Fix an Unformattable and Unusable USB Drive

Error Code 0x80070070 - What is it?

Error code 0x80070070 can be presented when there is not enough drive space on the computer to install updates. It is possible to uninstall apps that are not often used, or you may delete or archive files that are no longer needed, you may even add on some removable storage space to free up the internal memory of the computer. The computer needs a significant amount of internal memory in order to be able to update the operating system properly. When the computer fails to have the amount of memory that is needed to perform the update, the error code 0x80070070 will be presented. If this error message is not resolved, your computer might be opened to other error messages, including error code 0x80072EE2.

Common symptoms include:

• Windows cannot install updates properly.
• You might not be able to install any additional programs or apps onto the computer.
• When you check the memory of the computer, it may be very near its full capacity.

Solution

Error Causes

The Windows 10 upgrade error is caused by varying factors including a lack of computer space or resources, malware or virus infestation, or a clogged registry on the computer.  The error code 0x80070070 will present itself when there is not enough free space on the computer to perform the necessary updates on the computer. Too many apps or programs downloaded onto the computer, too many photos, or too much music may also contribute to the lack of storage space on the computer, thus contributing to the error, and the computer not being able to install the updates to the operating system properly.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There is not a lot of information regarding this error code, but there are a few methods to repair it when it does present itself. There are practical and manual steps that can be taken when trying to get the PC up and running. The primary way to solve this problem is to free up disk space and there are several ways to do this. Please do note that if these methods seem confusing or too complicated, do contact a Windows repair technician so that they may properly correct the problem. You will need to know for sure that it is error code 0x80070070 that you are dealing with so that these options are the best bet for fixing it.

Method One: Disk Cleanup

It is important to know how much space there is on the computer to start with prior to trying to free up any space. Use the free program on the computer called the Disk Cleanup tool. This will save time and free up some hard drive space while optimizing the computer to work better.

From the Start menu, browse to the Explore option, and then select This PC. Right-click on the C drive, and then select Properties. Select Disk cleanup. From here, select the options that you would like to clear. Make sure that the recycle bin is emptied of any temporary files or any error logs. Once done, select Okay.

Use this same process to clear the system files after an update from Windows, as they may still have files from the old operating system in place.

Method Two: Remove Unwanted Apps

Go through your computer and remove any unwanted apps that are present. There are sure to be some that you do not use or do not want.

Follow these steps: From the Start menu, select Settings. Then, select System, Apps, and Features. When you have found the program that you would like to uninstall, select it and then select Uninstall. NOTE: some apps that are built into Windows do not have the capability to be uninstalled. Once you have selected Uninstall for the app or program, follow all directions that appear on the screen.

Method Three: Cloud Storage

If there are a lot of media, photos, documents, videos, and the like that are not used on a regular basis, try out cloud storage. These files will still be in your possession and will be able to be accessed from anywhere. There are many applications or websites that cater to this.

Method Four: External Storage Options

If none of the above methods work, add more storage. To acquire more storage, you can incorporate devices such as SD cards, USB flash drives, and even external hard drives.

Method Five: Use An Automated Tool

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

If you are using a dual monitor setup on your computer and you wish to change the Primary and Secondary monitor in Windows 10, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how exactly you can do that. A lot of users use more than one monitor to be more productive so having dual monitors helps a lot. So if you have more than one monitor, know that you can actually select any monitor as the primary monitor after installing Windows. Changing the primary and secondary monitor in Windows 10 does not really require you to install any third-party application since you can get the job done by simply making some alterations in the Windows 10 Settings panel. You won’t have any problem in making such alterations since it is quite simple – from modifying the wallpaper to scaling and so on.

To get started, follow the instructions given below carefully.

