According to some reports, using RDP or Remote Desktop Protocol on recent versions of Windows 10 results in a black screen. One encounters this issue is when using the Remote Desktop Connection feature on Windows 10. The real causes of this black screen are either the display drivers or some misconfiguration with the Remote Desktop Connection utility.
In most cases, the Remote Desktop in Windows 10 will display a black screen and then disconnects afterward. To fix this kind of issue on your Remote Desktop, there are two suggestions you need to check out. First, you can try to disable the persistent bitmap caching, and then you can also try to update your display driver. Follow the given options below for more troubleshooting instructions.
Option 1 – Try to disable Persistent Bitmap caching
The first thing you can do to resolve the black screen issue with the remote desktop is to disable the persistent bitmap caching. All you have to do is follow these steps:
First, open the Remote Desktop Connection client.
Next, click on the Show Options button to configure the Remote Desktop Connection.
After that, go to the Experience tab and uncheck the Persistent bitmap caching option.
Once done, you should now be able to connect to the remote computer without the black screen.
Option 2 – Try to update or rollback the Graphics driver
You can try to update your Graphics card driver using the Device Manager in your computer to resolve the blank dialog boxes problem or you can also go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.
To update your Graphics driver via Device Manager, refer to these steps:
First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
After that, 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. From there, look for the Display Adapters and click on them.
After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters and select the “Uninstall Device” option from the menu.
Now restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.
Note: If updating the Graphics driver didn’t fix the problem, you can also try to roll back to its previous version and see if that helps or you could also try to roll back, update or reinstall the Network Adapter drivers.
Option 3 – Try performing a System Restore
You might also want to perform a System Restore that might help you in fixing the 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.
File Transfer Protocol Server, also known as FTP Server, is a private or public service that can host files that can be accessed both locally and globally. It is a quick, flexible and seamless service that allows you to store any kind of files depending on the total size of the server. If you’ve always found an FTP server useful, then the good thing is you can now create your FTP server since Windows 10 now allows it. You can host this server locally and later on make it globally available via the internet. So if you are planning to set up an FTP server on your Windows 10 computer, read on as this post will guide you on how to do so.
To set up the FTP server, you need to configure it first and then configure the Windows Firewall for the connections to go through. For more details, refer to the following steps:
Step 1: You need to configure the FTP server on Windows 10.
In the Search box, type in “Turn Windows Features On or Off” to search for it.
Then click on the appropriate result which will open a mini window.
From this mini window, scroll down to the list and expand “Internet Information Services where you have to expand the FTP Server section.
Next, select all the checkboxes to enable all the entries under FTP Server and then click the OK button to apply the changes made.
And now, since your computer is now allowed to host an FTP server, you need to configure it. To do so, type “Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager” in the Search box and click on the appropriate entry.
Next, right-click on Sites under the navigation bar of Connections and select Add FTP Site. This will open a new window where you have to input some information about your FTP hosting.
Now enter the details and click on Next.
Upon clicking Next, you will be prompted to give some authentication details. Enter the following details in the screenshot below.
Now click on Finish. After that, you will get an FTP Server being hosted on your Windows 10 PC.
And now that you’ve successfully configured the FTP Server, the next thing you have to do is to allow connections from and to the FTP server. Refer to the next step below.
Step 2: Configure the Windows Firewall for FTP connections to pass-through
In the Start Search, type “Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall” and click on the related search result which will open a window with all the settings.
From there, click on the Change Settings button. This will display a list where you have to mark all the checkboxes for the FTP server to enable them in both the Private and Public configurations.
After that, click OK. This will allow you access to the FTP server on your local network.
Things have stirred lately with Chinas ban on crypto mining and many used GPUs will flow the market probably. But should you buy a used GPU?
Short answer: NO, long answer: keep on reading to find out why.
GPU shortage and its cause
As you all know by now, we live sadly in a world struck by a global Pandemic. Due to this awful disease and measures taken against it, many people are either working from home or are at home making the manufacturing of new chips problematic while demand on the market has raised.
Throw into that mix crypto mining which has raised in popularity and you have, well today's market where we have GPU shortage.
