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A copy of Windows gets into a grace period when it is installed on a computer which means that you can use your Windows computer without any constraints on its feature. However, if you suddenly encounter an error code 0xC004F009 then this means that the grace period has already expired. In such cases, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“Error Code 0xC004F009, The Software Licensing Service reported that the grace period expired.”

One of the possible causes of this error is that it could be that the grace period has already expired way before the system was activated which is a result of which the system is in the Notifications state at this moment. The error code 0xC004F009 has something to do with MAK-enabled computers in an enterprise when it comes to Volume Licensing. One of the reasons that this error pops up is due to the possibility that the computer was not activated yet even when it was already connected to the Enterprise. Another most likely cause of the error is when the system was never connected with the Enterprise at all and the given grace period has expired before your computer system is activated. Whatever the real cause of this error, this post will guide you in fixing it. Just refer to the instructions given below to fix it.

Option 1 – Try activating Windows using the command-line tool

• First, you need to obtain your MAK key from the IT administrator.
• Once you have it, tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard and then type “cmd” in the field and hit Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, type this command and hit Enter to install the product key or replace the existing one: Slmgr.vbs –ipk <your mak key>
• Next, type another command and hit Enter: slmgr.vbs –ato
• Once you’ve executed the given commands, Windows should be activated after it connects to Microsoft servers and then gives it some time and try to check if error code 0xC004F009 is now fixed or not.

Option 2 – Try activating Windows using your mobile phone

Activating Windows 10 can also be done using your phone. Just note that you have to call Microsoft to do so.

• In the Start Search box, type in “Slui 4” and tap Enter.
• Next, select your country and click on Next.
• Keep the window open and call the toll-free number of the country you’re from.
• Afterward, a confirmation ID should be given by the automated system which you must take a note of.
• Finally, in the box on the window, type in the confirmation ID and click on the Activate button. That should do it.

Option 3 – Try to prolong the grace period

On the other hand, it is also possible for you to prolong the grace period but you might have to get another genuine Windows key for that. Before you proceed, you need to create a System Restore point first afterwards, refer to the steps given below to increase the grace period of the Software Licensing Service on your Windows 10 computer.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field then hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSetupOOBEmediabootinstall
• Next, change the value of the “mediabootinstall” key to “0”.
• Now open Command Prompt with admin privileges and then type this command and hit Enter: slmgr –rearm
• The command you just entered will add another grace period to your system activation. After that, you have to obtain a new key and then activate Windows.

Option 4 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

You can also try to run the Windows 10 Activation troubleshooter to help resolve the error code 0xC004F009.

• Go to Settings and then select Activation.
• After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.

As you know, you can encounter Blue Screen errors at any given point after your computer boots up and can just reboot it randomly which results in loss of unsaved work. One of these Blue Screen errors is the “REGISTRY_ERROR”. This kind of Stop error has a bug check value of 0x00000051 which indicates your computer’s registry has encountered a severe error. There could be a number of causes for this error but at the time of writing, it is quite difficult to narrow them down to one component. If you face this kind of Blue Screen error, worry not as this post will guide you in fixing it. As mentioned, this error indicates that there is something wrong with the registry, particularly an I/O error while it tried to read one of its files. This may be caused by hardware issues or file system corruption. It could also be due to failure in a refresh operation which is only used by the security system and only when resource limits are encountered. To fix the Registry_Error Blue Screen, you can try to use the CHKDSK utility or the System File Checker, or the DISM tool or run the Blue Screen troubleshooter. You may also try to reset your computer or repair Windows by using installation media.

Option 1 – Run the Check Disk utility

The first thing you can do to fix the REGISTRY_ERROR Blue Screen error is to run the Check Disk utility. How? Follow these steps:

• In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Drive Letter>: /f /r /x /b
• The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
• Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.

Option 2 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like REGISTRY_ERROR. 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.

Option 3 – Run System File Checker

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, execute this command: sfc /scannow
• Once the scan is completed, restart your computer and then check if the REGISTRY_ERROR is now fixed.

Option 4 – Run the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the REGISTRY_ERROR Blue Screen error. 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. Once it’s done, restart your computer.

