Application side-by-side configuration ...

Error Code0x80070426 - What is it?

When Windows evolved into Windows 10, the program known as Windows Security Essentials is no longer. It is now the program known as Windows Defender. When a computer is upgraded from a previous version of Windows up to Windows 10, the Windows Defender takes over and will replace the Security Essentials. In a small percentage of Windows 10 upgrades, something will go wrong and the new program will fail to replace Security Essentials. The result will be that the operating system has both of the programs installed. In this case, Windows Defender will not offer any protection and Security Essentials will not be able to defend either. This error code will also present itself when the Windows Mail App in Windows 10 fail to retrieve and sync email from the user's account.

Common symptoms include:

• There will be an error message that says: “An error has occurred in the program initialization. If this problem does continue, contact your System Admin. Error code 0x80070426.”
• The computer will be left completely vulnerable to spyware and viruses.
• The Windows Mail App will not be able to retrieve mail and will not sync with the PC user's mail.
• The user can be doing anything on their computer and the error code will show up unprompted.
• The computer will lock up, become slow, crash, or even freeze when dealing with error code 0x80070426.
• The programs from an older version of Windows do not replace the newer version from Windows 10.

Solution

Error Causes

Error code 0x80070426 will present itself when a PC user has upgraded their OS from a previous version of Windows to the new Windows 10 version. When this happens, a small portion of users will experience the disconnect between older versions of specific programs, namely the virus protection. When the previous version of the program under a different name is not completely removed and the new virus protection program is installed, the programs will cancel each other out and collectively offer no protection.

This error code may also be found when Windows 10 tries to sync the user's email with the Windows Mail App.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There are a few methods to repair this problem. It should be noted that should anyone feel that the instructions are too complicated, they should contact a Windows repair technician to ensure that the error is fixed properly.

Method One: Uninstall Microsoft Essentials

Hold down the Windows Key and press R. Type in taskmgr into the run dialogue. You should locate the Windows Defender Service (this may show up as Windefend). Right-click on it and then choose Stop.

This will stop the program, but the program will start back up automatically when the computer restarts. While this program is stopped, uninstall Essentials.

To do this: go to Control Panel, Programs, and Features, Uninstall a Program. Alternately, you may hold down the Windows Key and press R, type in appwiz.cpl, click OK, and then locate Microsoft Essentials. Uninstall it, and then restart your computer.

After this is done, go to Settings, Update, and Security. Choose Windows Defender and ensure that Real-time protection is on. Refer back to the Task Manager, Services. Make sure that Defender service is on and running.

Method Two: If the problem occurs in the Windows Mail App

When error code 0x80070426 presents itself in the form of an error with the Mail app, it may be necessary to run an SFC scan.

Right-click on the Start menu or Windows icon, and select Command prompt. The command prompt may be navigated by using shortcut keys Win and X and then select it.

Run the command prompt and then type in sfc /scannow and then press enter. The SFC scan will be run, and be careful not to abort the process before it has finished. This will scan for any files that are lost or corrupt on the PC.

If the scan has found any corrupt files, type in this code and then hit Enter: findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%LogsCBSCBS.log >”%userprofile%Desktopsfcdetails.txt.

To skip the repair of corrupt or missing files, type in: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. The details of the scan can be found on the sfcdetails.txt file that will be on the desktop.

Method Three: Use An Automated Tool

If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.

Next-generation of RAM, DDR5 supposed to hit shelves around late summer or fall in 2021if everything goes as planned. Its goal is to increase speed and efficiency, wants to pack more memory in a single stick, and have better power management.

Hardware requirements for DDR5

Using the latest memory technology will require other hardware to follow certain standards and the first ones that will need to follow are CPUs and Motherboards. Intel is already prepared with its Alder Lake CPUs that suppose to come out also later this year. AMD on other hand has not stated anything at the time of this writing but it is a bet that their next generation that will come in 2022 will have full support. It is speculated that bot companies and their respective CPUs will have both support for DDR4 and DDR5. A story about motherboards is a little different. Motherboards will support DDR4 or DDR5 memory banks, not both, so make sure that your motherboard will support the memory you plan on getting.

