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Windows can’t stop your Generic volume device

One of the issues with external storage devices is that unplugging them right away without using the “Safely Remove Hardware” feature is not safe and doing so could lead to data corruption and data loss. However, in some cases, even when you use the “Safely Remove Hardware” feature, you could get an error that says:

“Windows can’t stop your ‘Generic volume’ device because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device, and then try again later.”

It is possible that the system is still using the external device – for instance, a copy operation might still be in progress, or Windows is still indexing the contents of the drive in the background or it could also be that the drive is not configured to be quickly removed. To fix this error, there are a couple of suggestions you can try. You can try to close all the open programs and file explorer windows, or you could also configure the Device Removal Policy or change its file system to FAT32. In addition, you can also try to change its drive letter or use the DISKPART utility to get the drive to be offline or simply manage the hogging process that prevents it from being safely removed.

Follow each one of the given potential fixes below to resolve the error when using the Safely Remove Hardware feature.

Option 1 – Close all the open programs and File Explorer windows

The first thing you have to do to resolve the error is to close any open programs as well as File Explorer windows. This is because there are some programs and File Explorer instances that could be using the external device in the background which explains why you’re getting the error when you try to safely remove your device.

Option 2 – Try to configure the Device Removal Policy

The next thing you can do is to configure the Device Removal Policy. How? Refer to these steps:

  • Open File Explorer and right-click on the drive where you encountered the error.
  • Next, select Properties from the context menu.
  • After that, navigate to the Hardware tab and select the disk drive where you got the error under the “All disk drives” section.
  • Then select Properties under the Device Properties section. This will open a new mini window and from there, select Change Settings on the bottom portion of the window.
  • Now navigate to the Policies tab and select the “Quick Removal (default)” option under the Removal Policy section.
  • Click on the OK and Apply buttons to save the changes made and then see if the error is now fixed.

Option 3 – Try to manage the hogging process

You could also try managing the hogging process to get rid of the error.

  • Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination to open the Task Manager.
  • Then look for the running processes and programs that are hogging your USB storage device. If there is a program that’s using your device, it will hog on some Disk or CPU while transferring data and interacting with the device which is why you’re getting an error when you safely remove the device.
  • Next, select the concerned processed and right-click on each one of them, and then select the End Task or End Process option. You can also restart the Explorer.exe process and see if that helps.

Option 4 – Try to change the drive letters

  • Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and then type “diskmgmt.msc” in the field and click OK or tap Enter to open Disk Management.
  • Next, look for your USB storage device using the drive letter that’s assigned to it. Right-click on your device and select the “Change Drive Letter and Paths…” option.
  • This will open a mini window and from there select the drive letter you want to change and click on the Change button.
  • After that, another smaller window will appear where you’ll have to select the new drive letter from the drop-down menu.
  • Click OK and if you got a warning prompt, just click on Yes.
  • Now restart your computer.

Option 5 – Try using DISKPART utility to get the drive to be offline

The next thing you can try to resolve the issue is to use DISKPART. Refer to the given steps below to do so.

  • Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run and then type “cmd” in the field and tap Enter or click OK to open an elevated Command Prompt.
  • Next, type and enter this command to execute it: diskpart
  • The command you entered will initiate the DISKPART utility. After that, type and enter this second command: list disk
  • Next, type and enter this third command: list volume
  • The commands you just executed will help you in either listing all the Disk connects or all the partitions on those disks formed and from there, you need to select one command depending on the “list” command you entered. You can execute either of the two following commands:
    • select disk #
    • select volume #
  • After that, it will select the Disk or Partition you want to select.
  • Now type either one of the following commands:
    • offline disk #offline volume #
  • The command you entered will mark the selected disk is Offline. Afterward, try to safely remove your USB Storage device. Just remember that when you plug it back in again, you have to carry out the same method except for the last given command as this time you will have to enter either of these commands in order to get your USB storage device back online:
    • online disk #
    • online volume #

Option 6 – Try to change the file system to FAT32

If you keep getting this error on a particular USB device, you might have to format the disk and change its file system to FAT32. Make sure that you copy its contents safely into another location before you format the disk. Keep in mind that formatting the disk will remove all the contents of your drive.

