How to Fix Error 0x00000643

Flash.ocx Error - What is it?

To understand this error, first, it is important to understand what Flash.ocx actually is. Flash.ocx is basically a flash plug-in or ActiveX file that is responsible for the adobe flash player to work on the system. The Flash.ocx error triggers due to issues in the Adobe flash player.

Solution

Error Causes

The error Flash.ocx may occur due to many reasons. These include:

• Flash player corruption
• Corrupted and broken Active X components

To this error code is not fatal but nonetheless it is still advisable to fix it right away to avoid inconvenience when using Flash player. The inability to run the Flash Player smoothly will hinder you from watching videos on your PC and playing exciting web-based games.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve this error on your system, you don’t have to hire a professional and spend hundreds of dollars. This error code is quite easy to fix. You don’t need to be technically sound to resolve this error code. Simply follow the methods give below to fix the Flash.ocx error code in a few minutes.

Method 1: Reinstall the Flash Player

If the error occurs due to the corruption of the Flash Player, then it is advisable to reinstall the player on your PC. However, before you do that first remove the previous versions of Adobe Flash Player on your system. If the previous corrupted version is not removed properly, then you will be unable to re-install it properly on your PC again. Go to the Add/Remove Programs and find the Flash Player and uninstall it. Make sure the files are also removed from the registry. Once you have successfully uninstalled the corrupted version, now go to the official website of Adobe Flash Player and download the utility from the website. Install it and run it on your system. If it works, then this means the error is resolved. However, if the error still persists, then try method 2.

Method 2: Download Restoro to Fix Active X components

Another reason for Flash.ocx error code can be broken or corrupted Active X components. If this is the issue, then the best way to resolve it is to download Restoro. This is a multi Reimagefunctional and advanced PC Fixer deployed with multiple high-performance scanners including Active X and Class scanner. The Active X and Class scanner perform an entire PC scans for corrupt and broken Active X entries along with missing software paths and invalid combinations. After the scanning process is complete, it repairs and restores the components back to normal. Thereby resolving the Flash.ocx error right away and ensuring smooth video browsing over the web. Restoro is an efficient and a safe program. It has a user-friendly interface and easy navigations. It can be used by all level of users. Besides the Active X scanner, it includes 5 more value-added utilities like a registry scanner and an antivirus to name a few. It is compatible with all Windows versions Click here to download Restoro on your PC and resolve Flash.ocx error code now!

If you would like your computer to be discoverable on your network and use print and file sharing you will have to change your network profile on your computer from public to private.

Follow the provided guide step by step to change your network profile setting:

Switch to private profile in Windows 10

Locate the Wi-Fi icon in your system tray and click on it. Click on properties on your WI-FI network to open the network menu. Inside the menu in the Network profile section enable the Private option.

Your changes will be automatically saved.

Switch profile to private in Windows 11

Find the WI-FI icon in the system tray and right-click on it, then choose Network and Internet Settings. Network & Internet page with open, find your network name at the top and select properties.

On the WI-FI page, in the Network Profile Type section choose Private. As in Windows 10, your changes will be automatically charged, and you can start using them immediately.

Another way around

If you want to switch back to a public profile follow provided steps but disable the private option.

After a lot of backlash about choosing the default Windows browser, Microsoft has officially backed up and brought back a one-click browser change into Windows 11. For anyone who is not aware, when Windows 11 was released if you wanted to switch to another browser you had to go into the settings app and choose the default browser for different types of file extensions like HTML, HTM, PDF for opening on the web, etc. Of course, this was completely unnecessary and it was not well received by users. So after some time, Microsoft backpedaled to standard one click, choose your default browser solution that existed in the previous version of Windows OS. Altho sometimes Microsoft knows how to irritate its users base, it is good to know that they can also listen and fix things that are required.

If you were trying to run Windows Update or activate Windows Firewall or download from the Windows Store but encounter the Windows Update Error 0x80070422 instead, read on as this post will show you how you can resolve the problem. This kind of Windows Update error occurs when the Windows Update or WUAUSERVE is not started or when the Background Intelligent Transfer Service or BITS can’t be started. It could be that they are disabled or because they have no enabled devices associated with them. Whichever the case is, you can check out the options given below to fix the Windows Update Error 0x80070422 and make sure that you create a System Restore point first before you start.

Option 1 – Check the status of some Windows Update Services

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is as follows:
  • Windows Update – Manual (Triggered)
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service – Manual
• After that, check if the Service status of the listed services above is set to Running. If they’re not, click on the Start button to start these services and then check if you can now enable the Windows Update service or not.

