A Quick Guide to Fixing Files.exe Error

Recently, a number of users reported an error while trying to update their computers. This particular Windows Update error has an error code of 0x80073701. If you are one of the users who encounter this error, then read on as this post will guide you on how exactly you can fix it. Here’s the exact context of the error:

“Updates failed. There were problems installing some updates, but we’ll try again later. 2019-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1903 for x86-based Systems (KB4507453) – Error 0x80073701”

The Windows Update Error 0x80073701 also comes with a code “ERROR_SXS_ASSEMBLY_MISSING” which indicates that some system files are missing on your computer that caused the update installation failure error. Although this Windows Update error does not cause any severe issues, it is still being reported in the section of Windows Update where it is marked as “Update failed”. There are several potential solutions you can check out to resolve this error. You can try to run the DISM tool or the SFC or System File Checker scan. You could also try to run the Windows Update troubleshooter. For more information, make sure to follow the options given below.

Option 1 – Restart your computer and try installing the Updates again

Restarting your computer can also help in fixing the Windows Update failed to install error 0x80073701. There are cases where the issue resolves on its own as it could just be some simple network or PC error.

Option 2 – Try to run the DISM tool

Running the DISM Tool helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in this command: 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.

After you run this tool, a log file is created at C:WindowsLogsCBSCBS.log. On the other hand, if the Windows Update client is already broken, you will be prompted to use a running Windows installation as the repair source or use a Windows side-by-side folder from a network share, as the source of the files. Although the chances of this happening is less, if it turns out to be the case, you need to run an advanced command in the DISM tool to repair a broken Windows Update. Just repeat the process above but use the following command instead:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:RepairSourceWindows /LimitAccess

Option 3 – Try to run the System File Checker

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files that might be causing the error 0x80073701. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
• The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

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

• Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the Windows Update error 0x80073701. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

As you already know, the Windows Update mechanism in Windows 10 is a bit complex as it depends on thousands of files and services in order to properly function. There are DLL files and services that support this mechanism’s proper functioning. And so if there is any malfunction with any of these files or services, it will result in some errors when running Windows Update. One of these errors is the error code 0x8e5e0147 which has the following error message: “There was a problem installing some updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help – Error 0x8e5e0147” To fix this error, there are several methods you can try. You can run the Windows Update troubleshooter or reset the Windows Update components manually or clear the SoftwareDistribution folder and install the update manually. You could also reset the Windows Update Agent to default using a command in PowerShell.

Option 1 – Try to run the Windows Update troubleshooter

The first thing you can do to fix the Windows Update error code 0x8e5e0147 is to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 2 – Try to reset the Windows Update components

If by any chance that the third option didn’t work, you can also try resetting the Windows Update components as it could also help you resolve the Windows Update error. How? Refer to the following steps:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution/SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:/Windows/System32/catroot2/Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 3 – Try downloading and installing the Windows Updates manually

Windows Update error code 0x8e5e0147 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:

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

Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes. Option 4 – Try to reset the Windows Update Agent Since you can’t update the Windows Update Agent on your Windows 10 computer manually, you can try resetting it instead and you can do it using the Reset Windows Update Agent tool which you can download from the official Microsoft website. This tool allows you to:

• • Scan all protected system file and replace the corrupted one’s (sfc /scannow)
  • Scan, detect, and repair corruptions in Windows system image
  • Clean up superseded components
  • Reset Windows Update components

• Change invalid values in Windows Registry
• Delete temporary files

Moreover, this tool also allows you to carry out these operations:

• Open Internet Explorer settings
• Search for Windows Updates
• Explorer for local or online solutions
• Restart your computer

Microsoft just released Windows 11 Insider build 22000.71. Let’s dive in and see what it brings with you.

Changes and features

New entertainment widget. The entertainment widget allows you to see new and featured movie titles available in the Microsoft Store. Selecting a movie will direct you to the Microsoft Store to see more information about that title. Just open widgets and click or tap on the “Add widgets” button and choose the entertainment widget. For now, the entertainment widget is available for Insiders in the following countries: US, UK, CA, DE, FR, AU, JP. The new context menus and other right-click menus have been updated to use acrylic material. We are testing the usability of a SplitButton for making new folders and files in the File Explorer command bar. The Taskbar previews (when you mouse-over open apps on the Taskbar) have been updated to reflect the new visual design of Windows 11.

