Fix Copy & Paste issue in Windows 10

The “Unknown Hard” error that keeps on appearing in Windows 10 can put users in an unpleasant situation. This kind of error leads to the freezing of the taskbar, blackening of the screen, and sudden disappearance of the icons on the Desktop. And each time you try to open Windows, the system will only give you an error message saying that it’s a critical error and some applications like Start and Cortana won’t work. Upon analysis, it seems that the “sihost.exe” is not responding and that it is the one that’s causing the c000021a Unknown Hard error to pop up. Sihost.exe files represent the Shell Infrastructure Host which is an essential component in the Windows operating system. The Windows Shell Infrastructure Host is primarily responsible for handling some graphical elements of the operating system interface such as the Start menu and the taskbar transparency. And so if the Shell Infrastructure or Sihost.exe has stopped, has been removed, or corrupted, you will most likely have issues with the overall functionality of the Windows operating system and you’ll get the Unknown Hard error In addition, the ctfmom.exe Unknown Hard error may also occur due to incompatible drivers installed on your PC. Ctfmom is a process that identifies inputs such as handwriting, languages, and many more. It’s the one that controls the functions of background behavior. To resolve this issue, you need to first try to identify which application is the one that’s running the sihost.exe file. And if needed, you need to either update or reinstall or completely uninstall the problematic application.

Option 1 – Try to run the System File Checker

The SFC Scan or System File Checker, us a built-in utility in Microsoft Windows that can be found in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. This tool allows users to scan and restore any corrupted system files in Windows that might be causing the Unknown Hard error to appear. Before you use this tool, make sure to find out whether the sihost.exe on your computer is a Trojan that you have to remove or if it’s a file that belongs to a trusted Windows application. Once you have that sorted out, follow the steps 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.

Option 2 – Try to use System Restore

You can also try using System Restore. This is one of the ways you can use it to back up your PC. Since restore points are created automatically each week by System Restore, you can use System Restore to restore your computer back to an earlier good point in time.

Option 3 – Try to troubleshoot the error in a Clean Boot State

Putting your PC in a Clean Boot state can help you diagnose and troubleshoot the issues in your system. During this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the Unknown Hard Error.

• 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” checkbox.
• 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.

Location services is a built-in tool in Windows 10 is a useful tool that offers users location information even when your laptop or desktop computer does not have a GPS since it uses Wi-Fi positioning as well as your device’s IP address. However, there are instances when you might encounter some problems when using this service. One instance is when you suddenly find the toggle button for Location service greyed out. This kind of program could be due to some glitch in the system or some third-party application on your computer. Because of this problem, you won’t be able to toggle the Location service on or off and you won’t be able to make any changes in its settings. Worry not, for this post will guide you on what you can do to fix the greyed-out toggle button of Location services in Windows 10. Before you perform some troubleshooting steps, you might want to restart your computer and see if it fixes the problem. If it didn’t, then this problem is not just some minor glitch. Thus, you have to follow the potential fixes provided below to fix the problem but before you do that, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. After that, follow each one of the following options.

Option 1 – Put your PC in a Clean Boot State

The first thing you can do to resolve the problem is to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. It could be that there is a third-party program that’s preventing the toggle button from functioning. To isolate this possibility, you need to put your computer 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” 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.)
• Now check if you can now use the toggle button of the Location service or not.

Option 2 – Try to use the Registry Editor

If putting your computer in a Clean Boot state didn’t fix the problem, you might want to make some adjustments in the Windows Registry via Registry Editor.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServiceslfsvcTriggerInfo
• From there, select the Key (folder) named as “3” and right-click on it, and then delete it.
• Once done, exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Option 3 – Try to use the Windows Services Manager

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
• Next, look for the “Geolocation Service” entry from the list of services.
• Once you find it, right-click on it and select Properties. This will open a new mini window.
• From there, make sure that it is “Running” and its Startup Type is set to “Automatic”.
• After that, close the Services Manager and check if the problem is now resolved.