Capacity of memory

The goal and aim for the DDR5 memory stick are to reach a whopping 126GB per stack. This will be done by using a dual in-line module or DIMM enabling larger capacity. That being said, the first modules that we will see are more likely to be 16GB as standard and 8GB as low entry ones.

Power consumption of DDR5 memory

The standard voltage that DDR4 operates under is 1.2V. DDR5 wants to lower this to 1.1V without sacrificing speed. Voltage regulation on modules themselves will be now integrated on memory banks instead of leaving that to motherboards which will help to detect memory errors directly on the memory bank.

Speed of memory

The most common speed of DD4 memory banks is 2,666MHz, more expansive ones go from 3,600 to 4,000MHz. DD5 aims to raise this bar to 4,800MHz and offers greater speed.

Should you get it right away?

Hardware is ever-evolving, we have PCIe 3.0 to PCIe 4.0, and taking into account that sometimes the newest tech can cause some unexpected behavior it is always the best strategy to wait for a little. Price for the newest tech has also been in its heist just when it is released and seeing how DDR5 will benefit mostly servers mostly since even today memory, processors, and other available equipment can tackle all daily tasks.

The Local Security Authority Subsystem Service or LSASS.exe is a process in the Windows operating system that is valuable as it enforces the security policy on the computer. Every time you log in to the Windows Server, the LSASS.exe is the one that handles the password changes and creates the access tokens while updating the security log. However, it is also frequently targeted by malware and is often imitated. The original location of this file is at “C:/Windows/System32” so if you open the Task Manager and notice that a process with a similar name has a different location then it is definitely a threat and is exploiting the security of your computer. To resolve issues related to LSASS.exe, here are some fixes that could help.

Option 1 – Use the Performance Monitor’s Active Directory Data Collector

Note that this option will only work on the recent Windows server versions. Refer to the steps below to use the Performance Monitor’s Active Directory Data Collector set on your computer.

• Tap the WINKEY + R button to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Perfmon.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance Monitor and from there open the Server Manager.
• Next, navigate to Diagnostics > Reliability and Performance > Data Collector Sets > System from the left side of the navigation bar.
• Then right-click on “Active Directory Diagnostics” and select Start from the context menu. This will take about 5 minutes or 300 seconds depending on the performance capabilities of your hardware to gather the data required and then take some more time to compile a report from the gathered data. Note that these timings are dependent on one another.
• After the report is compiled, you can find it under Diagnostics > Reliability and Performance > Reports > System > Active Directory Diagnostics. The report will contain all the information as well as conclusions. However, it does not mean that it will also contain the exact cause of the problem with LSASS.exe. Nevertheless, it should help you in fixing the problem.

Option 2 – Try to run the System File Checker

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 that might be the cause why the LSASS.exe file is having some issues. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right-click on the appropriate search result.
• Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• 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.

 Now restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 3 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

If none of the options given above helped, you can try putting your computer in a Clean Boot State as this can help you in finding any incompatible programs that’s causing the problem.

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

Once you’ve found any incompatible programs, you need to uninstall them. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
• After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
• From there, look for the concerned program and select it and then uninstall it.

Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.

Microsoft store is ready and prepared for Windows 11 official release on October 5^th and it is coming with some surprises. It has officially confirmed that many open source and free applications will be in it like Opera, VLC, discord, Libre office, etc. It seems that Microsoft wants to place its store as one place to go for all of your software needs. Another great surprise is the coming of Epic games store implementation. It was officially confirmed but not explained in detail, will we have Epic store opened in Windows store or we will only get installer as a package we will see but this is some great news. As for how it states now, it seems that the Windows store aims to eliminate searching the web for applications and bring them all into one environment with reviews and ratings so you know which one to install and use. It also features a great search engine to find proper applications for your needs. The new store will come to Windows 10 as well but after all Windows 11 has been mostly released and adopted. So expect it via update in two or three months' time. It would be great if some larger companies decide to join MS stores like Autodesk, Adobe, the Foundry, etc so you can install everything you need from it but one can only hope.