Fixes

Taskbar:

• We fixed an issue where if you drag app icons on the Taskbar to rearrange them, it was making the apps launch or minimize when you released the icon.
• Using a long press with a touch on an app icon in the Taskbar to open the jump list should now work.
• After right-clicking the Start icon in the Taskbar, clicking somewhere else should now dismiss the menu more reliably.
• Shift + Right-click on an app icon in the Taskbar will now bring up the window menu like it used to and not the jump list.
• We’ve addressed an issue that was making your mouse move slowly when hovering over the Taskbar previews.
• We’ve included the fix for an issue when using multiple Desktops where an app icon in the taskbar might give the appearance of multiple windows being open when that wasn’t the case on that Desktop.
• When using the Amharic IME you should no longer see an unexpected X next to the IME icon in the taskbar.
• The issue where if you click on the input indicator on the Taskbar and it would unexpectedly highlight Quick Settings has been fixed.
• When you hover over Task View, the preview flyout for your Desktops will no longer pop back up after using Esc to dismiss them.
• We made a fix to address an issue where explorer.exe might crash after hovering over the Task View icon in the Taskbar.
• We fixed an issue where the selected date in the calendar flyout was out of sync with the date in the Taskbar.
• We made an update to address a scenario resulting in some Insiders not seeing the lunar calendar text in the calendar flyout when enabled in Settings.
• This flight addressed an issue that could unexpectedly make the Taskbar background transparent.
• Right-clicking the focus assist icon in the taskbar should now show a context menu.
• The issue from the previous flight where icons in the taskbar corner were getting crushed against the top of the Taskbar has been addressed.
• The tooltip for the location in use icon in the Taskbar should no longer appear blank sometimes.

Settings:

• We fixed an issue making Settings crash on launch periodically.
• Using the volume mixer sliders in Sound Settings should be more responsive now, as well as the page responsiveness as a whole.
• We fixed an issue resulting in Disk and Volumes Settings’ change size option being clipped.
• There was a non-functional verify link under Backup Settings – this has been fixed.
• The Power and Battery Settings page should no longer be reporting that the battery saver is engaged if it’s not.
• The Power and Battery Settings page should also now not crash when launched from Quick Settings.
• We fixed a grammatical error in the Sign-in Settings text.
• The “I forgot my PIN” link was unexpectedly missing in Sign-in Settings when a PIN was set up and has now been returned.
• The issue where the Move option under Apps & Features in Settings wasn’t working reliably should be addressed in this build.
• We’ve mitigated a problem where some of the colors in Settings weren’t updating after switching between dark and light mode, leaving the unreadable text.
• We’ve done some work to help improve the performance of Settings when switching between light and dark mode.
• We addressed an issue where some of the elements of the Themes page in Settings would end up crowded together when the window size was small.
• We resolved an issue where the Pen menu toggle under Taskbar Settings was not in sync with the actual state of the feature.
• Changes made to “Dismiss notification after this amount of time” in Accessibility Settings should now persist.
• Some of the icons you could enable in Taskbar Settings were erroneously labeled Windows Explorer even though that’s not what they were – this should now be fixed.
• The Connect text in Quick Settings has been updated to say Cast.

File Explorer:

• Clicking the command bar button twice should now close any dropdown that appeared.
• The new command bar should now appear when “Open folders in a separate process” is enabled under File Explorer Options > View.
• This build addresses an issue where right-clicking a file and selecting Open With > Choose another app might launch the file in the default app rather than opening the Open With dialog.
• Fixed an issue the desktop and File Explorer context menu would stop launching.

Search:

• We fixed an issue where the option to verify your account in Search wasn’t working.
• Hovering over the Search icon on a secondary monitor will now show the flyout on the correct monitor.
• Search should now work if you open Start and start typing after having gone to the apps list and back.

