Fix The driver detected a controller error

Keyboard shortcuts are undeniably one of the most utilized ways and are helpful in maximizing productivity through the various applications at top speed in Windows 10. It offers the option to create custom keyboard shortcuts that allow users to launch apps, and even websites, instantly. There are already tons of keyboard shortcuts that are built-in in Windows 10 but in case you don’t know, you can actually create new ones. Doing so is not a difficult task and in this post, you will be guided on how you can exactly create custom keyboard shortcuts in your Windows 10 computer. Most users would create desktop shortcuts or pin the apps in the taskbar to speed up the process of working on their computers. It is an easy task to do since you can easily do it by dragging an app from the Start Menu to the desktop or by simply right-clicking on the executable app and selecting the “Create Shortcut” option. However, doing so would take physical effort and there are times when you have to minimize all the apps to get to the desktop so you can click the shortcut and this is where the Custom Keyboard Shortcuts come in handy. You can create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10 for various programs – from the traditional desktop apps to the new universal apps – you can fling in a shortcut so that you can instantly open them faster compared to when doing it manually and besides this also wouldn’t affect any of the ongoing system activity. To get started, you need to follow the steps provided below carefully.

To add Custom Keyboard hotkeys to a program and website desktop shortcuts, here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: First, you have to right-click on the app or website and select Properties. Step 2: After that, go to the Shortcut tab and from there, you will see the “Shortcut key” textbox which allows you to enter a new or custom keyboard shortcut for the app or website. Step 3: In the textbox field, input your preferred letters to set up the new hotkey. Keep in mind that this custom shortcut has to be combined with the Ctrl + Alt keys which means that if you want to select “N”, you have to tap the Ctrl + Alt + N keys. Step 4: Once done, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then close the window. Step 5: After that, tap the newly created keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + Alt + N keys again to open the app or website you’ve set up earlier.

To add Custom Keyboard hotkeys to a desktop app or an independent program that can be installed using direct download, here’s what you have to do:

Step 1: First, open the Start Menu and look for the icon/tile of the required app in the menu. However, if you are not able to find the desired app, then just click on the All Apps option to navigate through all the apps that are installed on your PC. Step 2: Once you find the app, just right-click on it and select More and then click on the “Open file location” option. Step 3: This will open a new window with the shortcut icon. Right-click on the app’s shortcut icon and select Properties. Step 4: This will open the Properties window where you can add the shortcut combination. Keep in mind that just like the previous method, the custom shortcut has to be combined with the Ctrl + Alt keys. For instance, if you select E, then you also have to set a keyboard shortcut that includes Ctrl + Alt, so it will be, Ctrl + Alt + E. Step 5: Once you’re done, click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. You should now be able to use the custom shortcut key you’ve set.

Error Code 0x8007001 - What is it?

Error Code 0x8007001 occurs during installations that take place in Windows 10.  Various versions of this same error have also been present in previous editions of the software and the methods to resolve the error across these versions are the same

Common symptoms include:

• Inability to complete the installation process for updates, programs, and system versions.
• Installations quitting out in the middle of the process, particularly as the files are unpacked.

Several solutions for Error Code 0x8007001 require the user to complete semi-complex tasks. If you aren’t comfortable with the processes necessary to finish the methods below, make sure that you get in touch with a certified professional who is familiar with the Windows operating system to assist you in the resolution of the error code.

Solution

Error Causes

In many cases, Error Code 0x8007001 is caused by an installation disk that is not functioning properly or installation files that have been corrupted or changed. When this is the case, the operating system will not be able to begin actually installing the files and will instead hang up as the files are unpacked from the installation set.

Further Information and Manual Repair

For Error Code 0x8007001 to be repaired properly, the missing or corrupted installation files need to be repaired or the system needs to be able to recognize the files that it is missing. This can require some advanced computing knowledge. If you don’t feel comfortable with the idea of undertaking the methods below on your own, contact a computer repair technician who can assist you in following these steps.