  • Open File Explorer and right-click on the drive where you got the error and then select Format from the context menu.
  • Next, in the newly opened mini window, select the FAT32 (Default) option from the drop-down menu under File System.
  • Now check the Quick Format checkbox and then click on the Start button to start formatting your drive.

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Windows computer goes to sleep automatically
If your Windows 10 computer or laptop keeps on going to sleep randomly even when you’re using it, read on as this post will walk you through the process of resolving the problem. There are a number of users who reported about how their Windows 10 computers would automatically go into Sleep Mode. One particular user claimed that when he installed a fresh Windows 10 version he began experiencing the same problem. It turns out that the screen goes to sleep but what’s odd is that the power lights and the keyboard are still working. The computer is also warm to touch which shouldn’t be the case when it is in sleep mode. And when some users tried checking the event log, it showed them that the computer didn’t actually go into sleep mode but it shut down instead. To fix this issue, here are some possible fixes that could hopefully work.

Option 1 – Edit the Power Plan settings using Control Panel

  • Click the Cortana button and type “control panel” in the field and select the appropriate result to open Control Panel.
  • After opening Control Panel, click on the Power Options.
  • From there, select the “Edit Plan Settings” option and make sure that the option to “Put the computer to sleep” is set to Never.

Option 2 – Edit the Power Options using Settings

  • Tap the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
  • After that, select Settings and go to the Power & sleep section.
  • Next, set the system to “Never” when the device is running on battery power or plugged in.
  • Now restart your computer to make sure that everything is working properly.

Option 3 – Try running the Power Troubleshooter

Another option that could help resolve the problem is the Power Troubleshooter. This built-in troubleshooter in Windows can help you get things up and running again.

Option 4 – Troubleshoot Sleep Mode issue in a Clean Boot State

The issue with Sleep Mode might be caused by some third-party programs installed on your computer. This program might be the one that puts your computer to sleep and so to isolate this possibility, you have to put your PC in a Clean Boot State using the steps below.
  • Log onto your PC as an administrator.
  • Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.

Option 5 – Try checking the Sleep Advanced Settings

  • Click on the Windows key and type “control panel” in the field and select the related search result.
  • Next, select the Security and Maintenance option and click on the Power Options.
  • After that, you have to select the Change Plan Settings but keep in mind that this option is barely readable so you need to read each option carefully.
  • Now click on the Change advanced power settings button and a new window will appear.
  • Then look for the “Sleep” option and expand it to select the Allow hybrid sleep” option. Turn this option off and close all the opened windows.
  • Reboot your computer and check if your computer now functions properly. If it still didn’t work, you may have to reverse the changes you’ve made.

Option 6 – Try installing v9 or 10 of the MEI or Intel Management Engine Interface

Note that this option only applies to users who are using an HP laptop. And if your motherboard does not support Hybrid Sleep, you might have to downgrade the Intel MEI to version 9 or 10. To install v9 or v10, you need to go to the HP Drivers & Downloads page and look for the MEI driver version 9 from the website’s Driver Chipset section. Once you’ve downloaded the driver, install it and if a dialog box warning pops up, simply ignore it and proceed.

