Things that are killing your WI-FI signal

RadioRage is a potentially unwanted application developed by Mindspark Inc. This browser add-on is compatible with Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome and claims to enhance the Internet browsing experience by allowing users to listen to their favorite music via the installed toolbar.

RadioRage Toolbar is categorized as adware since it infiltrates computers and after successful installation, this browser extension redirects browsers to home.tb.ask.com. And changes your default search engine to myway.com.

While active on your computer RadioRage collects user information such as browsing data, website clicks, and sometimes even sensitive user information, that it later sells / forwards to its ad distributors.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is regarded as the internet’s constant risk that targets web browsers. It’s a type of malicious software that modifies your internet browser’s settings so that you are redirected to websites or pages that you had no intention of checking out. They are made to interfere with browser programs for many different reasons. These are typically used to force visitors to a specific website, manipulating web traffic to generate ad revenue. Most people assume that the browser hijacker is just a harmless website but that is not the case. Nearly all browser hijackers pose an actual threat to your online safety and it is necessary to classify them under privacy dangers. In a much worst case, your browser can be hijacked to download malicious software that will do a great deal of damage to your PC.

Key signs that your web browser has been hijacked

The typical signs that signify having this malicious software on your computer are: 1. your web browser’s home page is suddenly different 2. you get re-directed to internet sites you never intended to visit 3. The default search page of the browser is modified 4. you see multiple toolbars on the web browser 5. you might notice many pop-up ads on your screen 6. web pages load slowly and sometimes incomplete 7. you cannot go to specific sites such as home pages of security software.

So how does a browser hijacker infect a PC

There are many ways your computer could become infected with a browser hijacker. They typically arrive by way of spam email, via file-sharing websites, or by a drive-by download. They may also be deployed through the installation of a web browser toolbar, add-on, or extension. Some internet browser hijackers spread in user’s computers by using a deceptive software distribution method known as “bundling” (often through freeware and shareware). Well-known examples of browser hijackers include Conduit, CoolWebSearch, Coupon Server, OneWebSearch, RocketTab, Searchult.com, Snap.do, and Delta Search. Browser hijackers might record user keystrokes to collect potentially valuable information leading to privacy concerns, cause instability on systems, drastically disrupt the user experience, and finally slow down the computer to a point where it becomes unusable.

Browser hijacker removal methods

One thing you can try to eliminate a browser hijacker is to locate the malware within the “Add or Remove Programs” list of the Windows Control Panel. It might or might not be there. When it is, try to uninstall it. But, the majority of hijackers are really tenacious and require specialized tools to get rid of them. Inexperienced PC users should never attempt the manual form of removal, as it demands detailed system knowledge to carry out repairs on the computer registry and HOSTS file.

What To Do If You Cannot Install Any Anti-virus?

Every malware is detrimental and the effects of the damage will vary based on the specific kind of malware. Some malware is meant to restrict or prevent things that you wish to do on your computer system. It may well not permit you to download anything from the internet or it will prevent you from accessing a few or all websites, especially the anti-virus sites. So what should you do if malware keeps you from downloading or installing Anti-Malware? Refer to the instructions below to eliminate malware through alternate methods.

Use Safe Mode to resolve the issue

If the malware is set to run at Windows start-up, then booting in Safe Mode should avoid it. Only the bare minimum required applications and services are loaded when you boot your computer or laptop into Safe Mode. Listed below are the steps you need to follow to eliminate viruses in Safemode. 1) At power on, hit the F8 key before the Windows splash screen begins to load. This will bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Select Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and press ENTER. 3) As soon as this mode loads, you will have an internet connection. Now, get the malware removal software you want by utilizing the browser. To install the application, follow the guidelines in the installation wizard. 4) As soon as the software is installed, allow the scan run to eliminate viruses and other threats automatically.

