If you suddenly encountered an error saying, “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)” when you are using an application on your Windows 10 computer, read on as this post will provide you some potential fixes that could help you fix the error.
You can encounter the “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)” error on many applications such as VLC, Chrome, Word, and any other executable files and even the operating system files. When you get this kind of error, you will see the following error message:
“The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to close the application.”
This kind of application error can occur due to several reasons which include damaged installation of the application or system files may have gotten corrupted or damaged. It could also be caused by a malware infection. There are a couple of suggestions provided in this post to help you resolve the error. You can try to run both a System File Checker scan and the DISM tool or reinstall the problematic application or repair-install Windows 10 as well as run a malware scan. Note that the options provided below do not have to be followed in sequence.
Option 1 – Try to run a System File Checker scan
As mentioned, the error could be due to corrupted or damaged system files and one of the ways you can fix that is by running a System File Checker or SFC scan on your computer. To do so, follow these steps:
In the Windows Start Search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results, and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
After opening Command Prompt with admin privileges, type the “sfc /scannow” and tap Enter to execute it.
Once the scan is finished, restart your computer and see if the “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)” error is fixed or not.
Option 2 – Run the DISM tool
You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the application 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 3 – Try reinstalling the application
You might also want to uninstall the application and download its latest working version and then install it back again. Note that when you do this, you will lose all your app data.
Option 4 – Try to repair install Windows 10
First, you have to click this link and then click the Download Tool Now button.
Next, click the “Use the tool to create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file)…” option and follow the next given instructions on the screen.
Now select the ISO file option in step 5.
After that, you should now have an ISO file.
Next, go to the location where you’ve downloaded the ISO file.
Then right-click on the Windows 10 ISO file and select the Open with option and then select File Explorer.
Now click on “setup.exe” and follow the next instructions that appear on the screen. When asked, you have to select either Nothing (clean install) or Keep personal files only option. Take note that you must not select the “Keep personal files, apps, and Windows settings”.
Option 5 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender
It is possible that your computer is infected with malware which could be why you’re getting the “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)” error. Thus, you need to scan your computer using Windows Defender.
Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.
After Plex, DoorDash, and LastPass, Samsung has also confirmed that they also have experienced a data breach and that some customer data has been stolen.
On Friday, September 2nd Samsung announced that an unauthorized third party gained access to some of the company's U.S. systems in late July and that Samsung learned in August that some personal information was affected. It was also stated that affected information is: names, contact information, demographics, dates of birth, and product registration information. Also so far it was said that no Social Security numbers nor credit card number information have been compromised.
For now, Samsung is sending an email directly to anyone that has been affected by this data breach, however, they did not state what service or product has experienced this breach, we just know that it has happened at Samsung Electronics America which sells everything, from smartphones to debit cards. Also keep an eye on your inbox if you are a Samsung user since it took them a whole month in order to go public with this information and there is no justification for this, if it was reported on time people could change their information and take other steps.
This error 80070490 code may occur when you try to update your PC either through the Microsoft Update website or with a Windows update. The error message is displayed in the following format:
Error 80070490 (Element not found)
Solution
Error Causes
Error Code 80070490 is triggered because of a couple of reasons. It indicates the file CBS Manifest that is needed to install Windows update is corrupt or damaged.
CBS (Component Based Servicing) Manifest is the file that is used to help your computer recognize various components inside your PC.
Another reason for error occurrence is registry corruption.
If the registry that stores all the information and activities performed is not cleaned frequently, the obsolete files saved in the registry like the junk files, bad entries and cookies eventually accumulate and corrupt it thereby generating such error codes.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Here are some effective and proven methods that you can try by yourself to resolve error code 80070490 on your PC.
Method 1 - Use the System Update Readiness Tool
Download the System Update Readiness Tool from the Windows website and run it on your PC.
This tool is designed to detect and scan for abnormalities and inconsistencies that could be preventing and causing problems during the system update.
Once you have downloaded and scanned your PC, try to install the updates again. If the error still persists, try other methods illustrated below.
Method 2 - Repair Windows
Here are the steps that you need to follow to repair Windows:
First, close all programs and then reboot your PC. Insert the Windows DVD into the computer’s disk drive and wait for the setup to begin.
