How to Fix Tcpip.sys Blue Screen Error in Windows 10

Error Code 8024402C – What is it?

When upgrading to Microsoft Windows 10, some users may encounter Error Code 8024402C. This error, while attempting to update, is a result of five possible issues. The error code itself is not a critical concern, yet while the error is occurring, users will not be able to upgrade their Windows software. As with any Microsoft error code, even if it is not critical, it is recommended that the error be addressed sooner rather than later. An insignificant error now could lead to a larger, more catastrophic error later on. Common symptoms include:

• A dialog box appears with the Error Code 8024402C when attempting to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10.
• Your current version of Windows is unable to recognize the need for an update to Microsoft Windows 10.

Solution

Error Causes

As previously stated, there are five major reasons why error code 8024402C occurs.

• An erroneous character in the proxy override settings
• A wrongly configured firewall is preventing the update from taking place.
• Attempting to access the Windows 10 update through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.
• Workstations that operate behind a corporate ISA server.
• A corporate network system that does not have auto proxy enabled.

The sooner these known causes are addressed, the sooner you will be able to successfully upgrade to Microsoft Windows 10.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Microsoft Support posits four different resolutions to these known error code 8024402C issues. Some of these methods will be more comfortable for at-home users than others. If you are experiencing this issue in a corporate or business setting, it may be better to have your IT tech or department attempt the methods.

Method 1:  When your firewall is causing the issue.

1. Access your firewall software.
2. Specifically, look into the settings associated with your firewall.
3. Make sure that the following three websites are listed as exceptions to your firewall or proxy.

• https://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
• http://download.windowsupdate.com
• http://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com

4. If any of these websites are missing from your firewall list, add them to the list.
5. Restart your Microsoft Windows 10 update.

Method 2: For an erroneous character in the proxy override settings.

1. Open internet explorer, if you use another program to access the internet, you will still need to use internet explorer for this solution.
2. Open your internet explorer tools window.
3. Click on internet options.
4. Choose the connections tab.
5. Select LAN settings.
6. Choose the Advanced option.
7. Delete anything that appears in the exceptions section.
8. Closeout of internet explorer.
9. Click on your start button.
10. Select RUN and type CMD into the field, press ENTER.
11. This will access the command prompt screen. Type “proxycfg -d” and press ENTER.
12. Type the command “net stop wuauserv” and press ENTER.
13. Finally, type “net start wuauserv” and press ENTER.
14. Now you have cleared your proxy cache. Access the Microsoft Windows 10 update again to download.

Method 3: If a VPN connection is causing error code 8024402C.

1. Disconnect from your VPN connection, thus connecting directly to the internet without a proxy or network.
2. Retry the Microsoft Windows 10 update.
3. After the update is successful, reconnect to the VPN network.

Method 4: Use this is an ISA server is in place at your networked business site.

1. Access the ISA firewall client option. From here your goal is to initiate the ISA server automatic detection feature.
2. From the control panel, select the firewall client option.
3. Choose the configure option.
4. Check the box next to “automatically detect firewall server”.
5. Select the “update now” button.
6. Click the OK button.
7. Restart your Microsoft Windows 10 update.

Again, not all of these methods are meant for computer users who do not usually explore and change software settings of this nature. If you do not feel comfortable with any of these methods, you can opt to download and install a powerful automated tool to repair Windows error code 8024402C.

If you are not able to access the Windows 10 Advanced troubleshooting options within Windows then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how you can repair or boot the Windows 10 installation without losing data using the bootable installation USB or DVD media. To repair or boot Windows 10 using the installation media, you have to download the Windows ISO, create a bootable USB or DVD drive, boot from the media and select “Repair your computer” and then select Startup Repair under Advanced troubleshooting. To get started, follow the given steps below carefully. Step 1: Frist, download the Windows ISO. Although this is not necessarily needed, it’s still better if you download the Windows ISO first so make sure that you download the same ISO version as installed on your computer. Step 2: Next, create a bootable USB or DVD drive.