Option 5 – Reset your computer

• Tap the Win key or click on the Start button located in the Taskbar.
• Then click on the Power button at the bottom right portion of the screen.
• Next, press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and then click on Restart. This will restart your Pc into the Advanced Startup options.

Note: Once you have access to the Advanced Startup options, you have to go to the setting which allows you to Reset your Windows 10 PC. All you have to do is select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC to reach the following screen Afterward, select either the “Keep my files” option and then proceed to the next on-screen instructions that follow to reset your Windows 10 computer without losing your files.

Option 6 – Try to perform repair install by creating a Windows 10 installation media

• Click this link and then click the Download Tool Now button.
• Next, click the “Use the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file)…” option and follow the next given instructions on the screen.
• Now select the ISO file option in step 5.
• After that, you should now have an ISO file.
• Next, go to the location where you’ve downloaded the ISO file.
• Then right-click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select the Open with option and then select File Explorer.
• Now click on “setup.exe” and follow the next instructions that appear on the screen. When asked, you have to select either Nothing (clean install) or Keep personal files only option. Take note that you must not select the “Keep personal files, apps, and Windows settings”.

In Windows 11 by default inside the Start menu, there is recommended section that contains recently opened folders, documents, and files. If you do not wish this section and do not want recent items in your Start menu there is an easy way to turn it off.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
2. Click on Personalization
3. On the right side scroll down and click on Start
4. Click on the switch beside Show recently opened items in Start, Jump lists, and File Explorer
5. Close settings

Settings will be automatically applied and there will be no more recommended items inside your Start menu to create clutter, it will be nice and clean.

If you always use the Google Chrome browser in browsing the internet, then you might have come across an error message saying, “He’s dead, Jim!” along with a funny looking face that’s peeking its tongue out and another detailed message saying, “Either Chrome Ran out of memory or process for the webpage has terminated for some other reason. To continue, reload the webpage or go to another page”. This error message in Google Chrome is actually quite famous and it appears for various reasons but it may have something to do with a memory issue. The Google Chrome browser is known to consume a lot of memory and the more web pages you open and load, it takes up more resources. Thus, the first thing you need to do when you encounter this error is to simply click the Reload button to continue browsing the internet or close the browser and then open it again. On the other hand, if you keep seeing this error message, then that’s a whole different story as you have to take some action to prevent it from popping up again, for good. Follow the instructions given below to fix the error in Chrome.

Option 1 – Reduce Google Chrome’s memory usage

The first thing you can try is reducing the memory usage of the Chrome browser. However, this option has a bit of a disadvantage. If a website crashes, all the instances of that website will also crash although other open tabs and websites won’t be affected. This process is referred to as “Process-per-site” mode which you will have to launch Chrome within this parameter.

Option 2 – Run Google Chrome with Strict Site Isolation

Aside from reducing Chrome’s memory usage, you can also run the browser with the Strict Site Isolation which makes sure that the crashing of one tab in the browser won’t affect the entire Windows as this feature will run every website you open on its own isolated process.

Option 3 – Run the built-in Malware Scanner and Cleanup tool in Chrome

In case you don’t know, there is actually a built-in malware scanner and cleanup tool in Chrome that helps you get rid of any unwanted ads, pop-ups, and even malware, as well as unusual startup pages, toolbars, and other things that could affect the performance of the browser.

Option 4 – Reset Google Chrome

Resetting Chrome can also help you get rid of the “He’s dead, Jim!” error message for good. Resetting Chrome means 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 the option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
• Now restart Google Chrome.

Option 5 – Perform a clean reinstall on the Chrome browser

Although reinstalling any program is easy, not so much for Google Chrome as you need to make sure that the User Data folder is deleted before you reinstall it.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run prompt.
• Then type %LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser Data in the field and hit Enter.
• Next, rename the “Default” folder inside the path you were redirected to. For instance, you can rename it to “Default-old”.
• After that, install the Chrome browser again.