Option 7 – Update the device drivers

  • Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with networking support.
  • Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
  • After that, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
  • After opening the Device Manager, update all the outdated Device drivers on your computer.
  • Next, right-click on all the driver entries that are appropriately labeled, and then click the Update driver option.
  • Now restart your PC and check if your computer is now back to normal.
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Fix Windows Update Install Error 0x80070020
Getting a few errors here and there when updating your Windows 10 computer is not uncommon. Some of these errors won’t allow the Windows Update service to initiate while the other ones will halt the process while it’s running. So in this post, we’ll show you what you can do to fix the Windows Update error 0x80070020. The Windows Update error 0x80070020 is most likely caused by some programs installed in the system which interferes with the Windows Update process. It might be an antivirus program, an incompatible program, a potentially unwanted program, or worse, malware. In addition, corrupted or missing files might also be the culprit. Whichever the cause may be, here are some suggestions you need to check out to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Try to reset the Windows Update components manually

  • To manually reset the Windows Update components, first, you need to stop the Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Windows Update, and the Cryptographic Services. To do so, run the following command in Command Prompt and make sure to press Enter after you enter each one of them:
    • net stop bits
    • net stop wuauserv
    • net stop cryptsvc
  • Next, delete the “qmgr*.dat” file in order to reset the Windows Update components. To do delete this file, run the following command in Command Prompt:
    • Del “%ALLUSERSPROFILE%Application DataMicrosoftNetworkDownloaderqmgr*.dat
  • Now you have to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders by entering the following command in Command Prompt:
    • Ren %systemroot%SoftwareDistributionSoftwareDistribution.bak
    • Ren %systemroot%system32catroot2catroot2.bak
  • Reset BITS and Windows Update service by entering the following commands in Command Prompt:
    • sc.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)
  • Now enter the following command:
  • cd /d %windir%system32
  • RE-register BITS and other Windows Update related files by typing each one of the following commands:
    • 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
  • Now type each one of those commands below.
    • net start bits
    • net start wuauserv
    • net start cryptsvc

Option 2 – Install the updates in a Clean Boot State

You might want to try putting your computer in a Clean Boot state and then install Windows Updates again without any trouble. During this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.
  • Log onto your PC as an administrator.
  • Type in msconfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
  • From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
  • Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
  • Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
  • After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.

Option 3 – Clear the contents of both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders

  • Open the WinX Menu.
  • From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
  • Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.
net stop wuauserv net stop bits
  • After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
  • Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
  • Once all the contents in the Software Distribution folder are deleted, restart your PC and then go back to Command Prompt and input the following commands again.
net start wuauserv net start bits
 Since the folder has already been flushed, it will be populated afresh the instant your restart your computer and open Windows Update.

Option 4 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the Windows Update error 0x80070020. 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 restarting the Windows Update Services

  • Open the Services Manager.
From there, make sure that you set the following services and Startup types:
  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service: Manual
  • Cryptographic Service: Automatic
  • Windows Update Service: Manual (Triggered)
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How to Fix Error 0x80073712 in Windows
There are times when system files get corrupted and if the Windows Update process finds the system’s integrity questionable, chances are, the update, upgrade or the installation may fail and you will only be getting an error code 0x80073712 instead of completing the process. The error code 0x80073712 indicates that a file needed by the Windows setup or the Windows Update is most likely missing or damaged. To resolve the problem, here are some suggestions you can try.

Option 1 – Try running the DISM Tool

Running the DISM Tool helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.
  • Open the Command Prompt as admin.
  • Then type in this command: exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
  • Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.
After you run this tool, a log file is created at C:WindowsLogsCBSCBS.log. On the other hand, if the Windows Update client is already broken, you will be prompted to use a running Windows installation as the repair source or use a Windows side-by-side folder from a network share, as the source of the files. Although the chances of this happening are less, if it turns out to be the case, you need to run an advanced command in the DISM tool to repair a broken Windows Update. Just repeat the process above but use the following command instead:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:RepairSourceWindows /LimitAccess

Option 2 – Try running 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 with good system files that might be causing the error 0x80073712. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
  • Tap Win + R to launch Run.
  • Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
  • After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
  1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
  2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
  3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

Option 3 – Try running the Chkdsk utility

You can also try running the Chkdsk utility to resolve the Windows Update error 0x80073712. 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 commands listed below, and don’t forget to hit Enter right after you type in each one of them and if you have installed Windows to some different directory, you must replace “C” with the name of the drive you’ve installed Windows with.
  • chkdsk C: /r /x
  • chkdsk C: /f
Note: The Chkdsk function might take a while before it finishes its operations so you need to be patient and wait until the entire process is completed.