• Insert your USB drive into your PC.
• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type in “cmd” and tap Enter to open the Command Prompt. Alternatively, you can also search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box to open Command Prompt.
• Once you’ve opened CMD, type in this command to open the DISPART utility – diskpart
• After that, you should see a new black and white window that would say, “DISKPART>”.
• Next, type in “list disk” in the command line and tap Enter to see the list of all the Storage devices as well as your hard disk connected to your PC. Here, you have to identify your disk’s number.
• Type in this command where “X” is the disk number you have identified and then tap Enter – disk X
• Type in this command and hit Enter to clear the table records and all the visible data on the drive – clean
• Now you have to recreate a new primary partition of the drive so you’ll have to type in this command and tap Enter right after – create part pri
• A new primary partition has been created so you have to select it by typing this command and tapping Enter – select part 1
• Now you have to format it to make it visible to normal users by typing – format fs=ntfs quick

Note: If your platform supports the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface or UEFI, replace the “NTFS” with “FAT32” in the command on Step 10.

• After that, type in this command and tap Enter after – active
• Finally, type this command and hit Enter to exit the utility – exit
• After you prepare the image for the operating system, save it to the root of your USB Storage device.

Step 3: After creating a bootable drive, boot from the media and select the “Repair your computer” option. Once you boot from the USB drive, it will start the Windows 10 installation right away. So you must not keep on clicking Next as you will end up installing Windows. You need to look for the “Repair your computer” link on the first installation screen and click on it and then boot your computer into Advanced Recovery. Step 4: Select Startup Repair under the Advanced options screen

• Once you’re at the Advanced Recovery screen, select Advanced Options and select Troubleshoot.
• After that, look for the Startup Repair and click on it and then follow the next on-screen instructions. This solution will help you fix issues that do not allow you to boot into your computer.
• On the next screen, you will see the admin account with its name. Click on it and verify using the account password associated with the email.
• After verification, it will start to diagnose your computer and automatically resolve any detected issues related to boot.
• After the issue is fixed, your computer should reboot normally and you should now be able to use it. Note that your personal files are still intact since the process didn’t delete or wipe them out.

What is Search.schooldozer.com? And how does it function?

Search.schooldozer.com is a browser extension that functions as a search engine. It is developed and maintained by “Schooldozer”. It claims to improve users’ browsing experience by providing them with improved search results. However, it does not really do the things it claims to do. In fact, they’re quite the opposite ones – instead of improving the browsing experience, it makes users’ browsing experience unsafe and full of sponsored content. This is in contrast to what it states in its Privacy Policy:

“Install applications the easy way and without the hassle, using the Schooldozer downloader. The Schooldozer platform stems from years of experience with installing applications, resulting in a highly optimized process, yielding faster downloads, better user experience, and more successful installations.”

In addition, once installed Search.schooldozer.com is installed, it will change the default settings of a browser such as the default search engine, homepage, and new tab page. This is why security experts regard this browser extension as a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program. The modification of the browser's settings allows it to control users’ browsing by redirecting them to sponsored sites as well as deliver sponsored content from its affiliated sites in order to gain profit via pay-per-click marketing. And if you think that the ads it displays are harmless, think again for some of these ads can redirect you to suspicious websites that might contain harmful content. What’s more is that this browser hijacker can also keep track and monitor all your browsing activities in order to obtain your browsing data like search queries, what sites you always visit, browsing history, browser type, OS version, and so on. The information collected is then used and may even be shared with its affiliated third parties to deliver more customized and personalized advertisements.

How is Search.schooldozer.com distributed over the web?

Like a typical browser hijacker, Search.schooldozer.com is distributed using the software bundling method where several unknown and unwanted programs are bundled in a software package. Thus when you install any software bundle, make sure to always opt for the Custom or Advanced installation setup rather than the quick setup to avoid installing unwanted programs like Search.schooldozer.com. To remove Search.schooldozer.com from your computer, follow the removal guide below carefully. Step 1: Start the removal process by closing all the browsers infected with Search.schooldozer.com. If you’re having a hard time closing them, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Step 2: After you open the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the infected browser’s process and end it. Step 3: Then close the Task Manager and tap the Win + R keys to open Run and then type in appwiz.cpl to open Programs & Features in Control Panel. Step 4: From there, look for Search.schooldozer.com or any unfamiliar program that could be related to it under the list of installed programs and once you’ve found it, uninstall it. Step 5: Edit your Hosts File.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
• Go to System32/drivers/etc.
• Open the host file using Notepad.
• Delete all the entries that contain Search.schooldozer.com.
• After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.

