If you are trying to restore your computer using a System Image that has been created by the Windows Backup and Restore tool but encountered an error message instead that says, “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer”, you’ve come to the right place as this post will walk you through in fixing this error. Here’s the complete context of the error message:
“Windows cannot find a system image on this computer, Attach the backup hard disk or insert the final DVD from a backup set and click Retry. Alternatively, close this dialog for more options.”
In the error message, you are offered two choices – to either Retry or Cancel the operation. You can try to select Retry to try again but you will most likely get the same error if you do so. This kind of error can occur if the name of the WindowsImageBackup folder or any of its sub-folders has been modified. On the other hand, this error can also pop up if this folder or any of its sub-folders have gone missing or have become corrupted. To resolve the error, you can try to move the WindowsImageBackup folder or check its sub-folders. You can also try to isolate the System Image file or rename the System Image folder or remove all the unwanted sub-folders as well as use Command Prompt in Repair mode.
Option 1 – Try to move the WindowsImageBackup folder
The WindowsImageBackup folder must be stored in the root of the volume where it is stored, in line with the functioning of the System Restore utility. For example, if the WindowsImageBackup folder is stored in the “C:/Backups/System Restore Backups/New” location, then you have to move it to the C: drive as well.
Option 2 – Try to check the subfolders of the WindowsImageBackup folder
The classification of folders and files plays an important part to restore in restoring a computer from a System Restore point. Thus, if have modified the names of any files or folders inside the WindowsImageBackup folder, then you need to set the defaults. After that, run System Restore again and check if it fixes the error.
Option 3 – Try to isolate the System Image file
If the System Image file is stored in a USB storage device along with various System Restore images, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting this error. To set things right, you have to make sure that the System Restore image you wish to restore your computer from, is the only one that’s present at the root of the USB storage device.
Option 4 – Try renaming the System Image folder
If you have renamed the System Image folder prior to running System Restore, then it is most likely the reason why you’re getting the “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer” error. This error pops up because the System Restore utility in Windows 10 looks out for the WindowsImageBackup folder so if you have renamed it, you need to change its name back to what it originally was to fix the error.
Option 5 – Try to remove all the sub-folders of the WindowsImageBackup folder
If you have stored some foreign files inside the WindowsImageBackup folder, you need to get rid of them right away and return the folder to its default state as this folder must be left alone and should not be meddled with if you want to run System Restore smoothly.
Option 6 – Try to use Command Prompt in Repair Mode
Open Command Prompt while your computer is in the Repair Mode.
Next, type and enter this command where you need to replace “<Partition Letter>” with your drive’s letter: dir <Partition Letter>
After you’ve found the WindowsImageBackup folder in any of the partitions, type and enter this command: dir <Parition Letter>WindowsImageBackup /s
The command you entered will display all the contents of the folder exceeding 10 GB in total size. You can check and confirm the integrity of the folder and if you find that the integrity is violated, then it is the reason why you’re getting the error.
The Error Code 0x800F0923 is one that appears only when attempting to update from older versions of Microsoft Windows to Microsoft Windows 10. This error does not occur with every install and is believed to be the result of a driver incompatibility issue. It is unclear which specific drivers are having the compatibility issues, though it is widely believed that DuplexSecure's SPTD drivers are the ones at fault. When operating correctly, without errors, the update process should not take longer than 30 minutes.
Common symptoms include:
Error message window/pop-up during the install process, giving the Error Code 0x800F0923
Inability to install and update from older versions of Microsoft Windows to version 10
Solution
Error Causes
There are various relevant factors associated with the error code 0x800F0923 incompatibility issue in Windows 10 installation/upgrade. These factors include but are not limited to:
The Operating System (OS) upgrading does not support older hardware.
Your computer’s specs did not meet the minimum requirements.
Not enough hard disk space.