Option 2 – Try to disable IPv6 in the Network Center

You might also want to disable IPv6 in the Network Center in order to fix the Windows Update Error 0x80070422. How? Follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + X key combination on your keyboard and click on Network Connections.
• This will open the Network Connections section under the Setting app. From there, click on the Network and Sharing Center link located at the right side of the panel which will open a Win32 version of the Windows settings known as Control Panel.
• In the Control Panel, click on the network your computer is connected to.
• A mini window will appear and in that window click on Properties which will open another mini window that will provide a list.
• From this list, uncheck the option that says, “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)”.
• Now click on OK and close all the other windows and see if it fixes the Windows Update error.

Option 3– Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

If disabling IPv6 didn’t work, you could also try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing any issues related to Windows Update including the Windows Update Error 0x80070422. 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 4 – Try running the DISM tool

You can also try to run the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the Windows Upgrade error. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Option 5 – Run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

Running Microsoft’s online troubleshooter might also help you fix the Windows Update Error 0x80070422. This online troubleshooter is known to help in fixing Windows Update errors, it scans your computer for issues that might be causing the problem and then fixes them automatically.

It has been reported that there are systems out there with Windows 11 operating systems that do not use the whole RAM memory installed in the system. If by any chance you are one of the unfortunate users that has encountered this issue, fear not, we have a solution for you.

Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open the search menu
2. Type in Windows Memory Diagnostic tool
3. Click on the found app
4. Select Restart now and check for problems
5. Wait for the tool to finish

Memory Diagnostic tool is a built-in tool in Windows, it was designed to automatically find and repair memory issues and should be your first step toward resolving this issue.

Check page file

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open the search menu
2. Type in View advanced system settings
3. Click on the search result
4. Click on settings under performance
5. Click on the Advanced tab
6. Click on Change under Virtual memory
7. Uncheck the box for Automatically manage paging file size for all drives
8. Then select the drive and check the No paging file option
9. Click on Set
10. Repeat for all drives on the system
11. Reboot the system for changes to take effect

If after reboot system still does not see and use whole available RAM, repeat this process and turn back ON paging. After you are done move to the next solution.

Modify usable RAM

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open the search menu
2. Type in System configuration
3. Click on the search result
4. Go to the Boot tab and click on Advanced options
5. Check the box for Maximum memory
6. Enter the installed RAM on your system in the field box and click on OK
7. Confirm once again on the OK and close the System configuration window
8. Restart the system

If the provided solution has not worked, uncheck the Maximum memory checkbox and save the changes. Move to the next solution.

Change and modify the registry

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run menu
2. Type in Regedit and press the OK button or hit ENTER
3. Click on YES if prompted by UAC
4. Locate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
5. On the right side find and double click on the ClearPageFileAtShutdown DWORD
6. Enter 1 under Value data and click on OK to save the changes
7. Close the registry and reboot the system

Enable memory remapping inside BIOS

In order to do this fix, you will need to enter BIOS on your system. How entering BIOS is different from system to system depending on your manufacturer, especially if it is a laptop this step you will have to do alone. Go to your motherboard manufacturer or laptop manufacturer and see how to enter BIOS.

1. Enter BIOS (80% of the time this can be done by pressing DEL or F12 while the system is turned ON)
2. Locate System Agent Configuration option
3. Select Memory Remap Feature and Enable it

Your BIOS might be different from ours and you might not have the System Agent Configuration option, in this case, go through the setting and try to locate Memory Remap Feature. If this feature is missing as well move to the next step.

Rearrange RAM modules on the motherboard

Sometimes RAM memory cannot be slotted properly or just purely switching them in slots can solve the issue. Take RAM out, clean memory slots, clean motherboard connectors for them, and place them back in a different order. If by any chance none of the methods worked, then the issue might be in the hardware itself, either memory banks themselves, motherboard, power supply, etc. If this is sadly the case, you will have to locate the issue and replace the faulty part. If you are not technical enough for this adventure, the best solution is to take a PC to a computer repair shop.

In every task carried out in the Windows 10 operating system, some of them don’t go smoothly and it could encounter a couple of errors along the way. One of these errors you could encounter is the Windows Update error code 0x8007000e. This particular error was reported to occur a lot when downloading and installing a Feature update via Windows Updates. And recently, it has been reported to occur a couple of times for the Windows 10 1903 May 2019 update. According to security experts, this error could be caused by a lack of memory or disk space as well as issues in the Windows Update mechanism. Whatever the cause is, troubleshooting this problem shouldn’t be hard as this post will give you some potential fixes you can check out. To fix this error, here are some options you need to consider:

Option 1 – Clear up temporary or junk files

The error could be caused by some temporary or junk files in your computer and so you need to clear them up to fix the problem. You can achieve that using the Storage Sense feature.