Switch over to some other web browser

Certain viruses might target vulnerabilities of a particular browser that block the downloading process. When you suspect that your Internet Explorer happens to be hijacked by malware or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the ideal plan of action is to switch over to a different web browser such as Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to download your favorite computer security application – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Run anti-malware from a pen drive

Another approach is to download and transfer an antivirus program from a clean PC to run a virus scan on the infected system. Follow these steps to employ a flash drive to fix your infected system. 1) Make use of another virus-free computer system to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Insert the pen drive onto the same computer. 3) Run the setup program by double-clicking the executable file of the downloaded software, with a .exe file format. 4) Select the USB flash drive as the destination for saving the file. Follow activation instructions. 5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected computer. 6) Double click the Safebytes Anti-malware icon on the pen drive to run the software. 7) Hit the “Scan” button to run a full computer scan and remove viruses automatically.

Let's Talk About SafeBytes Security Suite!

These days, anti-malware software can protect your laptop or computer from various forms of online threats. But wait, how to select the right one amongst several malware protection software that’s available in the market? Perhaps you might be aware, there are many anti-malware companies and tools for you to consider. Some are really worth your money, but many aren’t. When looking for anti-malware software, purchase one which gives solid, efficient, and complete protection against all known computer viruses and malware. One of the recommended software programs is SafeBytes AntiMalware. SafeBytes carries a really good reputation for top-quality service, and clients seem to be very happy with it. SafeBytes anti-malware is a highly effective and user-friendly protection tool that is designed for end-users of all levels of computer literacy. This application could easily detect, remove, and protect your personal computer from the most advanced malware attacks including spyware, adware, trojan horses, ransomware, PUPs, worms, parasites as well as other possibly damaging software programs. There are numerous amazing features you’ll get with this particular security product. Listed below are a few of the great ones: Real-time Protection: SafeBytes gives you round-the-clock protection for your computer limiting malware intrusions in real-time. It’ll continuously monitor your laptop or computer for hacker activity and also gives end-users sophisticated firewall protection. Antimalware Protection: Built upon a greatly acclaimed antivirus engine, this malware removal application is able to find and remove several obstinate malware threats such as browser hijackers, PUPs, and ransomware that other common anti-virus applications will miss. Web protection: SafeBytes checks and gives a unique safety ranking to every site you visit and block access to webpages considered to be phishing sites, thus protecting you from identity theft, or known to contain malicious software. Light-weight: This application is not “heavy” on the computer’s resources, so you’ll not find any performance problems when SafeBytes is working in the background. 24/7 On-line Tech Support: Support service is accessible 24 x 7 x 365 days via email and chats to answer your questions.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to manually remove RadioRage without the use of an automated tool, it may be possible to do so by removing the program from the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browsers AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You will likely also want to reset your browser. To ensure the complete removal, manually check your hard drive and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for advanced users only and may be difficult, with incorrect file removal causing additional PC errors. In addition, some malware is capable of replicating or preventing deletion. Doing this in Safe Mode is advised.

The following files, folders, and registry entries are created or modified by RadioRage

If you suddenly encounter the SPECIAL POOL DETECTED MEMORY CORRUPTION Blue Screen error with a bug check value of “0x000000C1” while you are using your computer then it might be due to some problem with the hardware of your Windows 10 computer. According to security experts, it is most likely caused by the physical RAM which could be due to some error in the Realtek driver for Wireless USB 2.0 as well as corruption of the files inside the RAM, and so on. This kind of problem indicates that the driver wrote to an invalid section of the special pool. On the other hand, system files like the rtwlanu.sys or nvlddmkm.sys can also trigger the SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION Blue Screen error. To resolve this Blue Screen error, you can use the options provided below as reference but before you do that, make sure to create a System Restore point first. After you have that covered, proceed to the given options below.

Option 1 – Delete the settings of the Driver Verifier Manager

• Open the Driver Verifier Manager using the Start search.
• After that, select or click on the “Delete existing settings” option and then click on Finish.
• Reboot your computer and see if it fixes the Blue Screen error or not.

Option 2 – Try to update or rollback your Network driver

If you have updated the driver software as of late and you suddenly got this BSOD error, you might have to roll back the device driver – in other words, switch back to the previous working version. To do that, follow 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 it.
• From the list of Network Drivers, look for “Realtek <Model> Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC” and then right-click on it and select Update Driver.
• Restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the BSOD error.

