How to Fix 0x80040154 Error Code

Error code 0xc000021a - What is it?

Error code 0xc000021a occurs when the system is unable to start or there’s a failure in critical system processes. Normally, it would take about several seconds for the system to boot and while on the startup process, error code 0xc000021a may take place to block the system to boot up. Users will get a blue screen of death (BOSD) when this error occurs. When upgrading to Windows 10, be careful; you might encounter other error messages such as error code 8007002c. 

Solution

Error Causes

There are several reasons why error code 0xc000021a occurs. It is important to have a full understanding of what caused the blue screen of death before attempting to fix the error by yourself. See below for a few common causes:

• Computer malware has infiltrated your device.

• Important files such as Winlogon.exe and Csrss.exe are damaged. Winlogon.exe file is responsible for handling the login and logout processes while Csrss.exe is a vital part of Microsoft Client or Server ‘Runtime Server Subsystem’. Once one of these files is damaged or deleted, a stop error will occur.

• When there are mismatched system files installed or system upgrading process failed or still incomplete.

• Premature unloading of Wbemprox.dll

• Newly installed third-party software is not compatible with the operating system.

• There are corrupted, outdated, or incorrectly configured device drivers.

• There’s insufficient space in the system partition. Once the system partition is full, certain errors such as error code 0xc000021a will manifest.

• Windows registry is corrupted or damaged due to a software or system change. This means there are registry entries that are not cleared after uninstalling an application.

Further Information and Manual Repair

In fixing error code 0xc000021a, you might want to try and manually do so. Manual repair methods can give users effective and efficient solutions, addressing the root problems in relation to Windows error codes. Once the manual repair method is correctly implemented, users will be able to resolve issues immediately. However, there might be instances when a Windows professional is needed. In such cases, seek help from a certified Windows expert or you might want to consider using an automated tool whenever necessary.

Method One: Convert the Drive or Partition from NTFS to GPT

In order to fix Error code 0xc000021a in Windows 10, you might need to convert the partition or drive from NTFS to GPT. See below for the procedure: 1. Shut down your device then put in the Windows installation USB key or DVD. 2. Boot your device to the USB key or DVD in UEFI mode. 3. Inside the Windows Setup, open a Command Prompt window by pressing Shift + F10. 4. Type diskpart in the Command Prompt window to open the diskpart tool. 5. Type list disk to identify which drive to reformat. 6. Select which drive to reformat by typing select disk in the command prompt. Afterward, type clean then hit Enter. Once done, type convert gpt to be able to convert the drive from NTFS to GPT. Finally, type exit and press Enter. You can now close the Command Prompt window. 7. Once the partition or drive is converted from NTFS to GPT, the user can now continue the Windows Setup installation. NOTE: Select Custom in choosing which installation type to use. The drive will then appear as a single area of unallocated space. Choose that unallocated space then select Next. At this point, Windows will now begin the installation.

Method Two: Fix System File Errors

There are times when system files get corrupted or damaged which will result in system failure. If this is the case, you can use a Windows free tool to repair corrupted or damaged system files. 1. Right-click on the Start button then selects Command Prompt (Admin) from the list to open a Command Prompt window. 2. Once the Command Prompt appears, type sfc /scannow then hit Enter. Wait until the process completes. If the process is completed and it doesn’t report any error or issues that remain unsolved, you might want to employ the next method.

Method Three: Reset Windows 10

Resetting Windows will delete all software and user accounts installed in the operating system and will reinstall a fresh Windows. 1. Boot your device using a Windows installation USB key or DVD. Select Repair your computer to locate the Troubleshoot option. Afterward, choose Reset this PC. NOTE: If the device is able to boot the system, you can reset Windows without using a Windows installation USB key or DVD. You just have to boot the device then navigate to Settings in the Start button. Choose Update & Recovery then select Recovery found on the left pane. Choose Reset this PC option then select Go back to an earlier build and Advanced startup. Select Get Started button found in the Reset this PC tab. 2. Depending on your device’s condition, you can either select Keep my files or Remove everything. Both options will remove all applications installed in the device and will revert to default settings. 3. Choose either Just remove my files or Remove files and clean the drive depending on the situation. If you choose the Remove files and clean the drive option, the procedure will take longer as it will erase all the files permanently. In this case, deleted files cannot be recovered. However, if you don’t want to remove files permanently, select Just remove my files. 4. Once you’ve decided how to reset your system, click on Next once the Warning screen appears. Afterward, choose Reset once prompted. When the process completed, click on Continue.

