Cannot find a system image on this computer

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

Option 1 – Try to check your internet connection

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

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

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

Option 3 – Try to enter your password again

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

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

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

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

Option 5 – Try disabling the VPN

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

Option 6 – Try to check the settings in the Registry

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

NDIS or Network Driver Interface Specification is a programming interface for the network interface cards that aids in the proper functioning of a system driver in a computer network. The NDIS helps the computer system in order to communicate with other connected devices and hardware components on a computer network. In relation, the ndis.sys file is a critical system file developed by Microsoft for the Windows operating system. As you know, sys files or system files are important parts of the Windows operating system as well as a repository of system driver settings used by Windows to communicate with the connected hardware and devices. The ndis.sys files are stored mostly in a driver folder at C:/Windows/System32/drivers and as mentioned, these files are essential for the system to function properly. Although the presence of ndis.sys system file is not yet known to affect the normal functioning of the Windows OS, some of the Windows 10 users reported that they encountered ndis.sys blue screen errors on their PCs. Blue Screen of Death errors or Stop errors usually occurs when you open a program or a function. Moreover, it could also occur when the driver gets loaded during the system startup or during system shutdown. It isn’t yet clear what really causes the ndis.sys blue screen error. However, like other Stop errors, it may occur due to corrupted files, misconfigured device drivers, bad drivers, corrupted Windows Registry, missing or damaged system files, and malicious programs. Aside from the aforementioned reasons, the ndis.sys blue screen error might also occur if your hard disk is damaged and if the RAM is corrupted. In such cases, a lot of users usually disable the ndis.sys file. However, it won’t really resolve the issue since the file is required for the normal functioning of the operating system and even when you disable the file, it’s pretty useless as the file will start all over again. In addition, you might want to disable security programs or firewalls and antivirus programs in the meantime to check if these programs are the ones that are causing the error. And if you’ve determined that none of the security programs or firewalls and antivirus programs are to blame, refer to the options below that might help you resolve the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL or ndis.sys Blue Screen of Death error.

Option 1 – Try to update or reinstall the PC device driver

The Ndis.sys Blue screen error can occur when the device driver in your computer is outdated or corrupted. Thus, you either have to update or reinstall it to fix the issue.

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
• After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. If you see a red or yellow sign that shows up against the driver, right-click on the driver’s name and select “Update Driver Software” or “Uninstall”. And if you find any “Unknown device”, you need to update it as well.
• Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
• Restart your PC.

Option 2 – Rollback your Network drivers

If you have updated the driver software as of late and you suddenly got this BSOD error, you might have to roll back the device driver – in other words, switch back to the previous working version. To do that, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “devmgmt.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Next, select the driver entries that are labeled appropriately other than anything in the context of the WAN Miniport.
• Then select each one of them and double-click to open a new mini window.
• After that, make sure that you’re on the Driver tab and if you are not, just navigate to it then click the Roll Back Driver button to switch back to the previous version of your Network adapters.
• Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 3 – Try running the System File Checker

The SFC or System File Checker scan could detect and automatically repair damaged system files that could be causing the ndis.sys Blue Screen of Death error. 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 with 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 and hit Enter.

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.

Option 4 – Try running the CHKDSK utility

Running the CHKDSK utility might also help you resolve the Netwtw04.sys failed BSOD error. If your hard drive has issues with integrity, the update will really fail as the system will think that it’s not healthy and that’s where the CHKDSK utility comes in. The CHKDSK utility repairs hard drive errors that might be causing the problem.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt, execute the following command and hit Enter:

chkdsk /f /r

• Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.

Option 5 – Run the DISM Tool

The DISM tool is another command-line tool in the Windows operating system that could help users fix various corrupted system files. To use it, follow these steps:

• Open the Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in this command: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
• The DISM command you entered will repair the corrupted system image. Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.
• Restart your PC.

Option 6 – Perform a System Restore

Performing a System Restore on your computer can also help you fix the ndis.sys Blue Screen of Death error. You can do this option either by booting into Safe Mode or in System Restore. If you are already in the Advanced Startup Options, just directly select System Restore and proceed with the next steps. And if you have just booted your PC into Safe Mode, refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
• Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
• After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.

What Is 0x80004001 Error Code?

0x80004001 is an error code that Windows users encounter quite commonly.

This error usually occurs when users try to update an old Windows application or attempt to run a certain application. When this error appears on the screen, the system automatically restarts to stop further processing. The error results in a blue screen after the system boots.

This blue screen is known as the Blue Screen of Death.