If for any reason, the setup doesn’t start automatically, then don’t worry simply click start, then type Drive: setup.exe in the search box. Please note, in the drive insert the letter of your computer’s DVD drive for example D:setup.exe.
Now in the programs list, click setup.exe And then click install now.
After that click ‘go online to obtain the latest updates for installation’, if you are asked for the Windows Product Key, then simply type it to proceed.
In the ‘Which kind of Installation do you want?’ option, click Upgrade.
When the Windows installation is complete, restart your PC and then run Windows update.
Method 3 - Clean the Registry
If the cause of error code 80070490 on your PC is related to registry corruption, then it is advisable to download Restoro. This is an advanced and easy-to-use PC Repair Tool embedded with a registry cleaner.
The registry cleaner scans your entire PC, removes all obsolete and unnecessary files corrupting the registry, and cleans it right away.
Click here to download Restoro to repair error code 80070490
Social media is here to stay it seems, from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc each site has its users and its rules. Companies, bloggers, public figures, and people, in general, are using them on a daily basis and some are posting cool ads, nice graphics, videos, and many more in order to gain followers or just to share something that they think is worth.
Making your post look good is somewhat essential if you plan on reaching a larger audience and Adobe's Express aims to fill that gap. It is the latest Adobe product that is purposely made for graphic and video creation for social media.
Adobe is well known in the world of professional design in all spheres like print, web, and motion, with this application, they want to take over social media design with Express. The direct competitor to Spark and canva, Express is filled with high-quality adobe templates and some great stuff found in photoshop like automatic background removal which gives it an edge over other applications.
The good thing about Express is that there is a completely free version and premium, like its competitors but with some benefits that clearly show that Adobe is determined to place its application on top of the game. The free plan includes:
Thousands of unique templates, design assets, and Adobe Fonts.
A limited collection of royalty-free Adobe Stock-free collection photos.
Basic editing and photo effects including remove background and animate.
Create on both web and mobile.
2GB of storage.
For 10 USD per month of 100 USD prepaid annual fee, you get a premium plan that includes:
All premium templates and design assets.
The entire collection of over 160 million royalty-free Adobe Stock collection* photos.
Over 20,000 licensed Adobe Fonts, curved type, grids, and font pairs.
Premium features like refine cutout, resize, and graphic groups.
Plan, schedule, and publish social media content across multiple channels.
Add your branding, logo, colors, and fonts in one tap.
Convert & export to and from PDFs and other file types.
Create, manage, and share your templates and assets with Creative Cloud Libraries.
Create on both web and mobile.
100GB of storage.
The application itself is incredibly easy to learn and to work with and literally, anyone can pick it up and start creating immediately. No matter are you just starting with social media or using Canva or Spark, give Express a go, make a free account and try it, I guarantee that you will find some features amazing, and its ease of use relaxing.
Something we are used to doing in a certain way inside Windows 10 is slightly changed in Windows 11. One of those things is how you open task manager, well kind of.
Option to right-click on the taskbar and launch task manager is gone but do not worry there are other same and simple ways you can launch it.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC or CTRL + ALT + DEL
Right-click on the START button
Type task manager in start search on top in the start menu
Type taskmgr in command prompt
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open run dialog and type in taskmgr
And that’s it, now depending on your situation, you might use different methods to evoke task manager.
Default Taskbar inside Windows 11 is pretty good if we are talking about its height. Sitting at 48 pixels it is a pretty decent size considering functionality and size ratio but if you want to make it a little larger or smaller know that you can do that as well in order to customize it for your personal needs.
Sadly in order to actually change height size, you will have to do it inside the registry editor, but worry not, we are here with you to guide you all the way, one step at a time.
Also, note that you can only change Taskbar from normal size of 48px to either small of 32px or large gapping at 72px. Icons will also be scaled proportionally with the taskbar.
Guide
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog
Inside run dialog type in RegEdit and press ENTER
In registry editor locate and find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Right Click on it to select it and create a new DWORD (32-bit) value
Name the value TaskbarSi
Inside TaskbarSi double click in order to set the value to 0 if you want a small size Taskbar, 1 is if you want to revert back to medium (standard one), or type in 2 if you want a large Taskbar.
Save and close the Registry editor
Reboot PC
And there you go, you have successfully changed Taskbar size inside Windows 11. If you want to revert back to standard size just repeat steps and place 1 as a value in point 6.
