How to Obliterate PyLocky Ransomware

As you know, Microsoft constantly releases new updates with the main goal of fixing bugs as well as deliver users with new and exciting features. However, there are times when the latest update comes with an unwanted bug. One of these bugs is an error message saying, “Low Disk Space. You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (G:). Click here to see if you can free space on this drive.” So if you have recently installed a Windows 10 update, then you’ll most likely see a completely new drive on your computer which will appear right after the installation of the update and you’ll also start seeing the aforementioned error message. It gets irritating as this error message keeps on popping up even if you still have a lot of free space on your other drivers. Obviously, the main reason why this error message pops up all the time is the bug brought along by the Windows Update. This bug unhides the recovery partition drive and allocates it a drive letter which is why you are seeing a new drive in your computer. Thus, you can get rid of the pesky error message by simply removing the letter of the new drive. Just remember that you must not delete anything from the recovery partition drive nor format the drive. Formatting or deleting the recovery partition drive can heavily affect the recovery of Windows since the data on the drive is used by the Windows Recovery Environment or your system’s manufacturer. A lot of users have reported that removing the drive letter has resolved the issue. And if you worry that removing the drive letter will delete the drive, you are mistaken. This solution is basically harmless and is proven effective to make the notifications go away. Carefully follow the instructions below to get rid of the Low Disk Space notification by removing the drive letter.

• Step 1: Tap the Windows key once.
• Step 2: Next. In the Windows Start Search, type in “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option or you could simply tap Win + R keys and then input “cmd” and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
• Step 3: After opening Command Prompt, type in “diskpart” and tap Enter.
• Step 4: Next, type in “list volume” and tap Enter. After that, you will see a list of drives.
• Step 5: Take note of the letter associated with the newly created drive.
• Step 6: Afterwards, type in “select volume <drive letter>” and tap Enter. Take note that you must replace the <drive letter> with the drive letter you’ve found in Step 5.
• Step 7: Now type in “remove letter=<drive letter>” and then tap Enter. Once again, replace the <drive letter> with the letter you took note of in Step 5.

Error 0x0000001e is when you start the Windows XP Setup and you see a message which says something like: STOP: 0x0000001E (0x80000003, 0xBFC0304, 0x0000000, 0x0000001)

Solution

Error Causes

You are most likely to face this error if you restart your PC while the Windows Setup is still under process and yet to complete. Other causes of this error include any of the following conditions:

1. The drive on which you are installing Windows has insufficient disk space to accommodate the installation.
2. An incompatible or outdated third-party driver (or more) is installed on your PC which is conflicting with the installation. For instance, this could be a problematic video driver.
3. The system BIOS has incompatibilities with the installation.

Further Information and Manual Repair

This error is also called the “Bug check code”. The STOP 0x1E signifies that there was an unknown or illegal processor instruction detected by the Windows XP kernel. You will see the exception address which shows up to indicate the root of the problem which is usually a driver or faulty hardware. You should note this address down as well as the link date of the faulty driver or image which includes it. If at any point it becomes impossible for you to handle and you end up contacting the Windows support center to help you out with the process then this information will help you out in making things a lot easier while the support team tries to troubleshoot the problem. The parameters included in the STOP 0x1E error message are the following:

1. is the exception code which couldn’t be handled.
2. shows the module’s address where the exception took place.
3. signifies the exception’s parameter 0.
4. represents the exception’s parameter 1.

You can use this information which usually is provided in error 0x0000001e message to pinpoint the root cause of the problem and troubleshoot it. In order to fix this error, you need to follow either one of the following procedures as needed according to your situation.

Clean Up Your Disk

If your disk doesn’t have ample space to accommodate the installation then you should free up some of the space on your disk to make sure the Windows can be installed on it. You can also reinstall the Windows on another disk that has sufficient space.

Get Rid of the Third Party Driver

If the error 0x0000001e message gives you the name of the driver due to which the installation process is being halted, then get rid of that driver by disabling it or removing it. If the problem is resolved by this then you should contact the manufacturer of the third-party driver and ask them about any newer versions of the driver that wouldn’t conflict with the installation of Windows.