Google Chrome

1. Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
2. Look for Search.schooldozer.com or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
3. Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
4. Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
5. Select “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
6. Click the More actions button next to the hijacker and click Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
2. In the Extensions, menu Remove the unwanted extension.
3. Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
4. Select Options and then move to the General menu.
5. Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

1. Launch Internet Explorer.
2. Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
3. Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
4. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 7: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer. Step 8: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to the browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

• %USERPROFILE%Downloads
• %USERPROFILE%Desktop
• %TEMP%

Step 9: Close the File Explorer. Step 10: Empty the contents of Recycle Bin.

The errors that are caused by the BIOS of your computer can get annoying as they can be hard to fix for they are really dangerous and won’t be resolved by simple fixes. This is because of the fact that these kinds of errors do not even allow you to load your operating system as it throws the error even before you can access your computer. One of these errors is the “Error 0199: System Security – Security password retry count exceeded”. Fixing this error can be quite tricky but you need not worry for you will be guided in doing so. Simply follow the given instructions below.

Option 1 – Try to update the BIOS

Updating the BIOS can help you fix the “Error 0199, Security password retry count exceeded” error but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.

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

Option 2 – Try resetting the BIOS

If updating the BIOS didn’t help in fixing Error 0199, you can try to reset the BIOS instead.

• Start your computer and tap the F10 key during the booting process to enter the BIOS. If it does not work, you can try tapping the F1 or F2 key as well as the Del key.
• Once you’re already in the BIOS, tap the F9 key to get the prompt to RestoreLoad default configuration now for the BIOS.
• Next, click on Yes and then follow the next on-screen instructions that appear to set the BIOS back to its default settings.
• Once you’re done restoring the default settings of the BIOS, restart your computer and then check if it now boots properly.

ChatZum is a Potentially Unwanted Program that installs a Toolbar into your browser. This program allegedly allows users to zoom in on photos without clicking on them, however, upon further research, it was discovered that this function does not work on the latest version of browsers.

From the Author: ChatZum is a Browser add-on (toolbar) that enables its users to hover over images in Major Social network's websites and view a larger version of an image.

While installing this toolbar will track user web browsing sessions and will record website visits, clicks, and sometimes even personal information. This information is later used to display targeted ads to the user. To allow easier user tracking, the program changes the browser home page and default search engine to Nation Search Advanced, which injects additional advertisements and tracks user activity.

Several anti-virus applications have marked this program as Potentially Unwanted, and it is not recommended to keep it on your computer, especially considering the fact it will most likely not work on your browser.

About Potentially Unwanted Applications

If you have ever installed a free application or shareware, chances are high that the computer will get installed with a bunch of unwanted applications. A Potentially Unwanted Program, also called PUP, in short, is actually software that contains adware, installs toolbars, or has got other hidden objectives. These types of programs are generally bundled up with a free application that you download from the internet or may also be bundled inside the custom installers of many download websites. PUPs aren’t always viewed as “pure” malware in the strictest sense. A fundamental difference between PUP and malware is distribution. Malware is normally dropped by silent installation vectors like drive-by downloads while PUP gets installed with the consent of the computer user, who knowingly or unknowingly approves the PUP installation on their computer system. But, there is no doubt that PUPs remain bad news for PC users as it could be quite dangerous to your computer in many ways.

The damage PUPs can do

The unwanted programs after installation display numerous annoying pop-up ads, trigger fake alerts, and sometimes even forces a computer owner to pay for the software. PUPs that come as browser add-ons and toolbars are commonly recognizable. These toolbars alter your homepage and your search engine in the installed web browser, track your web activities, modify your search results with redirects and sponsored links, and eventually slow down your browser and diminish your browsing experience. Potentially unwanted programs use aggressive distribution methods to get onto your computer. The worst part of setting up a PUP is the adware, spyware, and keystroke loggers that could lurk inside. Even if the PUPs really aren’t inherently malicious, these applications still do practically nothing good on your PC – they’ll take valuable system resources, slow down your PC, weaken your computer security, making your PC more vulnerable to malware.

How to avoid ‘crapware’

• Read the EULA thoroughly. Look for clauses that state that you have to accept advertising and pop-ups or bundled applications from the company. • Always opt for the custom if you’re offered an option between “Custom” and “Recommended” Installations – never ever click Next, Next, Next thoughtlessly. • Use a good anti-malware application. Try Safebytes Anti-malware which can find PUPs and treat them as malware by flagging them for deletion. • Be alert if you download and install freeware, open-source applications, or shareware. Do not ever install software applications that seem shady or malicious. • Always download applications from the original website. The majority of PUPs find their way onto your laptop or computer is via download portals, so steer clear of it altogether. Remember the fact that even though PUPs could potentially cause damage and hinder the proper functioning of the PC, they can’t enter into your system without your consent, so be alert not to provide them with it.