Note: If you see any of the following entries under the Network drivers, you might want to download their latest available versions from each one of their manufacturer’s websites.

• Realtek High-Definition (HD) Audio Driver
• Realtek Card Reader Driver
• Realtek Local Area Network (LAN) Driver

On the other hand, if updating the Network driver didn’t help, you can also try to roll back to its previous version.

• Open the Device Manager again and then look for Network Drivers.
• Next, select Realtek <Model> Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC from the list of Network Drivers and then double click to open a new mini window.
• After that, make sure that you’re on the Driver tab and if you are not, just navigate to it then click the Roll Back Driver button to switch back to the previous version of the Realtek driver.
• Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 3 – Try running the ChkDsk utility

You can also run the ChkDsk utility to fix the SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION Blue Screen error.

• First, open This PC and right-click on your operating system partition for Windows.
• Next, click on Properties and navigate to the Tools tab.
• Then click on Check under the Error Checking section.
• After that, a new mini window will be opened and from there click on Scan drive and let it scan your disk drive partition for any errors and then restart your computer.

Option 4 – Use the Windows Memory Diagnostics

Since the problem has something to do with the physical RAM, you need to use Windows Memory Diagnostics. To run it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type 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.

Note: After you select the option, your PC will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them.

Option 5 – 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 SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION. 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.

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

“The boot configuration data store could not be opened”

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

Explanation

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

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

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

Option 2 – Try to specify the BCD file

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

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

Option 3 – Try to rebuild the BCD files

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

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

In case you don’t know, Microsoft Edge, the new default browser of Windows 10, is equipped with the essential tools that are needed to help web developers in testing their websites in the Edge browser. However, it is not without its flaws as there are instances when you could also encounter some errors when using DevTools. One of these errors is the “An error occurred while starting the profiling session” error. You can see this error message in the DevTools Memory Panel, worry not for this post will help you resolve it. A memory panel is one that primarily measures your memory resource usage and compares heap snapshots in different states of code execution. The Memory panel also provides profiling of three different types, such:

• Head Snapshot
• Record Allocation timeline
• Record Allocation profiles

Using a memory panel, you can find issues that affect the page performance in the most common scenarios like bloats and memory leaks. There are two steps you need to carry out to fix this error that’s associated with the Memory Panel of Microsoft Edge (Chromium) DevTools. First, you need to access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service. Second, you need to restart this service. For detailed steps, follow the instructions provided below. Step 1: Access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service To access the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK.
• This will open the Services Manager. Here, look for the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Service from the Services panel that opens on the right-hand side.

Step 2: Now restart the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Hub Standard Collector Service

• After accessing the Microsoft (R) Diagnostic Standard Collector Service, right-click on it and select the Restart option.
• Once it’s done, exit the Microsoft Edge Developer Tools as well as the tab.
• Next, open a new tab and navigate to your page and tap the F12 key.
• Now, try to check if profiling begins.

It is common to run multiple programs and applications at the same time and it’s important to be able to switch between them using their Taskbar icons or using the usual Alt + Tab shortcut. However, there are times when you might suddenly find that neither of the aforementioned methods worked and you will no longer be able to switch between programs in the Windows Taskbar. To fix this issue, refer to the options given in this post. For instance, when you have multiple instances of Microsoft Edge running and every time you press the Alt + Tab combo nothing happens so you are left with no choice but to minimize everything and then hover your mouse on the icon and switch between the instances of Edge. You will also notice that the right-click on the taskbar won’t respond back and will only keep on showing the loading circle icon. Here are a few tips you can follow to fix the issue with the Windows 10 Taskbar.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Windows Explorer

This is one of the basic things you can try as restarting Windows Explorer helps in refreshing the user interface and makes most of the things work in relation to the user interface.

• To get started, tap the Alt + Ctrl + Del keys to pull up the Windows Task Manager.
• After opening Task Manager, look for “explorer.exe” under the list of programs.
• Once you find the explorer.exe, right-click on it and click Restart.

