Fixing DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Stop Error on Windows 10

Parallels is an application developer for MAC OS mostly known for its PC virtualization software Parallels Desktop, a PC virtualization software running on Macs enabling running Windows and Linux with respective software on your MAC. With its latest Desktop 17 version, the software can run natively on both Intel-based and M1-based MACs. Thanks to this feature MAC users will be able to benefit from various speed improvements while running both Windows 10 or Windows 11 preview. On both Intel and M1 setups, Parallels resumes Windows and Linux up to 38% faster, provides an up to 25% bump in 2D graphics and a six-time increase in OpenGL graphics processing. M1-centric stats include 33% faster Windows start-up times, up to 28% faster DirectX 11 performance, and up to 20% better disk performance on Windows 10 Insider Preview. Parallels Desktop 17 delivers a set of fresh features including a new video driver that enhances video and game playback and boosts Windows UI responsiveness. An improved Coherence mode lets users run Windows apps within the Mac environment, cutting down on distracting changes in appearance during Windows sign-in, shut down, and software updates. Drag-and-drop operations are also improved, with support for text and graphics between Mac and Windows applications. This function works well with MAC OS Monterey's Quick Note feature, which can accept content from any Windows app. USB support, disk management, copy and paste unformatted text, and automatic virtual machine optimization also receive upgrades.

Windows 11 is released and its adoption goes slower than Microsoft would like but nevertheless, it is slowly getting adopted, especially among new computers. Windows 11 has brought us a new modern look of OS but if you would like to personalize it a little more you can. Follow the guide on various things that you can change inside Windows 11.

Personalize list of recently added apps, opened items, folders

The recommended section that shows recently added apps and recently open items can be turned off and hidden now to be shown. In order to do this follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Settings by pressing WINDOWS + I
2. Click on personalization in the sidebar
3. Click on START and go through the options
4. Turn OFF switch beside recently accessed files
5. Additionally, you can also change which folders appear on the Start menu.

Remove apps or change app order on the Start Menu

To remove application not to be shown in the Start menu at all follow this simple guide:

1. Right-click on app
2. Choose unpin
3. To place the application on Start click on All Apps, right-click on the app and choose Pin to Start
4. To drag and rearrange apps, simply click on them and drag them to the new place.

Change the Start Menu location

When Windows 11 was first released Start Menu could only be located in the middle of the screen but thanks to plenty of backlash from users now it is possible to move it on a more traditional left side.

1. Press WINDOWS + I to open the settings app
2. Click on Personalization
3. Look for taskbar behaviors
4. Inside taskbar behaviors look for Taskbar alignment
5. Change alignment to left

Change the Start Menu color

In order to change the color of the Start Menu follow the next steps:

1. Open Settings app
2. Go to personalization settings
3. Go to Colors
4. Switch to custom
5. Under accent color pick a color you like or make your custom one.

Error 0x80070571 - What is it?

If you are a Windows 7 user and you also have a Maxtor One Touch 4 external hard drive installed on your PC, then you may come across the error code 0x80070571. The error code is displayed in the following format:

"The disk structure is corrupt and unreadable. Error 0×80070571"

Solution

Error Causes

Here are some of the common causes of the error 0×80070571:

• Changed Windows files or settings
• Maxtor 750G driver damaged or corrupt
• Damaged or corrupt registry keys
• System files are missing or broken

In short, the error code 0×80070571 indicates an unhealthy system and is a surefire sign of poor PC maintenance. It is advisable to repair and resolve the error immediately especially if the underlying cause of the error is related to the registry. Such errors can expose your PC to serious threats like system failure, crashes, and valuable data loss. And retrieving data is often the hardest.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve the error 0×80070571 on your system, you don’t need to be a computer programmer or hire a technician either. We have listed down the best and simplest ways to fix this error on your system. These solutions are so easy to follow and execute that it requires no technical expertise whatsoever. So, let’s get started:

Solution 1: Update The Maxtor 750G Driver

The best way to fix the error 0×80070571 on your system is to update the Maxtor 750G driver. This can be easily done by either contacting the manufacturer or downloading the updated version from Maxtor’s official website.