Upgrade System BIOS

Upgrading your system BIOS is something that you can’t do on your own. You will need to find out more about how you can upgrade. For this, you should contact either your PC’s manufacturer or your motherboard’s manufacturer. If nothing else works, you can always make use of the Microsoft Debugging Tools which will provide you ample information about the error message. You will find the Debugging Tools and further information about them including the downloading and installation process on Microsoft’s website.

Error Code 0xC1900200, 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008)   – What is it?

Error Code 0xC1900200, 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008)  is an error that occurs when you attempt to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10, but the minimum requirements have not been met by your computer. You will therefore be unable to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10 until your computer is updated or upgraded to meet those requirements. Common symptoms include:

• When attempting to upgrade a dialog box with Code 0xC1900200 – 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008) is displayed.
• Your computer is unable to begin the Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade process.

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 0xC1900200 – 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008)  occurs when you are unable to begin the Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade because your computer does not meet the minimum requirements to run Microsoft Windows 10.

• You are unable to begin the upgrade because your computer does not meet the required system or hardware specifications.
• You are not running the correct version of Microsoft Windows to be able to begin the upgrade.
• You are not running the latest updated version of Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 or Microsoft Windows 8.1.

Error Code 0xC1900200 – 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008) as stated, simply means your computer does not meet the requirements to update and does not indicate a permanent problem or inability to continue to use your computer. This error only means that you will not be able to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10 until your computer is made to meet these requirements.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are several solutions that the user can complete at home that should fix the problem resulting in a manifestation of Error Code 0xC1900200 – 0x20008 (Code 0xC1900202 – 0x20008). Below are several options that should resolve this error.

Method 1:

Verify what version of Microsoft Windows you are currently running, older, outdated, or no longer supported versions of Microsoft Windows are not able to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10. If you are not running one of the following versions you will have to update before being able to upgrade.

• The most current version of Microsoft Windows 7 SP1
• The most current version of Microsoft Windows 8.1

Method 2:

Your computer's system specifications do not meet the requirements to be able to upgrade to and run Microsoft Windows 10. To check your system specifications do the following.

1. Click on the start button in the bottom left corner, then locate the control panel on the menu, click on it to open.
2. Once it opens, locate system and security on the menu and click to open, click on system and this will show you your amount of RAM and processor speed.
3. Find device manager on the left-hand side click this then select display adapter, and it will show you your current video card.
4. Click on the start button again, then click on the computer in the menu, this will show you your hard drive size, and available space.

If you have the option available you can simply run the get Microsoft Windows 10 app to check compatibility. Once you have your system specs make sure they meet or exceed the following.

• 1 GHz or higher processor or SoC
• 1 gig of RAM for 32 bit and 2 gigs of RAM for 64 bit
• 16 GB available hard drive space for 32 bit, 20 GB for 64 bit
• Minimum of DirectX9 that has 1.0 WDDM
• At least an 800x600display

If your computer does not meet these minimum requirements, upgrade the components necessary to meet them. 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.

Method 3:

Your computer might not meet the aforementioned requirements to make an upgrade because of insufficient hard drive space or resources. Learn how to create or make space on your computer here.

Method 4:

Many people hold on to and use the same computer for a very long time. It is possible that your computer cannot be upgraded to meet the requirements, or that the cost to do so would be so high that a new computer would be cheaper. If that is the case, your only option may be to replace your computer.

Every time a new drive or any storage device is connected to a Windows 10 computer, the operating system tends to allot a drive letter to it automatically. Not only that, as the OS also maps the location of the drive which helps it point the letter to the exact port location of the drive and serve requests from the user. As a result, it builds up a bit of cache as per the pattern in which the user uses the storage of the computer. This whole process is known as “Auto Mounting” which works for hard disks or optical drive readers that are connected using the SATA ports and even for USB drives that are connected using the USB ports. There are several ways you can enable or disable the Auto-Mount feature in Windows 10. You can do it using the MountVol tool or the Registry Editor or the Diskpart utility. Before you proceed, it is recommended that you create a System Restore point first so that you can always undo the changes you made in case anything goes wrong.

Option 1 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via MountVol tool

In this option, you will be using the mountvol command in the Command Prompt. Refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Wins key once and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option to run it with admin privileges.
• Next, type the following command and tap Enter to enable the Auto Mount feature:

mountvol /E

• On the other hand, if you want to disable the Auto Mount feature, type the following command instead:

mountvol /N

• After that, type the command below to remove all the previously assigned drive letters:

mountvol /R

• Finally, restart your computer.