Method One:  Load the Install Files on an Alternative Disk

In some cases, the operating system simply cannot recognize the installation files that are present on the disk in question, whether it is on a hard drive, a set of downloaded files, or files from a flash drive. If this is the case on your particular machine, the simplest way to work around the problem is to load the installation files onto an alternative disk source, whether it be a flash drive, CD, DVD, or secondary hard drive. After these files have been properly loaded onto that alternative disk, attempt to run the installation from the alternative source instead.

If this method is successful, it means that the system may have had trouble recognizing the files involved in the installation from the first source, but that the files themselves were not corrupted or changed.

Make sure that you save the alternative disk source after your installation is complete in case you ever need to do a fresh installation on your machine.

Method Two:  Clean Your Disc and Your Drive

If you are installing files from a DVD or CD, check to make sure that the back of the disc is free from scratches and dust. If there are no visible marks on the disc, you may need to open up your disk drive to see if there is a build-up of dust or debris inside of the drive. If this is the case, simply clean your drive and re-attempt your installation process from the included disk.

Method Three:  Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter and Update Your Programs

If the error code is still appearing on your machine, you can open up your Windows Update tool and run the troubleshooting wizard, which will then scan your machine to see if there are any potential problems that it can fix. Next, run the Update tool itself if there are any updates that need to be performed. Sometimes, this can resolve the error at hand. Make sure to restart your computer after any updates or changes have been made so that you can ensure that they are applied by the operating system appropriately.

Method Four: Use An Automated Tool

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

One of the essential parts of the Windows 10 operating system is the Microsoft Store as it is the distribution hub of numerous applications such as Netflix, Facebook, and many more. In fact, Microsoft is planning to make it a hub not just for UWP applications but also Windows Classic applications. Microsoft has already built a bridge with the power of Project Centennial which allows developers to migrate and upload their Windows Classic applications to the Microsoft Store. Although the Microsoft Store has been constantly improving, there are still times when you might face an error while using it. One of these errors is error 0x80131500. When you encounter this error, you will get the following error message on your screen:

“Try that again, Something happened at our end, Waiting a bit might help, The error code is 0x80131500 in case you need it.”

To fix this error, you can try changing your internet connection, toggle the date & time settings, change DNS, create a new user account, run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter or reset the Microsoft Store as well re-register it using Windows PowerShell.

Option 1 – Try changing your internet connection

The first thing you can do is to change your internet connection. If you are using Ethernet, you can try to connect to a Wi-Fi connection instead and see if it helps.

Option 2 – Try to toggle the Date and Time settings

The first thing you can try is to sync the Date and Time of your computer as the wrong Date and Time settings are one of the most common causes of connection problems like the error 0x80131500. This is because of the incompatibility between the SSL Certificate validation date and the System Clock. Thus, you have to sync your System Clock. Refer to the steps below to do so.

• Start by tapping the Win + I keys to open the Windows Settings.
• Next, go to Time & Language > Date & time.
• From there, turn the toggle on for the “Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically” option on the right-side panel.
• After that, click on Region & language located on the left side panel and make sure that the Country or region on the right-side panel is set to the country you live in.
• Now close the Settings app and restart your computer and see if it fixes the problem or not.

Option 3 – Try to change the DNS Server

In this option, you can try changing your current DNS settings to the Google Public DNS as it could also help in fixing error 0x80131500. To do so, follow the steps below.

• The first thing you have to do is right-click on the network icon in the Taskbar and select Network and Sharing Center.
• Next, click on the “Change Adapter Settings” option.
• After that, search for the network connection that you are using to connect to the internet. Note that the option might be “Wireless Connection” or “Local Area Connection”.
• Right-click on your network connection and click on Properties.
• Then select the new window to choose the “Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/IPv4)” option.
• After that, click on the Properties button and click the checkbox in the new window for the option “Use the following DNS server addresses”.
• Type in “8.8.8.8” and “8.8.4.4” and click OK and exit.

Option 4 – Try to create a new Administrator User account

If you have a standard account, you can try creating a new account but this time, you create an administrator user account and then see if the error is fixed or not. Note that you have to sign in with your main account before you can create an admin account.