We have often talked about the security of your computer, we have been giving you tips and tried to explain how to best protect your computer from various attacks and malicious software. Today we will be talking about antivirus applications.
Antivirus software has become the kind of a must-have in every computer in this day and age. When you think about it, our systems are connected to the internet most of the time if not always, and therefore kind placed in from the line of various cyber-attacks. Here antivirus software comes into focus, especially because it has evolved long from just a simple virus removal tool to full security suites.
We will be going through the best of these applications in order to present both their good and bad sides and hope that we will help you in picking the right one for you. Remember, picking either one of the presented solutions is way better than not having one at all. The list is made from best down in our opinion so number one is highly recommended.
List of Best antivirus applications of 2021
BitDefender
In our opinion the best overall security protection suite for this age and time. Bitdefender has cemented itself as number one a few years back and it holds that status even today. It has top-of-the-game virus protection, an incredible amount of features, safepay banking online protection and it is amazingly cheap. Its downside we could say is that it can be annoying sometimes, especially if you set it to maximum protection and paranoid mode. In this case, it will often ask what to do and how to behave leading to minor annoyances.
Norton antivirus
Norton antivirus is well known to older computer users, this package has been around a long time and it is our pick for closest one to challenge top place because of its packed features. The number of features it has are really stunning and it comes also with great and maybe best-browsing protection of all candidates. It also has a backup tool bundled with it but the reason why it is in the second place is that it is taxing to the system and can have a real impact on computer performance. Great protection is important, but so it is working on it without slowdowns.
Kaspersky
Another one of the old antivirus software on the list. Kaspersky Lab was once top tier antivirus software but it dropped down due to its high prices, later they have changed their pricing to be more in trend with other rival companies but many have switched to something else. Today it still packs one of the best antivirus engines with fast and configurable scans. It also has very impressive anti-ransomware features but sadly most of the things it just simply does for you leaving you to fully trust it since you cannot really configure much. It is not in step with new technologies and it is lacking some features like support for the Chrome browser that places it lower in our ranking.
Trend Micro antivirus
The biggest sell point for this antivirus application is probably its ease of use and user-friendliness. It also packs a great antivirus engine and impressive anti-ransomware performance but sadly it comes with very limited configurability and somewhat lack of features comparing it with the top three entries. Never the less a very user-friendly application that you can configure without knowing any kind of tech talk, everything is laid out in simple English.
Avira
Perhaps best known for its free version, Avira has a premium one that is well better worth than the free version. Strong suites of this software are mostly aimed at the internet with its great anti-phishing and web protection along with a low price for all of its features. Sadly in the domain of virus protection, there are some reports from independent websites that its antivirus engine is not so great, it will offer you moderate protection but not the best.
Webroot Secure Anywhere
If you are on the lookout for software that has a great virus database and plenty of features but is also incredibly light weighted and fast then look no further, Webroot Secure Anywhere is an application for you, incredibly fast and incredibly small is a great solution for older machines. It keeps all of its databases up in the cloud and this feature among its great advantages is also its greatest disadvantage since if you are out of the internet you will not be able to have the latest virus definitions available to you making this tool very situational.
Avast
Avast has many great protection features and it is very highly configurable. The firewall comes also in its premium edition and it offers great virus protection including a file shredder and awesome WI-FI inspector for an extra layer of security. This package would be higher on the list if it was not for its lack of WEB protection and its tool on the system resources.
Sophos home antivirus
Lack of features and somewhat strange user interface are downsides of this software but on its positive side it has good antivirus engine and its user interface is very friendly. Where it shines though is in its price, for one affordable price you get protection for 10 devices making this option a great choice for anyone wanting to protect more devices or just use a single license for the whole family.
ESET antivirus
Greatly configurable antivirus software with tons of options and very light on system resources makes ESET one of the best out there. Virus engine and database is also top tier but some testing labs have reported that protection offering is not really what it is advertised and if we talk about its strong suite of a great many options and configurations it is at the same moment its downside since it is not very friendly to novice and beginner users.
McAfee antivirus
McAfee antivirus comes in its package with unlimited VPN service and if we take look at the top tier pricing plan it is a great investment. Sadly for its entry-level price, it covers only a single device and it was reported that it packs little outdated virus engine if we compare it with its rivals. Nevertheless, it still offers good virus protection and if you take into account the VPN that comes with it, it can find its users.