Now with the latest news that China has banned the mining of cryptocurrency, there is to be expected that at some point in time mining cards used there will fit the market in the whole world.
Sadly even with a large quantity of GPUs that will become available, the overall price of cards will not be much lowered I am afraid since demand is still very high and many people would not want to purchase used mining cards and neither should you.
Be prepared for the worst scenario
Although this sounds very pessimistic and in most cases, it will not turn out to be true, you should always prepare yourself mentally that you might be in that lower percentage that will end up with a really bad GPU.
What has come up to be absolutely true when considering GPU that were mining is that if anything at all can be done to GPU in order to increase performance, it has been done. Miners want to optimize and almost every GPU if could be overclocked, it was overclocked.
Extensive mining also means that thermal paste has been dried and it is pretty useless at this point and there is a very high chance that fans and heat sinks will need much cleaning or even replacement raising the price of the card itself for mentioned paste, fans, and heat sinks.
There's no way to tell what the previous owner might have done with a graphics card when you're shopping online, so our advice is to assume the worst. Don't trust the seller to give truthful information. Any listing that says it was "never used for mining" at this point is probably a lie.
Age of the GPU matters
Date when GPU itself has manufactured really matters. Newer cards even if used extensively have been used for a much shorter period of time and are not so damaged were ones produced a few years ago have seen a lot of action.
Let’s say that you get RTX 3060, In the worst-case scenario it has been mining since late February of 2021 and basically, it is still under warranty so it should behave OK and put some good work in gaming even in that state.
On another hand, if we take for example GTX 1080Ti which is 4 years old GPU things start to change drastically. 4 years GPU could be worn out even if it was used just for extensive gaming sessions let alone for mining.
No return policy and seller rating
Most of the time you will run into a product that cannot be returned or no refunds policy. This should bring a red flag right away and deter you from purchase.
Sellers with the highest ratings are more trustworthy since many of them will not want to destroy their reputation but these will probably not even have these kinds of merchandise in their store.
Buying with a poor rating seller and no return policy on a product is just asking for trouble. And although some stores do have arbitration and will stand on the customer side there is no guarantee for that and it will take too much time to process.
If you really must buy a second-hand GPU
Of course in these troubled times sometimes due to malfunction or any other reason, there would not be another choice than to buy a second-hand GPU.
In this case, if there is no other option consider sellers with many positive ratings. If you can buy locally that would even be better or the best-case scenario would be if you could visually see and inspect GPU itself in order to see in what state it is.
Look for warranty stickers to see if they are thorn and the card has been tampered with. Also take a good look at screws, if they have scratches card has been opened, probably to replace fan or heating sinks which means that it has worked a lot.
Conclusion
It is very difficult to give the best possible advice on this situation since of GPU shortage, but I would much prefer a new GPU with lower performance than a hi-performance one which was mining.
When you have to connect to a drive that’s on a different computer or on external storage, that’s where the mapped network drives come in. Mapped network drives make accessing files a lot easier. However, there are times when it won’t work for some reason.
Windows will notify you about the unavailability of mapped network drives in several ways. For one, Windows might display a red X on the network drives or it could be that its status will be unavailable when you try to use it from the Command Prompt or via a notification.
It is recommended that you run a few scripts when you log in to your PC as it may so happen that the network drive takes more than usual to connect. Before you start troubleshooting the problem using the given options below, keep in mind that some workouts might only work under certain scenarios. You might need some network access at logon or you might need access to the Group Policy settings. So you need to choose what you prefer more.
You can try the given workarounds below if the mapped network drives are not showing or connecting or working on your Windows 10 computer. These workarounds use scripts to make sure that you are connected to them as soon as you start to use your PC.
As mentioned, before you can troubleshoot, you need to create scripts first. There are two scripts here namely MapDrives.ps1 which is executed by the second script named MapDrives.cmd and is done at a regular and non-elevated Command Prompt. Follow the steps below to get started.
You have to create a script file named “MapDrives.cmd” first and then save it on a place where the files are safe. To do that, open a text editor like Notepad and then copy and paste the following script:
After that, save the file and name it “MapDrives.cmd”.