Option 5 – Run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter

The Microsoft Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the error 0x80131500. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app installation issues. So this is worth a try to solve the problem. This built-in tool also helps you fix the Windows 10 Store if it isn’t working. To use the Windows Store Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

1. Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
2. Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
3. On your right-hand side, scroll down to find the Windows Store Apps and then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and see if it fixes the problem.

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 and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 7 – Try to re-register the Microsoft Store app via PowerShell

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

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

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

If you are using your Google Chrome browser and suddenly notice a constant flickering after you’ve upgraded your Windows 10 computer, read on as this post will help you sort out the issue. A lot of users have reported this screen flickering issue in Chrome after having upgraded their devices to a recent Windows 10 build. The bizarre thing about this problem is that it only affects the Google Chrome browser and when it occurs, the Chrome browser will start to flash or flicker. According to users who experience the problem in Chrome, it seems to get worse when they try to play videos on YouTube or other streaming sites. To resolve this problem, many users tried to use Chrome in Incognito Mode, cleared the browser cache as well as cookies. They even tried resetting the browser settings and reinstall Chrome but nothing seems to work. Worry not though as there are still other options you can try to fix the problem and they’re easy ones so you’ll have no problem following them. The screen flickering problem in Chrome appears to be related to the Windows background and color settings as well as incompatible display drivers. This is why it is advised that you have both the video card drivers and Chrome browser updated to prevent the same problem from happening again. To get started troubleshooting the screen flickering issue in Chrome, refer to the following options.

Option 1 – Try modifying the background and colors settings

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings app.
• From Settings, go to Personalization to load the Background Preferences and if this window does not appear, just select the Background option from the left side panel.
• Next, select a Solid Color as the new background from the drop-down menu.
• After that, check if the problem is fixed. This should be fixed especially if the one that’s causing screen flickering is the Windows automatic background switching.
• Once you’ve selected the Solid color as the background preference, go to the Colors tab under Personalization. This will open a new window and from there, check the box of the “Automatically pick an accent color from my background” option.
• Now close the Settings app and open Chrome again.

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.

Option 3 – Try to disable the Hardware Acceleration

For better performance, Google Chrome uses the Hardware Acceleration by default. Unfortunately, there are just some cases when your hardware, GPU to be specific, might not be able to cope with the requirements, resulting in the black screen issue. And if this is your case, you should try to disable the hardware acceleration from your Google Chrome browser settings panel. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Open the Google Chrome settings page.
• Click on the Advanced button to get more options.
• Look for the option called “Use hardware acceleration when available” and then disable it by toggling the button to the left.
• After that, check if the screen flickering issue in Chrome is fixed.

Option 4 – Try to disable “Smooth Scrolling” in Chrome

Disabling “Smooth Scrolling” in Chrome might also help you fix the issue. To do so, follow these steps:

• Open Chrome and type “chrome://flags” and hit Enter.
• Next, look for a flag named “Smooth Scrolling”. You can scroll down until you find it or search it in the Search Flag bar. Note that Smooth Scrolling is enabled by default in the newer versions of Chrome.
• After that, select the drop-down menu and select Disabled.
• Then click on the “Relaunch Now” button.

Windows 10 is has a lot of features that help a user in optimizing a computer. So when the operating system encounters a problem, it is able to provide users with proper resources to get the problem fixed. There are even times when a user is not notified and an issue is either being repaired or dodged in the background. This kind of feature is known as the Diagnosis of the Automatic Repair feature that starts when your computer is booting. In such times, you will either see the “Diagnosing your PC” or “Preparing Automatic Repair” message on your screen. Although this feature is useful and has proven to be effective, some users reported that the process gets stuck. If you experience the same problem, read on as this post will guide you on what to do to fix it but before you start troubleshooting the problem, you might want to perform a Hard Boot first. All you have to do is to power down your computer, remove the battery and the AC adapter and then reconnect them. After that, tap and hold the power button for about 20 seconds and see if your computer boots up properly. If it doesn’t, follow the given fixes below.

Option 1 – Try disabling the automatic Startup Repair

The Automatic Startup Repair window will automatically open during boot when you have some system driver-related problem. So if you think that this is where the problem lies, you can try to disable the automatic Startup Repair.