How One Can Get rid of Malware that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads

Malware could potentially cause many kinds of damage to PCs, networks, and data. Some malware goes to great lengths to stop you from downloading or installing anything on your computer, especially antivirus software. If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re stuck with a malware infection that is preventing you to download or install the Safebytes Anti-Malware program on your PC. Even though this sort of problem can be tougher to circumvent, there are some steps you can take.

Make use of Safe Mode to resolve the issue

If the malware is set to run automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, stepping into safe mode could block the attempt. Just minimal required programs and services are loaded when you boot your computer in Safe Mode. To launch your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers in Safe Mode with Networking, do as instructed below. 1) Tap the F8 key repeatedly as soon as your PC boots, however, before the big Windows logo or black screen with white texts come up. This would invoke the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Choose Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and hit ENTER. 3) When this mode loads, you should have the internet. Now, obtain the malware removal program you want by utilizing the web browser. To install the program, follow the guidelines in the installation wizard. 4) Right after installation, do a full scan and allow the software program to get rid of the threats it detects.

Switch to an alternate internet browser

Some malware mainly targets certain browsers. If this is your situation, employ another internet browser as it might circumvent the computer virus. When you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by a trojan or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the best thing to do is to switch over to an alternate internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari to download your chosen security program – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Create a portable USB antivirus for eliminating viruses

Another technique is to download and transfer an antivirus application from a clean computer to run a scan on the infected computer. Follow these steps to run the anti-malware on the affected computer. 1) Download the anti-malware on a virus-free PC. 2) Connect the flash drive to a USB slot on the clean computer. 3) Double click on the exe file to run the installation wizard. 4) Choose the USB stick as the location for saving the file. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish off the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected computer. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the USB drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Click the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

Protect your PC from Malware With SafeBytes Security Suite

If you are looking to install an anti-malware program for your PC, there are lots of tools in the market to consider nonetheless, you just cannot trust blindly anyone, regardless of whether it is a paid or free program. A few of them are great but there are several scamware applications that pretend as authentic anti-malware programs waiting around to wreak havoc on your PC. You have to pick a company that develops industry-best anti-malware and it has earned a reputation as reliable. One of the highly recommended applications by industry analysts is SafeBytes Anti-Malware, the safest program for Microsoft Windows. SafeBytes can be described as a highly effective, real-time antivirus application that is made to assist the average computer user in protecting their PC from malicious internet threats. Through its cutting-edge technology, this software will help you protect your computer against infections brought on by various kinds of malware and other internet threats, including spyware, adware, trojans, worms, computer viruses, keyloggers, ransomware, and potentially unwanted program (PUPs).

There are many wonderful features you’ll get with this particular security product. Listed below are some of the features you will like in SafeBytes.

Active Protection: SafeBytes offers a completely hands-free active protection and is set to observe, block, and kill all computer threats at its very first encounter. It will check your PC for suspicious activity at all times and its unrivaled firewall shields your computer from illegal entry by the outside world. Robust, Anti-malware Protection: Using a critically acclaimed malware engine, SafeBytes offers multilayered protection which is made to catch and remove threats that are concealed deep inside your PC. Web Security: Safebytes allots all sites a unique safety ranking that helps you to get an idea of whether the webpage you’re just about to visit is safe to view or known to be a phishing site. Extremely Speed Scanning: SafeBytes’s virus scan engine is among the fastest and most efficient in the industry. It's targeted scanning significantly increases the catch rate for viruses which is embedded in various computer files. Lightweight: SafeBytes is really lightweight software. It consumes an extremely small amount of processing power as it runs in the background which means you will not observe any computer performance difficulties. 24/7 Support: For any technical concerns or product assistance, you may get 24/7 expert assistance via chat and email. To sum it up, SafeBytes Anti-Malware offers outstanding protection combined with an acceptable low system resources usage with both great malware detection and prevention. You now may realize that this particular tool does more than just scan and remove threats from your computer. You will get the best all-around protection for the money you pay on SafeBytes AntiMalware subscription, there’s no question about it.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you wish to do the removal of ChatZum manually rather than using an automated software tool, you can follow these simple steps: Navigate to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add/Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending application to remove. In case of suspicious versions of web browser plug-ins, you can easily get rid of it through your web browser’s extension manager. You might also want to reset your home page and search providers, as well as delete browsing history, temporary files, and cookies. If you choose to manually remove the system files and Windows registry entries, use the following list to make sure you know exactly what files to remove before undertaking any actions. Please note that only advanced users should try to manually edit the system files mainly because removing any single vital registry entry results in a serious problem or even a PC crash. In addition, certain malware is capable of replicating itself or preventing its removal. Doing this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is recommended.