Conclusion
No matter which antivirus you choose you will not go wrong, after all any protection is way better than none.
Windows 10 supports various devices to get connected to which makes it quite a flexible operating system. The connection varies on the fact that the device can be connected either with Bluetooth or other wireless and wired connection. However, no matter how great the features are, there a few times when they bring in some bugs too. One of these bugs won’t allow you to either remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device from your Windows 10 computer. So if you are currently experiencing this problem, read on as this post will guide you in fixing it.
Before you go over the suggestions laid out below, you need to create a System Restore Point first since, in one of the options, you will be making some changes with the registry files as well as some critical Windows settings. Once you have that covered, refer to the following options.
Option 1 – Configure the Bluetooth Services
The first thing you can do is configure Bluetooth Services.
Tap the Win + R key combination to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
You will then see a list of services and from there, look for the following services and make sure that their default values are set as follows:
Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service – Manual (Triggered)
Bluetooth Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
Bluetooth User Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
Now click on the Start button to start all the aforementioned services and then check if you can now remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device.
Option 2 – Try running the Bluetooth Troubleshooter
As you know, Windows 10 has various troubleshooters with user-friendly interfaces where you can utilize them to fix issues in your PC. And since you’re dealing with some Bluetooth problem, you have to run the Bluetooth Troubleshooter.
Open the Windows 10 Settings.
Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
You should find the option for Bluetooth on your right-hand side – click on it then click on the “Run the troubleshooter” option.
Now follow the next screen options.
Option 3 – Try to reinstall or update the Bluetooth driver
The issue might have something to do with the Bluetooth drivers. It could be that it is outdated and needs to be updated or that you recently updated it and since then you have trouble removing the Bluetooth device and so to fix the issue, you can update, roll back or uninstall the Bluetooth drivers. How? Follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + X keys to open the Device Manager.
Next, look for the Bluetooth device and right-click on it.
Select the option “Update driver”.
After that, a new popup window will appear. In there, select the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software”.
Note: Checking the update may take a few minutes so you’ll have to wait until it finishes. If it is able to find an update, you must install it.
Option 4 – Get rid of any interference
If you have several wireless devices in the same room as your PC then it might have caused interference with the current connection in your PC which is why you have to switch off all the other devices and then try removing reinstalling the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.
Option 5 – Remove or reinstall the Bluetooth devices in a Clean Boot State
You might want to uninstall or remove the Bluetooth Devices while your computer is in a Clean Boot State. Putting your computer in this state will surely help especially if there are some processes that prevent the Bluetooth devices from being removed or reinstalled.
Log onto your PC as an administrator.
Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
Click Disable all.
Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
After that, try to reinstall or remove the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.
As you know, the Windows 10 Action Center has a stack of all the notifications that come from different applications on your computer. So each time an app displays notifications, it will be displayed for about 5 seconds and then it disappears right away. Although the allotted time for the notifications to be displayed is quite enough to catch your attention and help you get a glance at the message, there are times when you might miss it and you hoped it could’ve been displayed a lot longer. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can increase or decrease the display time of the notification in Windows 10.
The best way you can view the missed notification is to click on the Action Center. From there, you will see all the notifications that are grouped by the applications. This means that if you have a lot of notifications, it would be hard for you to find what you are looking for. Thus, in such cases, the best way you can do is to increase the display time for which notification to stay on the screen.
To get started, refer to the instructions given below.
Step 1: Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
Step 2: Next, navigate to Home > Ease of Access > Display.
Step 3: After that, scroll down to the end until you see the dropdown to change the notifications where you should see the “Show notifications for”.
Step 4: Then you can change the time from the default 5 seconds to 7, 15, 30, and so on.
Step 5: Once done, the display time of the notifications should stay longer but keep in mind that you must choose the length wisely so if you have notifications from a lot of apps, then the screen will also be filled with multiple notification cards.
If you have just installed the latest Cumulative Update on your Windows 10 computer and you find that since then, the Windows 10 Start Search is not displaying any results when you try to use it to search for something in your computer, then this post might help as it will give you some suggestions to fix the problem.