Method Four: Download an Automated Tool

Can’t seem to put up with the long and technical manual repair process? You can still fix this error by downloading and installing a powerful automated tool that will surely get the job done in a jiffy!

As you know, “JPEG” is one of the commonly used formats for image files which is a compression of digital images. It is one of the topmost used file formats by mobile phones and digital cameras and usually achieves a 10:1 compression with little visible loss in the quality of the image. There are tons of cases as of late, most particularly after the latest Windows 10 update where users were not able to open JPEG files on their PCs. Every time they try to open any JPEG file, they either get an error or nothing happens at all. This issue could be due to the default handler application for JPEG applications not being set or there could be some third-party image viewer not working properly. To fix this issue with JPEG files, refer to the troubleshooting options below.

Option 1 – Try to change the file type association

You need to check if the file type association of the JPEG files are correctly set or not since there are tons of third party programs that change the file type association automatically to themselves without your permission the instant they are installed and so if any of these third-party programs are broken, then naturally, your JPEG files won’t really open. That’s why you can try changing the setting to the default photo viewer instead of the third-party one. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type in “control panel” in the field and hit Enter to open the Control Panel.
• After opening Control Panel, click on the Programs category and select the “Default Programs” option from the menu.
• Next, select the second option “Associate a file type or protocol with a program” and then select the “Choose default apps by file type” option.
• After that, click on the .jpg file extension and choose the option from the pop-up.
• Now restart your PC to refresh all your programs and then see if it has fixed the problem or not.

Option 2 – Try to update your computer

Microsoft frequently releases updates to target bugs and improve users’ experience. And this particular error where JPEG files won’t open is already acknowledged by Microsoft so you need to make sure that your Windows 10 PC is updated to the latest released update and that there are no pending updates.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open Search and then type in “update” in the field and open the system setting from the search results.
• After that, check for updates and then download and install them if needed.
• Now restart your PC once the update is done and check if you can now open JPEG files.

Option 3 – Try to reset the Photos app via Settings

Resetting the Photos app could also help you in fixing the problem. Note that this option will reset all the configurations and your data associated with your Photos and makes the application go into a state when you first started using it and that this option will fix any discrepancies that your application might be experiencing right now.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the search bar.
• Then type in “settings” in the field to open the Settings application.
• After opening Settings, click the “Apps” category.
• From there, a list of applications installed on your computer will appear.
• Navigate through these applications until you find the Photos app and then click on the Advanced options.
• Afterward, click the Reset button that appears on the next screen. Then a new pop-up comes up and will warn you that all the preferences, as well as sign-in information, will be lost. Click on “Reset” anyway to proceed in resetting the Photos app.
• Restart your PC once the reset is done.

Option 4 – Try to reinstall the Photos app

Before you start using other third-party image viewers just yet, you can try to reinstall the Photos app first. Thus, if there is something wrong with it, it will instantly get fixed right after it reinstalls. Just take note that this option requires administrative privileges so you need to be logged in as an administrator.

• The first thing you have to do is tap the Windows + S keys and type in “PowerShell”.
• Next, right-click on the file and click on the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
• Once PowerShell is opened, execute this command: get-appxpackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | remove-appxpackage
• The command you just entered will remove the Photos app. After the process is done, go to the Microsoft Store and look for Microsoft Photos then download and install it again.

If you suddenly encountered the PDC WATCHDOG TIMEOUT BSOD Blue Screen stop error with a bug check value of 0x0000014F, then it’s probably due to a system component that has failed to respond with the allocated period which prevents the system from exiting connected standby. This kind of Blue Screen error could be caused by both hardware and software components. To fix this Stop error, here are some possible fixes you can try that might help but before you proceed, make sure that you create a System Restore point first and boot your computer into Safe Mode with Networking.

Option 1 – Try to rollback, update or disable drivers

The next thing you can do to fix the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Stop error is to roll back, or update, or disable device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• After opening the Device Manager, look for the device driver named “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” and expand it.
• Then look for the SATA AHCI Controller entry and right-click on it. If you haven’t updated this driver in a while, select the “Update Driver” option. On the other hand, if you’ve just updated this driver, then select the Uninstall Device option.
• Next, follow the screen option to update or uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically if you have chosen to uninstall them.

Note: You can install a dedicated driver on your computer in case you have it or you could also look for it directly from the website of the manufacturer.

Option 2 – Try to disconnect or disable newly installed hardware

In this option, you will have to disable or remove the hardware you’ve just installed recently since external devices could be the one that’s causing the Blue Screen of Death error to appear. To do that, just disconnect any external device that’s connected to your computer physically and then check if it fixes the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Blue Screen error.

