Fix Steam stuck on Allocating disk space

If you are frequently experiencing slow loading of folders in your Windows 10 computer, Downloads folder for instance, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will help you resolve such issue. Slow loading of folders is a common problem faced by many users even when they are using the latest hardware like SSDs. So if you experience the same thing, be it with the Downloads folder or other folders on your computer, there is a way to resolve that issue and make the folder load faster. Slow-loading means when you attempt to open the folder, it takes a couple of seconds before it displays its contents. In such cases, you’ll see a green loading address bar that says “Working on it” which can get quite annoying especially if you are in a hurry. And if you notice that this only happens in the Downloads folder, there certainly is something wrong. This kind of problem can occur on SSDs and normal hard drives. The main reason behind the occurrence of this problem is that the folder may have been optimized for viewing photos or other media formats which is why it takes quite longer than usual to load all the files and their thumbnails. However, since the Downloads folder usually contains all kinds of files like documents, zip files, audio/video files, etc. there is no need to optimize this folder for media files only because doing so is only going to make the Windows File Explorer slow in loading the folder’s contents and thumbnails which does not exist for many files.

Option 1 – Configure the Downloads folder

• Right-click on the Downloads folder or the folder you’re having trouble opening.
• Then click on Properties and go to the Customize tab.
• After that, click on the “Optimize this folder for” option in the drop-down menu.
• Next, select General items from the drop-down which might have been set by default to Pictures or Video.
• You also have the option to apply this template to all the subfolders, that is if your folder has any subfolders.
• Now apply the settings and restart Windows Explorer.

Note: Once you’ve completed the steps above, it should now make the folder content display a lot faster than before. Now try to open the Downloads folder which would not take much time as you will see the changes right away.

Option 2 – Run CHKDSK to check your disk for errors

When it comes to some issues concerning the hard drive or removable devices, there is a utility in Windows that might help which is called “chkdsk”. This error check utility can help with several issues in the system including File System Error -2147219196.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the Search box.
• Then type “command prompt” in the field and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening an elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

chkdsk /r /f

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your PC, just tap Y and reboot your PC.
• If CHKDSK is not able to find any errors, tap the Win + E keys and navigate the access window. From there, right-click on the concerned drive and click on Properties.
• After opening Properties, click on the tab Tools and then click on the “Check” button under the Error-checking section.
• Wait until the process is completed and then restart your computer.
• Once your computer has restarted, try accessing the file and check if the error persists.

Mapping network drive has many benefits in terms of speed and ease of access of files via network. It lets you access the hard drive over the whole network like it was the hard drive inside your PC case. In order to easily and quickly map a folder as a network drive follow the guide below.

1. Open File Explorer
2. Click on the three dots icon in the Toolbar
3. Select Map Network Drive
4. Click the Drive drop-down menu
5. Select a driver letter that you wish to assign as a network drive
6. In the folder field enter network device and share name (click on browse to see all devices on local network)
7. Check the box beside Reconnect at sign-in if you wish to automatically connect to a network drive on Windows startup
8. Check Connect Using Different Credentials if you wish to connect to a network drive using different credentials that one used to login into Windows.
9. Click Finish

After finishing setting Windows 11 will try to connect to the network drive and if successful drive icon will appear inside File Explorer and the drive will open up to see its content. If for any reason it cannot connect try checking user credentials, cables, network adapters, etc.

Check your connection. Microsoft Store needs to be online. It looks like you’re not. Check connection Code: 0x80072F7D

This is the error that you get if trying to open the Microsoft store on Windows 10 and it fails. If you experienced this error and are unable to access the store do not despair we are here to help you. This particular error is usually due to some internet issues, follow the presented guide step by step in order to solve it and be able to access the Windows store again.

1. Check your Internet connection

   Since this error is closely tied to internet connection it is advisable to first eliminate the obvious and check if your computer is connected to the internet.

2. Run Network troubleshooter

   Built-in Windows troubleshooter is a great tool and we will be using it in the next few segments in order to locate the issue and fix it. Open Windows 10 Settings app using the WINDOWS + I Click on Network & Internet Click on Network troubleshooter Select network adapter to diagnose Press the Next button.