Option 4 – Try to use the Group Policy Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and click OK to open the Group Policy Editor.
• After that, navigate to this path: Administrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsLocation and Sensors
• Next, double click on each one of the following settings and select the “Not configured” or “Disabled” option.
  • Turn off location scripting
  • Turn off location
  • Turn off sensors

• Once done, navigate to this path: Administrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsLocation and SensorsWindows Location Provider
• From there, double click on the “Turn off Windows Location Provider” policy setting and set its configuration to either “Disabled” or “Not configured”. You should see the following description of the policy setting in the window:

“This policy setting turns off the Windows Location Provider feature for this computer. If you enable this policy setting, the Windows Location Provider feature will be turned off, and all programs on this computer will not be able to use the Windows Location Provider feature. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, all programs on this computer can use the Windows Location Provider feature.”

• Now restart your computer.

In case you don’t know, a teletype network, also known as Telnet, is a protocol that is meant for internet or LAN communication which is used primarily to control other computers effortlessly. And it is available as a command-line utility in Windows and helps users in opening a command-line interface for the remote computer. However, a lot of users have reported an error that states, “Telnet is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file” when you try to use it. If you are one of these users, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how to fix this error in Windows 10. This kind of error means that the Telnet utility is not installed on your computer but Telnet is a default feature in Windows 10 so the protocol mainly is not enabled yet. The Telnet client is disabled by default in Windows 10 and to fix this error, you can try to enable the Telnet Client via Programs and Features or try to install Telnet using an elevated Command Prompt.

Option 1 – Try to enable the Telnet Client via Programs and Features

The first thing you can do is to enable the Telnet client using Programs and Features since it is disabled by default. To do that, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features window.
• Next, select the “Turn Windows features on or off” from the options given on the left-hand side.
• After that, look for the Telnet client from the list and check the checkbox next to it and then click on OK to save the changes made.
• Now restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try to install Telnet via an elevated Command Prompt

If enabling the Telnet client using Programs and Features didn’t work, then you can try to do it using Command Prompt instead. To get started, follow the steps given below.

• In the Windows Search bar, type “command prompt” in the field and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results, and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Next, execute this command to enable the Telnet client: dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient
• Once the command has been executed, close the Command Prompt and restart your computer.

Having a PC is a great thing, more often we are enjoying it than we have issues, but as time passes it seems that our computer is slowing more and more as new applications and games are coming which demand more powerful computers. Before you decide to throw away your computer and buy a new one because you feel it is a bit slow, read through this guide where we will guide you to common tips & trick to make your PC run faster:

1. Keep your PC clean and tidy

   Slowdowns and many other issues, even hardware failures can come from dirty PC. Make sure your PC is clean and tidy for maximum performance.

2. Optimize airflow through PC casing

   Airflow is very important so your GPU and CPU and overall all hardware components can be kept in optimal working temperatures. If any device inside the casing is working in abnormal temperatures you will experience slowdowns and freezing on daily basis. Make sure that all fans are working and that your temperatures are in the optimal range to prevent overheating and make sure to have maximum performance.

3. Check PC for malware

   Viruses, worms, and overall all malware can drastically reduce system performance. Make sure that your protection software is up to date with the latest definitions and that you have the latest Windows updates installed.

4. Create a Hi-Performance power plan

   Windows power plans can be a very useful feature, especially if you are working on laptop but in order to boost performance and drain maximum, you will need to switch to a hi-performance power plan.

5. Free space on the system drive

   Having little to no space on your Windows system drive can lead to extreme slowdowns, make sure that your hard drive is not on red when viewed from File explorer or you will experience even 50% poorer performance.

6. Choose startup applications

   If you have many applications starting up with your Windows and many of them running in the background you will experience performance issues. Each application that runs in the background is taking RAM and CPU time for themselves which could be free and used for the program that you need.

7. Do not open too many tabs in Browser

   Having too many tabs in Browser while working on a computer can also cause slowdowns, each tab is taking RAM for itself and even can cause Browser poor performance if a tab is LIVE and refreshing with new content all the time.

8. Remove browser extensions

   Speaking of browser, having too many installed extensions which are active as soon as the browser is up and running can also lead to poor performances. Remove all which you really do not need and your computer will gain in speed.

9. Make hardware upgrade

   Sometimes your system is just a little outdated, upgrading more RAM or switching to a new SSD with the greater speed can cause a world of difference in PC performance. Check to see how RAM is standard and upgrade accordingly, you can also upgrade the CPU and other bottlenecks in your system this way instead of completely buying a new PC.