Error Causes

There are different files in the Windows operating system responsible for its smooth functioning. Sometimes problems like viruses or incorrect register entries corrupt or damage these files. This is when this 0x80004001 error appears.

Simply put, some of the most common causes that trigger 0x80004001 error are listed below as follows.

• Corrupt or damaged EXE, VXD, DLL files of Windows
• Incorrect entry of registry files
• Presence of viruses or malware in the system
• Corrupt or damaged system files
• Unfinished application installation

Irrespective of what causes this error, it is of utmost importance to troubleshoot it as soon as possible.

Further Information and Manual Repair

While there are several ways of troubleshooting this error, the two most useful approaches have been listed below as follows.

• This solution is for advanced users. Start your system and log on to it as the administrator. Click on the Start button. Now select All Programs->Accessories->System Tools. Finally, click on System Restore. In a new window, select the option “Restore My Computer to an Earlier Time”. Now click on Next. A list of restore points will be displayed. Choose the most recent restore point from this list and click “Next”. Now click next on the confirmation Window again. Once the restoration is finished, the computer will restart itself and you will observe that the error no longer appears.
• This solution is for beginner or novice users. Download a 0x80004001 error repair utility available online. Install this program on your computer and use it to scan for the error in your system. When the scan completes, find if any feature allows you to fix errors. If yes, click on it. Now restart your computer again. You will notice that the virus has disappeared. It is a good idea to use error repair utilities because they scan the system, diagnose the error and then perform the repair.

Use any of the methods listed above to get rid of the 0x80004001 error once and for all.

DiscoverAncestry is a Browser Extension for Google Chrome developed by Mindspark Inc that presents itself as a web tool to discover the origins or meanings of particular family names. When installed this extension changes your default new tab page to search by MyWay, as well as your default search engine to Search.MyWay.com

While active, DiscoverAncestry logs user browsing information, recording clicked links, visited websites and viewed products. This information is later used to better target personal ads. Browsing the internet with this extension active will result in injection of additional ads, sponsored content and even pop-up ads throughout the browsing sessions.

DiscoverAncestry is usually found bundled with other potentially unwanted software, this combined alongside its aggressive ad injection is why DiscoverAncestry has been marked as a Browser Hijacker, and it is recommended to remove it from your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is regarded as the web’s constant risks that target web browsers. It’s a type of malware program that redirects web browser requests to other suspicious websites. Basically, most browser hijackers are made for advertising or marketing purposes. It redirects you to the sponsored websites and inserts adverts on your internet browser which helps its developer generate income. It might seem naive, but the majority of such websites aren’t legitimate and can pose a significant risk to your on-line safety. In a much worst case, your internet browser could be hi-jacked to download malware that will do a lot of damage to your computer.

Browser hijacking signs and symptoms

There are several symptoms that could indicate a browser hijacking: 1. your homepage is reset to some unknown site 2. bookmark and the new tab are also changed 3. default online search engine is modified 4. you’re getting browser toolbars you haven’t witnessed before 5. you will find random pop-ups start showing regularly 6. your internet browser has instability issues or exhibits frequent errors 7. you are blocked to access the websites of antivirus solution providers.

How does a computer get infected with a browser hijacker?

Browser hijackers can get into a computer by some means or other, for instance via file sharing, downloads, and email also. Many web browser hijackings originate from add-on applications, i.e., toolbars, browser helper objects (BHO), or extensions added to web browsers to give them extra features. A browser hijacker may also come bundled-up with some free application that you inadvertently download and install, compromising your PC security. Common examples of browser hijackers include CoolWebSearch, Conduit, Coupon Server, OneWebSearch, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com. Browser hijackers may record user keystrokes to gather potentially valuable information leading to privacy issues, cause instability on systems, drastically disrupt user’s browsing experience, and eventually slow down the computer to a stage where it becomes unusable.

Removal

Some browser hijacking can be simply reversed by discovering and eliminating the corresponding malware software through your control panel. However, many hijackers are really tenacious and need specialized applications to remove them. Also, manual removals demand deep system understanding and thus can be quite a difficult task for novices. Professionals always suggest users eliminate any malicious software including browser hijackers by using an automatic malware removal tool, which is easier, safer, and faster than the manual removal procedure. To remove any kind of browser hijacker from your laptop or computer, you should download the following certified malware removal tool – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Along with anti-virus software, a system optimizer tool, similar to Total System Care, will help you repair Windows registry errors, get rid of unwanted toolbars, secure your online privacy, and stabilize programs installed on your computer.