Hello and welcome to our Outlook 2013 Preview. Everyone has heard of sneak peeks when it comes to new movies and games that are coming out soon. That is what advertisements and test reels are for to get the audience interested and excited before the piece of media even comes out. It serves to entertain the target audience in the months, maybe even years, up until the release date of this thing they want to play or see and it keeps it in the public mind. It is also great for the viewers because it is a hint to what they will expect when it comes out and it keeps them wanting more excitedly. However, did you know that sometimes computer software releases previews and sneak peeks too?

Outlook 2013

Well, they do and Microsoft has released some sneak peeks and previews of their new Outlook, Outlook 2013! This is probably to get consumers ready for when it comes out next year; people are going to be getting excited about this new makeover that Microsoft Office, with Outlook, has given itself, people from Microsoft even saying it is ‘the most ambitious’ version of Office yet! The new orange color scheme and logo design look promising enough for the consumer without even checking the new features and special things that have been revealed about it yet!

Outlook 2013 Features

The best part of this new Outlook is that you can move widgets around in it. If you don’t like the fact that your inbox is placed over your outbox, you can move it- simple as that! It will be really handy for people who like messing around with layouts and will also be handy for people who tend to overlook things at the bottom of the pile like spam and trash if they can move them to a more noticeable location for themselves. Another great thing is that the new Microsoft Office that Outlook comes with has a cool new stylus option, allowing you to personalize things with your own handwriting or even drawings. This can then be used as your email signature on Outlook which can give a really nice and personal feel to the emails you are sending. Another new thing is their labeling of drafts. Like Gmail, Google’s own email service, a red-lettered ‘draft’ will now appear over composing messages you have not yet sent.

Handy Email Tools in Outlook 2013

This is handy because you know where your message has been saved as opposed to how it could be saved in your outbox or be sent to the trash. Also, there are new links with Facebook that allow you to see what your friends are doing through Outlook. You can also converse with Facebook friends through Outlook now, which is a big step forward in this age of social media. You can get an email from a person and, at a click of a button, also read all their Facebook posts. However, there is not an option for Twitter or Tumblr or even Myspace, which is a shame I suppose, but maybe in the next update. So, I think Outlook 2013 will be worth looking at, don’t you?

USB storage devices are used to store small and even big files, depending on their sizes. Usually, the sizes of the USB vary from 2GB up to 16GB. And as time passes, they have advanced quite a bit and now it’s common to find USB sticks with a capacity of 32GB, 64GB, or even 128GB. And since they now have large capacities, USB storage devices are often used for storing backups of system data as well as creating an image. However, there are times when you might encounter an error message while trying to create a backup or image on your USB device. The error message states:

“The drive is not a valid backup location.”

One of the causes of this problem is that Windows was not able to recognize the USB drives as a valid backup location since USB storage devices weren’t previously large enough to store system images. To fix this error, here are some possible solutions that might help.

Option 1 – Try creating a sub-folder in the USB drive and backup all the images there

The first thing you can try to do is to create a sub-folder on your USB device. This is one good way you can bypass the USB drive limitation. How? Refer to the steps below.

• First, right-click on the USB storage device and select Format.
• Next, select NTFS as the File System and check the box next to Quick Format.
• After that, click on Start to initiate the formatting process.
• Once the formatting process is completed, open the USB drive and right-click anywhere inside its main drive window, and then select New > Folder.
• Then name the folder to be created as “Image (or anything you please)”.
• Afterward, right-click on the folder and select Properties.
• From there, go to the Sharing tab and click on Share.
• Now check if the Permission level on the System owner which should be your username is labeled as “Owner”.
• Then try to back up your files again using your USB drive while keeping the sub-folder as the backup location.

