and exit the client.

4. Change download server

   Launch Steam client in admin mode. Once in the client, click on Steam at the top left corner of the screen. From the drop-down box, click on Settings. Once in the Settings, navigate to the Downloads tab. Click the drop-down menu under the Download Region. Choose a different server to download from. Exit the Steam client.

5. Refresh installation files

   • Kill a Steam process in Task Manager.
   • Navigate to your Steam folder
   • Inside the Steam folder, select everything except the steamapps folder and the Steam.exe executable file.
   • Tap the Delete key on your keyboard.

6. Turn off firewall

   Firewall can prevent steam and cut access to system operations, disable firewall to fix this issue.

7. Stop overclocking

   If you have overclocked your PC, you can simply reverse the change. The steps you will need to take depends on the overclocking software. Launch the software and look for the option to stop the overclocking. Once done, restart your computer, rerun the game installation.

What Does 0x8007045D Error Code Mean?

The 0x8007045D error code is an I/O (input and output) error that is associated with the registry. It indicates that the Windows operating system has become overloaded with invalid system references in the registry. This may prevent you from executing reading and writing to and from devices successfully.

Error Causes

Registry is the main database of your PC. This portion of your computer saves all the activities that you perform on your PC including the junk files, temporary internet files, invalid entries, bad registry keys, and more. This clutters the hard disk. If the unnecessary files are not removed from the registry, it may lead to I/O errors like 0x8007045D. On the hard drive, some parts of the drive may fail to function. If this is not fixed on the time it may lead to serious disk damage and registry corruption eventually resulting in system failure. System failure can make you lose all the valuable data saved on your system for good.

How to Fix the Error Code 0x8007045D?

Error codes on your PC are like warnings. These codes indicate that your PC has some issue. Therefore ignoring it is not wise. To spare yourself from such serious PC damages, it is advisable to take correct measures timely instead of prolonging and making the situation go from bad to worse.

Recently, a lot of users reported to Microsoft about getting an error code 0x80096004 while trying to update their Windows 10 computers. This kind of Windows Update error occurs during the initial download and verification process. It also affects the Windows features (FODs) and when you encounter this error, you will also see this error code, “TRUST_E_CERT_SIGNATURE”. This error code indicates that the signature of the certificate could not be confirmed. This is caused by a broken certificate store or a corrupt copy of the Windows operating system is installed. Here’s the complete error message:

“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: (0x80096004).”

To fix Windows Update error 0x80096004, you can check out the options provided below.

Option 1 – Delete the contents in the Software Distribution folder and Catroot2 folder

• Open the WinX Menu.
• From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.

net stop wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver

• After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
• Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.

After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:

• Type each one of the following commands.

net start wuauserv net start cryptSvc net start bits net start msiserver

• After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer, and then try to run Windows Update once more.

Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter is one of the things you can first check out as it is known to automatically resolve any Windows Update errors like error code 0x80096004. To run it, Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• From there, click Update and Security and go to the Troubleshoot section.
• Next, select Windows Update and click the “Run the troubleshooter” button and wait until it’s finished, and then try to run Windows Update again.

Option 3 – Try to temporarily disable anti-virus and Windows Defender Firewall

As mentioned, the error could be due to the antivirus program or the Windows Defender Firewall installed on your computer. Thus, disabling them or any security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when you’re not able to access the shared drive on your computer. There are times when you encounter problems like Error Code 0x80096004 due to interference of antivirus or security programs. Thus, you have to disable both your antivirus program and Windows Defender Firewall for the meantime and check if it fixes the error or not.

Option 4 – Try to replace the DLL file with a trusted source

You can also try to replace the crypt32.dll file as it could help in fixing the Windows Update error. Just make sure that you get one from a trusted source.

• First, you need to get the new DLL file from another computer with preferably the same file version number.
• After that, you need to boot your PC into Safe Mode and navigate to the paths listed below and then replace the file using a USB drive or other external storage devices.
  • x86: This PC > C:/Windows/System32
  • x64: This PC > C:/Windows/SysWOW64
• Next, type “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt, and select “Run as administrator” to open it with administrator privileges.
• Now type the “regsvr32 crypt32.dll” command and hit Enter.
• Restart your PC and check if the error is now fixed.

Option 5 – Try downloading and installing the Windows Updates manually

Error Code 0x80096004 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:

• Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
• Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
• After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.

Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.

Option 6– Run System File Checker or SFC scan

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few 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.

 Reboot your PC.

Option 7 – Try to run the Windows Update Service in a Clean Boot State

There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing Windows Update error. To identify which program is causing the problem, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. To do so, follow the steps below.

• 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 run the Windows Update Service again and see if Windows Update error 0x80096004 is now gone.

If you suddenly encountered the PDC WATCHDOG TIMEOUT BSOD Blue Screen stop error with a bug check value of 0x0000014F, then it’s probably due to a system component that has failed to respond with the allocated period which prevents the system from exiting connected standby. This kind of Blue Screen error could be caused by both hardware and software components. To fix this Stop error, here are some possible fixes you can try that might help but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point first and boot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking.