Option 2 – Try changing the Foreground Lock Time

Aside from restarting Windows Explorer, you could also try changing the Foreground Lock Time to fix the issue with the Taskbar.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type in regedit in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, go to this registry key – HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
• Next, change the ForegroundLockTimeout value from200000 to 0. After that, it will make sure that no other application will take away the focus from your current program or application. It could be that some other application has taken away the focus and even when you try to actually switch, the focus gets back to the old one. Anyhow, since you already changed the value of ForegroundLockTimeout, it will ensure that the focus is not switched.

Note: If you are running some Full-Screen applications there are some devices especially the gaming ones, disable the Windows key to make sure that you won’t be able to switch. If this is the case, you need to make some modifications to the Full-Screen games.

If an error suddenly pops up that states, “A problem prevented the document from being scanned” when you’re scanning a document in your computer, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how exactly you can fix the problem. A lot of users have reported that they receive a two-layer error message when they try to scan their documents – the first screen throws an error message that says, “Error applying Settings to Driver” while the next error message states, “A problem prevented the document from being scanned”. As a result, the scanning won’t be completed which defeats the whole process of buying a printer with a scanner. As you can see the two error messages point to two different situations, while the other one is pointing at the driver, the second one points to the scanning problem. To resolve these issues, there are several suggestions you need to check such as follows:

Option 1 – Run the Printer Troubleshooter

One of the first basic troubleshooting you can perform to resolve the printer issue is running the Printer Troubleshooter. This built-in troubleshooter can detect and automatically fix the problem for you. To use it, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “msdt.exe /id PrinterDiagnostic” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the Printer Troubleshooter.
• Then click the Next button and follow the next on-screen instructions to fix the issue with the printer.

Option 2 – Try updating the Printer drivers

You might also want to try updating your printer drivers. All you have to do is locate the USB Composite Device. For complete details, follow the steps below.

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the USB Composite Device option and right-click on it, and select the Update Driver from the options.
• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

Note: You also have the option to download the latest version of your Printer from the manufacturer’s website.

Option 3 – Try to reset the settings of the Printer or reinstall it

If none of the two options given above worked, you can try to either reset the printer settings or reinstall the printer so that it can go back to its default state. However, if it doesn’t work, you can try to uninstall the printer as well as its related drivers. To do so, follow these steps:

• First, go to Settings > Devices > Printer and Scanners.
• After that, select the printer and select the Remove Device option.
• Once done, restart your computer and check again and see if the error is now fixed.

Option 4 – Try to modify the Registry settings for the Still Image devices

In case you don’t know, Windows has Registry settings for the Still Image devices like Scanners and Printers. And these devices have vendor-specific settings that if ended up getting corrupted or misconfigured then you will most likely encounter errors like “A problem prevented the document from being scanned”. Thus, to fix this error, you can try modifying the Still Image devices registry settings, and to do that, you need to follow the instructions below but before that, make sure that you create a System Restore Point first.

• Once you’ve created a System Restore point, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field, and then hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStillImage
• From there, right-click on the “StillImage” registry key and delete it.
• After that, exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
• Once your computer has restarted, Windows will recreate the settings of the Still Image devices back to their default settings.

When you try to open a website but instead encounter an “Access Denied, You don’t have permission to access on this server” error message along with the ULR which you aren’t able to access with a reference number, then it is most likely caused by some network-related issue in your browser. Note that this error mostly occurs on Firefox browsers. The “Access Denied” error appears when your Mozilla Firefox browser uses a different proxy setting or VPN instead of what’s really set on your Windows 10 PC. Thus, when a website detected that there is something wrong with your browser cookies or your network, it blocks you which is why you can’t open it. To resolve this error, here are some suggestions you can try. And if you got the same error message on a different browser, you can still follow the possible solutions given below.