• Click on Troubleshoot and go to the Advanced options.
• After that, select Command Prompt and execute the following command:

bcdedit /set recoveryenabled NO

• Restart your computer after that and then check.

Option 2 – Run the System File Checker

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 to good system files that might be the cause why you’re facing this problem. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.

• Type “cmd” in the Start search and then right-click on the appropriate search result.
• Next, select “Run as administrator” to open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• 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.

• Now restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed or not.

Option 3 – Run CHKDSK to check your disk 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”. This error check utility can help with several issues in the system.

• 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 /r /f

• Now if you are prompted to run CHKDSK after your reboot your computer, 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.
• Once your computer has restarted, try accessing the file and check if the error persists.

Option 4 – Run the DISM tool

The next thing you can do is run the DISM tool. This tool is known to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also system issues like your computer getting stuck in the “Diagnosing your PC” or “Preparing Automatic Repair” screen.

• Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
• After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the problem is now fixed.

Option 5 – Try to use installation media to boot and repair your computer

Another thing you can try to resolve the issue is to use the Windows installation bootable media so you can boot and repair the operating system. To use it, follow these steps:

• You need to first create an installation media which has the dame version of the operating system installed in your computer.
• After that, once you reach the Install Windows screen, click on the “Repair your computer” link.
• Wait until the repair is completed and then shut down your computer
• Now once your computer has restarted, check if it can now boot properly.

There are instances when you have to connect to another Windows 10 PC via remote connection from another Windows 10 PC. However, when you encountered an error saying, “Your password may have expired or the remote pc might not accept blank passwords” while doing so then read on as this post will walk you through how you can fix it. Here is the full content of the error message:

“Your password may have expired, or the remote PC might not accept blank passwords. Try connecting again. If this keeps happening, ask your admin or tech support for help.”

It is unknown what the exact cause of the error message is as it could involve several factors. Even so, there are still various potential fixes you can try to fix this kind of error. You can try to check if your password has expired or troubleshoot any issues with the network. You could also use a remote desktop application or configure the settings of firewall or restart the remote desktop service. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below. But before you proceed, make sure that you have someone to help assist you on the other side to help you troubleshoot the issue.

Option 1 – Try to check if the password has expired

The first thing you can do to fix the problem is to check if the password has expired as it could be the reason why you’re experiencing this problem. You have to make sure that you are using a user account that is on the remote computer and then check if the user account password has not expired yet. And if your PC is not within your access, then you can just ask someone to verify the password for you.

Option 2 – Try to troubleshoot network issues

To troubleshoot network-related issues that might be the one that triggers the error, you need to run the Network Troubleshooter. To get started, refer to these steps:

• Open the Search bar on your computer and type in “troubleshoot” to open the Troubleshoot settings.
• Next, scroll down and select the “Network Adapter” option from the right pane.
• Then click on the Run Troubleshooter” button.
• After that, your computer will check for any possible errors and will pinpoint the root cause of the problem if possible.
• Restart your computer.

Option 3 – Try to use a remote desktop software

A number of users reported that the issue occurred when they used the universal app for Remote Desktop and they were able to fix it by switching to the Remote Desktop application. Thus, you can try to switch to the remote desktop software and see if it fixes the problem or not.

Option 4 – Try to configure Firewall settings

You might also want to configure the settings of the Firewall as it could also help in fixing the problem. It is possible that the firewall is blocking the incoming connection on the remote computer. To check if whether the firewall is the culprit or not, follow the steps below.

• Go to Windows Security and then go to Firewall and network application.
• Next, click on the Advanced Settings link. This will open the classic Windows Defender Firewall and Advanced Security application.
• From there, look for the rule named “Remote Desktop – User Mode (TCP-In)” under inbound rules and check if it has been disabled or not.
• If the rule is disabled, you have to enable it.
• Once done, check if the error is now fixed or not.