Step 1: First, tap the Win + I key combination to open the Windows 10 Settings app and go to System and click the Display tab. Step 2: Next, look for the Identify button located on your right-hand side and then click on it. This button will help you check which one is the primary and the secondary monitor. Step 3: After that, select the desired monitor that you want to set as the primary one from the drop-down menu. Step 4: After that, mark the checkbox for the “Make this my main display” option. Step 5: After choosing the primary monitor, this will automatically set the other monitor as the secondary monitor. Restart your computer. So that’s how you change the primary and secondary monitor on your Windows 10 computer. Note that you can always go back to the previous setting of your monitor by following the same instructions provided above.

As you know, the Windows 10 Action Center has a stack of all the notifications that come from different applications on your computer. So each time an app displays notifications, it will be displayed for about 5 seconds and then it disappears right away. Although the allotted time for the notifications to be displayed is quite enough to catch your attention and help you get a glance at the message, there are times when you might miss it and you hoped it could’ve been displayed a lot longer. So in this post, you will be guided on how you can increase or decrease the display time of the notification in Windows 10. The best way you can view the missed notification is to click on the Action Center. From there, you will see all the notifications that are grouped by the applications. This means that if you have a lot of notifications, it would be hard for you to find what you are looking for. Thus, in such cases, the best way you can do is to increase the display time for which notification to stay on the screen.

To get started, refer to the instructions given below.

Step 1: Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings. Step 2: Next, navigate to Home > Ease of Access > Display. Step 3: After that, scroll down to the end until you see the dropdown to change the notifications where you should see the “Show notifications for”. Step 4: Then you can change the time from the default 5 seconds to 7, 15, 30, and so on. Step 5: Once done, the display time of the notifications should stay longer but keep in mind that you must choose the length wisely so if you have notifications from a lot of apps, then the screen will also be filled with multiple notification cards.

Running the Windows Setup does not always go smoothly as you could encounter some errors along the way. One of these errors is the “Something happened, Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error. The only given option in such cases is to click the Close button and exit the setup. This kind of error in Windows setup can occur when you try to downgrade to the previous version of Windows using the built-in mechanism. This error could be caused by a corrupted image or it is also possible that the set of files are incomplete. Aside from that, it could also be due to compatibility issues or that the module used to downgrade the Windows operating system is not configured properly. To fix this error, you have to run the Windows Setup program in compatibility mode so that you can downgrade Windows. You could also use the image for the lower version of Windows that’s available on the official site of Microsoft. But before you do any of these, make sure that you’re logged in as an administrator. To fix the “Something happened, Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error, follow the given options below sequentially.

Option 1 – Try to run the Installer of the downgraded version in Compatibility Mode

This is the first thing you can try to resolve the issue instead of going right ahead on making a bootable device. So if you are downgrading Windows, you can try to run the installer in the compatibility mode for that specific Windows version.

• Look for the setup file.
• Once you find it, right-click on it and select Properties from the context menu.
• After that, go to the Compatibility tab and mark the checkbox for “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and from the drop-down list, select either Windows 7 or Windows 8.
• You also have to check the “Run as administrator” option.
• Now click the Apply button and then click OK to save the changes made and check if it has resolved the issue or not.

Option 2 – Try to troubleshoot compatibility

This option is almost the same as the first one except it is an alternative way of fixing the “Setup has failed to determine supported install choices” error in case the first one didn’t work. In this option, you will troubleshoot the compatibility issue.

• Look for the setup file.
• Then right-click on it and select the “Troubleshoot compatibility” from the context menu.
• After that, click on the “Try recommended setting” option. Once the process is done, the error message should be gone.

Option 3 – Run the DISM tool

You can run the DISM tool as well to help fix the error code 0x80244022 during Windows Update. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • 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.

Option 4 – Try using the image from the official site of Microsoft

If none of the options given above worked, you can try to use the image from Microsoft’s official site. This would help, especially if the error is caused by a corrupted image or image folder with incomplete files.