Runtime Error 429 - What is it?

Error 429 is a type of runtime error. It sometimes occurs when you use the new operator or the CreateObject function in Microsoft Visual Basics to create an instance of a Microsoft Office application. The error code is displayed on your computer screen in the following format:

Runtime Error ‘429’: Active X component Can’t Create Object

Solution

Error Causes

The runtime error code 429 is triggered for several reasons. These include:

• Mistake in the application
• Incorrect system configuration
• Missing ActiveX components in the application
• Damaged Active X and class application components
• DLL required by the application is damaged
• Active X object was not registered properly
• Corrupted applications
• Corrupted Windows registry
• Class ID issues

The runtime error code 429 not only causes you inconvenience as it hampers your ability to access programs but delays in repairing this error code can lead to serious PC damages such as system freezes, crashes, and failures.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve the runtime error 429 on your PC, try the following recommended solutions:

1. Re-register the Application Causing the Error

Identify the Office application causing the error and re-register it. For instance, if Office Excel is the prime cause of the error message pop up, simply re-register it. Click on the start menu and then run. Then type this in “: C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office/Excel.exe /regserver” and press OK. This will hopefully resolve the issue.

2. Go to The Microsoft Windows Script Update Page and Download Microsoft Updated Installation File

This will also assist you in repairing runtime error 429. Simply follow the installation wizard and update your MS Office Applications. The corrupted files and missing components in them would be easily corrected by the update file. However, if this doesn’t work, then this means that the cause is more crucial than you think. It is either related to damaged Active X objects or a corrupted Windows registry.

3. Repair the Active X objects and the Registry

To repair both the registry and the Active X objects in one go, it is advisable to download Restoro. This is an advanced, next-generation, highly and multi-functional PC repair tool. It is deployed with powerful and numerous utilities like a registry cleaner, Active X and class scanner, privacy error detector, and system stability module. The registry cleaner embedded in this repair tool enables you to wipe out obsolete, unnecessary, malicious, and invalid files and registry entries saved in the registry. It frees up your disk space, repairs damaged DLL files and the registry thus resolving the runtime error 429 on your system. The Active X object and Class feature identifies and scans Active X issues on your PC and resolves them right away. Besides this, with this error tool, you can also scan for viruses and also improve your PC performance.

Why Total System Care?

Total System Care is a one-stop solution to resolve all kinds of PC-related issues including the runtime error 429. To run it on your system, you don’t have to be a computer programmer. It is very easy to operate. It has easy navigation and a user-friendly interface. There is nothing complex about it. It is safe and efficient. It resolves all PC issues in a few seconds. You can run it in the background while performing other tasks on your system. Furthermore, it is compatible with all Windows versions. Click here to download Total System Care and resolve the Runtime Error 429 on your system today.

As you know, one of the useful and efficient utilities in Windows 10 is the DISM tool. It can be used with the Command Prompt command line which allows users to carry out various tasks. However, there are instances when the DISM tool could encounter some errors when you try to execute a command. One of these errors is the one that states, “The component store has been corrupted”. This kind of DISM error is due to an error in the image file. When you encounter the DISM Error 14098 when running the DISM tool, you will see the following content in the command line:

“C:>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:testmountwindows /LimitAccess Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 10.0.10586.0 Image Version: 10.0.10586.0 [==========================100.0% Error: 14098 The component store has been corrupted. The DISM log file can be found at C:WINDOWSLogsDISMdism.log C:>”

There are several fixes you can check out to fix the DISM Error 14098, “The component store has been corrupted”. You can try to run the Restore Health command or reset the Windows Update components, or whitelist the dism.exe in your antivirus program, as well as try to uninstall any recently installed updates. Follow the options provided below for more details.

Option 1 – Run the Restore Health command in a Clean Boot State

• First, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• Now open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type and enter this command to execute it: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
• Wait until the process is completed and restart your computer.