This problem might be caused by some bugs brought in by the new cumulative update you’ve installed. It is also possible that Cortana is having some issues or that the Windows Search service hasn’t been initialized. Whatever the cause is, here are some suggestions you need to follow to fix this issue. You can try running the Search and Indexing troubleshooter or configure the
Run Search and Indexing Troubleshooter
Configure the Windows Firewall
Reinstall Cortana.
Option 1 – Try to run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter
The first thing you can do is to run the Search and Indexing troubleshooter in Windows 10 as it checks whether the settings for Cortana are in place and automatically corrects any issues if the update or software installation has changed the settings. To run it just click on the Start button and select Settings > Updates and Security > Troubleshoot. From there, select the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter.
Option 2 – Restart Cortana’s process in the Task Manager
Restarting Cortana’s process in the Task Manager could also help you resolve the problem. Refer to the steps given below to do so.
Tap the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys to open the Security options window.
From there, look for the Task Manager in the given list and open it.
Next, look for the process of Cortana and right-click on it, and then select the End Task option to end its process.
After that, the Cortana process will restart by itself and re-initialize.
Option 3 – Try resetting Cortana
Open Cortana and go to the Settings section where you’ll see the “Turning off Cortana clears what Cortana knows on this device, but won’t delete anything from the Notebook. After Cortana is off, you can decide what you’d like to do with anything still stored in the cloud” option. Turn this option off.
Restart your PC.
After your computer boots, launch Cortana again and check.
Option 4 – Try to configure the Windows Firewall
Tap the Win + Fn + Shift (Pause) keys to open Control Panel.
From there, open the Windows Defender Firewall applet and click on the Advanced Settings to open the Windows Firewall with the Advanced Security panel.
Next, click on the Outbound Rules section and look for Cortana and then double click on it to open its Properties.
After that, make sure that the “Allow the connection” is selected although this is the default working setting.
Option 5 – Try to reinstall Cortana
If none of the options given above works, you must consider reinstalling Cortana.
First, right-click on the Taskbar and select the Task Manager.
Next, select File menu > Run new task and type “Powershell” in the field and then select the “Create this task with administrative privileges” option.
Click on OK to open the PowerShell console.
After that, type the following command and hit Enter to execute it:
Error Code 100?? Whenever a Setup error contains error codes in the message, this indicates what the setup was operating on, let’s say copying files.
The text in the error message will determine whether that it is fatal or not. An error code 100 is a system error that is displayed as ‘ERROR_TOO_MANY_SEMAPHORES’ or as a value 0x64.
This error means that the system ‘cannot create another system semaphore.’ A semaphore is used in controlling access to parallel programming or a multi-user platform through multiple processes.
This error can prevent certain features of your Windows to perform properly, like trying to get a print, copying files, deleting files, or any other routine computer activities.
Solution
Error Causes
Error code 100 can affect a wide range of activities that you normally perform on your PC. This error can occur for a number of reasons, of which some of the common ones include:
When the account used for starting AOS does not match the database in SQL Server
When the AOS licenses have exceeded their limit
When the SQL Server database is incorrectly case sensitive
Though these are the common causes for error code 100, there can be other ways through which this error can occur. To find out the specific cause for error code 100, follow these steps:
Go to Start and select All Programs. Go to Administrative Tools and click Even Viewer
Click Application in Even Viewer
Locate the error message in the right pane by scrolling down
Click on the error message and see if the message applies to the error code.
Further Information and Manual Repair
In order to manually repair this error, you will have to work with your Network Administrator as they will have security privileges to take the steps. However, there are more than one ways to resolve this issue, for instance:
Starting SQL Server Service
A likely cause of an error code 100 can be that your SQL Server service is not started. To activate it, follow these steps:
Got to Start and Click on All Programs, go to Administrative Tools and click on Services
Find SQL/MSSQLServer service
Right Click on it and click Start to activate the service
Network Resolve
If you are connected to a network, then you can work with your network administrator to fix error code 100. Follow these steps to resolve this error:
Got to Start and then Run. Type dcomcnfg and press Enter
Locate Default Security and click it
Find Default Access Permissions and click Edit Default
You should locate System and Interactive, listed in the Allow Access. If they’re not listing, you can add them by clicking Add
Find the local computer in the list and click on Allow Access