Option 1 – Try clearing everything about the website

• Open your browser and tap the Ctrl + H keys on your keyboard.
• After that, look for the listing of the website from your browser history and right-click on it.
• Then select the “Forget about this site” option. This will get rid of all the data such as browsing history, cache, cookies, and passwords. Thus, if you have a password saved or other important data of the website, you have to save it first before you tap the Ctrl + H keys.

Option 2 – Try disabling the VPN

As pointed out earlier, if you are using VPN, this could be the reason why you’re getting the “Access Denied” error so the most obvious thing to do is for you to turn off the VPN and try to run the Windows Update once more. And if you use a VPN software that works using their software, you can just completely exit or log-off from its account. On the other hand, if you are using a built-in Windows 10 VPN, you can simply turn it off or delete all the settings you have created there.

Option 3 – Uninstall the VPN service you are using or use a different provider

If you disabling the VPN service worked in fixing the “Access Denied” error, you might want to uninstall it. As mentioned, website administrator blocks IP ranges if they notice any malicious activities and because of this, your IP address might fall into the banned range even if you didn’t do anything at all. To uninstall the VPN service, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box
• Then type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
• From there, look for the VPN service you are using, select it and then click on Uninstall to remove it.
• After that, restart your computer and try to install the latest version of the program again. It should work now. If not, proceed to the next available option below.

Option 4 – Try disabling the proxy server for your LAN

If your PC was just attacked by some adware or malware as of late, it is possible that it has changed the network settings in the system and might display spam advertisements. Thus, you have to disable the proxy server for your LAN. To do that, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
• After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
• From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
• Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
• Restart your PC.

Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it.

Microsoft allows its users to download a copy of Windows to install on PCs. However, when you enter the key after the installation and you got the Activation Error 0xC004F212 instead, then it means that the license key and the Windows version you’ve just installed, do not match. When you encounter this error, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“The product key used on this PC didn’t work with this edition of Windows. Activation Error 0xC004F212.”

Every time Microsoft generates a license for a copy of Windows, it is associated with one particular Windows variant. Windows comes in many editions like Enterprise, Home, Professional, and so on. For instance, if you bought a license for Windows 10 Enterprise but you have installed Windows 10 Professional instead, then the activation will surely fail and you’ll encounter the Activation Error 0xC004F212. You will be asked to select which edition you want to install when you reinstall Windows 10 using a digital license. If you opted for an edition other than the one you are licensed to use, then you will most likely get the Activation Error 0xC004F212. If you have purchased your license key from a store or some website, you might want to check back with them about the exact version of Windows. Doing so will help you narrow down the problem. And if you have second thoughts about the license key’s validity, you can just reach out to a Microsoft Support agent to check the validity of the license key. Also, if have bought it from the store, there should be an option to get a refund. That way you can choose to buy the right version of Windows.

Option 1 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

The first thing you can do to resolve the Activation Error 0xC004F212 is to run the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:

• 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.

The Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter will determine if your license key is a valid Windows 10 digital license for an edition that is not currently installed. If it turns out that it’s not, then the troubleshooter will show you how to install the correct edition.

Option 2 – Try forcing Windows 10 ISO to use the right version

You can also try to force Windows 10 ISO to use the correct version depending on the product key. Note that this option only works between Windows 10 Home and Professional version since they both have a common ISO. So if it’s Enterprise, then this option won’t work for you.

• Extract the Windows 10 ISO files using an extractor.
• Then browse to the folder you created and go to the sources folder.
• From there, you need to create a text file named “PID.txt” and make sure to follow the exact format given below:

[PID] Value=xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Note: “xxxxx” is the KEY to your Windows version.

• Next, you need to create the ISO again or bootable media that will repack everything and then create the Media file. You can use the Media Creation tool for this.

Note: Windows will check the key during the installation and will figure out the right version of Windows.

Option 3 – Contact Microsoft Support for assistance

If you’re at your wits’ end in trying to update your Windows 10 computer, you should consider contacting Microsoft Support for help as they can offer you various options that would make fixing Windows Activation Error 0xC004F212 a lot easier and faster.