Windows 11 provides several different ways to make your cursor stand out and be easier to spot inside it. You can make the mouse pointer larger, invert it, or change its color.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
2. Click on Accessibility in the sidebar
3. Select Mouse Pointer and Touch
4. Adjust mouse cursor size with size slider by clicking on circle and dragging it left or right
5. Under Mouse Pointer Style pick desired style from White, Black, Inverted, and Custom
   1. White: The cursor is white with a black outline (standard setting)
   2. Black: Cursor is black with a white outline
   3. Inverted: Cursor automatically changes color to an inverted version of the color it is currently hovering over
   4. Custom: You can pick the color for the cursor that you want.

And that is all about it, once you are done with pointer customization just close settings, all changes are saved automatically.

If you suddenly encounter a PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen error, then this post can help you out. The PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR BSOD usually occurs when any new hardware that is mostly the Plug and Play type is attached. In such cases, when the device is plugged, and the driver for that device crashes or isn’t found or is not compatible, you will most likely encounter this particular BSOD error. There are several error codes that come under this category, some of them are 0x000000CA (0x01681690, 0xEA96A7BE, 0x938A81AD, 0xF8362881. This BSOD error can also occur at any time. However, the only constant thing here is when you plug a PNP device like earphones, microphones, USB drives, and many more. The PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR bug check has a value of 0x000000CA which indicates that the Plug and Play Manager encountered some severe error which is most likely have something to do with a problematic Plug and Play driver. To fix this error, here are some possible solutions that could help.

Option 1 – Run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter

The Blue Screen troubleshooter is a built-in tool in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing BSOD errors like PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen error. It can be found on 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.

Option 2 – Try disabling or removing 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 PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen error.

Option 3 – Try disabling BIOS Memory options namely Caching Shadowing

Disabling the BIOS Memory options such as Caching and Shadowing can help you in fixing the PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen error. All you have to do is enter the BIOS first and then use the Arrow and Enter keys to select your choices. And if you can’t seem to find it, look for specific instructions from your OEM or you could also look out for instructions from the manufacturer of your motherboard.

Option 4 – Try to run the CHKDSK utility

Running the CHKDSK utility might also help you resolve the PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen 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 – Try to uninstall programs you’ve installed recently

Chances are, some programs that you just installed might be the one that’s causing the BSOD error. Thus, you need to uninstall the program to resolve the problem.

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

Option 6 – Update the Device drivers

• 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. Look for the device driver you and then select either “Update driver” or “Uninstall device”. 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.
• If you have chosen to uninstall the driver, follow the screen options to complete the process and then restart your PC.
• Connect the device and Scan for hardware changes – you can see this option under Device Manager > Action.

Option 7 – Perform a System Restore

Performing System Restore might help you in fixing the PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR Blue Screen 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.

Mozilla Firefox has introduced a new feature known as Restart with Windows which allows the browser to automatically start when your Windows 10 computer boots. This means that if you leave the Firefox browser opened while shutting down your computer, Firefox will re-open automatically along with the tabs that were opened right before you shut down your computer. Although some users may find this feature convenient, there are others who do not approve at all as it could be a nuisance. So if you’re one of the latter, then read on as this post will show you how you can disable the Restart with Windows feature in the Firefox browser on your Windows 10 computer. Refer to the instructions laid out below to get started.

• Step 1: Open Mozilla Firefox and if it’s opened already, just open a new tab and then type the following text in the address bar:

about:config

• Step 2: After typing the text given above, hit Enter and if a prompt with a warning message pops up, simply click on the “I accept the risk!” button to proceed.
• Step 3: Next, type “Restart” in the search filter which should display the following preference in the window:

“toolkit.winRegisterApplicationRestart”

• Step 4: After that, check for the preference value and then see if it’s set to true or not. If it is set to true, then it means that the Restart with Windows feature is enabled so obviously, to disable it, you need to set its value to false.
• Step 5: Now restart your computer without closing Firefox. After restarting your computer, you should no longer see Firefox starting automatically.