Option 2 – Update the USB Controller Drivers

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right-click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.
• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.

You also have the option to update the motherboard and the USB driver from the manufacturer’s official website.

Option 3 – Run CHKDSK utility to check the drive for errors

When it comes to some issues concerning the hard drive or removable devices, there is a utility in Windows that might help which is called “chkdsk”. To use it, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + S keys to open the Search box.
• Then type “command prompt” in the field and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
• After opening an elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

CHKDSK [volume [[path] filename]] [/F] [/V] [/R] [/X] [/C] [: size]]

Note: In the command given above, “[/F]” will try to fix the system errors while “[/R]” will be the one to fix the bad sectors.

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your PC, just tap Y and reboot your PC.
• If CHKDSK is not able to find any errors, tap the Win + E keys and navigate the access window. From there, right-click on the concerned drive and click on Properties.
• After opening Properties, click on the tab Tools and then click on the “Check” button under the Error-checking section.
• Wait until the process is completed and then restart your computer.

Athwbx.sys or the Qualcomm Atheros driver file is known to trigger several Blue Screen of Death errors. This occurs when the driver gets corrupted or when the operating system is unable to access or find it. In addition, bad sectors in the hard disk or RAM can also cause BSOD errors. The athwbx.sys file is known to cause the following BSOD errors listed below:

• SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (athwbx.sys)
• STOP 0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL (athwbx.sys)
• STOP 0x0000001E: KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (athwbx.sys)
• STOP 0×00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (athwbx.sys)
• Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. You can search online later for this error: athwbx.sys

Before you proceed with the troubleshooting tips given below, you might want to try performing System Restore as it could resolve Blue Screen errors caused by the athwbx.sys file. To run System Restore, follow these steps:

• 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.

If System Restore didn’t help in fixing the Blue Screen error, now’s the time for you to resort to the troubleshooting tips provided below but before you get started, make sure that you create a System Restore point first.

Option 1 – Try recreating the athwbx.sys file

The first thing you can try is to recreate the athwbx.sys file. Every time your Windows 10 PC boots up, it looks for all the system drivers in place and if it is unable to find them, it tries to create them. This is why if you remove your corrupt driver file, chances are, you might get a fixed file recreated just for you. How? Refer to the steps below.

• Boot your Windows 10 PC in Safe Mode.
• Then open File Explorer and navigate to this location: C:/Windows/System32/drivers
• From there, look for the file named sys and rename it to athwbx.old.

Note: As you can see, the file’s extension has changed from .sys to .old.

• Now restart your computer and check if the athwbx.sys Blue Screen error is now fixed.

Option 2 – Try to update or rollback your device drivers

If the first option didn’t work for you, then it’s time to either update or roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh. On the other hand, if you have just updated your device drivers then you need to roll back the drivers to their previous versions. Whichever applies to you, refer to the steps below.

• Open the Devices Manager from the Win X Menu.
• Then locate the device drivers and right-click on them to open the Properties.
• After that, switch to the Driver tab and click on the Uninstall Device button.
• Follow the screen option to completely uninstall it.
• Finally, restart your computer. It will just reinstall the device drivers automatically.

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

Option 3 – Run the System File Checker Scan

System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files with good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Tap Win + R to launch Run.
• Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
• After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

1. Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
2. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
3. Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.

• Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try to run the CHKDSK utility

Running the CHKDSK utility might also help you resolve the athwbx.sys 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 – Run the Memory Diagnostic Tool

Running the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool in Windows 10 might also help you in fixing the athwbx.sys Blue Screen error. Refer to the steps below on how to run this tool:

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

Note: After you select the option, your PC will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them and if there’s no issue found, then it’s most likely not a memory-based issue so you should try the other options given below.

Option 6 – 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 athwbx.sys. 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.