3. Run Internet Connections troubleshooter

   Press WINDOWS + I to open the Settings app Click on the Update & Security Click on the Troubleshoot Select Additional troubleshooters option Click on Internet Connections option Hit Run the troubleshooter button.

4. Run Windows Store Apps troubleshooter

   Press WINDOWS + I to open the Settings app Select Update & Security Click on the Troubleshoot Use the Additional troubleshooters option Click on the Windows Store Apps option Press Run the troubleshooter button

5. Temporarily disable security software

   Your antivirus or firewall might be interfering with the application, sometimes, in some cases store is detected as a false positive in some security applications, and its access to the internet is cut. Disable your security suite to see if this is the case.

If you notice that your tabs in your Firefox browser keep on crashing recently, then there might be something wrong with your browser. Every time any of your tabs crashes, you might encounter an error message saying, “Gah, Your tab just crashed”. If you encounter this kind of error message then it is most likely that your Firefox Profile is having some issues with the existing installation of Firefox. The “Gah, Your tab just crashed” error rarely happens but when it does, it can get quite annoying as you won’t get to browse the internet peacefully. So to fix it, here are some suggestions you could check out.

Option 1 – Try disabling multi-process tabs in Firefox

Since Mozilla has one process for Firefox itself, while one process handles all the tabs, you have the option to disable these multi-process tabs in Firefox. To do that, follow these steps:

• In the address bar of Firefox, type “about: config” and hit Enter.
• Next, look for the following configurations and set them to false.
  • tabs.remote.autostart = false
  • tabs.remote.autostart.2 = false
• After that, double-click on the toggle switch between true and false.

Option 2 – Try checking your Add-ons

In this option, you need to start Firefox in Safe Mode and then check if the problem is fixed. If it is, you may have to check your Firefox add-ons as well as extensions as one of them might be the one that's causing the “Gah, Your tab just crashed” error.

Option 3 – Downgrade the Firefox version you’re using

It could be that the current version of Firefox you’re using has some issues so you might have to downgrade it, especially if you are already using the latest version. To downgrade your Firefox browser, go to the directory of the other versions and languages and select an older version that worked for you. After that, you have to disable automatic Firefox updates.

• First, click the menu button and select Preferences.
• Next, go to the Firefox Updates section under the General panel.
• Then select the radio button labeled “Check for updates but let you choose to install them”. This will ensure that you will not have the same issue with the new update.

Note that this is only a temporary fix since updating your programs, including browsers.

Option 4 – Try sending Crash Reports

You might want to send crash reports to Mozilla. This way, Mozilla might come up with some fix to resolve the problem. All you have to do is type “about: crashes” in the address bar. This will list all the crash reports. Now send it to Mozilla using the built-in interface. Although this won’t instantly fix the problem, a lot of user finds it useful. And besides, the issue will get fixed in future releases or with minor updates.

In case you don’t know, Driver Verifier is a built-in utility in the Windows 10 operating system. It is the one that ensures the integrity of all the drivers in the system. It can detect any suspicious behaviors of the drivers and if it finds the driver signature of some suspicious activity during runtime, it stops the suspected action by triggering a BSOD or Blue Screen of Death error and one of these Stop errors is the DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION error. When you encounter such an error, you will see the following message on your screen:

“Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn’t handle, and now it needs to restart. If you’d like to know more, you can search online later for this error: DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION”

There are several ways you can fix this error. You can try to disable the Driver Verifier or run the Hardware troubleshooter. You could also try to update, roll back or uninstall the drivers on your computer. For more details, refer to each one of the options provided below.

Option 1 – Try to disable the Driver Verifier Manager

The Driver Verifier Manager is another tool in Windows that could help you fix driver-related issues.

• Type in the keyword “Verifier” in the Cortana search box to search for Verifier in Windows 10.
• After that, select the option “Create custom settings”.
• Make sure that you have checked everything except the options “DDI compliance checking” and “Randomized low resources simulation”.
• Next, select the option “Select driver names from a list” option.
• Afterward, you have to select all the drivers from any unofficial or third-party provider. To simply put it, you have to select all the drivers that are not supplied by Microsoft.
• Then click on the Finish button.
• Open Command Prompt as administrator and execute this command – verifier /querysettings
• The command you just executed will display the Driver Verifier settings so if you see any of the flags enabled boot your Windows 10 PC into Safe Mode.
• Open the Command Prompt as admin again and run this command – verifier /reset
• The command will reset the Driver Verifier. Once the process is done, restart your PC and check.