The Restart with Windows feature by default is disabled for most users. On the other hand, Mozilla will have this feature enabled as the default configuration in the coming weeks so it’s best that you now know what to do when that time comes since the newer versions of Mozilla Firefox are already being shipped with the Restart with Windows feature. However, if this post did not help you, then you might want to check if the feature has been added to the Startup folder, and from there, you can disable this startup program using the Task Manager > Startup tab.

System image backup error 0x807800A1 & 0x800423F3 appears when you are trying to create a system image backup and the operation fails to do so. If you’re faced with any of these error codes, try our recommended solutions in the order presented below and resolve the issue.

Check Volume Shadow Copy & Software Protection Services

To restart the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) on Windows 10, do the following:

• Press ⊞ Windows + X to bring up the Windows menu.
• Click on command prompt (admin)
• In the command prompt window, type the commands below and hit Enter after each line:

net stop vss net start vss

Once the commands execute successfully, try the system image backup again. The operation should complete successfully. You need to also check if the Software Protection Service is disabled. If it is, then Start it and ensure that it is set to default which is Automatic (Delayed Started).

Create System Image using PowerShell

Command lines are less prone to errors provided the syntax is correct, unlike GUIs that can suffer a glitch every now and then. To create a system image with PowerShell do the following:

1. Open the Windows PowerShell as administrator. To create a System Image in Windows 10 using PowerShell, you will have to run the Wbadmin command.
2. Inside the Powershell window type, then press Enter: wbadmin start backup-backup target: E:-include: C:-quiet-allCritical E: is the target drive where you’re going to save the system image, and C: is the system root drive where Windows is currently installed
3. To extract the created system image, starting over from Windows 10 USB installation media, select advanced startup or open run and type: C: \ Windows \ System32 \ Shutdown.exe / r / o

Use third-party imaging software

If the previous two solutions have not managed to solve the issue there is always an option to use a third-party imaging solution. There are free open source and buying options offering various advantages each. Find out which one works best for you and use it.

A lot of users rely on keyboard shortcuts to carry out tasks on their PCs. One of the most common keyboard shortcuts used is the Ctrl + Shift + Esc which opens the Task Manager. As you can see, the Shift key is not just used to capitalize a text as it can also be used for other functions and plays an essential role in operating a computer. However, if you suddenly find it not working, read on as this post will help you fix the problem. If your Shift key is not working, there are several potential fixes you can check out to fix it. These are the different ways to get rid of the Shift key not working issue on Windows 10:

1. Physically clean the key and keyboard
2. Disable Sticky Keys.
3. Update, Reinstall, or Rollback Keyboard driver.
4. Test the keyboard on another system.
5. Check your connections
6. Run the Hardware troubleshooter
7. Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State.

Option 1 – Clean the keyboard keys physically

Your keyboard might not be working properly due to some dirt or other corrosion. Thus, you need to clean your keyboard, especially the Shift key. First, you need to shut down your computer and then unplug the keyboard if you are using a desktop computer and then prepare it for cleaning. After that, use a small cotton ear cleaning tool to get between the creases and clean them. You can dip it slightly in alcohol to make it more efficient in cleaning dust and dirt. And if you can, you have the option to pull apart the keyboard completely and then wipe away all the corrosion from the inside. Once you’re done, put the keyboard back together and then plug it back into your PC. Now turn your PC on and check if the Shift key is now working.

Option 2 – Try to disable the Sticky keys

Another thing you can try is to disable the Stick keys. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings app.
• After that, navigate to the Ease of Access section, and here, select Keyboard.
• Next, make sure that the option for Press one key at a time under the Sticky Keys is toggled off.

Option 3 – Reinstall, update or rollback your keyboard driver

Once you’ve determined that the problem is in the software part of the keyboard, it is now time to try to reinstall, update or roll back your keyboard drivers. To reinstall the driver for your keyboard, refer to these steps:

• From the WinX Menu, open the Device Manager.
• In the Device Manager, you should find your laptop’s keyboard under the “Keyboards” option. Right-click on it and select the “Uninstall” option.