Option 6 – Try to flush the DNS and reset the TCP/IP

There are instances when a network goes into haywire because of a bad DNS. Thus, a bad DNS might be the one that’s causing this headache so it’s time for you to reset the entire network to resolve the issue. To reset the network, here’s what you have to do:

• Click the Start button and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After opening Command Prompt, you have to type each one of the commands listed below. Just make sure that after you type each command, you hit Enter
  • ipconfig /release
  • ipconfig /all
  • ipconfig /flushdns
  • ipconfig /renew
  • netsh int ip set dns
  • netsh winsock reset

After you key in the commands listed above, the DNS cache will be flushed and the Winsock, as well as the TCP/IP, will reset.

• Now restart your computer and open Google Chrome then try opening the website you were trying to open earlier.

Note: You can also try changing the DNS server to the Google Server, i.e. 8.8.8.8, and then see if it works for you or not.

Option 7 – Disable both the antivirus and firewall temporarily

As you know, both the firewall and antivirus programs are there to protect the operating system from any malicious threats. So if they find that there is some malicious content in a website you are visiting, they will block the site right away. Thus, it could also be the reason why you’re getting the “He’s dead, Jim!” error so you need to disable both the firewall and antivirus program temporarily and then try opening the website again. If you are able to open the website, you need to add this site as an exception and then enable the firewall and antivirus program back.

Long working hours on a laptop can have some issues with laptop heating and thus slowing down. Today we will take a look at how can you prevent it from heating and keep it in a normal temperature range so it lasts longer and works better.

Close unnecessary programs or browser tabs

Usually, the main reason for high laptop temperature is the heavy and constant workload. Of course, the solution is very simple, turn off unnecessary browser tabs or applications running in the background, and less power will be needed for operation thus directly reducing workload and temperature.

Place it on a hard flat surface

Laptops generally have vents on the side and even under them, these vents, of course, are made so hot air is disposed of through them but if they are covered that will create issues. Placing computers on textiles, pillows, and legs can obstruct their venting holes and increase heat also since they are materials that are not taking heat away.

Your best practice should be placing the laptop onto a hard flat surface so air can flow freely and if you need to keep it in your lap there are lap desks made for this purpose.

Clean the laptop

With some good cleaning, the laptop can stop overheating, and generally, it will be cooler. Vents that has for ventilation can get clogged over large periods of time due to dust which is always present. Compressed air can be a quick easy solution to open the vents and redust it. Other methods include a compressor, vacuum, or brush in order to quickly remove any dust clogs. Taking it into service for complete redusting and paste change is also a great option.

Place it on the dedicated pad

There is some disagreement about using dedicated cooling pads for laptops, some say they are not effective at all, and some swear by them but from my experience good paired laptop and pad can indeed help with cooling it down. Usually, cooling pads will come with fans that will take away heat from the laptop itself reducing its overall heat.

Change your Windows power plan

If your laptop is constantly hot but you are not doing much with him check Windows power settings. There is a good chance it is set to run on a high-performance plan and if this is the case switch it back to a balanced power setting. Power plan like high performance will drain more power and more power will mean more heating. Of course, this will affect performance as well but for regular work that excludes some power gaming, video, and picture manipulations and other demanding tasks this power plan will work just fine.

Take control of the fans inside your laptop

Internal cooling is important and sometimes fans are not running to their full capacity so increasing their speed or changing their plan of work can cool down the computer nicely. Some laptops have fans controlling application already on them, especially gaming laptops but most of them do not. If your laptop does not have it, go to your laptop brand website and see if such an application exists for your model, if it does, download and install it but if there is no such application try general free ones like SpeedFan or Argus Monitor.

Reduce voltage of CPU and GPU

How more power means more heat, reducing the power that CPU and/or GPU take can be reduced inside BIOS by lowering voltage of these 2 components. First, go to BIOS and write down the voltage that is currently assigned to your CPU and/or GPU so you can bring it back if ever needed, also take note that reducing voltage and thus power will not affect negatively your components but increasing it thus overclocking can and will so be careful when bringing voltage back not to overdo it. You can always also reset your BIOS settings to bring them back to factory settings.