In this post, you will be guided on how you can turn on or turn off the Tailored Experiences feature in Windows 10 using three methods – via Settings, Registry Editor, and Group Policy Editor. The Tailored Experiences feature in Windows 10 helps Microsoft in delivering recommendations about Microsoft Products. The diagnostic data that comes with it allows Microsoft to know about its consumers’ experiences as well as collect feedback. To simply put it, tailored experiences are personalized tips, ads, and recommendations that enhance Microsoft products and services for consumer needs. And when you enable this feature, Windows will collect information from your browser, apps, features, and many more. After collecting information, it will offer contents that are tailored based on the data gathered on the lock screen of your computer, Windows tips, and other related functions. On the other hand, the diagnostic data is the one that allows Microsoft to get feedback from the customer. So if you’ve noticed some prompts when you use Windows that ask you about the experience, that’s actually a part of the diagnostic data. A lot of users find this feature useful. However, there are also skeptical ones that don’t share the same sentiments. If you are one of the skeptical ones, you actually have the option to turn this feature off if you do not want Microsoft to show ads, recommendations, and so on. It is also recommended that you enable the Diagnostic Data collection as you can choose to delete any collected data, as well as control the feedback frequency from Automatic to Once a day, or once a week, or to never. As mentioned, there are three methods you can choose from to either turn on or turn off Tailored Experiences. You can do it via Settings, Registry Editor, and the Group Policy Editor. To get started, follow the options provided below.

Option 1 – via Settings

To turn on or off Tailored Experiences using Settings, refer to these steps:

• Go to Settings and here, click on Privacy.
• Next, go to Diagnostic and Feedback.
• From there, toggle off the control under the Tailored experiences option to turn it off or toggle it on, if you want to turn it on.

Option 2 – via Registry Editor

To turn on or off Tailored Experiences via Registry Editor, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPrivacy
• After that, look for the DWORD named “TailoredExperiencesWithDiagnosticDataEnabled” and change its value to 0 if you want to turn it off or 1 if you want to turn it on.

Option 3 – via Group Policy Editor

To turn on or off Tailored Experiences using the Group Policy Editor, here’s what you have to do:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run prompt and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• Next, navigate to this policy setting: User ConfigurationAdminstrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsCloud Content
• Here, double click on the “Do not use diagnostic data for tailored experiences” option and select Enabled. Once you do that, you will see the following description:

“This policy setting lets you prevent Windows from using diagnostic data to provide tailored experiences to the user. If you enable this policy setting, Windows will not use diagnostic data from this device (this data may include browser, app, and feature usage, depending on the “diagnostic data” setting value) to customize the content shown on the lock screen, Windows tips, Microsoft consumer features, and other related features. If these features are enabled, users will still see recommendations, tips, and offers, but they may be less relevant. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Microsoft will use diagnostic data to provide personalized recommendations, tips, and offers to tailor Windows for the user’s needs and make it work better for them. This setting does not control Cortana tailored experiences, since there are separate policies to configure it.”

Connecting to Microsoft’s Windows Update servers does not always go smoothly since you could run into a number of errors. One of these errors is the error code 0x8024402c. You can see this error code when you check for Windows Updates. This kind of Windows Update error occurs when the proxy or the firewall settings are incorrectly configured. As a result, the client’s connection to the Windows Update servers fails. There are two things you can do to resolve error code 0x8024402c. First, you can try to fix the Proxy Settings. Second, you can set up Automatically Detect the connection settings. In addition, you can also try to perform System Restore as it could also help in fixing the problem. Performing System Restore might help you in fixing the error code 0x8024402C. Refer to the steps below to use System Restore.

• 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.

If performing System Restore didn’t help in fixing the problem, then try the two given options below.

Option 1 – Try fixing the Proxy Settings

• In the Cortana search box, search for Internet Explorer and then click on the related search result.
• After that, tap the Win + T keys on your keyboard and click on Internet Options.
• Next, navigate to the Connections tab and click on LAN Settings.
• Then click on the Advanced button and delete all the entries in the list generated in the Exceptions section. And if the Advanced button is disabled because the “Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)” option is disabled then you are good to go. Now proceed to the next step.
• Tap the Win + X keys or right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or you could also search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• If a User Account Control appears, click on Yes to proceed. After that, type each one of the commands listed below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type each one of them.
  • netsh winhttp reset proxy
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net start wuauserv
• Now restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not by checking for Windows Updates again.

Option 2 – Try setting up Automatically Detect the connection settings

• Type in “internet options” in the Cortana search box and then click on the related search result.
• After that, navigate to the Connections tab.
• Next, click on the LAN Settings button located under the Local Area Network (LAN) settings section.
• Then uncheck the “Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will not apply to dial-up or VPN connections)” option under the Proxy Server section and click OK.
• Now restart your computer to apply the changes made successfully.