What is Trojan Kryptik and what does it do

Shortcut virus is an easily spreadable and annoying combination of Worm and Trojan that hides all of your files and folders and then replaces them with shortcuts that look identical to replaced files and folders. Once disguised it will wait patiently for a user's click and once that happens it will replicate itself and further infect the system. This rapid spread can lead to stolen personal data, some system hick-ups, and other system-related issues. This malware mainly affects physical file transfer devices like for example and most USB drives, hard drives, and SD memory cards and it can easily transfer itself to the computer. The advantage of this shortcut virus comparing it to others is that it is mostly undetected by a vast variety of antivirus software. So running just anti-virus software maybe not be enough to remove it from your system. Luckily for all unfortunate users that have caught this annoyance, it can be easily removed fully manually in a short time.

How to Remove Virus from USB and other removable media

Firstly plugin USB, SD, or removable drive. The infection will transfer to your computer when the infected drive is plugged in so before we go to clean the computer itself, clean each removable drive that you have. Also know that infection will spread from computers into removable devices as well if it is not cleaned. Open the File Explorer and remember under which letter is removable drive registered. Open Command prompt but with administrator privileges and go to infected rive by typing its letter followed with “:” (for example D:) and press ENTER Once you have successfully gone to infected drive type in command prompt: Attrib -s -r -h /s /d *.* This will unlock all original files back into removable storage, next copy all files to your computer, and format the removable drive. Once the format is complete, unplug the removable device. Continue to clean all devices with the same method.

How to Permanently Remove a Shortcut Virus from Your PC

Now once we have cleaned all removable devices it is time to fully clean the PC Firstly open the task manager ( CTRL + SHIFT + ESC ), in the process tab find wscript.exe or wscript.vbs, right-click on it (or both if present), and select End Task. Now close the task manager and press Start. Inside start typing in registry editor to search for it and once found open it. Find the following key inside the registry editor: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run In the right panel, look for any strange-looking key names, such as odwcamszas, WXCKYz, OUzzckky, etc. For each one, run a Google search to see if it's related to shortcut viruses. If any returns a positive match, right-click on them and select Delete. !!! Accidentally deleting an important key can cause Windows to become unstable, so double-check everything !!!. Close the Registry Editor Now press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog and type in it Msconfig followed by ENTER. Once the System Configuration window opens go to the Startup tab. In the Startup tab, look for any strange-looking .EXE or .VBS programs, select each one and click Disable. Close the Window. Once again open the run dialog and type inside %TEMP% and press ENTER in order to open the Windows temp folder. Inside this folder delete everything. Next in the File explorer go to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup Look for any strange-looking .EXE or .VBS files and delete them.

If you encountered an error message that says, “Unhandled exception has occurred in your application”, when you start your Windows 10 computer, read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix it. This kind of error usually appears in a Microsoft .NET Framework window and it mostly pops up as soon as you turn on your computer. Here’s the complete context of the error message:

“Unhandled exception has occurred in your application. If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue. If you click Quit, the application will close immediately.”

When this error occurs, your computer may freeze or display other suspicious behavior at times. Either way, there are several options you can check out in this post to resolve this issue, so read on. This kind of error could be caused by several factors. It could be due to your antivirus program or other third-party programs installed on your computer. It is also possible that the installation of the Microsoft .NET framework id corrupted or some of its installation files are corrupted. Thus, to fix the error, there are a few suggestions you need to follow such as:

Option 1 – Try to temporarily disable your anti-virus program

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

Option 2 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

As pointed out, it is possible that some third-party program or service is the one that’s behind the problem. To isolate this possibility and to identify the culprit, you have to put your computer into 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.)
• Once your computer has restarted, check if the error is now gone. If it is, then the culprit is some third-party program. Thus, you have to enable the third-party programs one by one to find out which one of them is causing the the “Unhandled exception has occurred in your application” error.