• Open Setting > System > Storage from the WinX Menu.
• From there, you will see a list of all the local and connected storage devices along with the details on the free space. Make sure that Storage Sense is on.
• Next, find a link that says “Free Up Space” and click it to open.
• After that, a screen which is the built-in program in Windows 10 will appear and will scan your computer for the following junk files so you can free up disk space:
  • Windows Upgrade Log Files
  • System created Windows Error Reporting Files
  • Thumbnails
  • Temporary Internet Files
  • Previous Windows Installation Files
  • Delivery Optimisation Files
  • DirectX Shader Cache
• Choose the files you want to get rid of and then click on the remove files option. Note that you’ll have an idea of the total size as you select any of the junk files listed above.
• Now go to the “Free Up Space Now” section and click the Clear Now button. This will get rid of all the temporary or junk files in your computer and should hopefully fix the Windows Update error 0x8007000e.

Option 2 – Reset the Windows Update components

If by any chance that the second option didn’t work, resetting the Windows Update components could also help you resolve the problem. 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 configuring the Windows Update-related Services

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “cmd” in the field and tap Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.
• Next, execute the following commands. Note that you have to type and enter each the command one after the other.
  • SC config wuauserv start= auto
  • SC config bits start= auto
  • SC config cryptsvc start= auto
  • SC config trustedinstaller start= auto
• The commands you executed will make sure that the Windows Update-related services are available. Once it’s done, restart your computer and see if the Windows Update error is now fixed.

Option 4 – Try running the Windows Update troubleshooter

Windows 10 have various troubleshooters that can help you resolve many system issues. So if you’re dealing with Windows Update errors like Error 0x8007000e, you can run the Windows Update troubleshooter to resolve it. 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 5 – Try to use the Media Creation tool

The Media Creation tool in Windows allows you to use the ISO installation file to make a bootable device that you can use to install Windows on your PC. Note that this is kind of different from the usual installation process as it could erase your computer’s current settings and data on the primary drive. Thus, before you proceed, you need to backup all your data into some removable drive and then use the Media Creation tool to make a bootable drive.

• After making the bootable drive, you need to plug it in your computer and then reboot.
• Next, tap the F10 or Esc key to open the boot options.
• Now set the boot priority of the removable drive the highest. Once the setup comes forth, follow the next onscreen instructions and install Windows without any problems.

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.

You have probably heard a lot of good things about gaming mice, how they are better feeling, better in any way possible and it is all true, everything you heard is actually true, they are superior in any way to a regular mouse but with one big disadvantage, and that would be the price. While you can find a regular mouse for pocket change, a gaming mouse is in comparison very expensive even for entry-level ones.

In this article we will explore all advantages and compare it with the regular one so you can come up with your own conclusion about do you really need one for yourself or if you are fine with regular.

Price

As stated price is one factor that does not favor gaming mice. Regular mouse for a personal computer goes around 10 or 20 USD, while entry-level in gaming one will be 40 USD and can go up to 250 USD, this large gap in price is usually determining factor why people pick up regular one. If you are on a really tight budget go for the regular one, but if you can afford a gaming one get it without second thoughts.

Software

This is where you will see the big difference between mice. Regular ones when connected are recognized and the driver is automatically installed and you can use it, same goes with gaming ones but with one big difference, you have an option to install additional manufacturers' software specially tailored for your mouse. In the application, you will be able to access some features that are specific to the mouse model that you could not set in typical Windows mouse properties. Beside more options software can also have features like setting your profiles and saving them to be recalled when you need them on the fly.

Sensitivity of mouse

The sensitivity of the mouse is measured in dots per one inch or short DPI, this is directly shown on your screen by how fast your mouse can move, higher sensitivity means your mouse will move faster across the screen and lower means it will move slower. All gaming mice come with buttons and settings that will allow you to change DPI on the fly and you can choose precise DPI settings in the software.

The regular mouse comes with DPI around 800 and goes to 1200 typically and does not have usually the option to change this while gaming mice start at 400 and can go as high as 26000 with the option to change it. Some regular mice can have only 1 option of DPI, usually very cheap ones.

Polling rates in mice

Pooling rate is the measurement of how often your mouse reports where it is positioned on the computer. The higher the pooling rate, the more responsive your mouse will be and vice versa. It is measured in hertz (Hz) and regular mice have them around 125Hz that is enough if you are using a computer for office, internet, and mail work.