Do not use the laptop when charging it

When the laptop is placed on the charger in order to be charged and used at the same time, more power is drawn to it, and since the battery is taking electric charge instead of providing it more heat will be generated now since two different sources will be generating it, the battery itself and computer. When you really can not wait for the laptop to be charged, use it, but turn it off and wait to be fully charged if you can.

As you know, the CHKDSK utility is proven to be one of the useful tools to fix any issues that concerns file system, storage, and disk. However, as useful as it may be, it is still not immune to issues as you could encounter errors when running it. One of these errors is the “One such error is the CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode” error. If you receive such an error message while running CHKDSK, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will help you sort the problem out. It is possible that the drive is read-only or that the Write Protection is enabled. It could also be that the drive is already being used and scanned by a different program or utility. To get rid of this error, there are a couple of suggestions you need to check out. You can try to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery or run it on Boot. You could also try to disable Write Protection. For more detailed steps, follow the given instructions below.

Option 1 – Try to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery

The first thing you can do to resolve the error in CHKDSK is to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery. How? Follow these steps:

• First, boot into the installation environment for Windows 10 from a Windows installation media.
• Next, click on the “Repair your computer” option.
• After that, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /r /f
• Wait until the disk error checking process is completed.
• Once it’s done, exit the Command Prompt window and restart your computer and then see if the error is fixed.

Option 2 – Try running the CHKDSK utility on Boot

On the other hand, you can also try to run the CHKDSK utility on Boot so you can fix the error and recover any damaged segments of the drive.

• Open an elevated Command Prompt and enter this command: chkdsk /r
• After that, you will a message that says, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”
• Type Y and tap Enter to schedule a CHKDSK scan once your computer reboots next time.

Option 3 – Try to remove the Write Protection from the drive

As mentioned, removing the Write-Protection on the concerned drive could also help you fix the problem and there are two ways to get rid of the write protection – you can either use the Diskpart utility or the Registry Editor. How? Refer to the following steps.

Via Diskpart utility:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges and then type the “diskpart” command and tap Enter to execute it.
• Next, type “list disk” and tap Enter to get the list of all the Disk connects or all the partitions that are formed on those disks.
• After that, you need to choose one command depending on the list of commands you entered. Type “select disk #” and tap Enter to select the disk or partition you want to select.
• Then type “attribute disk clear readonly” and tap Enter to Disable the Write Protection on the selected disk or partition.

Via Registry Editor:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to the following registry key:

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStorageDevicePolicies

• After that, look for the DWORD named “WriteProtect” and double click on it, and then set its Value Data to “0”.
• Now restart your computer and see if the problem is now fixed or not.

If you like to schedule different tasks on your Windows 10 computer and automate them, then you would find the Windows Task Scheduler very useful. It is commonly used by a lot of users to schedule various tasks like scheduling periodic execution of scripts and some programs to make sure that the intended tasks are automatically carried out. Apart from being a preinstalled application, the Task Scheduler is already available on your computer. However, there are times when you might encounter some errors while using it. One of these errors is error 0xFFFD0000. You can encounter this error while executing some PowerShell scripts. It can occur to any tasks as well especially to the ones that have a file executed using a particular program. And just like the PowerShell script, files also use PowerShell to be executed. To fix Error 0xFFFD0000, you need to follow the instructions provided below carefully. Step 1: In the Start Search, type “task scheduler” and click on Task Scheduler from the results to open it. Step 2: After opening Task Scheduler, right-click on the task that’s giving you the error and then click on Properties. Step 3: After that, navigate to the Actions tab in the new mini window that appears. Step 4: From there, select the action for the task and click on the Edit button which will open another mini window. Step 5: Next, make sure that the path to the executing program is properly typed inside the field of Program/script. Note that it should be set to the executable file for that particular program. For instance, you have to set it to “C:WindowsSystem32WindowsPowerShellv1.0powershell.exe” for the Windows PowerShell program. Step 6: You can also utilize the Browse button and navigate through Windows Explorer to locate that particular executable file for the program. Step 7: Now make sure to use the file argument in the Add arguments field followed by the path of the file to be executed. It should look like this:

-file "C:/Users/Ayush/Desktop/Powershell Script Sample.ps1"