Widgets:

• When using the Outlook client with a Microsoft account, Calendar, and To-Do updates should sync faster down to the widgets.
• We addressed an issue where if you added multiple widgets quickly from the widget's settings, it could result in some of the widgets not being visible on the board.
• We fixed a bug where widgets could all become stuck in a loading state (blank squares in the window).
• The traffic widget should now follow the Windows mode (light or dark).
• The title of the sports widget should no longer mismatch with the content of the widget.

Other:

• This build addresses an issue where ALT + Tab was getting stuck open sometimes after you released the keys and had to be manually dismissed.
• We made a fix for an issue where Narrator's focus wasn’t ending up on the emoji panel after using the keyboard shortcut to open it.
• Magnifier’s lens view has been updated so the lens now has rounded corners.
• We found an issue that was noticeably impacting Start launch reliability for some Insiders, and have addressed it with this flight.
• We’ve updated the “Most Used” text in the Start menu’s app list so it should no longer be getting clipped.
• Using the semantic zoom in Start’s app list should no longer result in the list being pushed down and to the right off the edge of the window.
• We fixed an issue where if you pressed ⊞ WIN + Z you would need to press Tab before you could use the arrow key to navigate through the snap layouts.
• We addressed an issue where an acrylic area could get left on the screen after repeatedly snapping and unsnapping a window with touch.
• We’ve done some work to mitigate an unexpected flash when moving a snapped window with touch.
• We made a change to help window borders have a little more contrast when “Show accent color on title bars and windows borders” was turned off.

Known issues in Windows 11 repaired

Start:

• In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press ⊞ WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.
• Based on feedback, we are working on adding access keys to ⊞ WIN + X so that you can do things like “⊞ WIN + X M” to launch Device Manager. Insiders may see this functionality in this build, however, we are currently investigating an issue in which sometimes the option is unexpectedly unavailable.

Taskbar:

• There is an issue in this build where Explorer.exe will crash when the date and time button on the Taskbar is clicked to access new notifications with Focus Assist turned off. The workaround for this is to enable Focus assist to priority or alarms mode. Note that when focus assist is turned on, notification popups won’t appear, but they will be in the notification center when opened.
• The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
• Taskbar previews may draw partially offscreen.

Settings:

• When launching the Settings app, a brief green flash may appear.
• When using Quick Settings to modify Accessibility settings, the settings UI may not save the selected state.
• The button to rename your PC doesn’t work in this build. If needed, this can be done using sysdm.cpl.
• Settings will crash when clicking “Facial recognition (Windows Hello)” under Sign-in Settings if Windows Hello is already set up.
• Reset this PC and Go back buttons in Settings > System > Recovery does not function. Reset and rollback can be accessed from the Windows Recovery Environment by selecting System > Recovery > Advanced startup, and pressing Restart now. Once in Windows Recovery, choose Troubleshoot.
• Choose Reset this PC to perform a reset.
• Choose Advanced options > Uninstall Updates > Uninstall latest feature update to perform a rollback.

File Explorer:

• exe crashes in a loop for Insiders using the Turkish display language when the battery charge is at 100%.
• When right-clicking the desktop or File Explorer, the resulting context menu and submenus may appear partially off-screen.
• Clicking a desktop icon or context menu entry may result in the wrong item being selected.

Search:

• After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.
• When you hover your mouse over the Search icon on the Taskbar, recent searches may not be displayed. To work around the issue, restart your PC.
• The search panel might appear black and not display any content below the search box.

Widgets:

• Widgets board may appear empty. To work around the issue, you can sign out and then sign back in again.
• Launching links from the widgets board may not invoke apps to the foreground.
• Widgets may be displayed in the wrong size on external monitors. If you encounter this, you can launch the widgets via touch or WIN + W shortcut on your actual PC display first and then launch on your secondary monitors.

Store:

• The install button might not be functional yet in some limited scenarios.
• Rating and reviews are not available for some apps.

Windows Security:

• Device Security is unexpectedly saying “Standard hardware security not supported” for Insiders with supported hardware.
• “Automatic sample submission” is unexpectedly turned off when you restart your PC.

Localization:

• There is an issue where some Insiders may be missing some translations from their user experience for a small subset of languages running the latest Insider Preview builds. To confirm if you have been impacted, please visit this Answers forum post and follow the steps for remediation.