Option 1 – Try to rollback, update or disable drivers

The next thing you can do to fix the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Stop error is to roll back, or update, or disable 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.
• After opening the Device Manager, look for the device driver named “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” and expand it.
• Then look for the SATA AHCI Controller entry and right-click on it. If you haven’t updated this driver in a while, select the “Update Driver” option. On the other hand, if you’ve just updated this driver, then select the Uninstall Device option.
• Next, follow the screen option to update or uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically if you have chosen to uninstall them.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 2 – Try to disconnect or disable newly installed hardware

In this option, you will have to disable or remove the hardware you’ve just installed recently since external devices could be the one that’s causing the Blue Screen of Death error to appear. To do that, just disconnect any external device that’s connected to your computer physically and then check if it fixes the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Blue Screen error.

Option 3 – Try running the Memory Diagnostic Tool

The Memory Diagnostic tool in windows can help resolve the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Blue Screen error by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
• After that, it will give two options such as:
  • Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
  • Check for problems the next time I start my computer
• Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.

Option 4 – Try to update the BIOS

Updating the BIOS can help you fix the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT BSOD error but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
• From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
• After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
• Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
• If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
• Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
• Now restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 5 – Try running the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT. It can be found in 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.

If you suddenly find your Windows 10 computer stuck on the “Preparing to configure” screen for quite a long time now after you run Windows Update, read on as you will be guided on how you can fix that issue in this post. During an update process, there’s a lot of things that go on in the background which is why Windows Updates take quite a while before it finishes. It can be at 25%, 50%, or even 100% but the only message you’re going to see on your screen is the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer”. However, if you notice that the Windows Update is taking a longer time than it’s supposed to, the first option is to wait some more but if it’s still the same, then there’s definitely something wrong. This kind of issue occurs when Windows Update fails to configure in short correctly download and install the update. When this happens, it will revert all the changes which are why you were advised to wait for a couple of hours. There are two possibilities why your computer is stuck on the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer” screen. The first one is that the Windows 10 operating system is installing any updates. The second one is when the user profile takes time to load or encounters an error. There are several options you can try to fix the problem. You can try running System Restore or boot your computer in Safe Mode or repair the corrupted profile via Registry Editor. You might also want to try using installation media to boot and repair your computer if the other options didn’t work.

Option 1 – Perform System Restore

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

Note: If you can’t boot into the desktop of your computer, you can run System Restore in the Advanced Startup Options by following these steps:

• Boot your computer into the Advanced Startup Options screen.
• From there, you will see some options to troubleshoot when you can’t log in to Windows in the usual way.
• Now select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
• After that, type “rstrui” and hit Enter to execute the command which will start the System Restore process.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Option 2 – Boot your computer in Safe Mode

You can try to tap the F8 key if you have it enabled in your Windows 10 computer, as you start your system to boot into Safe Mode. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can access the Start Menu and the Mouse and Keyboard. Aside from that, you can also access your files and other built-in tools in Windows such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, Computer Manager, Device Manager, Event Log Viewer, and many more. On the other hand, if you haven’t enabled the F8 key, you can just go to the Advanced Startup options to boot your computer into Safe Mode. Once you’re there, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart > Tap the number 4 key. After that, your computer will restart in Safe Mode. If you want to reboot into Safe Mode with Networking instead, you can tap the number 5 key and for Safe Mode with Command Prompt, tap the number 6 key. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can use any of the built-in tools to restore your computer or troubleshoot the problem that’s causing your computer to get stuck at the “Preparing to configure” screen.

Option 3 – Try to repair your corrupted profile via Registry

In this third option, you can try to repair the corrupted profile using the Registry but before you proceed, take note that you can only try this if you can boot into your desktop and if you can, make sure to create a System Restore Point and then follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, go to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList
• Once you’ve opened the registry key, you should see a list of all the user profiles on your computer. Now click on each S-1-5 folder and look for the “ProfileImagePath” entry and double click on it to check which user account it is related to. You will see a path like “CUsersACK” where “ACK” is the username.
• You should know which of the user account is corrupted. Just look for a key named “RefCount” and change its Value data to “0” and click OK. And if it isn’t available, simply right-click on the right pane and create it.
• After that, double click on the key named “State” and make sure that the Value data is “0” and click OK.
• Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 4 – Try to use installation media to boot and repair your computer

Another thing you can try to resolve the issue is to use the Windows installation bootable media so you can boot and repair the operating system. To use it, follow these steps:

• You need to first create an installation media which has the dame version of the operating system installed in your computer.
• After that, once you reach the Install Windows screen, click on the “Repair your computer” link.
• Wait until the repair is completed and then shut down your computer
• Now once your computer has restarted, check if it can now boot properly.