Step 8: Once done, click on OK to save the changes made and see if the task is still giving you an error or not. On the other hand, if you are still getting the same error, you can try to repair the Task Scheduler by deleting corrupted tasks. Note that a single corrupted file can cause big problems so this option is quite important. And for you to delete a corrupted task or any task from the Task Scheduler, you have to use the Registry Editor if you are not able to use the Task Scheduler interface. To do so, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the dialog box for Run.
• Next, type in regedit and click on OK or tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Then navigate to this path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheTree

Note: In this path, you can see all the tasks that are currently set in the Task Scheduler. And since it would be hard to tell which one of them is corrupted, you have to delete the latest one in Task Scheduler last. But before you do so, make sure that you take a note of the ID of the tasks. And for you to get the ID, you have to select the task you wish to delete and double click on the ID string located on your right-hand side, and then copy it in the Notepad.

• Right-click on the task name and then delete it.
• After that, delete the very same GUID which you have copied earlier from these folders:
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheBoot
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheLogon
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheMaintenance
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCachePlain
• ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionScheduleTaskCacheTasks

Note: You might not see the same GUID from these folders but if you see it, delete it right away.

• Next, navigate to this location: C:WindowsSystem32Tasks
• Delete the very same tasks you just deleted from the Registry Editor.
• Restart your PC and check if the Task Scheduler is back to its normal state or not.

If you were having some problems with your internet connection and you tried to run the Internet Connections troubleshooter but it displays an error message instead that says, “The default gateway is not available”, read on as this post will show you what you can do to fix this error. The first thing you can do to fix this error is to restart your computer and then try to run the Internet Connections troubleshooter again. However, if you still see the same error message, then you might want to troubleshoot the problem further. You can try to install the Network driver or reinstall the Network adapter drivers. You could also verify the power saving mode or reset TCP/IP as well as disable the Firewall temporarily.

Option 1 – Try installing the Network driver

The very first thing you can do to resolve the error is to install the network driver. It is a common solution to this kind of problem and most users encounter it right after a fresh installation of Windows 10. So if you have done this, then you need to install the network driver so that the network adapters can start working. You can find the network driver in the motherboard CD. On the other hand, if you are using a laptop, you might have to use another computer or mobile to download the network driver from the manufacturer’s website.

Option 2 – Update the Network Adapter drivers

If the first option is not applicable to you since you already have network drivers in your computer, you might want to update the Network Adapter drivers by following these steps:

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

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

You could also try to reinstall the network adapter driver, refer to these steps:

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

Option 3 – Try to verify power-saving mode

If you are using a Windows 10 laptop, then you should know that the Power Options panel plays an important role. So if you’re getting an error in your laptop, you have to check some settings that are related to the Power Saving mode. To do so, follow these steps:

• Open Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound and click on Power Options.
• Next, click on the “Change plan settings” option of your selected plan and then click the “Change advanced power settings” option.
• After that, you should see the Power Options window, and here, expand the Wireless Adapter Settings and Power Saving Mode.
• Now make sure that the Maximum Performance option is selected. If it’s not, select it and save the changes you’ve made.

Option 4 – Try to reset the TCP/IP

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

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

Option 5 – Temporarily disable Firewall

On the other hand, the error could also be due to the Firewall software installed on your computer. Thus, disabling them or any security software installed on 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 the error “The default gateway is not available” 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

Experiencing issues while using Remote Desktop connections is not uncommon. One of the issues that users encountered recently while trying to connect to their Remote Desktop network is the error saying, “Your credentials did not work, The login attempt failed”. If you are one of these users, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will walk you through fixing the problem. When facing this kind of problem, the first thing you can try before you do some troubleshooting steps is to verify the credentials. But if you are certain that you’ve entered the correct credentials just like what other users reported, then it’s completely a different matter. Based on the reports, this error is common on newly installed versions of Windows 10 or after reinstalling the operating system which could mean that the problem might be due to the Windows security policies or the username might have been recently modified. The latter case is a possibility especially if you’ve reinstalled Windows 10 and had entered a new username. In such a case, you will really have a difficult time connecting to your Remote Desktop connection since its credentials do not really automatically change. If you’ve verified that your credentials are correct, then now’s the time you troubleshoot the problem with the help of the potential fixes provided below. Just make sure that you follow each one of them in sequence.