Option 2 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesmountmgr
• Next, look for a DWORD named “NoAutoMount”. If you can’t find a DWORD with that name then simply create a new DWORD with the same name and make sure that the base is selected to Hexadecimal.
• Now double click on that DWORD and change its value to 0 if you want to enable it, otherwise, input 1 as its value to disable it.
• Restart your computer.

Option 3 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via Diskpart utility

• Tap the Wins key once and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option to run it with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt as admin, type the following command and hit Enter to launch the Diskpart utility:

diskpart

• After that, a User Account Control prompt will appear. Just click on the Yes button.
• Next, type the following command and hit Enter:

automount

• Following the command you entered, you will an output that either says, “Automatic mounting of new volumes enabled” or “Automatic mounting of new volumes disabled” which means you can use it to check the status of Auto Mount.
• Now if you want to enable the Auto Mount feature, type the following command and tap Enter:

automount enable

• And if you want to disable the Auto Mount feature, just enter the following command:

automount disable

• To remove all the assigned letter and history of drives that were connected previously, type the following command:

automount scrub

• Finally, restart your computer.

As of the time of writing this article you no longer need or are required to have a password if you plan to log in to your Microsoft account. Microsoft explored various options for account security and came to the conclusion that passwords are obsolete. Microsoft is letting you access your account through the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key, SMS verification, or email verification code. All of these methods are way better in terms of security than passwords.

How to turn these features on?

To get rid of your Microsoft password, the process is simple. You simply need to go to your Microsoft account, click “advanced security options,” then “enable passwordless accounts” under the Additional security section.

As you know, one of the most useful web browsers all over the globe is Google Chrome. However, it is not without flaws as you could encounter errors while using it. One of these errors is the ERR_UNSAFE_PORT error. This kind of error is caused by the data being accessed using a port that isn’t recommended. When you encounter this kind of error in Chrome, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“The webpage is not available, The webpage at <Address> might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new address. Error code: ERR_UNSAFE_PORT”

In this post, you will be guided on how you can fix the ERR_UNSAFE_PORT error in Google Chrome on your Windows 10 computer. You can try to set allowed ports or reset or reinstall Google Chrome. For more details, refer to the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to set allowed ports

• To get started, open Google Chrome.
• After that, go to the Shortcut tab and type the following after the whole address in the field named Target: --explicitly-allowed-ports=xxx
• It should look like this “C:/Documents and Settings/User/Local Settings/Application Data/Google/Chrome/Applicationchrome.exe --explicitly-allowed-ports=6666”.
• Now click on Apply and click OK to save the changes made.

Option 2 – Reset Chrome

Resetting Chrome can also help you fix the error. This means that you will be restoring its default settings, disabling all the extensions, add-ons, and themes. Aside from that, the content settings will be reset as well and the cookies, cache, and site data will also be deleted. To reset Chrome, here’s what you have to do:

• Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
• After that, click on Settings.
• Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
• After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
• Now restart Google Chrome

Option 3 – Try to clean reinstall Chrome

There are instances when programs leave files behind after you’ve uninstalled them and the same thing can happen to Chrome so before you reinstall Chrome, you have to make sure that you have deleted the User Data folder. To do so, refer to the following steps:

• Hit the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser Data” in the field and hit Enter to open the User Data folder.
• From there, rename the default folder and name it something else, e.g. “Default.old”.
• After that, install Google Chrome again and check if the issue is now fixed.

If you have a dual monitor setup on your Windows 10 computer and you mostly use the second screen when you are presenting something, this makes the Taskbar completely unnecessary and is not really required. So if you are using your computer generally and do not want the taskbar on your second screen, read on as this post will guide you in disabling Taskbar on your second display. The good thing is, Windows comes with a built-in feature to disable Taskbar on your second screen or projector connected to your computer. In this post, you will be guided on how you can hide or disable the Taskbar from the second monitor in Windows 10. This post is coming in handy especially if you are using projectors or multiple displays. Refer to the steps given below to disable Taskbar on the second display in Windows 10. Step 1: Go to Settings and click on Taskbar from the left menu. Step 2: After that, scroll down to lo look for Multiple Displays. Step 3: Next, turn off the toggle labeled, “Show taskbar on all displays”. Note: After completing the steps given above, it will disable the Taskbar on all the secondary displays. Bear in mind that these settings will work only if you are running a second screen in Extended mode. Contrariwise, if you are in the Duplicate mode, this setting will not work but you can always set your Taskbar to Autohide so that it won’t be displayed.