The new software might lack software drivers for older hardware
Further Information and Manual Repair
Microsoft has recently released its Windows 10 operating system. While there are still a few kinks to be worked out, overall the reviews have been positive. As with any new Microsoft update, compatibility issues can arise. If you are unsure whether your current PC will be able to handle the new Windows 10, here is an easy way to check your system.
Method 1: Check if your computer is compatible
Locate the “Get Windows 10” application icon in your notification tray (bottom right corner of your screen, white Windows logo).
Right-click on this icon, then select the “check your upgrade status” option.
Be prepared for the menu to take a few minutes to open.
Click on the menu on the upper left-hand corner of this new dialog box. (It looks like three blue horizontal lines)
Select “check your PC”
After the system checks for compatibility, it will let you know whether or not your PC has the appropriate drivers, etc. (Keep in mind that this is not a foolproof method for checking compatibility status).
Method 2: Download or upgrade your drivers/software
If you have already attempted to update to Windows 10, and have received the Error Code 0x800F0923, this is the simplest way to solve the issue yourself.
1. Open the “Get Windows 10” application.2. Open the menu in the upper left corner, looks like three blue lines.3. Select “Check your PC”.4. The system will tell you which drivers are incompatible.5. Go to the Microsoft Support website to install and/or update the drivers that proved to be an issue.6. Once the driver issue is corrected, retry the Windows 10 update.
Method 3: Create space on your computer
If your computer does not have sufficient space to accept the upgrade, you might want to clear up some space on your computer. Here’s how to do it.
If you have not attempted to install Microsoft Windows 10 yet, it is a good idea to check your system's compatibility prior to installing. While it is not absolutely necessary, it will save time and frustration. Microsoft Support suggests contacting them directly if you are unable to solve your driver compatibility issues, or if the above do-it-yourself method is unsuccessful.
To resolve this compatibility issue and get your upgrade going use a powerful and user-friendly tool to clean up the problem.
Click here to download Restoro.
Users should also be aware that those who choose to upgrade to Windows 10 have 30 days in which they may decide that they would rather use their old system. However, reverting back to the older system may not be a smooth process, and some data could be lost.
If you got an error message saying, “Windows could not start the Windows Update service on Local Computer, Error 87. The parameter is incorrect” while you were trying to start the Windows update service on your computer, then this post could help you resolve the problem. Along with this error, you might also get any of these error codes such as 0x80240034, 0x80244019, 0x80070643, and so on. Aside from these error codes, you will also notice that the Windows Update service has been stopped.
To fix this issue, here are a couple of suggestions that might help but before you go on, you need to create a System Restore point first.
Option 1 – Try checking Services Dependencies
Dependencies of a Windows Service in Windows 10 are when windows services depend on other services. Such is the case with the Windows Update service – it also depends on three different services such as the Remote Procedure Call or RPC service, DCOM Server Process Launcher, and the RPC Endpoint Mapper. Meaning to say, if two of these services are not working as expected, then the dependant service will also be affected. This could be the reason why the Windows Update service could not start.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
From the list of Services, look for the following services:
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service
DCOM Server Process Launcher
RPC Endpoint Mapper
After you find these services, double click on each one of them and check whether the Startup type for all is set to Automatic and the Service status is set to Running or not.
If the service status is not running, then click the Start button. Afterward, check if you can now run the Windows Update service.
Option 2 – 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 is set to Running. If they’re not, click on the Start button to start these services and then check if you can now enable the Windows Update service or not.
Option 3 – Reset Windows Update components
If the first two options did not work then you might want to reset the Windows Update components manually. Follow the steps below to reset them.
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.
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 4 – 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 5 – Try removing a value from the Windows Registry
If running the Windows Update troubleshooter didn’t help and you receive a message instead saying, “Service Registration is Missing or Corrupt”, you can try to remove a value from the Windows Registry.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Registry.
Next, navigate to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsSelfHostApplicability
From this path, look for a value named “ThresholdOptedIn” and if you find it, delete it.
Exit the Registry Editor and see if you can now enable the Windows Update service.