If you are working in design or gaming you will need more than 125Hz polling rate, luckily gaming mice come with a minimum of 500Hz as an entry point and some hi-end models are going as far as 8000Hz. This very high pooling rate will get some extra load on your CPU but the mouse itself will be maximally responsive and will respond even to the smallest moves.

Ergonomics

Regular mice are well just mice, they are typical shape and size, gaming mice are made with ergonomics in mind. How they are made for extensive daily use of several hours per day they are constructed in a way to offer a pleasant and pain-free experience.

If you work on a computer for long periods of time consider gaming an ergonomic mouse since it will take the strain from hands and place them in a more natural position.

Macro keys

Gaming mice most of the time come with more keys compared with regular ones and good thing is that via its software you can tie certain actions to these extra keys making work or gaming more pleasant and quicker.

Components and material quality

In order to make regular mice more affordable and cheaper materials and quality of components had to suffer. Gaming mice have millions of guaranteed clicks by companies that make them before they break and regular ones usually do not guarantee a single one. This is due of course quality of materials that have been used in constructing these devices.

In the long term, if you use a gaming mouse for typical daily tasks it will outlive your regular one and on the side offer you more pleasant and responsive use along the way.

Steam has cemented itself as the largest digital game shop in the World. First, release all the way back on September 12^th, 2003, it was meant to be a standalone software client aimed to deliver updates to Valve’s games. It was soon expanded to include titles from third parties. The greatest Steam expansion and its popularity started in 2004 with the release of Half-life 2. Steam allowed prepurchased editions to be downloaded before the official release of the game making it available for play the moment it was officially out. Very soon after Steam gained its popularity, Valve has opened doors to other developers and offered them to use Steam as means for a digital distribution platform. Today it hosts over 30000 different game titles, not including DLC or applications. And how soon Valve’s steam deck is coming out soon we would like to share some great tips and tricks about Steam itself for easy everyday gaming.

Steam guard account security

Security of any of your accounts should be something that you really take seriously. So as always use a strong password for Steam but if you want an extra layer of security for it, and you should, use the Steam built-in feature: Guard Account Security. In order to activate Security Guard go to Steam>Settings>Account>Manage Steam Guard Account Security. Once enabled you will be able to use the Steam mobile application for special code when opening Steam or your email address.

Use Steam beta feature

Once a Steam account is created by default you will download and install the client. In the client, you will have the latest features available but there are more Steam features than default ones, beta features that can offer some improved and new functionality, and do not worry, they are stable and bug-free. I have been in Steam beta for years and not even once have I had any issues with the client itself but I have always had the latest features that will come to regular users later. To enable beta participation to go to Steam>Settings>Account, open the drop-down Beta participation menu, and choose Steam Beta Update. Confirm on OK and restart the Steam client. You will now get all the latest features first.

Manage your library via Collections

The collection is a neat idea for organizing your large game library into different collections or sections easily expanded and contracted for easier navigation and organization. To add the game to a collection just right-click on it and select Add To>New Collection, make a name for a collection like action, RPG, or whatever rocks your boat, and you are done. Once the collection is created other games can be added to it simply just by dragging it into the desired collection.

Make shelves

Shelves are ways to see your collections in the larger areas of the Steam clients. By clicking Add Shelf>Choose a Shelf, you can now add your collection to a shelf on the larger part of the client as a horizontal scrolling container with your chosen games. There are also some predefined shelves like All Games, Recent friend activity, and more.

Hide Game from Library

By right-clicking on a game and selecting Manage>Hide This Game you will remove the game from the active view of your Steam library. Note that the game will still be owned and a part of your library, you will just not be able to see it. This is a great feature when for example you have some things that came as a part of the game pack you are not really interested in when you have 2 different versions of the same game as for example standard and deluxe edition or just by simply not wanting to have game visible in the library. You can find a hidden game by typing its name in the search box and from there you can unhide it.

Play game soundtracks inside Steam

Some games offer you to purchase their soundtracks if you like music from them and some even include OST with a regular purchase. Steam lets you play these soundtracks and even lets you import your own music library folder into it in order to play all of your music inside the client itself. It has even options to automatically stop music playing once the game is run and you can make playlists as well. Your purchased game soundtracks are automatically included, the rest you will need to add by pointing Steam to the folder where you keep music in.

Configure gamepad

Inside Steam, you can configure your gamepad’s general settings, big picture settings, desktop settings, etc. Steam embraced the idea that many OC users these days own and play with gamepads so it has implemented configuration options inside it. To configure your pad go to Steam>Settings>Controller.