Option 2 – Try to reinstall or update device drivers of recently installed hardware

If the first few options didn’t work for you, then it’s time to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 3 – Try running the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION. It can be found in the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

Note: You could also run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing the DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION error.

Option 4 – Try running Microsoft’s online Blue Screen Troubleshooter

If running the built-in Blue Screen Troubleshooter didn’t work, you can also try running Microsoft’s online Blue Screen Troubleshooter. All you have to do is go to Microsoft’s website and from there, you will see a simple wizard that will walk you through the troubleshooting process.

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.

If you are trying to start the Microsoft Outlook application on your Windows 10 computer but you suddenly receive a message box with an error message that says, “We are unable to connect right now, Please check your network and try again later”, read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix this error. This kind of error in Microsoft Outlook could be due to some issues with your internet connection or it could also be due to the VPN software if you’re using one. Whatever the cause is, there are several potential fixes you can check out to fix the error. You have to check your internet connection or try changing it. You could also try to disable your VPN software or restart your computer or Microsoft Outlook and try starting the app again. In addition, you can also try entering your password again or check some settings in the Windows Registry or open Microsoft Outlook in Safe Mode. Refer to the guidelines provided below to further troubleshoot the problem.

Option 1 – Try to check your internet connection

The first thing you can do to resolve the problem is to check your internet connection. You have to make sure that you are connected to the internet and that it has a stable connection.

Option 2 – Try to restart your computer or Microsoft Outlook and try again

The next thing you can do to fix the error is to restart your computer or Microsoft Outlook. This simple process can actually help you fix the problem as it could only be a glitch that can be fixed with a simple restart.

Option 3 – Try to enter your password again

You could also try entering your password again to resolve the error. Just click on the Cancel button to open a dialog box and then enter your password again and see if it helps. Note that you might have to do it for all your email IDs in Microsoft Outlook.

Option 4 – Try opening Microsoft Outlook in Safe Mode and disabling its add-ins

Putting Microsoft Outlook into Safe Mode can help you identify the problems in it. Safe Mode also helps you fix a certain issue caused by some corrupted add-in. To start your Microsoft Outlook in Safe Mode, refer to these steps:

• Tap Win + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type in “Outlook /safe” and press Enter to run the command.
• After that, it will ask you to select a profile that you want to use. Just simply select a profile from the drop-down menu and click on the OK button.
• Now you have successfully opened Microsoft Outlook in Safe Mode. As a result, it will start with disabling the add-ins. Meaning to say, there is some corrupted add-in that’s causing the problem, and that you need to look for that add-in and either disable it or have it permanently removed.
• Once you’ve identified the corrupted add-in, you can disable or remove it by going to File > Options > Add-ins. From there, select the option “COM Add-ins” from the drop-down menu and then click the Go button.
• Finally, close Microsoft Outlook once you’ve covered the given steps above and then try to open it normally.

Option 5 – Try disabling the VPN

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

Option 6 – Try to check the settings in the Registry

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetservicesNlaSvcParametersInternet
• From there, look for the DWORD named “EnableActiveProbing” and make sure that its value is set to “1”. When the value is set to 1, it means that it is Enabled. This is the default setting and is used to identify the status of the network connectivity of your computer.

Error Code 28- What is it?

The error code 28 is a driver error. This is one of the many device manager error codes. When this error occurs on your computer, the following message is displayed:

“The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)”

Another driver device error message you might encounter is error code 41. 

Error Causes

Error 28 occurs because of unsuccessful device driver installation. This usually happens when you try to update new drive versions on your system. It is advisable to repair this error right away as it can hamper your ability to use certain hardware. For example, if error 28 occurs due to the unsuccessful installation of the USB driver, then it if not fixed and resolved it may prevent you from using hardware devices. Unsuccessful driver installation means you either didn’t install it properly or your computer has registry issues. If it’s the registry then you must fix it without any delay because it can expose your PC to serious threats like system crash and failure. To avoid such inconvenience, repair it.