Skinning of applications is not new to PC users, but did you knew you could skin Steam?
With skin, you can customize the UI and style of the client to what you want making it more personal and to your liking. First thing is to find the skin that you would like to install. There are a lot of sites where you could find custom made Steam skins but we would recommend steamskins.org
The site itself is organized in tabs with different sections, once you click on the tab you will get a list of skins available for chosen section. If you click on the skin you will be taken to skin page detail where you can find what skin is aiming for, its legibility, a record of how the skin has been altered over time, or some mix of these aspects.
Note that some skins might have issues like some buttons might be missing from big picture mode but so far none of the skins has any kind of client breaking feature, only functionality one.
Downloading skin
Once you have chosen desired skin and while on the skin details page, scroll to the middle of the page just above the Related Skins sections with two options: Direct Download and External Download. Now usually I would recommend Direct download but in this case, I would advise going with External Download for the simple reason that the External link will send you to the developer's website where there is a higher chance to get the latest updated skin.
Installing it in Steam
Once the skin is downloaded you will first need to create a skin folder inside your Steam installation location. Navigate to your Steam installation folder (default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam) and create a new folder inside it. Give new folder name Skins and confirm.
Extract the skin zip file in the newly made folder. Once the file is extracted you can delete the ZIP file if you wish.
Go to your Steam client and go to Steam>Settings. In settings select Interface on the left bar and on the right part then click the Select the skin you wish Steam to use the drop-down menu and select the skin that you wish to use. Confirm and restart your Steam client
Reverting to old skin
If you found skin unappealing or, unfortunately, has some functions missing you can always choose another skin or revert back to default Steam skin.
Default Steam skin is named in the drop-down menu as < default skin >.
If you like to travel but you do not have a navigation device and a place where you are traveling does not have internet coverage do not worry, Windows offline maps are here to help.
Traveling in today's world often requires that we have some sort of navigation system, wherever that be a dedicated navigation device, maps on your mobile phone, or something similar.
Maps on mobile-phone are nice but they drain the battery of the phone fast and being on a road might require that we have access to our phone, just in case of an emergency call, and dedicated navigation devices often cost a lot of money. Lucky for us Windows comes with a maps feature where you can check local maps and orientate with their help and even if you are in an area where you do not have internet coverage you can still use maps via offline mas mode in Windows.
This feature will require that you sacrifice little HDD space because you will need to download maps that you will need and some time preparing in order to find and download maps that you will need but in the end, it is worth it, you have a full map system completely offline and independent of the internet.
So in order to prepare all maps that you will need, follow this guide step by step and enjoy your trip.
Select Settings from the Start menu.
Click System.
Select Offline maps.
Click the + button next to "Download maps".
Select the continent where your desired country is located.
Select the region you want to download. Depending on the area, you can download a whole country or you'll have to drill down to a smaller region (for example, with Canada and the USA).
Repeat for any additional regions you want to have as offline maps. You can download more maps while other maps are currently downloading.
Are you trying to update your Windows 11 OS and are receiving a 0x800f0905 error? Do not sweat and do not worry we have a couple of solutions that you can try in order to fix this issue. How this error is tied to various things like misconfigured settings, corrupt system files, and more there is no way to present one simple solution that will solve everything in one click.
Therefore we are presenting a couple of solutions that will fix your issue, it is advisable to follow them as presented since they will go from the most common to the more complex one.