That's is so far, the latest update information on Windows 11 insider build. Stay tuned for more information when it comes as it comes.

Update and Shutdown/Restart is not working. As you have probably noticed, every time a new update is released and is downloaded on your Windows 10 computer, the operating system replaces the Restart and Shut down button with “Update and Restart” as well as “Update and Shut down”. This is most likely done so that you won’t miss the update. However, some users noticed that there are times when these buttons still continue to display the same message even if they’ve already performed the required operations such as shutting down or restarting their PCs. Cases like this happen when an update wasn’t installed properly or has failed which is why your computer keeps on prompting you to Update and Shutdown every time. To fix this dilemma, follow the options laid out below.

Option 1 – Try restarting the File Explorer

Restarting the File Explorer can definitely help you fix lots of issues especially when there is some issue with the user interface including this one.

• On the right side of the Taskbar, right-click on any open spot.
• Then click on Task Manager.
• Next, scroll down until you see Windows Explorer.
• After that, right-click on it and select Restart.
• If you are able to kill its process, you have to tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “explorer.exe” in the field, and hit Enter to launch the Windows Explorer.

Option 2 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

As you know, Windows 10 has various auto-repair built-in tools to help users fix small issues which used to get fixed manually. And in this case, you will need the Windows Update Troubleshooter to fix the issue.

• Go to Settings and click on Update and Security.
• From there, click Troubleshoot and click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” option.
• After that, it will try to detect and automatically fix common issues in the Windows Updates which can be resolved by Windows itself. Note that the process may take several minutes before it completes so you need to wait until it’s done. Once it’s done, in case you have some pending update that wasn’t realized by the system early on, it will apply the fix right away and restart the Windows Update service.

Option 3 – Try setting the Power button to Shut down

In case the first two options didn’t work out, you can try changing what the power button does. To do that, refer to these steps:

• Go to Control Panel > Power Options.
• From there, select the “Choose what the power buttons do” option from the left side.
• Then set the Power button setting the “When I press the power button” option to “Shut down”. After that, it will shut your computer down without installing the updates but obviously, this is only a temporary fix.

Option 4 – Turn off your PC instantly without updating it

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type in “shutdown -s -f -t 0” in the field and hit Enter if you really want to turn off your computer without any delay.
• You could also tap the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select Shut down from the bottom right menu.

Just like the third option, this is also only a temporary fix.

Option 5 – Try running the Windows Module Installer

The Windows Module Installer is a built-in service in Windows 10 that allows you to fix the stuck Windows Updates in your computer. To use it, follow these steps:

• In the Cortana search box, type in “cmd” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
• Once you’ve opened Command Prompt as admin, type the SC config trustedinstaller start=auto command and tap Enter.
• After the command is executed, you will see the “[SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS” message displayed on the Command Prompt console.
• Now exit Command Prompt and then check if the buttons are now back to normal.

Option 6 – Put your PC in a Clean Boot State

• 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” checkbox 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 putting your PC in a Clean Boot State, try creating a system restore point and see if the problem still occurs. Clean Boot troubleshooting is designed to help you isolate the problem. For you to execute a clean boot troubleshooting, you must do a couple of actions (the steps are given above) and then restart your PC after every action. You might have to disable one third-party app after the other to really isolate the issue. And once you’ve narrowed down the problem, you can either disable the third-party app that’s causing the problem or remove it. Note that you must switch your PC back into the Normal Startup mode after you’re done troubleshooting the problem. Here’s how you can do it:

• From the “Start” menu, go to System Configuration.
• After that, switch to the General tab and click the option for “Normal Startup”.
• Next, go to the Services tab and clear the checkbox for “Hide all Microsoft services”.
• Then find and click “Enable all” and if prompted, you have to confirm.
• Afterward, go to the Task Manager and enable all the Startup programs and confirm the action.
• Restart your PC when prompted.

Error Code 80240020 – What is it?