Option 3 – Try to run a System File Checker scan

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files with good system files that might be the cause why you’re getting the “Unhandled exception has occurred in your application” error. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right-click on the appropriate search result.
• Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

• Now restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 4 – Install and update Dependencies

There are times when programs and applications need to have drivers and supporting software installed for them to properly work. Although the installation usually takes care of it, it’s time for you to do some manual check especially if you are getting this issue of abnormal program termination.

• Install some qualified drivers – A number of high-end games and applications need to have correct and valid drivers for them to work. They just don’t work with general drivers though. Microsoft has this Windows Hardware Quality Labs testing also known as WHQL testing which makes sure that drivers meet the correct experience and pass through the proper testing before certification. Thus, when installing drivers, you need to ensure that they are qualified drivers for your Windows 10 PC.
• Download and install or Update DirectX – As you know, Microsoft DirectX is a suite of technologies developed by Microsoft to provide hardware acceleration for heavy multimedia applications like HD videos and 3D games. Since you are using Windows 10, you have the DirectX 12 version while the earlier Windows versions use the DirectX 11 version.
• Install the Microsoft DirectX End-user runtime – The Microsoft DirectX end-user runtime gives updates to version 9.0c as well as previous versions of DirectX. To install it, click on this link and download it.
• Update or install the .NET framework – The .NET framework is used by games and applications during development which means that without the runtime files that are installed in your computer, it definitely won’t work. Thus, you need to install or update this framework. You can also use the .NET setup verification tool to verify it.

In an operating system, it is ideal for an administrator to have permission to access all the folders and files. However, there are times when you try to access the security settings or attempt to view the properties of a file, you could encounter an error saying, “You do not have permission to view this object’s security properties, even as an administrative user”. This kind of error may be caused by several reasons. For one, if your computer is infected with a virus or malware which might have caused some changes to the concerned folder or file. It could also occur if a program or service is using the folder or file simultaneously which explains why you’re not able to access the system. It could also be that the folder or file might have been owned by a user account that no longer exists or you might not have the permissions to view the targeted folder or file even though you’re logged in as administrator. To fix the “You do not have permission to view this object’s security properties, even as an administrative user” error, here are some options that might help.

Option 1 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

You can also troubleshoot the problem in a Clean Boot state. It could be that there are some third-party applications in your computer that’re preventing you from accessing security settings or properties of a file and to isolate this possibility, you need to boot your computer in a Clean Boot State and then try installing the program again. Putting your computer in this state can help you identify which program is the culprit and thus isolates the problem. In a Clean Boot state, your computer will start using only the pre-selected minimal set of drivers and startup programs. Note that you have to disable and enable one process at a time.

• 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.)
• After you’ve set your computer into a Clean Boot State, try to check if the error is now fixed and that you can now view the Properties.

Option 2 – Try booting your computer into Safe Mode and delete inactive users

Aside from the Clean Boot State, you can also reboot your computer in Safe Mode and then delete all the inactive users. There are instances when the folder was created or owned by a user account that’s either deleted or inactive now and so you need to get rid of these inactive user accounts to resolve the error.

• First, boot your computer in Safe Mode.
• Then right-click on the concerned folder or file and select Properties.
• Next, select Advanced in the Security tab and click on Add.
• A new window will appear and from there, click on “Select a principal”.
• And then type the name of the user to who you wish to give permissions in the “Enter the object name to select” box.
• Now select Check Names and this would resolve the user name.
• After that, click OK to save the settings. This will close the window and take you back to the previous one.
• Next, from the drop-down menu, change the Type to Allow and select the Full Control checkbox.
• Click OK to save the changes made and then restart your computer in a normal mode.