Run the troubleshooter
The most common fix and one that will actually repair things most of the time is simply running the Windows Update troubleshooter.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open the Settings app
Click on System on the left
Click on Troubleshoot in the right part
Click on Other Troubleshooters
Find the Windows Update section and click on Run
Let troubleshooter finish
Reset Windows update components
If the previous solution did not work we will need to do things manually. Follow the steps as presented in order to reset Windows update components.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open search
Type in Terminal
Select Run as administrator
Click on Yes on the User account control (UAC) pop up
Press CTRL + SHIFT + 2 to open Command prompt
Inside command prompt type each line of a command followed by ENTER after each line: net stop bits net stop wuauserv Del “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%Application DataMicrosoftNetworkDownloaderqmgr*.dat” Ren %Systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore DataStore.bak Ren %Systemroot%\SoftwareDistribution\Download Download.bak Ren %Systemroot%\System32\catroot2 catroot2.bak exe sdset bits D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU) sc.exe sdset wuauserv D:(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;SY)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU) cd /d %windir%\system32 regsvr32.exe atl.dll regsvr32.exe urlmon.dll regsvr32.exe mshtml.dll regsvr32.exe shdocvw.dll regsvr32.exe browseui.dll regsvr32.exe jscript.dll regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll regsvr32.exe scrrun.dll regsvr32.exe msxml.dll regsvr32.exe msxml3.dll regsvr32.exe msxml6.dll regsvr32.exe actxprxy.dll regsvr32.exe softpub.dll regsvr32.exe wintrust.dll regsvr32.exe dssenh.dll regsvr32.exe rsaenh.dll regsvr32.exe gpkcsp.dll regsvr32.exe sccbase.dll regsvr32.exe slbcsp.dll regsvr32.exe cryptdlg.dll regsvr32.exe oleaut32.dll regsvr32.exe ole32.dll regsvr32.exe shell32.dll regsvr32.exe initpki.dll regsvr32.exe wuapi.dll regsvr32.exe wuaueng.dll regsvr32.exe wuaueng1.dll regsvr32.exe wucltui.dll regsvr32.exe wups.dll regsvr32.exe wups2.dll regsvr32.exe wuweb.dll regsvr32.exe qmgr.dll regsvr32.exe qmgrprxy.dll regsvr32.exe wucltux.dll regsvr32.exe muweb.dll regsvr32.exe wuwebv.dll netsh winsock reset net start bits net start wuauserv
Well, that was a lot of typing or copy and pasting line by line followed by ENTER after each one but hopefully, your issue is solved. These provided solutions fixed most users' issues with this error but if for some reason this is not the case for you, move to the next step.
Run the SFC scan
If you are still having 0x800f0905 error after previous attempts do the following:
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open search
Type in Terminal
Select Run as administrator
Click on Yes on the User account control (UAC) pop up
Press CTRL + SHIFT + 2 to open Command prompt
Type in sfc /scannow and press ENTER
Wait for the scan to finish
Reboot the computer
Perform a system restore
If for any reason previous solutions have not provided you with the solution we will try to fix the issue by performing system restore.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + S to open search
In the text box type in Create a restore point
Click on the closest match in search results, should be Create a restore point
Click on System Restore or on Next if there are no points created
Choose to restore a point from the list and click on next
Review settings and click on Finish
Wait for the process to finish and for the computer to restart
Manually install update
If for any reason Windows still cannot install the update, try installing it manually.
Go to Windows 11 update history and find the Knowledge base (KB) number for the latest version
Go to the official Microsoft Update Catalog
Paste the KB number in the search box and press ENTER
Click on DOWNLOAD
Double click on the downloaded file to launch the installer
Follow on-screen instructions and install the update
Perform Windows 11 reset
If nothing worked, reset your Windows 11 to its factory settings to fully repair and reset the whole operating system.
The MP4 MIME-type is a video type that is mainly configured in IIS or Internet Information console. It is the one that instructs a web browser to use the default video application when running MP4 files from websites. MIME which stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions which offers a way to identify files on the Internet-based on their format and nature. For example, when a content-type header value like MP4 is defined in an HTTP response, the browser can be configured to open the file with the proper plugin. However, there are some servers that don’t have an associated MIME type to support MP4 files and so they fail to play these files. In such cases, you will encounter the “Unsupported video type or invalid file path” error, especially when you use the Internet Explorer browser in Windows 10. To fix this problem, you may have to configure the MP4 MIME type in IIS but you might find that IIS is not enabled in Windows 10 which is why you need to turn it on or enable it first. For more details, refer to the following instructions below.