Solution 2: Update Windows

For the smooth running of the PC, it is crucial to keep Windows updated. Therefore, update Windows on your PC. To do this, go to the Windows Update option in the control panel. This will show your updated status. Turn it on and click on update.

Solution 3: Clean the Registry

The registry basically stores all the activities and information on your PC. This includes both important and unimportant data including the junk files, cookies, internet history, bad registry keys and invalid entries. Such files if not removed, take up a lot of disk space. It corrupts the registry and damages the system files as well. Furthermore, it also leads to disk fragmentation because of which new files are stored in fragments in different locations and this is exactly why it takes a long time to call system files. The registry damage and corruption then generates various errors on your PC and one of them is error 0×80070571. The best way to clean and restore the registry is to download Restoro. This is a highly functional and next-generation registry cleaner. It is embedded with a smart algorithm that detects and scans all registry issues and errors on your system in seconds. It removes all the unnecessary and obsolete files accumulated and cluttering your PC. Furthermore, it fixes the damaged system files and restores the registry right away. It has a sophisticated and an easy to use interface that enables users to work around it without any hassle or technical expertise. It is compatible with all Windows versions. In addition to this, this tool is also deployed with several other value-added utilities such as an antivirus, a system optimizer and Active X controls, and a class ID scanner. It is safe and efficient. Click here to download Restoro on your PC and repair error 0×80070571 today!

If you are trying to update your Windows 10 computer using Windows Update but encounter an error code 0x80242006, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in fixing this particular Windows Update error. This kind of error might be due to mishandling by the operating system. It could also be caused by the antivirus program or security software installed in your computer. When you encounter this error, you will see the following error message on your screen as you try to run Windows Update:

“0x80242006, WU_E_UH_INVALIDMETADATA. A handler operation could not be completed because the update contains invalid metadata.”

Here are some troubleshooting tips you can try to fix Windows Update Error 0x80242006.

Option 1 – Try to 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 command and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

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

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

Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

If resetting the Windows Update components 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 this one. 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 3 – Try to disable your antivirus program

Disabling the antivirus program or any security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when the Windows Update process does not go smoothly. So before you try updating your computer again, make sure to disable the antivirus or security program and once the Windows Update is done, don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 4 – Check the Background Intelligent Service and the Cryptographic Service

• 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:
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service – Manual
  • Cryptographic Service ­– Automatic
• After that, check if the Service status of the listed services above are 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 5 – Run the System File Checker Scan

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

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

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

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

• Restart your computer.

Option 6 – Try running the DISM tool

You can try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool to fix the Windows Update error 0x80242006. 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
• After that, wait until the process is finished and do not close the window as the process will probably take a couple of minutes.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

If you are typing inside the Search bar, Cortana, Taskbar, Windows 10 apps, etc., and then everything seems invisible then read on as this post will guide you in fixing this issue. At first, you might think that something is wrong with your keyboard but it really has nothing to do with it. The problem actually lies with the apps from Microsoft Store. Thus, if you can’t type anything in any of the apps from Microsoft Store in Windows 10, refer to the options given below to fix them.

Option 1 – Ensure that ctfmon.exe is running

Ctfmon.exe is a Microsoft process in Windows 10 that controls the Alternative User Input as well as the Office Language bar. In other words, it enables end-users to control the computer using on-screen keyboard inputs, speech, and even pen for various languages. It would be better if you launch the program once by going to the C:/Windows/system32 folder. Doing so will ensure that whatever API is needed for the keyboard typing to work properly again. You also have to make sure that its startup status is not disabled. In addition, you can also try the following steps, alternatively.

• Open the Task Scheduler.
• Then go to Microsoft > Windows > TextServicesFramework.
• And on the MsCtfMonitor, right-click and enable the task.
• Now restart your computer.

This will ensure that all the text boxes will start to work again. And if the task MsCtfMonitor is missing from the list of tasks, you can import it with the XML file from basics.net. Then download and create a task to run it each time you log in to your PC.