Option 3 – Try to take ownership of the folder or file

Another thing you can do to fix the problem is to take ownership and force the system into giving permissions to the Administrator. How? Refer to these steps:

• Type “command prompt” in the Windows Search bar and then right-click on the relevant search result and select “Run as administrator”.
• After that, if a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed.
• Next, type and enter this command: TAKEOWN /F <path>
• Note that the <path> is the location of the folder or file in File Explorer.
• Now type and enter this second command: ICACLS <path> /grant administrators:F
• Finally, once the command has been executed, restart your computer and then see if you can now access the folder or file.

Option 4 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender

As mentioned, the error when accessing the security settings or properties of a folder or file might be due to a virus or malware. It could be that it had made some modifications that prevents you from accessing security settings or properties. To eliminate it, you have to scan your computer using security programs like Windows Defender.

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
• Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
• Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
• Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.

If you suddenly get a message telling you that “Your Windows license will expire soon, You need to activate Windows in Settings” on your Windows 10 computer but you know that your Windows 10 is already activated. Worry not for this post will help you get rid of that error message right away. Before you get started, make sure that you have the Windows product key with you. If you don’t, you can get it by running the following command in an elevated Command Prompt:

wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey

Take note of the product key and then proceed to the options given below.

Option 1 – Try activating Windows 10 again or use another product key

• If you’re sure that you have the correct product key, click the Go to the Settings button.
• After that, click the Activate button once again.
• If you have another license key, you can also use that as well, just simply click on the Change product key.
• Then enter the new product key and click on Activate. That should fix the problem, if it doesn’t, refer to the next option below.

Option 2 – Try to reset the licensing status

• Click the Start button and then type “cmd” in the Search box and then tap Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.
• Next, type the “slmgr –rearm” and hit Enter to reset the licensing status.
• Restart your computer and check if the error is now gone or not.

Option 3 – Try uninstalling the product key and re-enter it once more.

• The first thing you have to do to uninstall the product key is to know the Activation ID of your Windows installation. To do so, open an elevated Command Prompt and type this command, and hit Enter – vbs /dlv
• After you enter the command, you should see the licensing status and Activation ID. And to get all the Activation IDs of all the installed Windows versions, key in this command and hit Enter – vbs /dlv all

Note: The “/dlv” parameter will give you the license information for the installed operating system.

• After you enter the second command, you should see a Windows Script Host window with all the Windows licensing and activation status. Take note of the Activation ID.
• Next, in the same elevated Command Prompt, type this command – slmgr /upk <Activation ID>

Note: In the third given command, “/upk” stands for “uninstall product key”. This parameter uninstalls the product key of the current Windows edition.

• Restart your PC. After that, your computer will be in an unlicensed state so you need to re-enter the product key again.

Option 4 – Try rebuilding the Tokens.dat file.

The issue might be caused by a corrupted Tokens.dat file. The Tokens.dat file is a digitally signed file that stores most of the Windows Activation files so if it is corrupted then no wonder you’re having activation issues. To rebuild the Tokens.dat file, refer to these steps:

• From the WinX Menu, open an elevated Command Prompt.
• After opening Command Prompt, you need to type each one of the following commands and after you type each command, hit Enter.
  • net stop sppsvc
  • cd %windir%ServiceProfilesLocalServiceAppDataLocalMicrosoftWSLicense
  • ren tokens.dat tokens.bar
  • net start sppsvc
  • exe %windir%system32slmgr.vbs /rilc
• Now restart your computer.

Option 5 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

• 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.

Option 6 – Try activating Windows 10 via 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.

Recently, a lot of users experience issues after the Windows 10 v1903 upgrade and one of them is that the Cortana Web Preview is not functioning like it’s supposed to. Even though Microsoft has already replaced the unified search where you no longer have to use Cortana, it is still undeniably useful and is packed with some great features, one of which is the Web view. Each time you type a search query, it will open a web view where you can see the results using Bing. However, some users reported experiencing some issue wherein the web view does not show anything and appears to be broken and users have to click on the Open in Browser link. Thus, if you are one of the users who experience the same problem, then this post is for you – it will guide you on what you can do if the web preview in Cortana is not working on your Windows 10 device. To fix the Web Preview issue in Cortana, you can try to restart Cortana or reset it using the Windows Settings app or change the Search filter level. You could also try to run the Windows Store App troubleshooter or re-register or reinstall Cortana. For more details refer to the options provided below.