Learn How to Get rid of Malware that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads

Viruses may cause a lot of damage to your computer. Some malware sits in between your PC and the internet connection and blocks some or all internet sites that you really want to visit. It will also prevent you from adding anything to your PC, particularly antivirus applications. If you’re reading this article, you probably have affected by a virus that prevents you from downloading a security program like Safebytes Antimalware on your PC. There are some actions you can take to circumvent this issue.

Install anti-malware in Safe Mode with Networking

In the event the malware is set to run at Windows start-up, then booting in safe mode should avoid it. Just bare minimum required programs and services are loaded when you boot your PC in Safe Mode. Here are the steps you need to follow to start into the Safe Mode of your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers (check out the Microsoft website for instructions on Windows 8 and 10 computers). 1) At power on, press the F8 key while the Windows splash screen begins to load. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking using arrow keys and hit Enter. 3) Once you get into this mode, you will have an internet connection again. Now, obtain the malware removal program you need by utilizing the web browser. To install the program, follow the directions within the setup wizard. 4) Right after installation, do a complete scan and allow the software eliminate the threats it finds.

Utilize an alternate browser to download antivirus software

Some malware only targets certain browsers. If this sounds like your situation, utilize another internet browser as it can circumvent the malware. The ideal way to avoid this problem is to opt for a internet browser that is known for their security features. Firefox contains built-in Phishing and Malware Protection to keep you safe online. Create a portable USB antivirus for removing viruses Another method is to download and transfer an anti-malware application from a clean PC to run a virus scan on the infected computer. To run antivirus using a USB drive, follow these simple measures: 1) Make use of another virus-free computer system to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Plug the USB drive into the clean computer. 3) Double-click the executable file to open the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place where you want to store the software files. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation. 5) Transfer the flash drive from the clean computer to the infected computer. 6) Double-click the anti-malware software EXE file on the pen drive. 7) Run Full System Scan to identify and clean-up up all sorts of malware.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware: Lightweight Malware Protection for Windows Computer

If you are looking to purchase anti-malware for your desktop, there are numerous brands and packages for you to consider. A few are well worth your money, but most aren’t. When looking for an antivirus tool, select one which provides dependable, efficient, and comprehensive protection against all known computer viruses and malware. On the list of highly recommended applications by industry leaders is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, well-known security software for Windows computers. SafeBytes is a powerful, real-time anti-spyware application that is made to assist everyday computer users in safeguarding their computers from malicious threats. Once you’ve got installed this software, SafeBytes advanced protection system will make sure that absolutely no viruses or malicious software can seep through your PC.

There are lots of amazing features you’ll get with this security product. The following are some typical features present in this software program:

Active Protection: Malware programs aiming to get into the system are discovered and stopped as and when detected by the SafeBytes real-time protection shields. This utility will always keep track of your computer for any suspicious activity and updates itself continuously to keep current with the latest threats. World-class AntiMalware Protection: Built upon a highly acclaimed antivirus engine, this malware removal tool can find and get rid of various obstinate malware threats such as browser hijackers, PUPs, and ransomware that other typical anti-virus applications will miss. Fast Multi-threaded Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is one of the fastest and most efficient within the industry. It's targeted scanning tremendously increases the catch rate for viruses which is embedded in various computer files. Web Protection: SafeBytes provides instant safety rating about the webpages you’re about to visit, automatically blocking dangerous sites and to make sure that you’re certain of your online safety while browsing the net. Lightweight Utility: This software is lightweight and will work silently in the background, and will not impact your PC efficiency. 24/7 Customer Service: You can obtain totally free 24/7 technical support from their IT experts on any product queries or computer security issues. SafeBytes has created a wonderful anti-malware solution to help you conquer the latest computer threats and virus attacks. Now you may realize that this particular software does more than just scan and eliminate threats from your computer. So if you are searching for the best anti-malware subscription for your Windows-based computer, we strongly recommend SafeBytes Anti-Malware software.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you don’t want to use an automated tool and prefer to eliminate DiscoverAncestry manually, you might do so by going to the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu in the control panel and deleting the offending software; in cases of web browser plug-ins, you can remove it by visiting the browsers Add-on/Extension manager. You might even want to reset your web browser settings, and also delete temporary files, browsing history, and cookies. To ensure complete removal, manually check your hard disk and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please remember that this is for skilled users only and may be challenging, with wrong file removal leading to additional system errors. Furthermore, certain malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to eliminate. You are suggested to do this process in Windows Safe Mode.