Users who receive Error Code 80240020 when attempting to install and/or upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10, are receiving the error because the Windows 10 installation folder is either corrupted or unfinished. As a result of this error code, your download and the subsequent update will not process correctly. Users who receive this code do not have to do anything specific, as it might mean that they are attempting to update before their system is ready. These users can simply wait for their computer to prompt them for the update, and then follow the on-screen instructions for the update. However, if a user is seriously wanting to update to Microsoft Windows 10 prior to the prompt, there are ways around error code 80240020. Common symptoms include:

• A dialog box appears with the Error Code 80240020
• Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade is unsuccessful or freezes in the process of updating and displays the error code message.

Solution

Error Causes

This error is only caused by one type of issue, and that is unfinished or corrupted files being present in the Windows 10 installation folder.

• Files that are unfinished in the Windows 10 installation folder are a result of the download not processing correctly, therefore the update is not successful because your computer does not have the files that it needs.
• Files that are corrupted in the Windows 10 installation folder are a result of either a faulty download or preexisting corrupted files that need to be purged.

Until your system is ready to download the new Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade, you will be unable to install the upgrade. As stated, you have the option of waiting for your system to prompt you to download (which means that your system has made the necessary changes to its own files and is ready for the upgrade), or you can use the following steps to correct the issue yourself.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Users and Microsoft Tech Support personnel have discovered three methods to correct error code 80240020. Each of these methods should be attempted by someone who is comfortable with computer software and programs. Anyone who is not comfortable with software should either contact Microsoft Support or wait for their computer to prompt them for the Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade.

Method 1:

1. Back up the Registry of your operating system.
2. Find the Registry Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdateOSUpgrade]
3. Note: this Registry Key should already exist, if it does not exist, create it.
4. Create a brand new DWORD Value that is named AllowOsUpdate
5. Set the Value to 0x00000001.
6. Close and reopen your Control Panel.
7. Restart the Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade.

Method 2:

1. Download the Microsoft Windows 10 ISO (installation device) from the following website: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
2. Users must select the appropriate ISO, either 32 bit or 64 bit, depending upon their individual computer.
3. Extract the ISO file to a separate USB device or burn the program to a compact disc.
4. Run the Microsoft Windows 10 upgrade directly from the software that you have thus created.

Method 3:

1. Access the files on your computer via MY COMPUTER
2. Under the C: drive, access the WINDOWS folder
3. Select the SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION folder, followed by the DOWNLOAD folder.
4. Delete any files within this download folder.
5. If you are unable to delete these files, open the command prompt (CMD) as the administrator, and type “net stop wuauserv” into the CMD prompt window. Press ENTER. This should allow you to delete the files from step 4.
6. Once the files are deleted, open and run the CMD as the administrator and type “wuauclt.exe /updatenow”. Press ENTER.
7. Access the WINDOWS UPDATE folder from your control panel, the update and download should resume without further interference from the user.

As with any other error codes, if the above methods do not rectify the issue, it may be necessary to download and install a powerful automated tool to rectify error code 80240020.

OneXPlayer is a direct competitor to Valve’s upcoming steam deck. This device is clearly inspired by Valve’s offering and it shows all over the place, from its looks to its purpose and aims to PC gamers as a handheld device.

Hardware under the hood

This device is packing a 7-inch 1080p display, 11th generation Intel Core i7-1195G7 CPU, stunning 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD drive with the option to purchase 1TB or 2TB model. GPU of choice is Intel iris Xe Graphics that is in our opinion a bottleneck in the whole system and for more demanding games, we believe switching them to 720p would be a better option. Everything here is powered with a 10455 mAh lithium-ion battery.

OneXPlayer inputs and other stuff

Handheld is equipped with dual bumpers and dual linear triggers. The console comes with dual speakers on both sides of it. Inside the console, there is an aluminum heat sink with copper heat pipes and a fan in order to cool internal hardware. On the outside, we have two USB-C ports and one USB-A port for connections, and of course, a headphone jack for headphones. The console comes with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity.

Price

The base entry model will cost you a whopping $1.259, 1TB model $1.399 and 2TB one will go as far as $1,599. With this kind of price, I am not sure it can come up as a winner against Valve. Sure it is packing fully licensed Windows 11 that will for sure offer more options than Stem’s OS based on Linux but even with that advantage I do not think it justifies such a big price difference.