Option 1 – Try to restart the process of Cortana

There are times when the running process of Cortana might encounter an error and breaks a particular component of the whole service so the first thing you can do is to restart Cortana’s process in the Task Manager.

• Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
• Next, go to the Processes tab and look for Cortana’s entry.
• Once you find it, right-click on it and select the End task option.
• Afterward, open Cortana again and see if it fixes the web view problem or not.

Option 2 – Try changing the search filter level

The next thing you can do to fix the Web View is to change the search filter level. All you have to do is go to Settings > Search and change filter level and from there, modify the search filter level and then see if it fixes the problem.

Option 3 – Run the Windows Store App troubleshooter

The Windows 10 Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the Web Preview problem in Cortana. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app issues. To use the Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

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

Option 4 – Try to reset Cortana via Settings

• Launch the Windows 10 Settings app and go to Apps > Apps & Features.
• Next, look for the entry of Cortana on the right-side panel and select it.
• After that, select the Advanced options and then select the Terminate button under the Terminate section.
• Once done, click on the Reset button under the Reset section.
• Restart your PC.
• After your computer boots, launch Cortana again and check.

Option 5 – Try to re-register and reinstall Cortana

If none of the options given above works, you must consider reinstalling Cortana.

• First, right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows Powershell (Admin) option from the list.
• Next, type the following command and hit Enter to execute it:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

• After that, execute this second command to reinstall Cortana:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml"}

• Restart your computer and check if the Web Preview in Cortana is now working.

Recently, a number of users reported an error when they tried to open graphic-intensive apps like video games. According to users, when they tried to open an app, they get the “Display driver failed to start” error instead. Thus, if you encounter the same error, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how exactly you can fix it. Here’s the full content of the error message:

“Display driver failed to start; using Microsoft Basic Display Driver instead. Check Windows Update for a newer display driver.”

This kind of error could be due to several factors. It is possible that it could be a result of a corrupted or outdated graphics driver. Aside from that, it could also be due to some issues with the system settings. Worry not though for there are potential fixes that can help you fix the problem. But before you troubleshoot the problem, you need to update your Windows 10 computer first and if it didn’t help fix the problem, then here are the potential fixes that should help resolve the “Display driver failed to start” error.

Option 1 – Try to restart the Graphics driver

Although Windows 10 can recover the graphics driver on its own when it crashes, there are times when it fails to do its job. To restart the graphics driver in your computer, simply tap the Win + Ctrl + Shift + B key combination. After that, the graphics driver will be back in less than a second.

Option 2 – Try running the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

Running the built-in hardware and devices troubleshooter can also help you in fixing the “Display driver failed to start” error.

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

Option 3 – Try to update or rollback the Graphics driver

You can try to update your Graphics card driver using the Device Manager in your computer to resolve the “Display driver failed to start” error or you can also go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it. To update your Graphics driver via Device Manager, 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 Display Adapters and click on them.
• After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters 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.

Option 4 – Try setting your system for maximum performance

If the first three options didn’t fix the error, you can try setting your computer for maximum performance since Windows 10 allows you to choose the effects you want to activate your system and you can do this by adjusting the performance ratio. Adjusting the performance ratio can be done via a certain setting in your computer – and this setting should be set to “Maximum Performance” to resolve the error.

• In the Windows Search bar, type in “performance” and from the search results that appear, select the “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows” option.
• Next, a mini window will appear and from there, click on the radio button that says, “Adjust for best performance”.
• Once done, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. This should resolve the problem.