Option 2 – Use the Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter

You might also try running the Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter as it can help in resolving issues with the Windows Store apps. This built-in tool can resolve most of the app-related problems. To use it, go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshooting > Windows Store Apps and from there, click the start the troubleshooter button. The Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter will scan the computer for any issues with the Windows store apps and will automatically fix them if it finds any.

Option 3 – Re-register all the Windows 10 UWP apps using PowerShell

• First, make sure to close all the running applications on your computer.
• Next, in the Start search, type in PowerShell and right click on the result, and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After that, type the following commands to re-register the Windows 10 apps. Make sure to hit Enter on each line:
  • reg delete "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionTileDataModelMigrationTileStore" /va /f
  • get-appxpackage -packageType bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + "appxmetadataappxbundlemanifest.xml")}
  • $bundlefamilies = (get-appxpackage -packagetype Bundle).packagefamilyname
  • get-appxpackage -packagetype main |? {-not ($bundlefamilies -contains $_.packagefamilyname)} |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + "appxmanifest.xml")}

Option 4 – Try to run the DISM tool

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

• 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 the System File Checker Scan

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

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

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

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

• Restart your PC.

DirectX encountered unrecoverable error usually face gamers when they try to star certain game. In this guide, we will help you to get over it and solve the issue. Follow steps in this guide one after another since they go from most simple ones to complex ones so following is advised in order not to waste a ton of time and resources doing wrong tasks.

1. Check your game page and your DirectX

   The first and most common thing that can cause this type of error is when your installed DirectX is not the same version that the game requires. Check the game store page to see system requirements and write down which DirectX version it requires in order to run. Then press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to bring run dialog and type in it DXDIAG and press ENTER DX diagnostic window will pop up and at the bottom, you can find which DirectX version is installed on your system. If versions are different, install the required DirectX version and run the game.

2. Update or reinstall GPU drivers

   DirectX can get corrupted via bad driver update, in order to fix this, reinstall or update your Graphic drivers to the latest version from the official manufacturers' website.

3. Set custom scaling to 100

   Go into Windows settings and set custom Display scaling to a value of 100, sign out, and then sign back in.

4. Delete registry key

   Note that you should do this as the last option and be very careful since you can crash whole Windows in this way. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog and type RegEdit in it to open the registry editor. Find this key: ComputerHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTPROTOCOLSFiltertext/XML and delete it from the registry, you might want to do a backup of the registry first, just in case.

Same as Windows 10, Windows 11 also keeps track of date and time using an internet time server. But in a case that you need to change the date or time for any kind of reason here is a guide for that process:

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
2. Click on Time & Language in Taskbar
3. Inside Time & Language click on Date & Time
4. Turn off Set Time Automatically by clicking on the switch next to it
5. Below find Set the date and time manually and click on Change
6. Inside, Change Date and Time window use the drop-down menu to set desired date and time

Did you know you can use emoji in file names inside Windows 10? It is no secret that emojis are basically everywhere and Microsoft has seen this and integrated them into Windows itself, so you can name files using emojis or combine them with text. Placing emojis in file names or in the text is extremely easy, all you have to do is press ⊞ WINDOWS + . and the emoji dialog will open from where you can find which emoji you would like to use. And that's it, you just used emoji for the file naming.

!!!NOTE!!!

In theory, some applications may not like these emojis if they don’t support Unicode characters. However, modern applications are designed to work with a broad set of languages that should properly support emojis. For example, the classic Windows Command Prompt can’t see emoji characters in file names properly, but both PowerShell and Microsoft’s new Windows Terminal can display them properly. If you do run into a problem, you can always open File Explorer and rename the affected files and folders to remove the emoji characters. You can then use those files in applications that don’t properly support emoji file names.

