Fix PDC WATCHDOG TIMEOUT BSOD

Error code 0x803f7000 -What is it?

Error code 0x803f7000 refers to an issue in Windows 10 with downloading apps through Windows Store. When you choose the app or game to download, it heads to Downloads in the Store app. Then it says it is acquiring a license but then fails. When you click the “See details” link, you see the error code 0x803F7000. It could mean that the date and time or region settings in your Windows 10 are incorrect or there are some problems with the Windows Store Cache.

Symptoms

• This error appears when you are running Windows 10 and trying to download an app through the Microsoft store. The error code may appear with this message: “Something went wrong. The error code is 0x803f7000, in case you need it”
• You might also see this message along with the error code: "It looks like you've reached your device limit for installing apps and games from the Store on your Windows 10 device. If you want to install apps and games from the Store on another Windows 10 device, remove a device from the device list."

Solution

Error Causes

There may be several reasons for this error:

1. This problem may arise if the date and time in Windows 10 are incorrect.
2. If the region has been set incorrectly.
3. Problems with Windows store cache.
4. Windows store server overloaded.
5. The Windows version you are using is pirated.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Method 1:

Correcting date and time:

• Open up Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region.
• Then click on Date & Time.
• Now click on Change date & time to correct your time.

Method 2:

Correcting region:

• Navigate to Control Panel > Clock, Language, and Region.
• Then click on Region.
• Then click on the Location tab.
• Now set your actual region from Home location section.
• Click Apply & OK.

Method 3:

Resetting Windows Store:

• Press Windows Flag Key + X from your keyboard. Then select Command Prompt (Admin). It will launch Command prompt as administrator.
• Then type wsreset and hit Enter.
• Wait for a few seconds. It will automatically open Windows Store.
• Then try to download any apps.

Method 4:

1. Open Command prompt in local machine and type in the Windows Store reset tool exe
2. Activate Windows by going to Settings>Updates and Security
3. Run the Modern UI/metro app troubleshooter from Microsoft
4. Keep trying it several times.
5. Try changing locale and time zone to the United States as shown below
6. Go to control panel, Language settings
7. Select location to the United States
8. This will reset the language to US English. After this try downloading the apps again.
9. Try restarting the Windows Updater service or restart the machine once.

You must make sure that you have a good internet connection. You need that for the updates and downloads complete without disruption.

Method 5:

Make sure the app isn’t blocked by the Windows firewall: To make your PC more secure, some apps are blocked by Windows Firewall by default. For proper functioning, you might need to enable an app to receive info through the firewall. For more info, see the "Allow an app to receive info through the firewall," and follow the procedure from start to finish.

Method 6:

Check with your system admin: If your PC is part of a network in an organization, like a business, school, or government agency, your system administrator might have turned off the use of certain apps using the Group Policy. Contact your system admin if you believe that Group Policy is preventing you from using an app.

Method 7:

Make sure your apps are up-to-date: To make the apps working properly, you must keep your apps up-to-date. This could be done by turning on automatic updates in the Windows Store.

Method 8:

Contact the app publisher To view the publisher’s app support info, follow these steps:

1. On the Start screen, tap or click Store to open the Windows Store.
2. Search or browse for the app, and then tap or click it.
3. Scroll to the Details section of the app's description page, and then tap or click the support link for the app under Learn more. The link will open an email message for you to contact support or will take you to a support website.

If you do not possess the technical expertise required to accomplish this yourself or do not feel comfortable doing so, download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.

A very serious data breach has happened to the unfortunate GoDaddy hosting service placing a little over 1.2 million accounts affected. Security breaches sadly are not a rare occurrence but this time it is a little different. Each time when the company is breached data is stolen and that places the company in a bad light usually because its user database has been compromised and people are concerned about their data being misused. This is very rational fear and concern but this time things are a little bit different than usual, why is that, you might ask? Well, as before mentioned GoDaddy is a hosting company and the vector of attack was aimed at the part where it is hosting WordPress. Attackers were able to get their hands on the sFTP credentials of customers on that server meaning that all of the websites are also been relieved of their user base as well. This potentially means that there is a high chance that all of the hosted web site's content is also compromised, meaning that your data could also be compromised even if you were not a GoDaddy customer, all you needed to do is to be a member of any site hosted on their platform. GoDaddy has reset WordPress passwords and private keys, so it’s already taken the steps required to stock the attacker from exploiting anything with the passwords obtained. The company is in the process of generating new SSL certificates for customers. Bad thing is that the attack used a compromised password to get into systems all the way back around September 6^th, 2021, the breach was discovered on November 17^th, 2021, which is more than a 2-month active time where the attacker could harvest tons of data. The outcome of this attack will be seen in the upcoming time, until then be safe, and Just in case change your passwords.