Option 4 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the Windows Update error 0x80073712. 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.

Option 5 – Try running Microsoft’s online troubleshooter

You also have the option to run Microsoft’s online troubleshooter which could help you fix Windows Update errors.
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Hardware review: Bytezone Advanced desk
If you spend a large amount of time gaming or working on a computer gaming chair is a very important asset. One other thing that is mostly looked past but could help greatly is a good desk. A great chair accompanied by a great desk can make your long sitting sessions more pleasant and more healthy which is very important in the long run. Hey, but it is only a desk, what is so special about having an expensive desk? Well truth to be told desk is just a desk and any kind of desk can serve the purpose of hosting a keyboard, mice, and screen. But a good desk will offer some other advantages that may not seem so important but they could mean a lot like adjusting desk height so it fits perfectly on your size and sitting position making long hours more pleasant and lower stress on hands sitting on it.

bytezone gaming deskAdvanced desk features

Bytezone might not be a company that will sound familiar to you, mostly because they manufacture gaming chairs and desks, now in the gaming chairs world there are a lot of competitors and Bytezone has managed to make a name for itself despite this fact. But they are more popular in their gaming and office modern-looking desk category. The advanced desk is made from carbon steel and plastic combination, it is very durable and it weighs 27kg. Now that is not really light but it is not very heavy if we compare it to wood desks. The top layer of the table is made from easy-to-clean material and the desk comes with a large mouse and keyboard pad. The table itself includes a cup holder, headphones bracket under the table and it has a cable management drawer in the back. The desk is sized 66x120x76 cm. Also for anyone interested desk itself comes also with RGB lights for that true gaming feel.
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New Chrome update brings surveillance debate
Google Chrome 94 is here and it has introduced a controversial idle detection API. For those people that do not know what idle detection API is, well basically Chrome can be asked by a website to report when a user of the site has a site open and is idle on the device. The issue that people have with this is that this particular feature can be used to report when the user is not using a computer at all. chrome idle detection featureGood thing is that website or web application will prompt you to allow it to use this feature like when a site/application wants to use your microphone or web camera. Developers are on board with this feature since it can provide them with more telemetric data on how users are interacting with their website/application but there are some that are strongly voicing against this. Tantek Çelik, Mozilla Standards Lead, commented on GitHub, saying:
As it is currently specified, I consider the Idle Detection API too tempting of an opportunity for surveillance capitalism motivated websites to invade an aspect of the user’s physical privacy, keep long-term records of physical user behaviors, discerning daily rhythms (e.g. lunchtime), and using that for proactive psychological manipulation (e.g. hunger, emotion, choice)… Thus I propose labeling this API harmful and encourage further incubation, perhaps reconsidering simpler, less-invasive alternative approaches to solve the motivating use-cases.
Others who have spoken against this feature are people from the WebKit development team inside Apple. Ryosuke Niwa, an Apple software engineer who works on WebKit said:
That doesn’t seem like a strong enough use case for this API. For starters, there is no guarantee that the user won’t immediately come back to the device. Also, who is such a service supposed to know what another device user might be using at any given point? We’re definitely not going to let a website know all the devices a given user might be using at any given point. That’s a very serious breach of the said user’s privacy. It seems to me that such a suppression/distribution mechanism is best left for the underlying operating systems/web browsers to handle.
Of course, technology itself as always can be used for good or for bad and time will tell if this feature has brought good stuff or it has paved another brick in surveillance and privacy manipulation. As said for now option will prompt for agreement and let's hope that it will be used for good causes from this day into the future.
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Cooler Master XG850 PLUS PLATINUM

Enter Cooler Master XG850 PLUS PLATINUM, a new, in-house designed power supply from Cooler Master. I will admit that in last years I was a big fan of Cooler Master and their components, well not all but power supply and PC cases were always products from them that I liked and used. The latest power supply from them does not disappoint and I must say that I like it very much, it is hi-quality, it is silent, it has a large LCD display where you can see its current state and also has some RGB lights so it looks cool in your case.

cooler master power supply XG850 PLUS PLATINUM

Technical specifications

So without further detours here are the technical specifications and then we will talk a little about it.