Next, create a script file named “MapDrives.ps1” and then copy and paste the following content. Just make sure to save both scripts in the same folder.
$i=3while($True){ $error.clear() $MappedDrives = Get-SmbMapping |where -property Status -Value Unavailable -EQ | select LocalPath,RemotePath foreach( $MappedDrive in $MappedDrives) { try { New-SmbMapping -LocalPath $MappedDrive.LocalPath -RemotePath $MappedDrive.RemotePath -Persistent $True } catch { Write-Host "There was an error mapping $MappedDrive.RemotePath to $MappedDrive.LocalPath" } } $i = $i - 1 if($error.Count -eq 0 -Or $i -eq 0) {break} Start-Sleep -Seconds 30}Note: Now that you’ve created the script files, it’s time for you to proceed to the options given below.
Option 1 – Try creating a startup item
Note that this option only works on devices that have network access at login. So if it’s not there, the script will fail to reconnect the network drivers automatically. To create a startup item, here’s what you have to do:
Open the Startup folder located at %ProgramData%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuProgramsStartUp.
From there, copy and paste the MapDrives.cmd.
After that, open the Scripts folder located at %SystemDrive%Scripts copy-paste MapDrives.ps1 and then copy and paste MapDrives.ps1 in there.
Note: After you complete the steps above, a log file named “StartupLog.txt” will be created in the %TEMP% folder. Now all that’s left for you to do is to log out of your computer and then log back in. This will ensure that the mapped drives are open.
Option 2 – Create a scheduled task
It is possible to create a scheduled task that runs as soon as you log in to your computer. To create a scheduled task, follow the steps below.
You have to copy the MapDrives.ps1 script file to the scripts folder of Windows located at %SystemDrive%Scripts.
After that, open the Task Scheduler and select Action > Create Task.
Next, type a name and description of the task in the General tab.
Then click on the Change User or Group button and select a local user group and click OK.
Now check the box labeled “Run with highest privileges” and switch to the Triggers tab.
From there, create a new trigger with the “At Logon” option in the Begin the task drop-down menu and then click OK.
After that, switch to the Actions tab and create a new action then choose to Start a program.
Next, type “Powershell.exe” in the Program/Script field, and in the Add arguments (optional) field, type the following:
And in the Start in the (optional) field, type “%SystemDrive%Scripts” as the location of the script file.
Now under the Conditions tab, select the “Start only if the following network connection is available” option and then select Any connection and click OK.
Restart your computer or log off from your account and then log back in so that the task will be executed.
Option 3 – Use the Group Policy settings
You need this option if the mapped network drives are defined via Group Policy settings. You have to update the action of the drive maps to Replace. As a result, it will delete the existing mapped drive and create the mapping on each logon again. However, any settings on the mapped drive that are changed from the Group Policy settings will be gone on each logon. So if the changes don’t work, you need to run the gpupdate command together with the /force parameter in order to refresh the Group Policy setting quickly.
If you are trying to log into your user account on your Windows 10 computer but encountered an error message instead that says, “Your account has been disabled, Please see your system administrator”, read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix this problem.
In this kind of scenario, you won’t be able to access your data unless you have access to the administrator account. This problem could be caused by several problems. It is possible that malware has infected your computer and has changed some settings in your computer, especially if your system has been under a malware attack not too long ago. The malware could’ve changed the “Account is disabled” option.
The only thing you can do to resolve this kind of problem is to log into your computer using another administrator account and then change the setting. However, if you don’t have a second administrator account, you can just enable the built-in hidden administrator account on your computer. You shouldn’t have any problem enabling the hidden administrator account as it is quite easy when you can log into your account. And in this post, you will be guided on how you can enable the hidden administrator account using the Registry Editor to fix the “Your account has been disabled, Please see your system administrator” error.
To get started, follow the instructions given below.
First, you need to start your computer and ensure that you are on the error screen. From there, you will see the Power options located on the right-hand side.
Click on the Power options and tap and hold the Shift key and then select Restart.
After that, the Advanced Boot Options will appear and from there select Troubleshoot > Command Prompt.