Default applications in previous Windows versions were a pretty straightforward process. The user went to the settings application and picked for each category which application he would like to choose from the list of installed ones. In Windows 11 things are little changed. In this article, we will show you how to choose the default internet browser inside Windows 11, and sadly it is a more tedious task than in previous versions.

Choosing default browser in settings

As in previous versions of the Windows operating system you will need to use the settings application in order to change your default Internet browser. Previously, in Windows 10, a variety of general categories like email, web browser, and photo viewer were all listed under the Default Apps section of the Settings panel. It was easy to click on one of those categories and click on the option you like best from the small pop-up suggestion window. In the Windows 11 Insider Build, you’ll see a gauche list of an individual file or link types that you’ll need to specify your preferred browser for. The types include: HTM, HTML, PDF, SHTML, SVG, WEBP, SHT, FTP, HTTP, and HTTPS. There are additional optional types you can specify your preferred browser for as well. The issue here is in order to use a single browser which most users do you will have to go through each file type and set your preferred one. I am really not sure why this was introduced or why it has to be this way, all I can do is hope that in the final release of Windows 11 this feature will be rolled back as it used to be and that you could set your default browser in just one simple click.

Many times we were talking and writing here on Errortools.com about security, privacy, hacking, identity theft, etc. We tried to raise important security questions and I hope I have managed to at least shed some light and change maybe some bad behaviors for some, helping them embrace better routines about their security on their PC. In this light, I will today present you with one neat and awesome piece of software, a password manager worth your time and money (if you want premium features): BitWarden.

What BitWarden offers?

The first thing that it offers is the completely free basic plan, granted BitWarden is not an open-source project nor completely free but it has an unlimited free basic plan that will cover 90% of user needs. There is also a free basic unlimited plan for Organizations letting you and one more user share files and other stuff via BitWarden making it a cool option if you need it. Premium features offer you encrypted sharing of files, two-step login, 1GB file attachments (encrypted), Bitwarden Authenticator (TOTP), Vault Health Reports, Emergency Access, and Priority Support. The cost for all of these additional features is 10 USD per year for an individual plan or 40 USD per year for organizations where you will get an increase of maximum users from 2 to 6. Yes, you read that correctly, only 10 USD per YEAR for the whole set of features. Granted if you do not need any of them, enjoy the free version forever. Besides very low premium cost BitWarden will offer you compatibility with all major browsers and devices including both Android and iOS platforms making it a great cross-platform solution to login and maintain your passwords anywhere with just one click. Once installed all you need to do is set one master password and be very careful not to lose or forget this one, if you do all of your other generated passwords will be lost forever.

Features

Secure Password Sharing

Share your encrypted data quickly and easily, and only with the users or teams who need access

Cross-Platform Accessibility

Access critical data in your Bitwarden vault from any location, browser, and device

Cloud-Based or Self-Host

Get up and running in minutes in the cloud or you can self-host Bitwarden for complete data control

Security Audit & Compliance

Open source and third-party audited, Bitwarden complies with Privacy Shield, GDPR, CCPA regulations

Vault Health Reports

Access insightful reports to reveal weak, reused passwords, and other helpful data security metrics

Directory Sync

Our powerful Directory Connector streamlines user and group onboarding and keeps them in sync

Always-On Support

Our Customer Success agents are available to support you around the clock

Detailed Event Logs

Bitwarden creates audit trails to help you keep track of user and group access to sensitive data

Flexible Integrations

Unite your existing systems with Bitwarden using SSO authentication, Directory services, or powerful APIs

Conclusion

There are many password managers out there but via recommendation I have tried BitWarden and truth to be told, I really never felt the need to try anything else, it is great at what it does and it is moving forward with features and it is constantly updated and maintained.