Conclusion

Of course, this kind of console or handheld PC will still find its customer base, many users will probably like it since it comes Windows ready out of the box. Sure, you can place Windows on Steam deck as well but you will need to know how, where everything is ready and you can run beside steam other launchers without issues like origin, uplay, gog, etc. How this will be accepted by community time will tell but it is good to see that there is variety and competition in handheld PC space.

Microsoft has started building a unified store with Windows 8 and later with Windows 10 in order to make it easier for users to get safer and more modern applications for their Windows 10 devices. This unified store is called the Microsoft Store which is tied up with the Windows Update. The delivery for them both are quite similar which is why they also have some common errors as well as fixes for them. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can fix error 0x80246019 for both Microsoft Store and Windows Update in your Windows 10 computer. The error 0x80246019 might be caused by corrupted system files or missing ones or be due to some glitch in the component services and other possible causes but whatever the cause is, you can fix it with the help of the following fixes, make sure to follow each one of them carefully.

Option 1 – Reset Windows Update components

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:WindowsSystem32catroot2 Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 2 – Toggle the Windows Insider Program settings

This option is only applicable to you if you are a part of the Windows Insider Program. If you are, then follow the steps below.

• First, you have to open Settings and go to the Update & Security section.
• From there select the Windows Insider Program.
• After that, select the “Stop Insider Preview builds” option and then restart your computer.
• Now open the Windows Insider Program again and check if it fixes error 0x80246019 or not.

Option 3 – Run the 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 error 0x80246019. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

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

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

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

 Reboot your computer.

Option 4 – Run the DISM tool

You can also run the DISM Tool as it helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth” which could help in fixing error 0x80246019.

• 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 5 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache

Just like browsers, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
• Next, type in the command, “wsreset.exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
• Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 6 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

You might also want to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing error 0x80246019. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

EasyPDFCombine is a browser extension by Mindspark Inc. This extension claims to offer users an easy and fast way to combine different PDF documents into a single file for easy access and sharing.

When installed this extension changes your default search engine to MyWay.com, it also hijacks your home page and new tab page, also changing it to search powered by MyWay. While browsing the internet with this extension you will see additional pop-up ads, injected ads in search results, and sponsored content throughout your browsing sessions. This extension has been marked as a Browser Hijacker by several anti-virus programs and it is not recommended to keep on your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijack is a common type of internet fraud where your web browser settings are altered to allow it to carry out things you do not intend. Browser hijacker malware is developed for a variety of reasons. In general, browser hijacking is used for earning ad revenue from forced advert clicks and website visits. While it may seem harmless, these tools were created by malicious individuals who always look to take full advantage of you, so that hackers could make money from your naivety and distraction. They not only screw up your web browsers, but browser hijackers can also modify the system registry, making your computer susceptible to other malicious programs.

How to know whether the web browser is hijacked?

There are many symptoms of browser hijacking. Here are a few of them: 1. the browser’s homepage is modified 2. you find yourself regularly directed to a different webpage than the one you intended 3. the main web browser settings are modified and undesirable or insecure resources are put into the trusted sites list 4. you are finding new toolbars you haven’t witnessed before 5. you see a lot of pop-up ads on your computer screen 6. your web browser gets sluggish, buggy crashes often 7. Inability to navigate to certain websites, especially antivirus as well as other security software websites.

How browser hijacker infects computers

Browser hijackers attack computers via malicious email attachments, downloaded infected computer files, or by checking out infected sites. They may also originate from any BHO, browser extension, add-on, toolbar, or plug-in with the malicious objectives. Also, certain shareware and freeware can put the hijacker in your computer through the “bundling” technique. A good example of a well-known browser hijacker is the most recent Chinese malicious software known as “Fireball”, which has infected 250 million computers around the world. It acts as a hijacker but can be turned into a fully functioning malware downloader later on. The presence of any browser hijacker malware on your system can drastically diminish the web browsing experience, monitor your internet activities that result in severe privacy concerns, develop system stability issues and ultimately cause your PC to slow down or to a practically unusable condition. How you can remove browser hijackers Certain browser hijacking can be easily stopped by finding and removing the corresponding malware program from your control panel. At times, it could be a challenging job to identify and delete the malicious program because the associated file will be running as part of the operating system process. You should think of doing manual repairs only if you’re a tech-savvy individual since there are risks associated with tinkering around with the system registry and HOSTS file. Browser hijackers could be effectively removed by installing and running anti-malware software on the affected PC. Among the best tools for fixing browser hijacker infections is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. It helps you remove any pre-existing malicious software in your computer and gives you real-time monitoring and protection from the latest threats.