10. Format and reinstall system

    Drives, application traces, registry entries, etc. are piling up in your system over time, and if enough time is given it will clog your computer. From time to time it is a good idea to backup files and do a completely clean full format of HD and install a new and fresh copy of Windows with new and clean copies of applications and drivers.

That's it, 10 tips on how to make your Windows and PC perform better and speed it up. I hope that you found the read informative and helpful and I hope that I will see you soon.

Valve has officially announced that Steam Deck will be compatible with Windows 11 despite TPM 2.0 Microsoft requirements. From the beginning, Deck was announced like a mini handheld PC device. Powered with new Steam OS 3.0 based on Linux. However, besides out-of-the-box OS it was also stated that Deck will be a personal device meaning that other PC-based operating systems could be installed on it and even run your typical applications in it. Since Microsoft announced Windows 11 hardware requirements, specifically the TPM 2.0 requirement many users voiced concern that Steam Deck will not be able to connect to Windows 11 TPM 2.0 is something that Microsoft requires for every internal and hardware component that is to connect on a Windows 11 device. This is to ensure that only trusted devices would be included in the array of a PC setup and avoid any problems like malicious hardware injecting software into a system. This would also minimize the compromise Windows would have, as unverified or untrusted devices connect to a Windows PC. However, Valve and AMD are ensuring us that Deck will not have any issue connecting to a PC running Windows 11 or even if you wish to transform Deck itself into a Device running Windows 11.

Razer had some strange dives into stuff not really aimed at gamers and the gaming community overall like its Zephir smart mask and now it is venturing into the area of smartwatches teaming up with Fossil. I am not clear if this initiative was set in motion by Razer or Fossil and I really do not know why limited production numbers. Officially named RAZER X FOSSIL GEN 6 SMARTWATCH, this watch comes with the official following text on Razer's page:

Way more. Way faster. Way ahead of the game. Get time on your side with the limited-edition Razer X Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch—only 1,337 pieces worldwide. Designed for the next generation of gamers, supercharge your style with customizable straps, dials, Razer Chroma™ RGB effects, and more.

Now, I am a fan of Razer and I like their products, mostly keyboards and mouse altho chair is also very good and in top of the product line in that field but I can not really stand behind this product and decision, and the only reason why I can not stand behind it is this 1337 (leet, or elite) a limited number of available pieces that is nothing more than a gimmick to sell watches at a higher price. Watch itself is not really bad, as a matter of fact, it has some solid hardware statistics.

Technical characteristics

Featuring a 1.28-inch AMOLED Display with 3 unique Razer watch faces (Analog, Text, Chroma*), 4 customizable Razer Chroma™ RGB effects, and 2 custom-designed, interchangeable straps, this Razer's baby is packing 44mm, Stainless Steel case with 22mm, straps. It runs on Wear OS by Google as an operating system of a choice and under software, it is packing Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ CPU paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB Storage. The display is running at 416x416 resolution with 326ppi. Watch input is with 2 configurable Push buttons, One rotating Home button, touchscreen, and voice. It has in it a loudspeaker, microphone, and vibration. Connection is via Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC SE, and Wi-Fi. The battery can in their word work for 24 Hr + multi-day Extended Mode **Varies based on usage and after updates install**. USB data cable with magnetic dock snaps to split rings on the watch case back and spins 360 degrees for ease of use. Approximately half an hour to reach 80%. Sensors included in the watch itself are: Accelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Compass, Gyroscope, Off-body IR, PPG Heart Rate, SPO2. Smartwatch is water-resistant up to 3 ATM & it comes with preloaded apps like: Agenda, Alarm, Battery-Optimized Activity Mode, Calendar, Cardio Level Tracking, Cardiogram, Contacts, Enhanced Phone Dialer App, Google Assistant, Google Fit (Workout, Heart Rate, Goals, Breathe), Google Maps, Google Pay™, Google Play Store, Nike Run Club, Noonlight, Smart Battery Modes, Spotify, Stopwatch, Timer, Translate, Wellness Apps with Sleep Tracking.

Conclusion

Watch is Dropping on 01.10.22, 8 AM PST which is 4 days from now and altho it is an interesting device with solid hardware I can not stand behind it due to its limited edition numbers and with $329 price tag. With the same amount of money, you can get yourself Samsung or Apple watch with more features packing. But of course, that is just my personal preference and if you want to own this limited edition Razer smartwatch, go for it.