Dynamic Wallpapers introduced with Mojave Update in macOS are pretty cool. Dynamic Desktop is a feature introduced in macOS Mojave (10.14), in which the desktop background changes according to the time of Mac's current location. If Location Services are turned off the Privacy pane of the System Preferences, then the time zone specified in the Date & Time preferences will be used. To apply macOS Dynamic Wallpaper on Windows 10 we need to download & use WinDynamicDesktop, a free application that lets you apply macOS Dynamic Wallpaper. After the installation, you will be asked to Configure the Schedule. While doing that you need to make sure that you enter your location correctly. You can even set specific sunrise and sunset timing by selecting “Use specific sunrise and sunset times” and changing the Sunrise and Sunset times manually. Now, you will be greeted with some of the coolest dynamic wallpapers in the market. Select a theme of your choice, click on the Download button (file size can range between 20-200 MB), and click Apply to enjoy macOS Dynamic Wallpaper on Windows 10. If for some reason you want to go back to the default Windows theme but not necessarily delete the application then right-click on the WinDynamicWallpaper icon from the taskbar, click Select Theme, select None (from the theme section) and click Apply.

Usually when online service is not working or when something goes wrong online it is DNS, well that is what most of the time is the case. And yes, DNS or Domain Name Server seems to be an issue with Facebook being completely down along with Instagram and wassap. The true cause is that there is no working Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routes into Facebook's sites. BGP is the standardized exterior gateway protocol used to exchange routing and reachability information between the internet top-level autonomous systems (AS). Most people, indeed most network administrators, never need to deal with BGP. Cloudflare VP Dane Knecht was the first to report the underlying BGP problem. This meant, as Kevin Beaumont, former Microsoft's Head of Security Operations Centre, tweeted, "By not having BGP announcements for your DNS name servers, DNS falls apart = nobody can find you on the internet. Same with WhatsApp btw. Facebook has basically de-platformed themselves from their own platform." Many people are very annoyed by this and with the fact that they cannot use their social media platforms but it seems that Facebook employees are in even bigger annoyance as it was reported that Facebook employees can't enter their buildings because their "smart" badges and doors were also disabled by this network failure. If true, Facebook's people literally can't enter the building to fix things. Reddit user u/ramenporn, who claimed to be a Facebook employee working on bringing the social network back from the dead, reported, before he deleted his account and his messages: "DNS for FB services has been affected and this is likely a symptom of the actual issue, and that's that BGP peering with Facebook peering routers has gone down, very likely due to a configuration change that went into effect shortly before the outages happened (started roughly 1540 UTC). There are people now trying to gain access to the peering routers to implement fixes, but the people with physical access is separate from the people with knowledge of how to actually authenticate to the systems and people who know what to actually do, so there is now a logistical challenge with getting all that knowledge unified. Part of this is also due to lower staffing in data centers due to pandemic measures." Ramenporn also stated that it wasn't an attack, but a mistaken configuration change made via a web interface. Both BGP and DNS are down, the "connection to the outside world is down, remote access to those tools don't exist anymore, so the emergency procedure is to gain physical access to the peering routers and do all the configuration locally." Technicians on site don't know how to do that and senior network administrators aren't on site. It seems that it will all be down for a couple of more hours before the issue is resolved.

Error Code 0x8007007B (Code 0x8007007B) – What is it?

Error code 0x8007007B (Code 0x8007007B) is an error that occurs when you attempt to activate Windows 10, as well as Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2012.

Common symptoms include:

• You will see an error message like this: “Error 0x8007007B 'The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect”.
• If you are using volume-licensed media to install: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows 10.
• Your computer is not connecting the activation wizard to a Key Management Service (KMS) host computer.

Solution

Further Information and Manual Repair

Error Code 0x8007007B usually occurs when a product key has been activated too many times. Blocking activation aids in avoiding abuse of the key. If abuse of the key is not the case, it is possible to get the key reset, or you may receive a new key altogether. When you are not sure that you can complete these methods yourself, as they do contain advanced steps, it would be wise to consult a computer repair technician to avoid making the problem any worse.

Generally, the solution can be simple; it is just dependent on how comfortable you are with getting technical in your computer. Volume licensed media means that the media has a preset number of times that it is allowed to be activated. This helps to avoid misuse of the product. Some people install the Windows 10 program multiple times on their computer if they are software developers or do certain types of software testing. It is important to know the cause in order to effectively find the solution.