Note: If you’re not quite certain about your laptop’s keyboard, you can uninstall all the keyboards if there’s more than one.

• After that, restart your PC and see if the keyboard driver is installing automatically. If not, open the Device Manager again and right-click on Keyboards, and select the option “Scan for hardware changes” to install it.

Once the keyboard driver is installed again, check if your keyboard is now working properly or not.

Option 4 – Try connecting the keyboard to a different USB port or another computer

The problem might have something to do with the USB port that’s currently in use by your keyboard. It could be that it’s not working so it makes sense to unplug it and attach it to another USB port. You can also clean the USB port on both ends to ensure that they are not affected by corrosion. In addition, you can also try connecting the keyboard to a different computer and see if the Shift key works there or not.

Option 5 – Try to check your connections

You can also try checking if the connection mode you are using for your keyboard is functioning properly. For instance, if you are using a Surface 2-in-device, you can clean the connection pins and see if it resolves the problem.

Option 6 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooters

• The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
• After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
• From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
• Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
• After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.

Option 7 – Put your PC in a Clean Boot State

You might also want to put your computer in a Clean Boot State to fix the problem with the Shift key. It could be that there is a third-party program that’s preventing the Shift key from functioning. To isolate this possibility, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State.

• 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.)
• Now try to connect the external devices and check if the error is now gone.

As you know, NVIDIA is one of the topmost graphics cards used and it has been that way for several years already. And in those years, the company has managed to release the best cards on the market. However, there are still times when some things fail and don’t work as expected due to some NVIDIA driver issues. As of late, one of the issues users reported about NVIDIA drivers is that it keeps on crashing on a daily basis. It gets to the point where they aren’t able to play games anymore while some users experience lag and rendering issues. In addition, some users also reported that their computer display tends to freeze sometimes, and then things would seem to go back to normal but only for a short span of time as the crash seems to happen every 10 minutes. This can be extremely annoying as you won’t be able to use your computer properly. If you are one of these users, worry not for there are several ways you can try to resolve the problem in your Windows 10 computer. Make sure to carefully follow the options given below.

Option 1 – Try checking if the NVIDIA graphics card is enabled

Although the problem is quite massive, the fix could be as simple as enabling the NVIDIA graphics card if it turns out to be disabled. There might be some strange reason why your graphics card disables itself. Thus, the best and first option you can try is to check if the NVIDIA graphics card is enabled or not. To do so, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Device Manager.
• After opening the Device Manager, look for the Nvidia graphics card option among the list of device drivers. Once you found it, check if it is enabled or not. If it’s not enabled, you should see a gray arrow pointing downwards. Right-click on the card and select Enabled.
• Next, right-click on the graphics card once more and click on the Update Driver Software option and then click on the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

Option 2 – Try to choose Maximum Performance and disable Vsync

If the first option didn’t work out for you, then you might want to try turning off Vsync and adjust the performance to the maximum. Refer to these steps to disable Vsync and adjust performance to the maximum.

• The first thing you have to do is right-click on your desktop and select the NVIDIA Control Panel among the options.
• After opening the NVIDIA Control Panel, select Manage 3D Settings.
• After that, set Vsync to off, and then in the Power Management Mode, set it to Maximum Performance. That should fix the problem.

Option 3 – Try updating the drivers from the official site of NVIDIA

If both the first and second given options didn’t work, you can also try updating the drivers from the official NVIDIA website. And in case you don’t know the type of Nvidia graphics card that your computer is on, follow the steps below:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next type in “dxdiag” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
• From there, you can see what type of Nvidia graphics card that your system is on.
• Take note of your graphics card information and then look for the best drivers for your operating system. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the file, restart your PC.