Step 1 – Enable IIS:
Open Control Panel and go to Programs > Programs and Features.
From there, select “Turn Windows features on or off” to mark its checkbox.
After that, select “Web Management Tools” and expand its menu and look for “IIS Management Console”.
Click the OK button and then wait for a couple of seconds to allow Windows to successfully apply the changes made.
Step 2 – Configure the MP4 MIME type in IIS:
Go to Control Panel and from there, access Administrative Tools.
Next, click “Internet Information Services Manager” from the list of given options.
Once confirmed, it will open the IIS console where you have to click the name of your IIS Server located on the left panel. This will enable several options in the central details section.
Now double click on the icon with the label “MIME Types”.
After that, you should see an “Add” link option on the right panel. Click on the link to open a configuration dialog box.
Then type “.mp4” in the File Name Extension field and enter “video/mp4” in the textbox of the MIME Type.
Click the OK button to save the changes made. This should fix the “Unsupported video type or invalid file path” error on your Windows 10 computer.
Step 3 – Reset your browsers:
Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the icon that looks like three stacked lines located at the top-right section of the browser.
Next, select the question mark icon from the drop-down menu.
Then select “Troubleshooting information” from the slide-out menu.
After that, click on the “Reset Firefox” button located at the top-right section of the newly opened web page.
Now select “Reset Firefox” in the confirmation pop-up window that appears.
Google Chrome
Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
After that, click on Settings.
Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
Now restart Google Chrome.
Internet Explorer
Launch Internet Explorer.
Next, click the wrench icon for Settings.
Then click Internet Options.
After that, go to the Advanced tab.
From there, click the Reset button. This will reset Internet Explorer’s settings to their default condition.
Each time when you press WINDOWS + PrtScn key on your keyboard a screenshot is taken and saved on your Hard drive, to be more precise, it is saved in a specific folder which is in c:\Users\Your user name\Pictures\Screenshots. Now, this specific location is not anything that's bad but it is a little deep and not so user-friendly for quick access.
Luckily this default location can be changed into any folder that you like.
Changing location
First thing is to open File Explorer and then navigate to your PC. Once you go to your PC, go to Pictures, and inside right-click on the Screenshots folder. If there is no screenshots folder inside, this means that since Windows was installed no screenshots were taken with WINDOWS + PrtScn key combination. Please note that just by pressing PrtScn you will create a screenshot but you will place it inside the clipboard ready to be pasted somewhere, with WINDOWS + PrtScn you are saving the screenshot directly in a file on your hard drive.
So once you clicked on the Screenshots folder, go to the bottom and click on properties. Inside properties go to the Location tab. In the location, tab clicks on MOVE and browse to your new location where you would like screenshots to be saved. Once you select the folder for screenshots, click on the Select Folder button and confirm with OK. After this, Windows will ask you would you like to move existing screenshots into the chosen folder. Click YES or NO, depending on your preference.
After this easy setup, all of your new screenshots will be placed now inside the chosen folder.
Thank you for reading and I hope to see you tomorrow. Take care.
If you are using a dual monitor setup on your computer and you wish to change the Primary and Secondary monitor in Windows 10, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how exactly you can do that.
A lot of users use more than one monitor to be more productive so having dual monitors helps a lot. So if you have more than one monitor, know that you can actually select any monitor as the primary monitor after installing Windows. Changing the primary and secondary monitor in Windows 10 does not really require you to install any third-party application since you can get the job done by simply making some alterations in the Windows 10 Settings panel. You won’t have any problem in making such alterations since it is quite simple – from modifying the wallpaper to scaling and so on.
To get started, follow the instructions given below carefully.
Step 1: First, tap the Win + I key combination to open the Windows 10 Settings app and go to System and click the Display tab.