This post will help you fix the request that failed due to a fatal device hardware error on your Windows 10 PC. You can encounter this error when that hard drive/SSD on your computer is damaged physically and the system is either unable to access or perform read/write operations in it. Aside from hard drive/SSD, this error can also happen to removable drives. This kind of error is not uncommon and in most cases, the hardware is physically damaged due to which you are not able to perform operations. However, there are a couple of fixes that you can try to resolve the problem before you go ahead and back up your data and move them to a different drive. What exactly causes this error? It’s actually self-explanatory and it gives you an idea that the drive is either corrupted or in a bad state. To resolve the error, follow the given options below carefully and see which one worked best for you.

Option 1 – Verify the hard drive using SMART attributes

In case you don’t know, Windows has a built-in feature of SMART analysis which analyzes the hard drive/SSD and checks all the parameters by performing some minor operations. To use it, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + S keys and type “command prompt” in the field then right-click on the related search result and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After opening Command Prompt as admin, type the “wmic diskdrive get status” command and hit Enter.
• You should get a result after that, and if you see that it’s “normal”, proceed to the next option below.

Option 2 – Use the CHKDSK utility

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.

• 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 [volume [[path] filename]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/C] [: size]]

Note: In the command given above, “[/F]” will try to fix the system errors while “[/R]” will be the one to fix the bad sectors.

• 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.

Option 3 – Format your drive

You can try formatting your drive since this problem also occurs on removable hard drives. In addition, if your drive is not properly initialized, this error will really pop up. Thus, you need to make sure that the hard drive is initialized and that the correct partition style is selected.

• To get started formatting your drive, tap the Win + E keys and then go to the access page of the drive.
• Next, right-click on the drive and select Format.
• After that, uncheck the “Quick Format” option and then format your drive properly.
• Now once the formatting process is finished, unplug the drive and plug it back in afterward.
• Check if the error is already fixed. If the drive is not initialized, tap the Win + R keys and hit Enter.
• After opening the Run dialog box, type “diskmgmt.msc” and hit Enter to open Disk Management.
• From there, right-click on the drive volume and select Initialize Disk.
• Next, select the correct partition type and proceed.

That should fix the problem, if not, follow the next advanced option below.

The Windows 10 operating system supports the logging in of multiple users at the same time. Aside from that, it also allows administrators to create a Guest Account that has limited rights. However, there are some instances when you could encounter an error when you use the Guest Account. The error may state:

“Shell Infrastructure Host has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Please close the program”.

This error indicates that the Shell Infrastructure Host or SiHost.exe process that is used for handling graphical elements, has crashed. And to fix this error, there are several options you can check out. You can try to reinstall the Microsoft Redistributable Packages or run a System File Checker scan. In addition, you can also use a new Guest Account or troubleshoot the problem in a Clean Boot State.

Option 1 – Try to install or repair Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2013

A corrupted Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package or the absence of it can trigger the “Shell Infrastructure Host has stopped working” error – so if you do not have this package yet, you have to install it but if you already have it, follow the steps below to repair it.

• Open Control Panel and proceed to Program and Features.
• Under Programs and Features, look for Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package among the list.
• Then right-click on it and click the Change button.
• Next, you should see the Repair option – click on it to repair the installation of the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package.
• The process may take a couple of minutes before it finishes so once it does, you have to restart your PC.

After doing all these steps and you still encounter the problem, you might have to uninstall this package and download it directly from Microsoft’s website. However, if you are using Windows 10, you might not be able to do so since it only supports Windows versions up to Windows 8.1 so just proceed to the next option below.

Option 2 – Try to run a System File Checker scan

• 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 Windows Script Host error.

Option 3 – Try using a new Guest Account

You might want to use a new Guest Account as it could help get rid of the error. All you have to do is have your admin delete the old Guest Account and create a new one and see if it helps in fixing the error.

Option 4 – Try troubleshooting the problem in a Clean Boot State

Setting your computer in a Clean Boot State can help you diagnose and later troubleshoot the problems in your computer. During this state, the system will start with a minimal number of drivers and startup programs that help in isolating the problem with the interfering software. To put your computer in a Clean Boot State, follow the given steps below.

• Log onto your computer 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.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.