Option 1 –Try to run the Network Adapter troubleshooter

To run the Network Troubleshooter, refer to these steps:

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

Option 2 – Try to change the network profile from public to private

According to some reports, this error occurs on systems where the network profile was set to public. Thus, you need to change the network profile to private to resolve the problem. How? Refer to these steps:

• Go to Start and from there click on Settings > Network & Internet > Status.
• Next, click on the “Change connection properties” option.
• After that, set the radio button of Network Profile from Public to Private.
• Wait for a couple of seconds until the system is done applying the changes you’ve made and then see if you can now connect to the Remote Desktop connection.

Option 3 – Try changing the account username

As mentioned, one of the possible causes for this error is the reinstallation of the operating system. You might have changed the username for the system but it does not really change the username of the Remote Desktop connection as well. Thus, you have to change the username back to what it was before you’ve reinstalled Windows 10.

Option 4 – Try modifying the Windows Security Policy

You can also try to edit the Windows Security Policy as it could help in resolving the error. This Windows Security Policy, when enabled, will not allow non-admin users to log on to the Remote Desktop connection. So if you want to allow non-admin users to use the Remote Desktop connection, then you need to modify this policy. Note that you can only do that if you are the admin of the system yourself.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility.
• Then type “secpol.msc” in the field and tap Enter or click OK to open the Local Security Policy.
• After opening the Local Security Policy window, select Local Policies > User Rights Agreement located on the left pane.
• Next, double click on “Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services” located in the right pane.
• And in the next window that appears, select Add user or group.
• After that, type in the username of the intended non-admin user under the “Enter the object names to select” column.
• Once done, click on the Check Names button to fix the username and then click OK to save the changes made.
• Restart your computer.

Option 5 – Use the Group Policy Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “gpedit.msc” in the field and tap Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• Next, navigate to this path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Credentials Delegation.
• Double click on the “Allow delegating default credentials with NTLM-only server authentication” policy setting located on the right pane to edit it.
• After that, shift its radio button to Enabled and click on Show.
• Then type “TERMSRV/*” in the Value box and click OK.
• Now repeat the same for the following policy settings:
  • “Allow delegating default credentials”
  • “Allow delegating saved credentials”
  • “Allow delegating saved credentials with NTLM-only server authentication”

• Once you’re done, restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed.

If you suddenly see a black border in your computer’s display then you might be wondering how come this happened but worry not for this post will give you a couple of suggestions that could help you resolve the problem. The black bar could appear at the bottom or just the sides of the screen. Whichever it may be, there are options you can check out. Refer to the options givens below and make sure to follow them carefully.

Option 1 – Try checking the screen resolution

You might want to try checking the resolution of your screen.

• Open the Windows 10 Settings and go to Display.
• Next, go for the “100% (Recommended)” option under Scale and layout for the size of the text, apps, and other items.
• After that, select the Recommended setting again under Resolution.

Now check to see if the black bars are still there. They should be gone at this point, but if for some strange reason nothing has changed, then attempt the steps below.

Option 2 – Try updating Graphics & Monitor drivers

You might want to try updating your graphics and monitor drivers if you haven’t updated them for some time now. To do that, refer to these steps:

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for the Graphics drivers or the Monitor drivers and then click each one of them.
• After that, right-click on each entry and select the “Uninstall Device” option from the menu.
• Now restart your computer.
• After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.

Note: You can also try to roll back the graphics and monitor drivers back to their previous versions if updating them didn’t work. You can also try visiting the manufacturer’s website and download the graphics or monitor driver setup for your operating system.

Option 3 – Try to run the DISM tool

You can also run the DISM Tool as it might also help in getting rid of the black border or bar on your Windows 10 computer. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth” which could help you resolve the problem.

• 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 – Troubleshot the problem in a Clean Boot State

There are some instances that some conflicting programs installed in your computer might be the one that’s causing the Black border issue. 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.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.