Next, you have to select your user account and enter the user account’s password to open Command Prompt.
After opening Command Prompt, open your screen and type “Regedit” and then tap Enter on your keyboard.
Now select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the Registry Editor and go to File > Load Hive.
Afterward, you have to open the Windows installation drive and go to the location – WindowsSystem32Config
From there, you should find a file named “SAM” – select this file and click the Open button.
Next, you have to enter a key name. You can just input whatever you prefer.
Once done, navigate to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEkey_nameSAMDomainsAccountUsers
From this path, you will see a key named “000001F4” – select this key and double click on the “F” entry that you can find on the right-hand side of the screen.
After that, look for the value data line labeled “0038” which should show 11 in the first column. You have to replace it with 10.
Once done, click on the OK button and close the Registry Editor and the Command Prompt to restart your computer.
Now once your computer has restarted, sign in to the Administrator account and open the Computer Management window. You can just search for it using the search bar in the Taskbar.
After you open Computer Management, go to Local Users and Groups > Users – where you can find all the user accounts. Look for your deleted user account and right-click on it and select Properties and then unmark the checkbox that says “Account is disabled”. This should fix the problem.
If you encounter error 0x8024500C after a Windows Update or when you were trying to update Windows Store apps, read on as this post will guide you in fixing the problem. This kind of Windows Update error indicates that the Windows Update service has been blocked.
Here are some suggestions you could check out to resolve the Windows Update error 0x8024500C on your Windows 10 computer.
Option 1 – Try checking the status of all the Windows Update Services
You need to check if all the Windows Update Services are up and running or not. To do so, follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open Windows Services.
From the list of Services, look for the following services that support Windows Update:
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)
Delivery Optimization
Windows Update
Windows Update Medic Service
Once you’ve found them, check if they are running just fine or not. if not, you can right-click on each entry and click on Start.
Option 2 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
You might also want to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing Windows Update Error 0x8024500C. 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 – Try downloading and installing the Windows Updates manually
Error 0x8024500C might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:
Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.
Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.
Option 4 – Try checking the Registry settings
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
After that, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate
Then double click on “DisableWindowsUpdateAccess” located at the right side of the panel and make sure that its value is set to “0”. If not, you have to change it to “0”.
Now restart your computer and check if error 0x8024500C is now fixed or not
Option 5 – Disable the Proxy server
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
Restart your PC.
Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it.
Option 6 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache
Just like browsers, 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, “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.
Option 7 – Perform a System Restore
Performing System Restore might help you in fixing the Windows Update error 0x8024500C. 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.
The third time is charm saying goes but not when we are talking about Microsoft. Print spooler is again in focus, in a bad way.
This is the third print spooler vulnerability to emerge in just five weeks. While a critical flaw was originally identified and patched in June, a similar flaw came to light shortly after and was subsequently patched (with mixed success).
Microsoft is once again advising its customers to disable Windows print spooler after a new vulnerability that allows hackers to execute malicious code on machines has emerged. While a patch fixing the flaw will be released in due course, the most effective workaround currently on the table is to stop and disable the print spooler service entirely.
"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs privileged file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights."
Stop this service right away or you are risking a potential attack.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to open the hidden menu
Click on Power Shell (admin)
In Power Shell type in the following command to check if spool service is running: Get-Service -Name Spooler followed by ENTER
If spooler service is running type in the next command to stop it: Stop-Service -Name Spooler –Force and press ENTER
Then follow with this command to disable it at startup: Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Disabled followed with ENTER
That’s it, we hope a patch will come soon for all the people that are using network printing and indeed need this service running in order to do work.
0x80131700 is a Windows 7 error that occurs when there is a problem with the Troubleshooting Wizard. The wizard fails to function and with an error message displaying the following message on the computer screen:
‘An unexpected error has occurred’- The troubleshooting wizard can’t continue
Error code: 0x80131700'
Windows 7 features Troubleshooting Wizard, an automated tool that helps users resolve several PC-related problems such as accessing shared files or internet connectivity to name a few.