Method One:

1. From the desktop screen, press the Windows key and S, type “Command Prompt”. Then, right-click on Command Prompt in the results. Select Run as Administrator.  Click Yes when asked about requesting permission.
2. In the Command Prompt box, enter the command: slmgr.vbs -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
3. The x's represent the product key. Replace these with your unique product key.
4. Type in the following command into the “Command Prompt” window: slmgr.vbs -ato
5. Click Enter
6. Restart your computer and try to activate windows again. It should not show the error code anymore.

Method Two:

1. While on the desktop, press the Windows key and R.
2. A window saying Run should open.
3. Type in the following command: Slui 3
4. Press ENTER and a window should appear.
5. This window asks for you to enter the operating system activation product key.
6. Enter this key in the space provided.
7. After entering this, click Activate.
8. Restart your computer now.
9. Check for activation. The Error code should be gone now.

Method Three:

1. Open the Command Prompt with access as administrator just as in Method One, and enter the following command: sfc /scannow
2. The command will complete the tasks. This will take some time so just let the computer do its thing and work. Let the sfc finish the scan.
3. When the scan is complete, restart the computer.
4. Check for the activation. The error code should be gone at this point.
5. If it is gone, revisit Method One or move on the Method Four.

Method Four:

Call the Microsoft Support Team and explain the problem in as much detail as you can give. Give the team the error code 0x8007007B and ask to have a different product key. When they give you the new product key, repeat Method 2. The Microsoft Support Team will either change your product key, or they will reset your current product key so that it can be used for activation again.

Due to its hybrid core technology, the Alder Lake line of processors had some DRM issues with some game titles where DRM protection software detected hybrid core design switching via manager as a hack attempt and prevented the game from working properly. Over 50 titles were affected by this issue, now only 3 remain still affected but it is being worked on them so that can be also resolved. Intel says that the remedy to the issue for these games is the scroll lock fix which can be done so by enabling Legacy Game Compatibility mode from the BIOS of your motherboard. When running the said games, you can press scroll lock to park the E-cores on Intel's Alder Lake Desktop CPUs to get rid of DRM issues. Certain motherboard manufacturers such as MSI and Gigabyte have made this even easier through software tools with which you don't have to access the BIOS. All you need to do is select a button in the tool which works on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems and you will enable compatibility mode.

The Microsoft Store error 0x80073d12 occurs when you try to download software from the store. In order to solve the issue follow the presented guide step by step in the order presented.

1. Check do you have enough hard drive space for installation

   Store locates and assigned space on the hard drive before it installs the application, if there is not enough space available it will return the given error. Go to file explorer and check is there enough space available.

2. Check that game is not expansion

   If you are trying to install expansion for the game without owning the required base game, you will receive the mentioned error. Check the store page to see if there are some prerequisites for the game like other games or packs.

3. Install the game from my library

   Press Start. Open the Microsoft Store App. Click the See more … button at the top right of the MS Store app’s window. Click Download and updates on the menu. Click Downloads on the left to open My library. Then click Ready to install to open a list of apps. Click the Install button for the game app that you need to install.

4. Install on another partition

   It was reported that an error vanishes if installation is placed on another partition instead of the default C drive.

Some Windows users are encountering the 0x800705b3 error code after failing to install a pending update on Windows 10. Most commonly this particular issue is reported to occur with Integrated webcam drivers updates and Bluetooth adapter driver updates. Follow the guide below in order to fix the issue and update your Windows successfully

Running the Windows Update Troubleshooter

The majority of users that were dealing with this issue reported that the issue was fixed after they ran the Windows Update Troubleshooter and applied the recommended fix.

1. Open a Run dialog box by pressing ⊞ WINDOWS + R. Inside the text box, type ‘ms-settings:troubleshoot’ and press ENTER to open up the Troubleshooting menu. Opening the Troubleshooting tab on Windows 10
2. Once you’re inside the Troubleshooting tab, move over to the right-hand section of the screen and click on Windows Update (under Get up and Running). Next, from the context menu that just appeared, click on Run the Troubleshooter.
3. Once you’re inside the Windows Update troubleshooter, wait until the initial scan is complete and see if a viable repair strategy is found.
4. If the scan has identified a strategy with the potential to fix your ongoing issue, click on Apply this fix and wait until the procedure is complete. Applying the fix Note: Depending on the type of fix that was recommended, you might need to follow an additional set of instructions before the fix will be properly imposed.
5. After you’ve done this, reboot your computer and wait for the next startup to complete.
6. Open Windows Update once again and see if the installation of this pending update is now successful.