Note: If the Restore Health command fails, you can use the “/StartComponentCleanup parameter” by executing this command: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Option 2 – 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 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 – Whitelist the “dism.exe” in your antivirus program

The DISM error 14098 might also be caused by your antivirus program which could be interfering it from running. To fix this, you have to whitelist dism.exe. How? Refer to these steps:

• Open the Windows Defender Security Center from the system tray area.
• Next, click the “Virus & threat protection” option and then open the “Virus and threat protection settings”.
• After that, scroll down until you find the “Exclusions” and click on the “Add or remove exclusions” option.
• Then click the plus button and select the type of exclusion you want to add and from the drop-down list, select Folder.
• Next, navigate to this path and select the WinSxS folder: C:/Windows/WinSxS
• When a User Account Control or UAC prompt, just click on Yes to proceed.

Option 4 – Try to uninstall recently installed updates

There are times when some Windows Updates affect some mechanism internally when you update your Windows 10 computer. As a result, it causes issues with other components of the operating system which could be the reason why you’re getting the DISM error 14098.

• Go to Settings and select Update and Security > Windows Update.
• From there, click on the “View update history” option and then click on the “Uninstall Updates” option.
• This will open a new window that contains the list of installed Windows Updates.
• Now right click on the Windows Update you wish to uninstall and click Uninstall.

Can’t Find Games on Twitch is a common error happening to a vast variety of people. The issue can be traced back to browser issues to others like malware infection. In this guide, we will provide you with common fixes on how to overcome this issue so you can continue watching your favorite streamer.

1. Sign out of Twitch, then sign back in

   If it is a browser issue or some glitch in the Twitch system simply signing out and then signing back in will solve the issue since information about the account will be resent to the twitch platform.

2. Refresh the application

   Sometimes servers are having high traffic and can get overloaded, refresh the application in the upper left corner to reload content.

3. Use browser instead of Twitch application

   If you are still having issues with the application, open the twitch website and access content there.

4. Close twitch

   But in task manager. Sometimes just closing it via the X button is not enough, some glitches stay and the application is still running in the background. Open task manager and close it from there.

5. Scan system for malware

   Scan the entire system for malware, various malware can halt twitch and cause issues.

6. Reinstall application

   If everything else failed, reinstall the application.

Living in today's world sadly is still living in the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been more than a year and sadly pandemic is still very strong and we are battling it on a daily basis. Governments all over the world are trying to battle pandemics in their own way with their own ideas and prevention measures. We as individuals can not very much influence how will the pandemic itself go but fortunately in this modern age of information we can at least follow and be in the loop at the current state of the situation regarding it. Today instead of having a troubleshooting article or tips and trick for your PC we are doing something else but in the domain of internet technology, you know, just to keep everything still IT related ???? Below you will find websites with small descriptions of what they do to keep yourself informed and hope to get over this dreadful pandemic.

1. The WHO’s COVID-19 Dashboard

   If you are interested in real-time COVID-19 information about active cases, death tool so far, new cases and the number of vaccines administrated so far I would recommend WHO's dashboard. How WHO is a non-government institution composed of doctors from all over the world with just a single goal in mind, to help and put an end to this pandemic is a great non-biased source of information on the current state of virus spread.

2. Vaccine Finder

   Please be aware that Vaccinefinder is working only on the territory of the United States of America. The reason why it was included in this list is that basically it is a great idea and I hope to see this site expand on other world regions or at least that inspires the emergence of another worldwide website with this type of content. If you live in the USA, this site will be a great help since you can track where and how many shots are distributed to states and even towns in America.

3. COVID tracking project

   This site is also for U.S. residents, this time it is about tracking cases in each state with details and statistics. If you are interested in more detailed statistics of hospitalized patients per state or overall you are just interested in statistics about the pandemic in the U.S. this site might provide all the information about your needs.

4. NPR

   On national public radio or NPR for short, there is a special section devoted to the coronavirus where new articles about pandemic are released daily with new information and new findings on how to battle it and the current state of things. A great informational site to keep up with the current state of things.