Further Information and Manual Repair

When it comes to repairing the error code 28, here’s what you can do: Simply go to the control panel and click on the Device Manager option:

• In the details pane with the list of devices, locate the device for which you want to reinstall the driver software.
• Double click on it to open the properties dialog box.
• Now click on the driver tab and then click update driver.

After updating, try using that device again if it doesn’t work and shows the error code 28 on your computer screen then this means the underlying cause is the registry.

Windows 10 users a set of rules or standards called Network Protocols in communicating over the internet. These protocols are the ones that made sure that the data is correctly sent between computers. However, if any of the Network Protocol is missing in your Windows 10 computer, then you will most likely encounter a problem like not being able to browse the internet, or share files. For this, you can try to run the Incoming Connections troubleshooter: As you were not able to connect to your internet connection using your PC, you can try to run the Incoming Connections troubleshooter as it might resolve the problem. Refer to the following steps to run this troubleshooter:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• After opening Settings, go to Update and Security.
• Next, navigate to the Troubleshoot pane and select the Incoming Connections section and click the Run Troubleshooter button to get started.
• Wait until the troubleshooter is finished doing its job and then try connecting to your network again.

If after running the Incoming Connections troubleshooter you receive an error message instead that says, “Network Protocol is missing”, then here are some suggestions you need to check out to fix it. Take note that you must have admin privileges before you start troubleshooting the problem.

Option 1 – Try to update or rollback or uninstall the Network drivers

You might also want to update, roll back, or disable your Network drivers to fix the “This operation failed as no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation” error.

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “devmgmt.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Then right-click on each one of the Network drivers and depending on your preference, you can either select “Update driver”, “Disable device” or “Uninstall device”.
• After that, restart your PC and see if it helped in fixing the netio.sys Blue Screen error.

Option 2 – Try to reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS

You might also want to try resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help you resolve errors. To do so, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator) so you can pull up an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, execute each one of the commands listed below. And after you typed in one after the other, you have to hit Enter.

1. netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
2. netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
3. ipconfig /flushdns – type in this command to flush the DNS cache

• Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.

Option 3 – Diagnose the Network Adapter

To diagnose the Network Adapter, go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Network Connections, and from there, look for the network adapter that could be causing the error. Note that if you are using a Wi-Fi connection, then it’s probably your Wi-Fi adapter, otherwise it has something to do with your Ethernet adapter. Just right-click on the problematic network adapter and select diagnose to troubleshoot.

Option 4 – Try to perform Network Reset

You can also try to perform a Network Reset to resolve the problem. This will reset the entire network configuration including your IP address. To perform Network Reset, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• From there, go to the Network and Internet section.
• Next, scroll down and look for “Network Reset” under the status pane.
• After that, click on Network Reset and then on Reset now to start resetting the network configuration. Once done, check if it is able to fix the error or not.

Option 5 – Try importing Winsock settings from another computer

If resetting Winsock or the Network didn’t fix the problem, then you can try to import settings from a computer that’s in good condition. You need to have access to the registry to get this done and then export and import a couple of settings. Refer to these steps to get started:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, go to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServices
• Next, look for two registry keys named “Winsock” and “Winsock2” and then right-click on each one of them and select the Export option.
• Now copy the registry keys to a USB drive and then copy the keys on the PC in excellent condition.
• Then double click on each one of them and it will install the WINSOCK keys.

Due to its hybrid core technology, the Alder Lake line of processors had some DRM issues with some game titles where DRM protection software detected hybrid core design switching via manager as a hack attempt and prevented the game from working properly. Over 50 titles were affected by this issue, now only 3 remain still affected but it is being worked on them so that can be also resolved. Intel says that the remedy to the issue for these games is the scroll lock fix which can be done so by enabling Legacy Game Compatibility mode from the BIOS of your motherboard. When running the said games, you can press scroll lock to park the E-cores on Intel's Alder Lake Desktop CPUs to get rid of DRM issues. Certain motherboard manufacturers such as MSI and Gigabyte have made this even easier through software tools with which you don't have to access the BIOS. All you need to do is select a button in the tool which works on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems and you will enable compatibility mode.