Option 3 – Try running the Memory Diagnostic Tool

The Memory Diagnostic tool in windows can help resolve the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT Blue Screen error by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
• After that, it will give two options such as:
  • Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
  • Check for problems the next time I start my computer
• Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.

Option 4 – Try to update the BIOS

Updating the BIOS can help you fix the PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT BSOD error but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
• From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
• After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
• Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
• If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
• Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
• Now restart your computer to apply the changes made.

Option 5 – Try running the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like PDC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT. It can be found in the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
• Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.

Privacy is a hot topic lately in all circles so naturally themes like private or incognito browsing pop up immediately as discussion topics. Naturally, when discussing private or incognito browsing it is very important to understand what exactly private or incognito browsing is, what does it do and how it works in order to shed some light on is it really private and safe as we are told. So, when you browse the internet normally websites have tendencies to save your browsing data, save cookies, remember passwords, etc in order to provide you with a better surfing experience next time you visit that same site. Private or incognito browsing treats you as a completely new user which is the first time visiting a given website. It clears all your data, including your browsing history, cookies, etc., on exiting. Every website you visit in private or incognito mode treats you as a new visitor, even if you have visited it before in incognito mode. And basically, that's it. So is it really private? No, it is just a non-remembering mode of internet browsing where after your browsing session history and other data is cleared from the browser, but while you are on the internet you are pretty visible to all like any other normal user. There are a lot of misconceptions and wrong thinking about browsing the internet in this mode so let's take a look at some typical ones.

1. The government and other companies can not track me

   Many people think that the Government cannot trace their identity when they surf privately. This is only a myth. There are many ways by which the Government can reach you if you do something illegal. When you surf online, you are connected with an ISP of your area, which helps the officials track your location.

2. Virus and other malware can not infect me while in private or incognito mode

   Many people think that private mode protects them from virus and malware attacks. It is not true because malware and viruses can enter your PC through a software download, phishing email, etc. To protect your PC from virus and malware attacks, you should have good security software.

3. My IP address is hidden when I am in incognito or private browsing mode

   This is not 100% true. If you search “What is my IP” in incognito and standard mode, you will get the same results. This means that websites can view your IP address in private mode also. Using a VPN would be a good option if you want to hide your IP.

4. I can not be tracked via ads

   Since cookies are deleted after exiting private browsing, many people think that ads cannot track them. When you surf in incognito mode, the browser saves cookies in a temporary mode, allowing ads to track you during your entire private browsing session.

5. I am not visible when I am in incognito or private

   You may think if you sign in to your Gmail or other social media accounts in private mode, no one will see you online. This is not true. It does not matter whether you have signed into your account in normal mode or incognito mode; others can always spot you online.

In your regular browsing mode, you may have some addons, extensions, themes, etc installed and you can use them. They may track your activities. The data is deleted when you exit the browser. When you use the private browsing mode, the browser is loaded in its original form, typically without the installed addons, extension, themes, etc. The data gets deleted when you exit the browser. This mode doesn’t save data to disk but keeps it in memory during the current session. If you are really concerned about your privacy we have articles about using DuckDuckGo and deep web where you can be sure that your browsing sessions are encrypted.

Each time you open an application inside your Windows 11 operating system, it is opened with standard privileges. Now, please note that your account privileges and application privileges are two different things, you might be the administrator of the system but when you open the app, it still opens with standard privilege. Most of the time running applications with typical settings is fine but from time to time we might have some applications that will require running with administrator privilege in order to work properly. In this case, it is very easy to do it, you just right-click and choose run as administrator. Although a very easy solution, it can be quite annoying if running the app is on a daily basis or even more times per day. If this is the case then right-clicking and choosing to run as administrator can be a daunting task, sometimes you can even forget to run it like this in heat of work and some unforeseen consequences might occur. Luckily there is an easy hack so you can open the chosen application each time as an administrator with a simple double click each time.

Setting application to run as administrator always

1. Locate application executable file
2. Right-click on in and choose properties
3. Click on the Compatibility tab
4. Check the box next to Run this Program as an Administrator
5. Click on Apply
6. Click on OK

From now on each time you open an application normally with a double click, it will be opened as administrator privileges.

The use of Biometrics is supported by Windows 10. Aside from that, it also supports PIN, password, picture password on all computers and if your computer has the proper hardware, Windows 10 also supports facial scanning, iris scanning, and even fingerprint scanning. You can see all these exciting features inside Settings > Accounts > Sign In Options. On the other hand, you can’t really expect to make use of all the above-mentioned features since it depends if the hardware is available to support them. One of the most interesting features is the use of Biometrics which is really useful in workplaces and so this post will show you how you can enable or disable the Domain Users Sign In on Windows 10 using Biometrics via Registry Editor or Group Policy Editor. But before you go on, you need to create a System Restore Point first since the modifications you’re about to do might affect the functioning of your computer. So in case something went wrong, you can always undo the changes you’ve made.