What you can do if Virus Stops You From Downloading Or Installing Antivirus?

Malware could potentially cause all kinds of damage when they invade your system, starting from stealing your personal details to erasing data files on your PC. Some malware is meant to hinder or prevent things that you’d like to do on your PC. It may not allow you to download anything from the web or prevent you from accessing a few or all websites, especially antivirus sites. If you’re reading this, odds are you’re stuck with a malware infection that is preventing you to download and/or install Safebytes Anti-Malware software on your PC. Follow the instructions below to remove malware through alternate ways.

Download the anti-virus in Safe Mode with Networking

If the malware is set to run automatically when Windows starts, entering Safe Mode may block this attempt. Since only the minimal programs and services launch in safe mode, there are rarely any reasons for issues to occur. The following are the steps you need to follow to start into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (check out Microsoft site for instructions on Windows 8 and 10 computers). 1) At power-on/startup, hit the F8 key in 1-second intervals. This would conjure up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking using arrow keys and hit ENTER. 3) When this mode loads, you will have an internet connection. Now, get the malware removal application you need by using the web browser. To install the program, follow the directions in the setup wizard. 4) After installation, do a complete scan and let the software program delete the threats it discovers.

Utilize an alternate internet browser to download antivirus software

Some viruses might target vulnerabilities of a specific browser that block the downloading process. If you appear to have a virus attached to Internet Explorer, then switch to an alternate web browser with built-in security features, such as Firefox or Chrome, to download your favorite anti-malware program – Safebytes.

Install anti-malware on a USB drive

To successfully remove the malware, you should approach the problem of installing anti-virus software on the affected PC from a different angle. To run antivirus using a USB pen drive, follow these simple measures: 1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or MS Windows Defender Offline onto a virus-free PC. 2) Insert the USB drive onto the same computer. 3) Run the setup program by double-clicking the executable file of the downloaded application, with a .exe file format. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place where you would like to store the software files. Do as instructed on the screen to finish up the installation process. 5) Unplug the USB drive. Now you can utilize this portable anti-malware on the affected computer. 6) Double click the Safebytes Anti-malware icon on the pen drive to run the program. 7) Click on the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware - More Protection For You

In order to protect your PC from various internet-based threats, it is important to install an anti-malware program on your computer system. But with countless numbers anti-malware companies in the market, these days it is hard to decide which one you should purchase for your personal computer. A few are really worth your money, but many aren’t. While looking for anti-malware software, choose one that offers solid, efficient, and complete protection against all known viruses and malware. Among few good applications, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is the highly recommended program for the security-conscious individual. SafeBytes is a powerful, real-time antivirus application that is made to assist the common computer end user in safeguarding their PC from malicious internet threats. This program could easily detect, remove, and protect your personal computer from the most advanced malware threats including adware, spyware, trojan horses, ransomware, PUPs, worms, parasites as well as other potentially harmful software applications.

There are lots of great features you will get with this security product. Below are some of the features you may like in SafeBytes.