Use big picture Steam mode

Big picture mode is Steam's idea of making Steam an entertainment center. Once it is activated it switches from the application into full-screen mode aimed at large TV screens or monitors. You can easily navigate through it via gamepad, mouse, keyboard, or other devices. You have access to the store, your game library, etc. Same as your typical steam app but a little different. You can easily activate it via View> Big Picture Mode and see for yourself is this something you prefer over a standard application layout.

Enable Steam Cloud

Steam Cloud is a great feature that uses cloud storage to save your game progress meaning that you can easily switch to another PC, install games there and continue where you have left off. Many games support this feature instead of keeping saves locally and it is a great feature worth turning it ON. To turn and use Steam Cloud service go to Steam>Settings>Cloud>Enable Steam Cloud Synchronization. Just remember to check does game you are playing supports this option.

Share your Games via Family sharing

Family sharing is a Steam feature allowing you to share your game library with up to 5 accounts on up to 10 different devices. This is a great way to let other members of your family or even close friends enjoy some games you have or vice versa. They will get as well their own save games so you can sleep safe knowing that your progress can not be changed or hindered. Family sharing can be turned ON by logging into PC Steam client where you would like to share your library and navigate to Steam>Settings>Family and then clicking on Authorize Library Sharing On This Computer.

Refund a game

Sometimes the game is not the same as advertised, sometimes it will not work on your PC, sometimes hardware specifications are too high making the game unplayable, etc. For whatever reason, you might have Steam offers you a full game price refund if you wish to do so, you only need to meet 2 criteria, the game must have been purchased within 2 weeks period, older purchases cannot be refunded, and your game playtime must not be over 2 hours of game time. If you fit into this category all you need to do in order to get the full money back is going to Help>Steam Support, pick a recent game from the eligible list, and ask for a refund.

Gift a game

As you can buy gifts for your friends or loved ones in real life, Valve made sure you can do it in digital as well. Gifting game via Steam is simple and straightforward. Choose a game you wish to gift, go to your shopping cart and instead of clicking Purchase for myself, click on Purchase As a Gift, from there you will be taken to your friend list to choose to whom you would like to gift a game along with the option to write a little note to the receiver like happy birthday, enjoy or whatever.

Stream games in Steam itself

Although Steam is not there yet in streaming as Twitch or Facebook gaming is, there is an option to stream your game sessions on it. Click on Steam>Settings>Broadcast to make all adjustments and start streaming. You can also watch streams from your friend list and Steam is now broadcasting popular streams directly to its client if you want to watch it.

Take a game screenshot

By pressing F12, you can take a screenshot from any game and save it inside your Steam cloud library. You can change of course this default screenshot key via Settings>In-Game and if you would like to see your screenshots you can always do it under View Screenshot Library on a game’s page. That’s it, our Steam tips and tricks for easy and good gaming life, I hope to see you soon on errortools.com for your daily articles, tips, and tricks.

Google Chrome 94 is here and it has introduced a controversial idle detection API. For those people that do not know what idle detection API is, well basically Chrome can be asked by a website to report when a user of the site has a site open and is idle on the device. The issue that people have with this is that this particular feature can be used to report when the user is not using a computer at all. Good thing is that website or web application will prompt you to allow it to use this feature like when a site/application wants to use your microphone or web camera. Developers are on board with this feature since it can provide them with more telemetric data on how users are interacting with their website/application but there are some that are strongly voicing against this. Tantek Çelik, Mozilla Standards Lead, commented on GitHub, saying:

As it is currently specified, I consider the Idle Detection API too tempting of an opportunity for surveillance capitalism motivated websites to invade an aspect of the user’s physical privacy, keep long-term records of physical user behaviors, discerning daily rhythms (e.g. lunchtime), and using that for proactive psychological manipulation (e.g. hunger, emotion, choice)… Thus I propose labeling this API harmful and encourage further incubation, perhaps reconsidering simpler, less-invasive alternative approaches to solve the motivating use-cases.

Others who have spoken against this feature are people from the WebKit development team inside Apple. Ryosuke Niwa, an Apple software engineer who works on WebKit said:

That doesn’t seem like a strong enough use case for this API. For starters, there is no guarantee that the user won’t immediately come back to the device. Also, who is such a service supposed to know what another device user might be using at any given point? We’re definitely not going to let a website know all the devices a given user might be using at any given point. That’s a very serious breach of the said user’s privacy. It seems to me that such a suppression/distribution mechanism is best left for the underlying operating systems/web browsers to handle.

Of course, technology itself as always can be used for good or for bad and time will tell if this feature has brought good stuff or it has paved another brick in surveillance and privacy manipulation. As said for now option will prompt for agreement and let's hope that it will be used for good causes from this day into the future.