0x000000A5 - What is this Error Code?

0x000000A5 is a stop error code also referred to as a blue screen of death error code. It is related to Advanced Configuration and Power Interface basic input/output system in Windows. It often leads to a sudden system shut down or your system may restart unexpectedly. Blue error codes like 0x000000A5 are the most severe and dangerous types of errors Windows can encounter. Ignoring 0x000000A5 error pop-ups and not repairing it timely can result in system crashes, valuable data loss and system failure.

Solution

Error Causes

The 0x000000A5 error code occurs particularly because of the ACPI BIOS error. This error message on your computer screen indicates that the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) BIOS of the computer is not compatible with your Windows system and is not fully compliant with the ACPI specifications. BIOS is a set of software. Through this software, the operating system communicates with the computer’s hardware devices. The ACPI is a part of BIOS and the Windows operating system. It is the standard for the way BIOS works. The presence of ACPI in the BIOS on a given Windows system determines whether the system can make full use of features such as Power Management or Plug and Play. Here’s what happens: traditionally, ACPI BIOS implementation tries to manipulate hardware resources directly through BIOS code for hardware functionality nonetheless if the ACPI-based BIOS is not compliant with the ACPI standard on your system, it may not support workable communication between the operating system and the hardware. This results in imbalance as the operations cannot be synchronized which results in system shut down, system instability, and machine failure. As a warning stop error 0x0000000A5 is displayed on the screen.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To fix the error message 0x0000005A on your PC you don’t need any professional assistance. Solving such blue screen errors in just a couple of clicks is not possible with Restoro This is a multi-functional and feature-filled registry cleaner and system optimizer that helps PC users resolve practically every type of system instability issues and registry errors including BSoD errors like 0x000000A5. It offers a comprehensive suite of utilities including registry cleaning, privacy issue detection and repair, system stability error identification, and Active X and Class issues detection. This innovative and advanced PC fixer is designed to ensure and deliver optimum system performance. It scans and detects causes for 0x000000A5 error code and repairs them in seconds. It has a neat and intuitive layout and easy navigation which makes this repair tool extremely user-friendly. Users of all levels are it novice or experienced can use it with ease and fix all types of PC-related errors like 0x000000A5 right away with no hassle. ACPI BIOS Error can be quickly resolved with this tool. This error tool offers outstanding compatibility. It is practically compatible with all Windows versions.

Restoro download

To get started all you have to do is click here to install the Restoro on your computer. Once it is installed, run it to scan for 0x000000A5 error code. After scanning is complete, click the repair button to repair this issue immediately. For user safety and data security, Restoro also creates backup files. This ensures that no valuable data is lost during system repair. So, don’t delay in resolving error 0x000000A5 error code; install Restoro on your system today!

Error code 0x803f7000 -What is it?

Error code 0x803f7000 refers to an issue in Windows 10 with downloading apps through Windows Store. When you choose the app or game to download, it heads to Downloads in the Store app. Then it says it is acquiring a license but then fails. When you click the “See details” link, you see the error code 0x803F7000. It could mean that the date and time or region settings in your Windows 10 are incorrect or there are some problems with the Windows Store Cache.

Symptoms

• This error appears when you are running Windows 10 and trying to download an app through the Microsoft store. The error code may appear with this message: “Something went wrong. The error code is 0x803f7000, in case you need it”
• You might also see this message along with the error code: "It looks like you've reached your device limit for installing apps and games from the Store on your Windows 10 device. If you want to install apps and games from the Store on another Windows 10 device, remove a device from the device list."

Solution

Error Causes

There may be several reasons for this error:

1. This problem may arise if the date and time in Windows 10 are incorrect.
2. If the region has been set incorrectly.
3. Problems with Windows store cache.
4. Windows store server overloaded.
5. The Windows version you are using is pirated.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Method 1:

Correcting date and time:

• Open up Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region.
• Then click on Date & Time.
• Now click on Change date & time to correct your time.

Method 2:

Correcting region:

• Navigate to Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region.
• Then click on Region.
• Then click on the Location tab.
• Now set your actual region from Home location section.
• Click Apply & OK.