Having the latest applications is often preferred for most users but sometimes we have some old applications which have not been updated or simply we just want to run oldie on our computer because it does everything we need and we do not want to upgrade in order to save some money. The issue is presented sometimes when we try to run an old application in Windows 10 and some components are missing in Windows itself or the application is simply coded in a way to work on older Windows versions. If by any chance you have this issue then this guide is for you since we are going to show you how to run old applications in Windows 10. This guide is made in a way to takes into account that the application itself is completely installed on your Windows 10 machine if you can not even install the application you will need to search solution for that particular application since that can not really be generalized and pinpointed issue, every application is different.

Running old applications using the compatibility option

All of that being said, let's start that old app you have. First thing is to locate an executable file or shortcut of the desired application. Once it is located, right-click on it to bring up the menu, and all the way to the bottom you will find properties. Left-click on properties. The application settings screen will open, in upper tabs locate Compatibility and left-click on it. After the click, you will find yourself in application compatibility settings. In this window, you will face different options to run the chosen application in various modes in order to make it run. How settings are self-explanatory and different applications will need different settings sadly we can not cover them all but your safest bet is to run them in an environment where they have worked. For example, if the application was working fine in Windows XP and required administrator privileges, check Run this program as an administrator and Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP.

We tend to move and copy tons of files on our PCs and mostly, the process of copying or moving files, especially if the file has the size of 1GB or up, tends to take quite long. This may be caused by some issues which is why you face slow copy or move speed. So if you are experiencing this issue on your Windows 10 computer, then read on as this post will give you a couple of solutions you can try to increase the speed in copying or moving files. Follow the given instructions below.

Option 1 – Try to change the USB port

You might want to change the USB port since modern computers have a variety of USB ports. So if your USB drive supports USB 3.0 or 3.1, make sure that you plug it inside a USB 3.0 or 3.1 ports. If you’re not sure which port, just keep in mind that the USB 3 port is usually blue or you can also use your computer’s documentation or manual as a reference to locate it. It may sound nothing but changing the USB port can actually improve the copying or moving speeds drastically so this should be the first thing you can try to speed up the process of copying or moving files.

Option 2 – Update the USB Controller Drivers

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right-click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.
• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

You also have the option to update the motherboard and the USB driver from the manufacturer’s official website.

Option 3 – Check for any hard disk errors

• On your desktop, right-click on the “This PC” or computer icon and then select Manage to open the Disk Management. Here you get to check your drive’s health.
• Next, click on Disk Management on the left side panel.
• From there, check the state of your drives. If it shows that all your partitions are healthy then it means all is good and that the problem may have something to do with some physical issues with your hard drive.

You might also want to run the CHKDSK utility to help you fix any issues with your hard disk. If your hard drive has issues with integrity, the update will really fail as the system will think that it’s not healthy and that’s where the CHKDSK utility comes in. The CHKDSK utility repairs hard drive errors that might be causing the problem.

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt, execute the following command and hit Enter:

chkdsk /f /r

• Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try to disable Windows Auto Tuning

Disabling Windows Auto-Tuning can also help in increasing the copying or moving of files in your computer. It is said that this feature improves the performance of programs that receive TCP data over a network by adjusting the receive buffer size dynamically throughput and latency of the link. Thus, if you are trying to copy some data over the network, then the Auto Tuning feature is playing a role here. And in some cases, disabling this feature completely resulted in a lot faster copy speeds over the network.

Option 5 – Try changing the USB Removal Policy

• First, plug your USB drive or external device into your PC and then open This PC.
• Next, right-click on your device and select Properties.
• After that, go to the hardware tab and select the storage media that you want to enhance and then click on the Properties button.
• From there, you can select the Better performance option if you wish for your device to have a better performance. Once you select this option, it will enable write caching in your Windows 10 computer but you need to use the “Safely Remove Hardware” option from the notification area to safely disconnect the device otherwise it may result in data corruption.

Option 6 – Format your drive

• 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.

If you are running the Windows Update service but decided to stop it but you encountered an error message instead that says, “The Windows Update service could not be stopped”, read on as this post will help you fix the problem. This kind of error appears when you use the Command Prompt to stop the Windows Update service, especially if you are using cmd without admin privileges. A lot of users reported that they were not able to disable the automatic Windows Update in Windows 10 using Command Prompt. The command used to stop the Windows Update service is the “net stop wuauserv” command. However, when some users executed this command, they got the error message. So if you are one of these users that can’t stop the Windows Update Service via Command Prompt, you can try to fix that using PID as well as checking the Service dependencies. For more details, follow the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to stop the Windows Update service via PID

In case you don’t know, each running service or process has its own unique ID or PID and you can find it in the Task Manager. You can use it to stop the Windows Update service. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
• Next, go to the Services tab and look for the service named “wuauserv” and get its PID.
• After that, type “cmd” in the Windows Start search 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, execute this command: taskkill /f /pid <PID>

Note: You need to replace “<PID>” with the PID of the “wuauserv” service. For instance, the PID is 6676, then this is how the command should be “taskkill /f /pid 6676”.