Step 2: Next, look for the Identify button located on your right-hand side and then click on it. This button will help you check which one is the primary and the secondary monitor.
Step 3: After that, select the desired monitor that you want to set as the primary one from the drop-down menu.
Step 4: After that, mark the checkbox for the “Make this my main display” option.
Step 5: After choosing the primary monitor, this will automatically set the other monitor as the secondary monitor. Restart your computer.
So that’s how you change the primary and secondary monitor on your Windows 10 computer. Note that you can always go back to the previous setting of your monitor by following the same instructions provided above.
If you are trying to run Windows Upgrade on your Windows 10 computer but suddenly interrupted by the error 0x800F081E – 0x20003, worry not for this post will guide you on how you can fix this Windows Upgrade error.
This particular Windows Upgrade error is a Windows status code for CBS_E_NOT_APPLICABLE which indicates that some of the update requirements are missing or the files that are installed are already of a higher version compared to the ones that are still pending. In most cases, this error occurs when you try to upgrade to earlier versions of the Windows 10 N edition to a later version.
Here’s the full content of the error message:
“0x800f081E-0x20003, The installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase with an error during BOOT operation”
In case you don’t know, Microsoft distributes special “N” editions of Windows in Europe and the “KN” editions in Korea. These editions are the same as the standard editions of Windows except that they do not have the Windows Media Player as well as the multimedia playback features. Thus, when the Windows Upgrade fails with the error code and error message and it doesn’t provide much information as to why the update couldn’t be installed, there is something you can do about it to fix the error. Since Windows uses generic error codes and so if you see the error code 0x800f081e, you have to check the error log first. For more details, follow the instructions laid out below.
Step_1: You need to navigate to C:$WINDOWS.~BTSourcesPanther and from there look for the text file named “setuperr.log” and open it with a text viewer/editor program like Notepad.
Step_2: After opening the setuperr.log file, you should see content that’s similar to this:
Note: From the content above, it is clear that the Windows Upgrade failed due to complete due to the Windows Media Player. It could be that the log file may contain other error messages and other error codes and if you see the error code 0x800f081e from the list, then you need to uninstall the Media Feature Pack.
Step_3: You have to uninstall the Media Feature Pack.
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run dialog box and type “optionalfeatures.exe” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Features wizard.
Next, you need to wait until the list of Windows Features populates and then click on the + sign to collapse the folder of the Media Features.
After that, uncheck the “Windows Media Player” option from the Media Features folder.
Now click on the Yes and OK buttons to save the changes made and then close the Windows Features dialog box.
Restart your computer and boot, try to run the Windows Upgrade process again, and check if the error is fixed or not.
Note: If the installation has been successfully completed, you have to go back to the Windows Features and enable the Windows Media Player again. And if you are using the Windows 10 N Edition, then you can just download and install the latest version of the Media Feature Pack for your Windows 10 N edition. On the other hand, running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve any Windows Update-related problems, including the error 0x800F081E – 0x20003. 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.
It really sucks when you can’t fully enjoy the newest version of your favorite OS.
Windows 11 is still relatively fresh and consequently has some annoying little bugs that really ruin our experience. The good news is that you’re not alone and most of them are easy to fix.
Here are 5 commonly reported Windows 11 issues and what you can do to get rid of them.
1. Windows 11 audio problems
One of the absolute most irritating things in the world is struggling with the sound on your computer. Windows 11 users have reported facing the issue of low or no sound. If you’re currently experiencing the same frustration, you can be relieved. Chances are fixing it will only take a few minutes.
The first thing to check would be whether you accidentally muted your device by pressing the mute button on your keyboard. Yes, we know it sounds a lot like the old “have you tried turning it off and on again?” But it’s important to leave no stone unturned, and the most obvious things are usually the ones we easily overlook.
Moreover, if you have several audio output sources, check whether the right one is selected. You can do this via the Action Center or through Settings. If you want to use the same source every time, we also recommend you set it as the default one.