Live Protection: SafeBytes offers 100 % hands-free live protection and is set to observe, prevent and eliminate all threats at its very first encounter. It will continuously monitor your computer for hacker activity and also gives users superior firewall protection. World-class AntiMalware Protection: Using its enhanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware removal tool can find and remove the malware threats hiding in your computer effectively. “Fast Scan” Abilities: This software has got one of the fastest and most efficient virus scanning engines in the industry. The scans are very accurate and take a little time to complete. Web Security: SafeBytes checks and gives a unique safety rating to every single website you visit and block access to web pages known to be phishing sites, thus protecting you against identity theft, or known to contain malware. Very Low CPU and RAM Usage: SafeBytes gives total protection from internet threats at a fraction of the CPU load because of its advanced detection engine and algorithms. Premium Support: SafeBytes gives you 24/7 technical support, automatic maintenance, and upgrades for the best user experience. SafeBytes can keep your personal computer protected from most advanced malware threats automatically with little or no input needed from you again. There is no doubt that your computer system will be protected in real-time as soon as you put this software program to use. So if you are looking for the best anti-malware subscription for your Windows-based PC, we suggest the SafeBytes Anti-Malware application.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you’d like to manually remove EasyPDFCombine without the use of an automated tool, it might be possible to do so by deleting the program from the Microsoft Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browser’s AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You’ll probably also want to reset your internet browser. Finally, check your hard drive for all of the following and clean your Windows registry manually to get rid of leftover application entries following an uninstallation. Please keep in mind that only experienced users should try to manually edit the system files simply because deleting any single vital registry entry results in a major problem or even a computer crash. Additionally, certain malware is capable of replicating itself or preventing deletion. It is advised that you carry out the removal process in Safe Mode.

RAM drive is basically a hard drive made of your RAM memory. Altho this kind of drive can not and is not available to save any data when the computer is shut down its advantage is lightning fast speed since the application is installed in RAM itself, it is loading from there and executing from there. Creating this kind of drive which will use your RAM memory, well part of it can not be done natively in Windows, you will need some kind of application for this task. Luckily there is a free open source application for this kind of task. ImDisk, you can download the application here. ImDisk Toolkit is an application for managing virtual drives. It also includes a utility that allows the creation of RAM drives. Download the application and install it, make sure that you select all components on the installation selection screen. After installation is finished double click on icon labeled RamDisk Configuration. Once the application is running adjust the disk size in the box at the top of the window for your RAM drive. Click “OK” at the bottom of the window. This will create your RAM drive, which is just a virtual disk that’s assigned to your computer’s RAM. The process happens transparently, so there’s nothing you need to do. If you get a warning about shutdown settings, click on the “Shutdown Settings” button. Then unlock the settings pane with your administrator password. Finally, uncheck the checkbox next to “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” and click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the window. Your RAM drive is now ready for use. Fast Startup speeds up the process of turning on your computer by saving a system state between completely off and hibernation to your hard drive. This happens when the computer writes the contents of your RAM to a stable hard drive. As you may guess, this could mess with your RAM drive’s ability to preserve and track its data. With Fast Startup off, boots may take slightly longer, but it’s doubtful that you’ll notice much. Disabling a fast startup will satisfy the warning window, but let’s consider why. This will also allow ImDisk to save your RAM drive’s data to an image file when you shut down your computer. If you don’t, the contents of your RAM drive will be erased completely every time, with no saved image storage. It would also disable the RAM drive’s ability to load the previous content. Basically, the drive would act much more like RAM and much less like a disk. Depending on your use case, that may be disappointing or unusable. You can access and use it just like any normal hard drive. It shows up in Windows’s file explorer just like any other drive. However, a Ram drive is exponentially faster than traditional types of storage. And we mean exponentially. Whereas an SSD might offer 300 to 500 MB when reading from the disk, a RAM drive can offer more than 5000 MB, even on mediocre memory sticks.

Google fonts are a free open-source font library made to enrich web content and present end-user with a smooth web experience while surfing. Fonts are completely free for both commercial and personal use and they are not limited to use in WEB only, you can use them also in other projects like business cards, flyers, etc. In order to use google fonts first thing of course you will need to download them. In this guide, we will show you how to download and install google fonts.

• Go to the Google Fonts page.
• Select the font family that you wish to use. You can preview each font style to make double-sure it is the right one.
• When you are ready, click on the Download family button.

• A File Explorer window will pop up, asking you where to save the font family.
• The downloaded file will be compressed in .zip format to save bandwidth, so you will first need to uncompress/unzip it. Right-click on the file and select Extract all.

• You will then be asked where to unzip/extract the file. File Explorer will automatically create a new subfolder, named as the file name, so all you need to do is confirm it by clicking Extract.

• Click on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your desktop

• Select the Personalization category and Fonts.

• Split the screen between File Explorer and Settings by dragging the windows to either the left or right edge of the screen. Select all the font files by pressing CTRL + A and drag them into the Add fonts box.