Error Causes
The error code 0x80131700 largely occurs because of two reasons:
The .NET framework is not properly installed on your system
Mis-configured System Files and Registry Issues
Further Information and Manual Repair
0x80131700 Windows error is rated easy to fix error code. Thus, repairing this error code is not difficult. It is so easy to fix that you don’t need any technical expertise or professional help for that matter.
To begin with, there are 2 methods to resolve the 0x80131700 error code. Let’s take a look at the solutions:
Cause:The .NET framework not properly installed on your system
Solution: If the underlying cause for the error code 0x80131700 is the improper installation of .NET framework on your PC, then the best and easy way to resolve this error is to reinstall it. By default, the built-in version of the .NET framework in Windows is 3.5.1 to reinstall this again on your system follow the steps given below:
Go to the Start menu and type: features in the search box
Now Choose the option ‘Turn Windows Features on or off’ and then press Enter
After this, look for Microsoft .NET framework 3.5.1 and uncheck the box
Once you uncheck it, restart your computer
Repeat the step 1 and 2
Now check the box before .NET framework 3.5.1
Restart your system
Now try using the Troubleshooting Wizard.
Cause:Mis-configured System Files and Registry Issues
Solution: If the error code 0x80131700 triggered due to misconfigured files and registry issues, then the easiest way to fix this error on your system is to download Restoro
Internal error 2753 is associated with Windows Installer failure. The Windows Installer is basically an in-built software program in Windows 7 and 8.
It installs all programs on the system smoothly, saves the program in the computer program files and in the Windows Registry.
Though this can be carried manually Windows Installer makes the installation process much easier.
However, internal error 2753 can cause a great deal of distress and frustration during program installation. This error prevents you from installing your desired program successfully.
Solution
Error Causes
The 2 known causes for Internal Error 2753 are:
Viral infection
Windows Installer not properly registered
Further Information and Manual Repair
To resolve internal error 2753 on your system, try the methods discussed below. These methods are easy and require no technical expertise.
Let’s get started:
Method 1 - Remove All Malicious Programs
Malicious programs like viruses, malware, adware, Trojan and spyware can corrupt programs on your PC like Windows Installer.
If this is the underlying cause of error code 2753, then simply download a powerful antivirus on your system. Run it to scan for all such malicious programs and remove them.
Once your PC is clean, try installing your desired program. This will hopefully resolve the issue. If the error still pops up then try method 2.
Method 2 - Register Windows Installer Properly
To do this, go to the start menu and then open Run and type ‘cmd’ in the box, and press OK. This will open the DOS command window.
In the command prompt type "regsvr32 vbscript.dll" and then press Enter to proceed. After that, you will see a message that will read as "DllRegisterServer in vbscript.dll succeeded."
This means Window Installer files have been successfully registered on your PC. Now you can try installing your desired program again.
If the installation begins and completes successfully, then the error is resolved.
Method 3 - Undo Recent Changes
If nothing works, then use the Windows System Restore Utility tool to undo recent changes. This will bring back your PC in the former state before you experienced the error 2753 on your PC.
To access System Restore Utility, press Start and type System Restore in the search box. Now follow the steps in the Wizard to choose a restore point. Once you select the point, reboot your system to activate changes.
We have all experienced Windows errors over time and that can range from simple ones that will do very little to no harm and can be even system breaking making us lose our work or completely making the PC unusable. No one likes them but they happen, and usually, they happen once we least expect them.
No matter how frequent and unpleasant they might be there are ways to keep them at the minimum and even avoid them.
We will discuss steps that you can take in order to do this, simple tips and guides on how to keep your computer in top form and eliminate not just Windows, but any kind of errors altogether.
Keep your hardware clean
Believe it or not, some serious Windows errors like the dreaded blue screen of death can come from hardware issues not from the software at all. It is very important to keep your computer clean and with enough air flow so it can function properly.
Keeping applications on the drive might seem harmless but sadly that is not the case. Some applications have a certain impact on the system itself after all most of them are tweaking registry entries in Windows and sometimes having too many applications means an increased possibility of conflict over certain resources even when they are not running.
Some applications like adobe creative suite, for example, will have certain services always running in the background, and more of these kinds of applications you have, more services, more places for unexpected errors when they collide. Some of them will also install certain dependencies that could be problematic.