It’s also important to have a good, up-to-date audio driver. More often than not, this will be the true cause of your audio struggles. Make sure to update your driver, and if that doesn’t work out, you can always un- and reinstall it or install a different one.
Lastly, if all attempts remain unsuccessful, run the audio troubleshooter to figure out what’s actually going wrong.
2. Unable to find files
Such a powerful new operating system, yet it can’t seem to do the simplest thing imaginable? The File Explorer not responding on Windows 11 is one of the most frustrating and most common problems with Microsoft’s newest iteration of its awesome OS.
However, 9/10 times it can be fixed by simply restarting your PC. You could also try killing the Windows Explorer process in the Task Manager and then rerunning it.
If these don’t help, check whether there are any pending Windows 11 updates. A single missing update can compromise your PC’s functionality, so always make sure to install them all on time.
Should none of that work, then there are other ways to solve the File Explorer problem. However, then the issue is probably a bit deeper and it’s no longer in the ‘easy fix’ territory.
3. Start menu not working
Just like the File Explorer, the Start menu is a fundamental element of your OS. So, it’s only natural that its malfunction grinds your gears. It may be more customizable than on previous Windows versions, but it doesn’t always work smoothly.
If you’re facing the so-called Start menu critical error, there are a few things this could be caused by. Usually it means you turned off your system while an important update was still being installed, there is a corrupt file on your PC, or Windows forcefully stopped a program.
Whatever the reason, the solution should be pretty simple. Try the basic steps: restarting your File Explorer (like we explained above) and signing out and back into your account. If that doesn’t do anything, you may want to try uninstalling third-party start menu apps (if you have any), since they can interfere with your default programs’ functionality.
Now, those are the easy fixes. If you get nowhere with them, you might need to identify the root cause and search for more complex solutions than that.
4. Snipping tool not working
Our beloved screenshot tool was introduced with Windows 10 and Microsoft decided to keep it. However, you were probably just as disappointed as us when you tried to run it and failed.
Normally, this can be fixed by installing the latest Out-of-band (OOB) update, or even pending updates in general. Even if your system appears to be up-to-date, run the checker just in case.
Another cool thing Windows 11 lets you do is ‘Repair’ and ‘Reset’, which is the easiest way to troubleshoot your Snipping tool. If this fails, you can also try the good old un- and reinstall method. Simply uninstall the tool through the Control Panel and reinstall it from the Microsoft Store.
Furthermore, in the case of an upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, it may be that the old Snipping tool version is interfering with the launch of the new one. If you don’t care that much about the additional options available with the enhanced screenshot tool, you can use the old version instead.
Simply go to your C Drive, find the Windows.old folder, search for the tool and open it from there. Make sure to pin it to your taskbar as well, if you know you’re going to use it often.
5. Can’t install the latest update
The latest Windows 11 version, 22H2, has brought tons of enhancements to our dearest operating system. Unfortunately, a lot of users still haven’t had the opportunity to experience it. A mere update of your OS version should be the one thing that goes smoothly, but sometimes that’s not the case.
Failure to install 22H2 can be caused by a few things. Most commonly, the issue is caused by lack of storage space or corrupted files, but there could be other culprits.
There are a couple of things you could try. For example, it’s crucial that your drivers be up-to-date and some important services be enabled. These are: Windows Modules Installer, Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Cryptographic Service, Windows Update services.
To enable them, search ‘Services’, find the service you need and right-click on it. Open ‘Properties’ and select the startup type ‘Automatic’.
It may also be necessary to unplug all peripherals that aren’t crucial and disable third-party antivirus tools until after the update is finished.
Ultimately, you can run the Windows Update troubleshooter to detect and fix other possible issues.
Summary
Tiny bugs like these are nothing out of the ordinary. That said, we still all hate when they happen.
Hopefully some of our solutions have helped you to a smoother Windows 11 experience. But if you’re still struggling, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!