Model: MPG-8501-AFBAP-X
ATX Version: Intel ATX 12V Ver. 2.53
PFC: Active PFC
Input Voltage: 100-240V
Input Current: 12-6A
Input Frequency: 50-60Hz
Dimensions (L x W x H): 160 x 150 x 86 mm
Fan Size: 135mm
Fan Speed: 1800 RPM
Noise Level @ 100%: ≤ 25 dBA
Efficiency: ≥ 92% @ Typical Load
80 PLUS Rating: 80 PLUS Platinum
ErP 2014 Lot 3: Yes
Operating Temperature: 0-50°C
Power Good Signal: 100 - 150 ms
Hold Up Time: ≥ 16ms
MTBF: >100,000 Hours
Protections: OPP, OVP, OCP, UVP, SCP, OTP, Surge, and Inrush Protection
Regulatory: TUV, cTUVus, CE, BSMI, FCC, CCC, EAC, UKCA
ATX 24 Pin Connectors: 1
EPS 4+4 Pin Connectors: 1
EPS 8 Pin Connector: 1
SATA Connectors: 12
Peripheral 4 Pin Connectors: 4
PCI-e 6+2 Pin Connectors: 6
USB Protocol 10P: 1
Series: XG Series
80 Plus: Platinum
Modular: Full Modular
Wattage: Above 750W

Opinion about Cooler Master XG850 PLUS PLATINUM

If we put aside the technical characteristics of the power supply itself we are left with visual and real working experience. Now real working experience will not be covered here since yea it is working great but it needs some time and a long period of testing in order to be able to say that it is indeed reliable and great but considering I have never had any issues personally with power supplies from Cooler Master I will assume that this one is also very reliable and hi-quality.

That leaves us basically with looks and feels of supply itself and I must say that I like it, and I mean I like it a lot. It feels hi-quality and it looks hi-quality. The LCD display is very good looking and it is very crisp and readable. With power supply some proprietary software so you can choose what you want on display on the screen and also you can control RGB and display colors with it.

I have not opened the power supply to see how it looks inside but from what I could see I think this would be my new power supply if I were building a new PC now. I recommend it and if you decide to get it I hope it will serve you long long time.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you next time.

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Fix Template_fields error in Microsoft Word
As you know, Microsoft Office Word is a program that’s widely used all over the web and it’s because it’s the best program there is when it comes to editing and processing words. However, even when it is the best there is, it is not without its faults and so on as it can still encounter some errors every now and then. One of these errors is the Template_fields errors. When you encounter such an error, you will see a pop-up window. This strange error randomly appears on documents but you need not worry as this post will provide you with possible solutions to resolve the problem. But before you proceed with these solutions, you have to create a backup for all your Word documents to Microsoft OneDrive preferably. To fix the problem, you can try to disable the add-ins or try to start Word in Safe Mode or repair Office. For more details, refer to the options given below.

Option 1 – Disable the Add-ins

Although add-ins enhance Microsoft Word, there are times when they can also cause problems that end up breaking Microsoft Word instead of improving it which is why you have to disable them. Refer to the following steps to do so:
  • Open Microsoft Word and then click on File.
  • After that, select Options from the menu and then click on Add-ins.
  • From there, you’ll see Manage: Com Add-ins as well as a button that says Go.
  • Now click on the Go button and wait for a couple of seconds for a new window to appear.
  • In the newly opened window, uncheck all the Add-ins and click on OK.
  • Restart Microsoft Word and check if the “Template_fields” error is now fixed or not.