5. Google's COVID-19 page

   Google has not been inactive during this pandemic and on its page specially dedicated to the COVID-19 virus you can find a lot of free information updated daily. From safety and prevention tips to data about pandemics there is a lot of ground covered on-page and we recommend at least going through the prevention section to inform yourself how to keep yourself and others safe.

6. Coronavirus tracker

   This daily updated chart can show how many cases and deaths are from chosen time period all in form of a chart, you can see charts for each country in the world how COVID cases rose or dropped along with the death tool it brought.

There you go, 6 websites to track and inform yourself about this dreaded pandemic which has managed to change the world and people's lives forever, sadly on the bad side.

The Internet has come a long way from its infant stages and has become so large and huge that it has gained the status of basic human rights. There are very useful information and a lot of great content on it and among them, there are social media websites and other types of websites where you have, most likely placed some personal pictures or other information. One day you might want to cancel some of the services or you would like to take a break from it all. In this guide we will show you how to do exactly that, to delete and remove your data from the internet.

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How to Delete Your Google Account

Google is arguably one of the most visited places on the Web. It stores a huge amount of data for delivering personalized content. It saves personal information, web searches, watched videos, location data, etc. You can view a summary of the data saved by different Google services by visiting your Google Dashboard. To delete personal data from Google, go to myactivity.google.com. Select the Delete activity by from the left menu to start deleting activities. Select All time to delete all of your activities from different Google services. You can also delete files saved to Google services, such as Google Photos, Google Drive, and Keep. Just visit the site, select the files, and delete them. Note that Google retains some information even after you delete all data. They do this to meet business needs and legal requirements. These will be deleted when you delete your Google account altogether.

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How to Delete Your Facebook Account

Facebook stores a huge amount of data for each user. Some of the personal information stored in Facebook’s databases includes name and email, check-ins, location, images, videos, events, etc. You can view and download all of your personal data using Facebook’s information download tool. However, you will need to delete your account altogether for removing your personal data from Facebook. Follow the below steps to delete your Facebook account.

1. Log in to your Facebook account and go to Settings & privacy > Setttings.
2. Select Your Facebook Information.
3. Select Deactivation and Deletion.
4. Select Delete Account.
5. Select Continue to Account Deletion.
6. Select Delete Account.
7. Enter your password and click Continue.

It can take up to 90 days for Facebook to delete your personal data from the Internet. You will not be able to access any of the data once the deletion starts. However, you can cancel this within the first 30 days.

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How to Delete Your Twitter Account

Twitter has also followed in the footsteps of Facebook when it comes to harvesting your personal data. It utilizes this information for delivering personalized ads and tweets. You can download an archive of all of your personal data from Twitter. It makes it easy to monitor what information is available to the platform. Click the More button from the left menu and head over to Settings and privacy. Follow the below steps to download your personal information.

1. Select Download an archive of your data from the Your Account section.
2. Select Request archive from under the Twitter data section. Enter your password when prompted.
3. It will take some time for Twitter to make the data available to you. You’ll receive an email once the data is ready to be downloaded.

It would be best if you also restrict data sharing and off-site activities. Head over to Privacy and safety and inspect the options under the Data sharing and off-Twitter activity section. Look in the Interests and Your advertiser list sections from the Ads preferences tab. You can disable Twitter from tracking you in the Off-Twitter activity tab. Uncheck the options from the Data sharing with business partners and Location information tabs. Finally, you need to deactivate your account for deleting all personal information from Twitter. You’ll have 30 days to reactivate the account. After that, Twitter will begin erasing your information from its systems. Note that they can still retain some information subjected to platform regulations.

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How to Delete Your Instagram Account

Instagram has risen to prominence in the last couple of years. The company collects a huge amount of personal information from its users, including media, name, email, and much more. You’ll need to deactivate your account altogether if you want to delete everything Instagram knows about you. Head over to the Delete your account page and select the reason you want to delete it. Enter your Instagram password to verify your identity, then click on the Delete button. Instagram will hide your account details for the next 30 days and delete all personal data after the given period.