Option 1 – via Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftBiometricsCredential Provider

• From there, right-click on the right-side panel and click on New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
• And then set the name of the newly created DWORD as “Domain Accounts”.
• Afterward, click on “Domain Accounts” and set its value to “1”. This will allow the domain users to sign in to Windows 10 using Biometrics. While the value of 0 will disable the domain users sign in to Windows 10 using Biometrics.
• Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Option 2 – via Group Policy Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• After that, navigate to the following setting:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Biometrics

• Then double click on the following entries located on the right-side panel and set the radio button to Enabled on all of them.
  • Allow the use of Biometrics.
  • Allow users to log on using Biometrics.
  • Allow domain users to log on using biometrics.
• Now exit the Group Policy Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made properly.

What is Active History? A new feature has been introduced in Windows 10 that allows users to stay connected to their tasks across their devices. This new feature is called “Windows Timeline” and using this feature, users could continue their tasks all over their Windows 10 computers as well as on devices that run Android and iOS as well. This new feature was included in Microsoft Launcher and Microsoft Edge on Android devices as well as in Microsoft Edge for iOS devices. In order for the feature to work, you have to send either Basic or Full data and diagnostics of your computer to Microsoft which would sync it all over your devices with the help of the cloud. And now since all your data is stored on your Windows 10 computer and with Microsoft under your account, it is easier for you to access the back and start where you left off. This kind of option is called Active History. In this post, you will be guided on how you can permanently disable Active History using either the Windows Registry or Group Policy. Before you go on further, it is recommended that you create a System Restore Point first in case anything goes wrong. This is a precautionary measure you must take so that you can easily undo the changes you’ve made. After creating a System Restore Point, proceed to the given instructions below.

Option 1 – Disable Active History via Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type in “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsSystem
• From there, check if you can find a DWORD named “PublishUserActivities”. If you can’t find this DWORD, just create one with the same name and make sure that the base is selected to Hexadecimal.
• After that, double-click on the DWORD and change its value from 1 to 0 to disable Active History.
• Restart your computer to apply the changes you’ve made successfully.

Option 2 – Disable Active History via Group Policy Editor

Note that this second option won’t work if you are using the Home edition of Windows 10. This is because the Group Policy Editor does not come with Windows 10 Home. So if you are not using Windows 10 Home, follow the given steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run box.
• Then type in “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• Next, navigate to this path: Computer ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesSystemOS Policies
• After that, double click on the configuration listing named “Allow publishing of User Activities” to open the configuration page which has the following description:

“This policy setting determines whether User Activities can be published. If you enable this policy setting, activities of type User Activity are allowed to be published. If you disable this policy setting, activities of type User Activity are not allowed to be published. Policy change takes effect immediately.”

• Now you have to select Disabled or Not Configured if you want to disable Publishing of User Activities or Enabled to Enable Publishing of User Activities depending on your preferences.
• Next, click OK and exit the Group Policy Editor and then restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Typical use of file explorer will probably not need any kind of elevated privileges, but from time to time you might encounter some tasks that will require administrator rights in order to perform them. If this is the case you will need to run file explorer with these rights but inside Windows 11 that is somewhat hidden and not 1 click away. How this is the case we have decided to put a little tutorial on how to accomplish this very task and run file explorer with administrator privileges.

Open File Explorer via EXE file

1. Open File Explorer typically
2. Navigate to This PC > Windows (C:) > Windows
3. Locate file explorer application
4. Right-click on it and select Run as Administrator
5. Run File Explorer

A new instance of file explorer will pop with elevated administrator privileges.

Run it as an administrator using the Task Manager

1. Open the Task Manager ( CTRL + SHIFT + ESC )
2. Click on More details (at the bottom)
3. After the task manager expands click on the File tab
4. Click on Run New Task
5. Type in explorer.exe and check the box next to it that says Create this task with administrative privileges
6. Click on OK

File Explorer will now run as administrator.