Driver Verifier is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that monitors device drivers on your computer, if it detects issues with drivers, it will attempt to fix the issue. If you are encountering Blue Screen for a Driver and after running Driver Verifier you get another with message DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION ten follow this article step by step in order to solve it. There is a chance that you will maybe even have to do this in safe mode, if that is your case, login into safe mode and proceed, otherwise proceed normally.

1. Update Device Drivers

   the most common issue with the blue screen is old Drivers, in most cases, graphical drivers, update all Drivers with the latest versions and see if this will resolve the issue.

2. Stop or uninstall Virtualization software

   Virtua machine software is a great way to have a safe environment and to experiment while preserving your Windows installation intact, however sometimes due to the nature of these applications they can be a case for blue screen errors. Stop virtualization software to see if it will remove the issue. If that is the case, try another virtualization application

3. Disable Driver Verifier

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu Click on Command Prompt (admin) Inside command prompt type: verifier and press ENTER Select the Delete existing settings radio button Click Finish Reboot your computer

4. Reset Driver Verifier

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the secret menu Click on Command Prompt (admin) Inside command prompt type: verifier /reset and press ENTER Reboot your computer

5. Use system restore

   Rollback Windows to the previous state where everything was working fine.

Spring is almost here and with spring comes work, nature wakes up, people wake up, no more heating bills, time to start working, and time to start cleaning your PC. Good day everyone and welcome to another tip & trick for your PC. This time we are talking about cleaning your PC and keeping it up to software tight so you are ready for the upcoming spring season. Thank you for being with us and let's start:

Uninstall applications that you are not using

The unused applications can cause many issues for PC, from taking unnecessary disk space to even causing slower boot times if they have active services that require to be all-time up and running. They could slow down other applications like file explorer if they have extensions installed into them and can take RAM space with their background processes. If you are not using a particular application anymore or do not plan to use it soon it is always best practice to delete it from the system and thus removing all services and processes that go with it freeing so much-needed RAM and disc space.

Remove browser extensions you do not need

Browser extensions like applications can cause some issues with PC performance. if you spend a lot of time on the internet browser extensions can slow down browser and page loadings, they can make browsers take up more RAM memory and if they are outdated they could even present a serious security threat. Best practices are to keep only the extensions that you need all time, maybe some password managers or similar, extensions that you use on a daily basis, the rest should be uninstalled.

Remove things from the startup

Many services are booted along with Windows itself, some of them are crucial to the system even working, some not so. By eliminating not-needed services from the startup menu you will make sure that your boot times and overall performance of the system are in healthy form and that your PC is more responsive.

Organize files, folders, and desktop

The speeding of computer is not the only thing that you need to take care of, in order to be prepared and have maximum efficiency you will need to organize your files and folders as well. In a working environment, we often tend to save and place files all over the place, and in time they clog up desktop and hard drives. If the files are not well organized we will lose precious time trying to find anything that we need and require, so instead of wasting your time in locating files, why not organize them for easy and logical search so you can access them easily when needed.

Clean taskbar and start menu

Taskbar and start menu as well can be clogged with icons and non-organized application shortcuts and document shortcuts. Remove everything you do not need for that tidy and easily accessible access.

Sort bookmarks

It is very likely that you have plenty of bookmarks saved in our browser. It is also very likely that these bookmarks are not sorted and organized and now would be a great time to do it. Like files bookmarks also can cause you a lot of time loss if you need to find a specific one in a sea of many.

Run disc cleanup

Built-in disc cleanup utility will find temporary files, unused ones, and plenty of other junk on your hard drive. Now would be a great time to run it and get rid of junk files from your system.

Physically clean your computer

Now when we have taken care of the software part of our computer and system, it is time to clean up the computer itself. Unplug your computer and clean it, we will not go into details of this procedure, there is already an article on our site which deals with this part in detail so look it up if you need assistance with this part.

Clean your peripherals

Besides the computer for effective and pleasant work take care of your screen, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. All of these devices need to be dust-free and clean if you expect them to behave on top of their game. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

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

What is a catch?

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

Conclusion

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

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.