The general idea is: if you are not using it, uninstall it and you will be safer and more resilient to errors inside OS.
Do not use pirated or cracked software
Besides moral and law implications that using pirated or cracked software might bring you there are also certain other things that might be problematic. Certain "free" software might come packet with some problematic malware, for example, it is not uncommon for attackers to use some popular software to pack their malicious application with it.
Other things might be wrong and incomplete tweaking with application in order to bypass security and thus bringing some instability due to scripts needed to run in order to achieve this goal.
Keep your drivers updated
Errors can also come from old drivers or bad drivers, device manufacturers are not all-knowing and perfect, and sometimes drivers can wreak havoc on the system. Having updated drivers can minimize any kind of unexpected behaviors inside the operating system making it more stable and reliable.
You can check your driver version in the control panel inside the Windows OS and then compare it to the ones found on the manufacturer's site, if there are newer available it is recommended to download and install them,
Keep software updated
Applications can have bugs, and bugs can lead to certain errors both in the system and when using the app as well. It is in your best interest to get the latest patch or newer version of the software in order to avoid these unpleasant experiences.
Also, certain codecs and extensions that are installed directly in Windows can also have some unpredictable behavior, updating is the best solution to keep them in line.
Keep Windows updated
Same as with drivers and applications, Windows itself is not immune from bugs and some unpredictable issues. Luckily Microsoft is always working on fixes and features of Windows but in order to actually have benefited from that work, you will need to keep Windows updated. Sometimes a bad update can introduce some errors but you can always roll back to the previous and wait for them to fix everything and then download them all.
Check the health of your hardware regularly
Hardware components have their life cycle, more quality ones tend to last longer but eventually, they will reach the end of their lifecycle. There are a lot of testers for various components in your computer that can check different things and provide you with information about the state of your components.
If you are on Windows 11, Microsoft has included a basic health app inside OS, just type PC health check in search and start the app. For some more detailed information and advanced checks, you will have to use a custom application. There are plenty of them specialized for single components like RAM, SSD, etc. A simple google search with providing you with top results and most of them are free for personal use.
Remember, a faulty component or component that is reaching its life cycle can produce many errors inside the operating system.
If you encounter an error message that says, “<Drive>: is not accessible, The File or directory is corrupted and unreadable” when you try to connect your USB or external device, then the File System could have been corrupted or the external device might be infected with malware. On the other hand, it is also possible that the device might have some physical damage.
To fix the “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error, you can try to run Check Disk or scan your computer for malware or you could also format the destination drive. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below.
Option 1 – Run the Check Disk utility
You can also run the Check Disk utility to fix the error when you connect your USB or external device.
In the Windows Search box, type “command prompt” and from the search results, right click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /f /r /x /b
The command you entered will start to check for errors and fix them automatically. Else, it will throw an error message saying, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like the schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”.
Tap the Y key to schedule Disk Check the next time your computer restarts.
Option 2 – Try to format the destination drive
Formatting the drive can also help you resolve the error. To format it, follow these steps:
To get started formatting your drive, tap the Win + E keys and then go the access page of the drive.
Next, right click on the drive and select Format.
After that, uncheck the “Quick Format” option and then format your drive properly.
Now once the formatting process is finished, unplug the drive and plug it back in afterwards.
Check if the error is already fixed. If the drive is not initialized, tap the Win + R keys and hit Enter.
After opening the Run dialog box, type “diskmgmt.msc” and hit Enter to open Disk Management.
From there, right click on the drive volume and select initialize Disk.
Next, select the correct partition type and proceed.
Option 3 – Try scanning your computer for malware using Windows Defender
Your computer could be infected with malware which might have triggered the “The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable” error. To fix this, you need to scan your computer using a reliable program like Windows Defender.
Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.
GPU shortage and its cause
Microsoft is once again advising its customers to disable Windows print spooler after a new vulnerability that allows hackers to execute malicious code on machines has emerged. While a patch fixing the flaw will be released in due course, the most effective workaround currently on the table is to stop and disable the print spooler service entirely.