Option 2 – Try starting Word in Safe Mode

You might also want to try rebooting Microsoft Office in Safe Mode as it is one of your best shots in finding out whether the problem is internal or external. However, if the problem does not appear after you reboot Microsoft Word in Safe Mode, then there is a possibility that the problem is with Microsoft Office itself. On the other hand, if the problem persists, then it could be a deeper issue.
  • First, start Microsoft Word in Safe Mode.
  • Next, tap and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and open the Word document.
  • After that, you should see a dialog box. Click on Yes and see if Microsoft Word opens in Safe Mode.
  • Alternatively, you can open the search box and then type “winword.exe /safe” and hit Enter.

Option 3 – Try repairing Microsoft Office

If the first two options didn’t work, then you might want to try repairing Microsoft Office without getting rid of it. In most cases, this usually works in fixing any problems and returns the program back to its default state. To repair Microsoft Office, follow the steps below.
  • Right-click on the Start Menu button and select Apps and Features.
  • Next, scroll until you see the Microsoft Office program you want to repair and then select the Modify option.
  • After that, follow the options to repair Microsoft Office and then restart your PC and see if the “Template_fields” error is no longer present.
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USB Keeps Connecting and Disconnecting
External hard drives have become essential these days as they tend to be very useful to many users. They are usually used for storing system images like system backups, Windows installation media, or for personal use. However, if you are not able to utilize your external drivers for some reason then that could be a huge problem. One of the common issues with hard drives is when your USB device or external hard drive just keeps connecting and disconnecting. This kind of issue could be caused by a faulty USB port, some issues with the USB drivers, your computer’s Power Options, corrupted or damaged system files, and many other factors. The connecting and disconnecting issue with USB devices and external hard drives isn’t really new and has been experienced by many users for years now. Although this issue has somewhat decreased in Windows 10, there are still some users who encounter it every now and then. Worry not though for there are fixes that you can try to resolve the problem. Refer to the following straightforward solutions to resolve the issue with your USB device or external hard drive.

Option 1 – Plug your external device on a different port

If your USB device keeps on connecting and disconnecting then the first thing you can do is to try connecting it to a different port. This will help you isolate the problem. In some cases, the port where the USB is connected can be malfunctioning or obsolete so you need to check that possibility by plugging your USB device into a different USB port.

Option 2 – Update or reinstall your USB drivers

As mentioned earlier, the problem could be due to some issues with the USB drivers. It could be that it has to be updated or you need to reinstall it. To do that, follow these steps:
  • 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 – Try turning on the USB External drive

There are times when your system turns off some drives in order to conserve your computer’s power, etc. as a result, the driver that’s required to run your external hard drive properly ends up getting disabled. To fix this, you can prevent your system from turning off your external USB drive by following these steps:
  • You need to make sure that the external drive is connected to your system first.
  • Next, go to the Start Menu and type “device manager” in the field, and click on the appropriate result to open the Device Manager.
  • After opening the Device Manager, expand the category of the Universal Serial Bus controllers.
  • Then double click on your USB Mass Storage device and take note that the name might be different on your system.
  • Now go to the Power Management tab and uncheck the checkbox for the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” option and click OK to save the changes made.

Option 4 – Turn off USB Selective Suspend

Another thing you can try is to turn off USB Selective Suspend especially when the issue has something to do with the Power Options. There are certain systems that are configured to disable USB devices after some time which could be the root cause of the problem. Thus, you need to turn off USB Selective Suspend. Here’s how you can do it:
  • In the Start Menu, search for “control panel” and open the related search result.
  • Then go to Power Options and click on the “Change plan settings” option.
  • Next, select “Change advanced power settings” and look for the USB settings and then expand it.
  • From there, you will see the USB Selective Suspend setting. Disable it and click OK.
  • Now restart your computer and check if it resolves the problem or not.

Option 5 – 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.
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How to Fix Error Code 22

Error Code 22 - What is it?