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How to Delete Your TikTok Account

TikTok is another emerging platform that has become quite popular among millennials. Users share a lot of personal information through personalized music videos. You need to delete your TikTok account permanently to remove all personal data from TikTok. To do this, head over to Me, then tap on the … icon in the top-right corner of the window. Select Delete account from under the Manage Account section. Follow the instructions provided there to continue deactivating your account. Like Instagram, TikTok also offers a 30-day time period to allow users to change their minds. It will delete your personal data from the Internet after this period.

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How to Delete Your Snapchat Account

1. Go to Snapchat’s Accounts Portal and log in with your name and password.
2. Select the Delete My Account option.
3. You’ll be taken to the Delete Account page directly.
4. Retype your password once more.
5. Click on the yellow Continue button.

Do keep in mind that Snapchat will hold on to your data for another 30 days, just in case you change your mind and decide to return. If you do decide to come back, all you need to do is visit the Accounts Portal again and log in to your account. This will reactivate your account. While your account is in this deactivated phase, your friends will not be able to contact you or interact with you in any manner on Snapchat. After the 30-day period has elapsed, your account will be permanently deleted.

Error Code 0xc004f050 – What is it?

Error code 0xc004f050 refers to a problem with activating the Windows key. The problem appears when you try to activate a copy of Windows by using Windows Activation wizard. This happens when the system becomes unstable and critical system files start missing. Though Windows 10 is a free upgrade for Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1 users, the activation error is still an issue. If you already had Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1 activated and did an upgrade successfully, then there should be no problem. This Problem Occurs only when you do a clean install.

Symptoms

When you try to activate a copy of Windows Vista or Windows 7 by using the Windows Activation wizard, you receive an error similar to the one below:

An error has occurred Code: 0xC004F050 Description: The Software Licensing Service reported that the product key is invalid

Solution

Error Causes

• This causes due to an invalid product key.
• This problem may occur if the license validity interval has expired, or if the license is not signed correctly.
• Error Code 0xc004f050 occurs when the system becomes unstable and critical system files start missing.
• Improper way of installing, deletion of some very important system files, misconfigured system files, etc. may also cause this error.
• When you do a clean install, it wipes everything from the Primary Drive and after the install, windows can't find the Hardware ID which is used to verify your license.
• For Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista-based computers, this error may occur if you have entered the key for a beta version of the operating system while using the released version of the operating system.

Further Information and Manual Repair

This error is not something that can be fixed in seconds but will require some time and technical knowledge.

Method 1:

Re-insert the product key by using the Change Product Key tool:

1. Click Start, click Computer, and then click System properties on the toolbar.
2. In the Windows activation section, click Change product key.
3. If you are prompted for an administrator password, type the password or click Continue.
4. In the Product key box, type the product key, and then click Next.
5. Follow the steps in the Windows Activation Wizard to complete the activation process.

Method 2:

Activate Windows by using the automated telephone system:

1. Click Start, and then click Computer.
2. Click System properties on the toolbar, and then click Click here to activate Windows now in the Windows activation
3. If you are prompted for an administrative password, type it and click Continue.
4. Click Show me other ways to Activate.
5. Click Use the automated phone system and follow the instructions.

Method 3:

1. Clean install Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 8.1 using the installation disk and activate your copy.
2. Now, download all the updates to see the Windows 10 Upgrade notification or download Windows Media Creation Tool and use the option Upgrade this PC to get Windows 10 right away.
3. Once the upgrade is done, check the Activation Status. It will be fully activated as it should be. The Error code 0xc004f050 should not appear anymore.

If you want to get rid of the old Windows installation folder, then use the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a Flash Drive. Clean Install Windows 10. Now, every time when it asks for a product key, skip it. After installation is complete, Windows will automatically identify and activate your Copy. NOTE: Clean Install will make Sure you cannot roll back to your previous Windows 7 or Windows 8. So do it only if you are confident of using Windows 10 from here on. To verify the Windows activation status, follow these steps:

• Click the Start button, and then click Computer.
• Click System properties on the toolbar, and then view the activation status in the Windows activation section.