As you know, each one of the Windows 10 versions is priced differently and one of the considered more expensive compared to the Windows 10 Home version is the Windows10 Pro. The good thing is, Microsoft allows its users to upgrade from the Windows 10 Home version to the Windows 10 Pro version at a reasonable cost instead of buying the entire license again. However, upgrading your Windows 10 computer is not always that easy and you might encounter some errors along the way. One of the reported errors you could encounter is an error message that says, “Something happened, and we couldn’t start the upgrade”. This kind of problem is due to the problems with the Microsoft Store or the key authorization and to fix it, there are several options you can check out. You can try to run the built-in troubleshooters such as the Windows Update troubleshooter, Windows Store Apps troubleshooter, or Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter. You could also try to reset the Windows Store cache or re-register the Windows Store app. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below.

Option 1 – Try to run the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter

Since the Microsoft Accounts troubleshooter is not built-in into the Windows operating system, you can download this troubleshooter by clicking on this link.

Option 2 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the “Something happened, and we couldn’t start the upgrade” error. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.

Option 3 – Run the Windows Store App troubleshooter

The Windows 10 Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the problem in Microsoft Store. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app issues. To use the Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

• Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
• Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
• Under the Troubleshoot section, on your left-hand side, scroll down to find Window Store Apps.
• Then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and follow the on-screen instructions and then see if it fixes the problem.

Option 4 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache

As you know, like any other apps, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
• Next, type in the command, “wsreset.exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
• Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 5 – Try to re-register the Microsoft Store app via Windows PowerShell

• Tap the Win + X key combination or right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
• If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed and open the Windows PowerShell window.
• Next, type in or copy-paste the following command to re-register the Microsoft Store app and tap Enter:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRootWinStoreAppxManifest.xml

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

Option 6 – Try contacting Microsoft

If none of the options worked, you might also want to contact Microsoft for further assistance in fixing the error.

Error Code 44 – What is it?

Error Code 44 is a device driver error that users encounter when using Windows 2000 operating system and later versions.

It is when the peripheral device that is connected to the computer, such as a printer or a fax machine, cannot be accessed as the programs required for operation interfere with other software on the computer. The error code will pop up with the following message:

“An application or service has shut down this hardware device. (Code 44)”

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 44 is caused when the program that you are using shuts down the peripheral device installed on your system. It is triggered by the following:

• Corrupted system registry entries
• Device driver files are outdated
• Device driver files are missing

It is critical to fix the Error Code 44 as it can pose serious risks to the wellbeing of your PC.

Further Information and Manual Repair

While bothersome, like other error codes, error code 44 to is relatively easy to fix. Here are ways to help resolve the error.

Method 1 – Restart your PC

The easiest method you can use to solve your PC error code is to simply run a restart of your Windows system. It may be that the error prompted upon connecting the device you have connected is merely a temporary problem, and upon restart, will resume functioning smoothly.

Method 2 – Run the Troubleshooting Wizard

If restarting your PC does not help, you will have to find the exact nature of the problem by running the troubleshooting wizard for the device and address the problem accordingly. To do this, proceed with the following steps:

• Run Device Manager on your PC
• Click on the program under the installed programs that are creating problems for you
• Click on the ‘General’ Tab
• Click ‘Troubleshoot’
• Upon opening, the Troubleshooting Wizard will ask a series of questions regarding the error. Answer the questions and follow its directions for solving the error code.

After following the directions of the Troubleshooting wizard, make sure to restart your PC for the changes to take effect. Then check if your device is still causing problems.

Method 3 – Manually uninstall and reinstall the device driver

If troubleshooting does not work, you may have to resort to manually uninstalling and then reinstalling the device driver causing the problem.

This would be necessary since the remaining incomplete files due to a partial removal or installation of programs is what contributes to the error code. A fresh install, after uninstallation of the previous drivers, would lead to the completion of the files.

You can do this by firstly logging in as Administrator and opening Device Manager. Select the device that is causing the problem and double click it and make sure that the peripheral is connected properly to the PC.

Upon opening, click on the ‘Driver’ tab and then select ‘Update Driver’. Make sure to refer to the system documentation that you received with your PC or computer to check for the motherboard details and driver specifics.

Method 4 – Use software to automatically download the driver

Manually uninstalling and reinstalling the driver will do the trick, however, it may be time-consuming especially when you would have to resort to your hardware user manual.

Therefore, using a program such as DriverFIX can save you a lot of time and frustration in having your device work properly on your computer.

Driver Assist, with its user-friendly approach to help you fix your PC issues, comes with an integrated database that detects which drivers you need to reconfigure within just a few seconds and downloads it automatically.

It further ensures that your drivers are installed in their entirety leaving no room for any incomplete files to remain that create Error Code 38.

It also has the added advantage of being able to backup and restores your files should there be the slightest possibility of system file damage. DriverFIX is the answer to fixing your PC error codes accurately and quickly.

Click here to download DriverFIX to fix Error Code 44 quickly and effectively!