Code 22 is a type of Device Manager Error code. Device manager errors are reported by the drivers causing the problem. It indicates that the devices are disabled in the Device Manager. This error code is displayed in the following format:
This device is disabled. (Code 22)
It looks like a very simple matter to enable a device from the Device Manager interface but if the device fails to load then there are likely greater underlying problems with the drivers. Drivers allow hardware devices to communicate with other hardware devices and the operating system. Drivers contain instructions and operating procedures for devices. Without a driver, a hardware device will not function and may not even appear in the Device Manager.

Solution

driverfix boxError Causes

Common causes of error code 22 are:
  • Device is disabled
  • Driver is outdated
  • The driver is missing or corrupt
  • The previous attempt to update the driver failed
  • Device is damaged
  • The device is not configured as the default device
This means that though the error code 22 typically indicates that the device reporting the error is disabled but other causes can also be associated with the error occurrence.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Here are some of the best and easy do-it-yourself methods to resolve error 22 on your PC. Try these methods to repair the issue.

Method 1

If the error code 22 is triggered due to a disabled device, then all you need to do to resolve the issue is enable the device. To enable the disabled device, follow these steps. Simply go to the start menu and type Device Manager in the search bar. Now click on the Device Manager and then click Actions. After you Click Actions, double click Enable Device. The Enable Device Wizard will pop up. Follow all the prompts from the Enable Device Wizard. This will hopefully resolve the issue.

Method 2

If method 1 doesn’t work then this means the problem is deeper than you think.  The problem can be triggered by the missing, corrupted, or outdated driver for the device reporting the error. In such a situation it is advisable to reinstall the driver for the device. To do this first uninstall the driver for the device reporting error code 22 then reinstall the driver.
  • For this simply click the Start menu, go to the control panel and then click Performance and Maintenance, and then System.
  • In the new window, you will then see a tab called Hardware and the Device Manager.
  • Double click on the device whose driver you need to uninstall.
  • Click on the properties window with a tab marked driver. Then click on the driver you want to uninstall.
To activate changes reboot your PC. Now reinstall the latest and updated version of the driver uninstalled using the Plug and Play feature.

Method 3

Sometimes devices can also get damaged due to registry issues. In such an event, install Restoro. It is a PC Fixer deployed with a registry cleaner. The registry cleaner wipes out all the unnecessary and obsolete files damaging the registry and repairs them in a few minutes. Click here to download Restoro.
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Disabling File Grouping in Explorer in Windows
Browsing your files on a computer seamlessly is made possible by the File Explorer in Windows 10 as it provides users with a great sense of customization for both listing and performing operations on a file. You have the option to arrange the folders and files being browsed by their name, type, date, size, and so on. Moreover, files that share a common attribute can be also be grouped accordingly using the grouping feature. However, there are times when instead of helping, it causes some problems for some users. This is why in this post, you will be guided on how you can disable the File Grouping feature in the File Explorer in Windows 10. There are two methods you need to consider in disabling the File Grouping feature in Windows 10. First, you can disable it for only one folder or you can disable it for all the folders on your computer. For more details, follow the instructions given below.

Option 1 – Disable File Grouping in only one folder

This first option is relatively straightforward and simple which will work if you only want to disable File Grouping in one folder.
  • First, open File Explorer, and go to the folder you want to disable File Grouping.
  • Next, right-click anywhere on that folder.
  • And then select Group by > None. This will disable File Grouping for only that particular folder.

Option 2 – Disable File Grouping in all the folders

If you wish to disable File Grouping in all the folders on your computer, then you need to follow this option. If you have already tried the first one, then continue with the given steps below.
  • Tap the Alt + V key combination.
  • Then tap the Alt + Y keys and then tap Alt + O keys.
  • After that, navigate to the View tab, and under the Folder views section, select Apply to Folders.
  • Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. This will disable File Grouping in all the folders listed in the File Explorer.
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