If you find that your headphones are suddenly not working, read on as this post will help you sort out the problem. There could be several reasons why your headphone is malfunctioning, it could be due to an update you just installed, or it could also be due to incompatible operating system, drivers, and so on. Although updates are created to fix bugs on a computer, there are times when it also causes some issues in the computer. One of the issues it causes is the broken headphone. When this happens, the computer will stop playing any audio using the headphones. The problem, as pointed out, could be due to Windows Updates or incompatible or corrupted drivers in the system. To resolve this problem with the headphones, there are several fixes you can check out. Make sure that you follow each one of the given potential fixes below.

Option 1 – Try to set the headphone as the default device manually

There are times when you plug a headphone, it does not toggle the default audio device. Thus, to fix this issue, you have to set the default audio device to the headphones manually. To do that, follow these steps:

• First, right-click on the volume icon located on the system tray.
• Next, select the Open sound settings option to open the Sound section in the Windows 10 Settings app.
• After that, go to the Output section and select Headphones for the “Choose your output device” option. This should fix the problem for you.

Option 2 – Try to update, rollback or reinstall the Audio driver

If the glitch in your audio has something to do with software, chances are it might be related to the audio driver – it could be that the newest version of your Windows 10 does not work well with the old version of the driver. This is why you have to update your audio driver to the newest available version.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type in MSC and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• Expand the section for the outdated device drivers.
• And then select the outdated driver(s) and right-click on it/them.
• From the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
• Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Restart your PC after the installation.

Note: If updating the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the website of your PC manufacturer and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.

Option 3 – Try checking the status of the audio-related Windows Services

The Windows Services manages audio for all Windows-based programs and if this service is stopped, audio devices, as well as effects, will also be affected and if this service is disabled, any services that depend on it explicitly will fail to start. So you need to check the status of this service. How? Follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type in “MSC” in the field and tap enter to open the Windows Service Manager.
• Next, navigate down to the Windows Audio Service and double-click on it to open Properties.
• After that, set the Startup Type to Automatic and then click on the Start button and if it has already started, stop it and then start it again.

Note: You should also make sure that the following Dependency Services are started and have Automatic Startup type:

1. Remote Procedure Call
2. Windows Audio Endpoint Builder

You should also start the Multimedia Class Scheduler and set it on Automatic if you have it in your system. The Multimedia Class Scheduler Service or MMCSS is a service in Windows that allows multimedia applications to get prioritized access to CPU for time-sensitive processing like the multimedia applications as well as prioritized disc access to make sure that the process does not lack data to process.

Option 4 – Try running the Playing Audio Troubleshooter

Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the headphones. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even on the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10. Run this troubleshooter and see if it can fix the issue or not.

Option 5– Try to rollback or install a newer Windows Update

As mentioned earlier, the issue with the headphones could be due to a Windows Update. Thus, to fix the problem, you can try to either roll back or install a newer Windows Update.

Computer upgrades are the most common and most efficient ones. RAM upgrade is one of the easiest ones you can do and the most common ones but even as simple an upgrade as this one can cause certain issues. If you are experiencing error 0164, memory size decreased after RAM upgrade we are offering you solutions on how to fix this particular error and get your computer back in working order.

1. Change BIOS settings

   Enter your motherboard BIOS (usually by pressing the del key on startup) Load BIOS defaults Save changes and exit If the Error 0164: Memory size decreased issue persists even after loading setup defaults, then it must be configured manually inside the BIOS.

2. Clear CMOS

   Follow the instructions precisely:
   • Turn off all peripheral devices connected to the computer.
   • Disconnect the power cord from the AC power source.
   • Remove the computer cover.
   • Find the battery on the board. The battery may be in a horizontal or vertical battery holder or connected to an onboard header with a wire.
   If the battery is in a holder, note the orientation of the + and – on the battery. With a medium flat-blade screwdriver, gently pry the battery-free from its connector. If the battery is connected to an onboard header with a wire, disconnect the wire from the onboard header.
   • Wait one hour, then reconnect the battery.
   • Put the computer cover back on.
   • Plug the computer and all devices back in.
   • Power on the computer.