• After you execute the command, you will this message on your screen, “SUCCESS: The process with PID 6676 has been terminated” which indicates that you have stopped the Windows Update service successfully.

Option 2 – Try to check the Service 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.

Each year Steam makes a couple of large sales, and each year there are speculations and leaks on the date when the sale is going to happen and when it is starting. It seemed that Steam has become aware that these leaks will not stop and that store really cannot hide that kind of important date from the public so in the latest news Steam Purley has just given the date of this year's big winter sale. Probably tired of even trying to hide it, Steam has released that this year's big Steam Winter sale is officially starting on December 22nd, 2021, and closing on January 5th, 2022. So if you have someone to buy a gift or just want to drop a few great games in your library at a low price this is the time when you should do it.

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

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

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

One of the most useful built-in tools in Windows 10 is the Check Disk or CHKDSK utility. It is the one that maintains the integrity of the disk that’s connected to a computer which can be launched using the GUI or graphical user interface and using the command line. There are a lot of things that warrant the running of this built-in utility and one of these things is the readability of the disk. Recently, a number of users reported that they encountered an error when they tried to run the CHKDSK utility – the error states, “Cannot open volume for direct access”. This kind of error in CHKDSK appears each time the command line is launched according to the affected users. As per the users who encountered this issue, they receive the following error messages when they tried running a ChkDsk command:

“C:WINDOWSsystem32>chkdsk /f g: Cannot open volume for direct access. C:WINDOWSsystem32>chkdsk /f f: The type of the file system is NTFS. Volume label is 0529357401.”

To fix the “Cannot open volume for direct user access” error, here are some suggestions that might help. Follow them carefully.

Option 1 – Try running the CHKDSK utility on Boot

On the other hand, you can also try to run the CHKDSK utility on Boot so you can fix the error and recover any damaged segments of the drive.

• Open an elevated Command Prompt and enter this command: chkdsk /x /f /r
• After that, you will a message that says, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”
• Type Y and tap Enter to schedule a CHKDSK scan once your computer reboots next time.

Option 2 – Try to run the Primary Hard Disk Self Test

The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to run the Primary Hard Disk Self Test by following the steps below.

• You need to boot your computer into the BIOS first.
• After that, go to the Diagnostics tab and select the “Primary Hard Disk Self Test” option. Note that it may be different depending on the motherboard with different manufacturers but they should imply the same thing.
• Now, wait until the test is completed, and then boot your computer normally.

Option 3 – Try to check the hard drive’s health

The next thing you can do to resolve the issue is to check the health of your hard drive using the WMIC utility in the Windows Command Prompt. This utility will check if your hard drive has any problems which resulted in the “Cannot open volume for direct user access” error.

Option 4 – Try to disable various restrictions on your hard drive

You might also want to disable the various restrictions on your hard drive since it is possible that it is encrypted or restricted which explains why you are unable to perform any operations in it and throws the “Cannot open volume for direct user access” error instead. For instance, if you have BitLocker, you can try to disable it and see if it fixes the error or not.

Option 5 – Try to uninstall or disable the Drive Locking feature on your hard drive

You could also look for any Drive Locking feature on your hard drive that tricks disk changes as it might be the root cause of the problem. Thus, if you find one, you need to either uninstall or disable it and then execute a check disk command to resolve the problem.

Option 6 – Try to disable the application service

Disabling the application service can also help you fix the problem. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and then hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
• Next, scroll down among the list of services and look for the service related to the security software or disk checker software.
• Once you find it, right-click on that service and select Properties.
• After that, change its Startup type to Disabled and click on the OK and Apply buttons to save the changes made.
• Now restart your computer and don’t forget to enable the service back once the disk check is completed.

Option 7 – Try to use Repair Volume via Windows PowerShell

You could also try to use the Repair Volume using Windows PowerShell. All you have to do is open PowerShell as admin and type the “repair-volume -drive letter <DRIVE LETTER>” command and then tap Enter to run Repair Volume. This should resolve the error.