On the other hand, if you are facing some issues in finding which screen is primary and which one is secondary, refer to these steps:

Step 1: Go to Settings and select System. Step 2: Next, from the left menu open Display. Step 3: From there, select the desired display and make it the primary one as required by your setup.

Error Code 0x8024a000 – What is it?

The error code 0x8024a000 is related to Windows Update. You might see this error when you try to update Windows from the Microsoft site to use the latest and new features and technologies. A connection interruption between your computer and the Windows Update server may be the cause of this error. Operating system overload or corrupt registry may also cause this error. Check your modem, router, cable, etc. to be sure that these components are working well. Common symptoms

• You are trying to update Windows and its components such as system driver. The process suddenly stops and shows the error code 0x8024a000.
• Your PC frequently crashes with Error 0x8024A000 when running the same program.
• Windows runs sluggishly and responds slowly to mouse or keyboard input.
• You cannot connect to the Windows update server and the update will not start.
• You may also receive the error message saying that some files could not be updated.

Solution

Error Causes

There may be various causes for this error. Some of which are:

• No Internet connection
• Windows operating system is overloaded with invalid system references
• Corrupt download or incomplete installation of Windows Update software.
• Faulty cable, router or modem
• Windows update services are missing
• The system is infected with malicious programs
• Corrupted or deleted system registry files. PC registry errors occur over time because of constant writing, editing, moving, and deleting of information and files from your computer's registry time as programs are installed, modified, and removed.

Further Information and Manual Repair

We are going to discuss some easiest ways to fix up such issues and get your PC working so that you can install new updates.

Method 1:

1. Press the Windows button + W on your keyboard
2. In the search box type “troubleshooting”
3. In the troubleshooting box, select the View all tab
4. Run the troubleshooter for these services, and then try installing updates

Method 2:

Since most of the installation-related errors can be fixed by System File Checker System File Checker is a very efficient way to fix errors. Most of the installation-related errors can be fixed by a System File Checker. To use this tool follow instructions below: Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you are using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner, move the pointer down, and then click Search. OR On the keyboard, press the Windows + W key. A search box will appear. Type cmd in the search box.

1. On the command prompt, type sfc/scannow
2. This will scan the system files and fix any error
3. Reboot the computer and try to install updates

OR

In the command prompt type sfc/scannow.

This will scan the system files and fix any errors. Reboot the computer and try to install updates.

Method 3:

1. Press Windows + R
2. A run dialog box will appear
3. type services.msc and press OK
4. Then in Services window, look for Background Intelligent Transfer Service. Click on it.
5. If it is the Services issue, then it will stop the service. Click on Start in the window below, and then click Apply and OK.
6. Reboot your machine and retry installing updates.

Method 4:

1. Click Start or open search box
2. Type cmd
3. Right-click on cmd in start menu and select ‘Run as Administrator’
4. Type net stop wuauserv
5. Hit Enter
6. Type ren c:windowsSoftwareDistribution softwaredistribution.old
7. Hit Enter
8. Type Exit
9. Hit Enter

Method 5:

Your PC is always accumulating junk files from normal web surfing and computer usage. If these junk files aren’t occasionally cleaned, it can cause Windows Update to respond slowly and display an error message 0x8024A000, possibly due to conflict with files or an overloaded hard drive. Cleaning up these temporary files will not only solve this problem, but it will also speed up PC performance. Follow the steps below to clean up this junk:

1. Click Start
2. Type "command" in the search box and DO NOT hit ENTER yet!
3. While holding CTRL-Shift on your keyboard, hit ENTER.
4. You will be prompted with a permission dialog box.
5. Click Yes.
6. A black box will open with a blinking cursor.
7. Type "cleanmgr" and hit ENTER.
8. Disk Cleanup will begin calculating how much occupied space you can get back.
9. The Disk Cleanup dialog box will show a series of checkboxes to select. In most cases, the "Temporary Files" category will occupy the most disk space.
10. Check the boxes of the categories you want to clean and click OK.

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.

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.