Method 3:

Resetting Windows Store:

• Press Windows Flag Key + X from your keyboard. Then select Command Prompt (Admin). It will launch Command prompt as administrator.
• Then type wsreset and hit Enter.
• Wait for a few seconds. It will automatically open Windows Store.
• Then try to download any apps.

Method 4:

1. Open Command prompt in local machine and type in the Windows Store reset tool exe
2. Activate Windows by going to Settings>Updates and Security
3. Run the Modern UI/metro app troubleshooter from Microsoft
4. Keep trying it several times.
5. Try changing locale and time zone to the United States as shown below
6. Go to control panel, Language settings
7. Select location to the United States
8. This will reset the language to US English. After this try downloading the apps again.
9. Try restarting the Windows Updater service or restart the machine once.

You must make sure that you have a good internet connection. You need that for the updates and downloads complete without disruption.

Method 5:

Make sure the app isn’t blocked by the Windows firewall: To make your PC more secure, some apps are blocked by Windows Firewall by default. For proper functioning, you might need to enable an app to receive info through the firewall. For more info, see the "Allow an app to receive info through the firewall," and follow the procedure from start to finish.

Method 6:

Check with your system admin: If your PC is part of a network in an organization, like a business, school, or government agency, your system administrator might have turned off the use of certain apps using the Group Policy. Contact your system admin if you believe that Group Policy is preventing you from using an app.

Method 7:

Make sure your apps are up-to-date: To make the apps working properly, you must keep your apps up-to-date. This could be done by turning on automatic updates in the Windows Store.

Method 8:

Contact the app publisher To view the publisher’s app support info, follow these steps:

1. On the Start screen, tap or click Store to open the Windows Store.
2. Search or browse for the app, and then tap or click it.
3. Scroll to the Details section of the app's description page, and then tap or click the support link for the app under Learn more. The link will open an email message for you to contact support or will take you to a support website.

If you do not possess the technical expertise required to accomplish this yourself or do not feel comfortable doing so, download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.

Without any fanfare, news, or information Bethesda has released a completely free upgrade for legendary Quake 1. Free upgrade is automatically applied to all users who possess the original game and it has already been rolled out.

What has changed for good?

New textures, effects, and resolutions are one thing that will come first into your focus when you start the game. From the moment game is started it feels and looks like a game you remember from a long time ago. Models are also upgraded with a higher polygon count. Another thing that will hit you right away is the legendary OST by Trent Reznor in its full glory. If you have the original Quake and played it you will know that OST was missing from the Steam release and having it fully back is a great feature. I would argue that placing just OST alone in the steam release is enough for people to play it again since it adds so much atmosphere. Deathmatch and other multiplayer goodies are all here as well and there is a completely free new episode in the game with several levels. Yes, you get a free Quake upgrade in HD with an extra episode completely free.

The bad side of Quake coin

So this might come as a purist or obsessive nit-picking but there were two things that I, personally am not a fan of and have noticed during my gameplay. Please know that this is personal preference and by no other chance reflects the quality of the game itself but I just had to talk about it. Quake remake is made in a new engine and as such dynamic and gunplay feel different from the original, granted they have done the best they could to replicate the authentic feeling of the original game but there are parts of the game where I have felt that simply put, it feels different. Another thing is also tied to technology and the overall game is somewhat a little brighter and in some areas little softer in dark areas. Like I said this is purely personal preference and might come as nitpicking but I preferred the darker and grittier look of the original game. Darkplaces, the free custom-made upgrade did this in my opinion better.

AI and neural networks are more and more being used in all parts of our lives. From face detections to deep fakes it is both amusing and frightening to watch at the same time. From some really bad uses of neural networks and AI overall, looking at you deep fakes, upscaling videos or images are mostly harmless pieces of work not harming anyone. There is one cool YouTube channel, well there are more but this one seems to have most of the videos on it and if I am wrong I apologize. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC33rC3GO1UZFAkMcCCwjyWg So upscale is like previously mentioned a YouTube channel that hosts old game trailers and into videos but in full 4K or 8K video resolution, fully upscaled using neural networks. There are some videos that are not maybe top-notch but the large quantity of them is pretty well upscaled and they do indeed look great. So if you have some time and want that old nostalgia fix, go and check it out. You might find something that will bring that old you out and you might even drop a smile or two remembering old good days, I know I have.