Installing the pending Update Manually

Whether you’re experiencing this issue with an integrated webcam driver or with anything else, chances are you’ll be able to circumvent the apparition of the 0x800705b3 error by using the Microsoft Update Catalog to find, download and install the pending update manually.

1. Open your default browser and navigate to the root web page of the Microsoft Update Catalog.
2. Once you’re inside the Microsoft Update Catalog, use the search function (top-right corner of the screen) to search for the update that is failing.
3. After the search is completed and you get the list of results, look for an updated driver version that is compatible with your Windows version and CPU architecture.
4. Once you manage to identify the correct Windows Update, click on the hyperlink associated with the update that you want to install, then click the Download button and wait for the process to complete.
5. After the download is complete, use File Explorer to navigate to the location where you previously downloaded the update.
6. When you get to the correct location, right-click on the .inf file and choose Install from the context menu that just appeared. Note: If you have multiple failing updates with the same 0x800705b3, repeat the instructions above with every Windows Update that you’re having trouble installing.
7. At the end of this operation, reboot your computer and see if the problem is fixed at the next computer startup.

Enabling the Windows Installer Service

The Windows installer service is responsible for installing pending updates that get downloaded by the Windows Update component. If this service is disabled on your configuration, none of the updates waiting to get installed will get completed.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open up a Run dialog box. Inside the text box, type ‘services.msc’ and press ENTER to open up the Services utility.
2. Once you’re inside the Services screen, move over to the right-hand tab of the screen, scroll down through the list of services and locate the Windows Installer service. When you find it, right-click on it and choose Properties from the context menu that just appeared.
3. Once you are inside the Properties screen of the Windows Installer services, access the General tab, click on the Start button to force-start the service. Note: If you can, also change the Startup type to Automatic via the associated drop-down menu. However, depending on your administrator settings, this might not be possible.
4. Restart your computer and wait for the next startup to complete. Once your PC boots back up, attempt to reinstall the driver that was previously triggering the 0x800705b3 error and see if the issue is now fixed.

Performing a Winsock Reset

In case the 0x800705b3 error is related to some kind of network inconsistency (TCP or IP related), you might see Windows Updates failing due to bad data that forces the Windows to abort the installation of new pending updates. In this case, you should proceed by doing a complete Winsock reset procedure to fix the majority of the socket and temporary data-related issues that might cause this behavior. Several affected users have confirmed that this method was the only thing that allowed them to finally fix the Windows Update issue and install pending updates normally. Here are some step-by-step instructions that will walk you through the process of performing Winsock Reset:

1. Open up a Run dialog box by pressing ⊞ WINDOWS + R. Inside the text box, type ‘cmd’, then press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to open up an elevated Command Prompt. Accessing an elevated CMD prompt Note: When prompted by the UAC (User Account Control) prompt, click Yes to grant admin access.
2. Inside the elevated CMD prompt, type and taste the following commands in order and press ENTER after each one to effectively reset the TCP and IP data that might be responsible for the apparition of the 0x800705b3 error code:

   nbtstat -R
   nbtstat -RR
   netsh int reset all
   netsh int ip reset
   netsh winsock reset

3. Once every command above is processed successfully, you can go ahead and close the elevated Command Prompt and reboot your computer.
4. After the next startup is complete, repeat the installation of the Windows Update that was previously failing and see if the issue is now fixed.

Performing SFC and DISM Scans

If none of the ‘superficial’ causes have worked in your case, you should start considering some type of system corruption that might affect your computer’s ability to complete pending updates that are currently waiting to be installed. In case you find yourself in this particular scenario, you should run a couple of built-in utilities capable of fixing corrupted instances that might be currently affecting the Windows Update component. Our recommendation is to start with a simple System File Checker scan. An SFC scan will cross-check every Windows File against a local archive that maintains healthy copies. In case corrupted instances are found, this utility will swap the corrupted instance with the healthy equivalent.

Performing an SFC scan

Once the SFC scan is complete, reboot your computer and wait for the next startup to complete. After your computer boots back up, initiate a DISM scan. This utility works differently in the sense that it relies on a sub-component of Windows Update to download healthy copies for the corrupted Windows files that need to be replaced. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection before initiating this operation.

Doing a DISM scan

After the DISM scan is complete, reboot your computer one final time and see if the issue is fixed once the next startup is complete.