Option 5 – Try to restart the Remote Desktop service

If none of the four given options given above worked, you might want to restart the Remote Desktop service as it can help you in fixing the problem. To do so, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
• Next, from the list of services, look for the Remote Desktop Service and right-click on it, and then click on the Restart option.
• Once done, check it was able to fix the “Your password may have expired or the remote pc might not accept blank passwords” error or not.

Upgrading your Windows 10 computer does not always go smoothly and you often encounter not just one but various errors so, in this post, we are going to cover several Windows 10 upgrade errors such as 80240020, 8007002C, 80246007, 80070004. All these upgrade errors are related to the Windows Update folder. Thus, you need to clear the Software Distribution folder, repair the System Image and fix System Health in order to resolve all these Windows 10 Upgrade errors. Before you get started on the steps to resolve these tons of errors, you have to disable your security program for the meantime, disconnect your peripherals, remove USBs connected to your PC and then make sure that your PC is connected to the main power supply. Once you have everything covered, carefully follow the options given below.

Option 1 – Delete Windows 10 Update Files in the SoftwareDistribution folder

The Software Distribution folder in the Windows operating system is a folder that can be found in the Windows directory and is used to store files temporarily which might be required to install the Windows Update on your PC. Thus, it is required by the Windows Update and maintained by WUAgent. A lot of users tried deleting the files in this folder to fix the problem and so far it has worked. Like them, you can try clearing the Windows Update cache by simply deleting the contents of the folder named “SoftwareDistribution” since Windows apparently can’t clear and re-download the update contents once they are corrupted. Thus, deleting the contents of this folder will make Windows download the contents again which will fix the problem. To do that, follow the steps below.

• Open the WinX Menu.
• From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
• Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.

net stop wuauserv net stop bits

• After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
• Next, go to the C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
• Once all the contents in the Software Distribution folder are deleted, restart your PC and then go back to Command Prompt and input the following commands again.

net start wuauserv net start bits

Since the folder has already been flushed, it will be populated afresh the instant your restart your computer and open Windows Update.

• Now Open Settings and check for Windows Updates. Windows 10 should begin the download right away.

Option 2 – Try using the DISM tool

Running the DISM Tool helps in repairing the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in Windows 10. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

• Open the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type in the following commands and make sure to hit Enter right after you type each one of them:
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Do not close the window if the process takes a while as it will probably take a few minutes to finish.

Note: If it happens that the Windows Update client is broken, you need to run the following command to repair it then restart your PC and click on Update once again.

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:RepairSourceWindows /LimitAccess

Note: The Windows Upgrade error, with error code 80240020 is an expected error message that happens when the upgrade requires customer user action. Thus, you need to do the following steps to resolve this particular Windows Upgrade error.

• 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 key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsUpdate
• Now right click on WindowsUpdate located in the left pane and then create a new key and name it as “OSUpgrade”
• Next, right-click in an empty space in the left pane and create a new DWORD and name it “AllowOSUpgrade” and enter “1” as its value.

Option 3 – Try running the Windows Update in a Clean Boot State.

Putting your PC in a Clean Boot state can also help you install Windows Updates or Upgrades without any trouble because, during this state, you can start the system with a minimum number of drivers and startup programs that will surely help you in isolating the root cause of the issue.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” checkbox and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” checkbox.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• After that, try to install the Windows Updates or upgrade again.

If you suddenly find the Windows Recovery Environment not working and you see an error message saying, “Could not find the recovery environment”, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how you can fix it. In times when you can’t boot into the Windows Recovery Environment, there could be several reasons behind it. However, have you ever wondered where exactly the Windows Recovery Environment is in your computer? Windows initially places the Windows RE Image file in the installation partition during Windows Setup so if you have installed Windows in the C drive, you can find the Windows RE at the C:/Windows/System32/Recovery or C:/Recovery folder. Keep in mind that this folder is hidden and later on, the system copies the image file into the recovery tools partition to make sure that one can boot into recovery if there are any issues with the drive partition. The “Could not find the recovery environment” error mostly occurs if the Windows Recovery Environment is disabled or if the “Winre.wim” file is corrupted. Thus, to fix this error, you need to refer to the given suggestions below.

Option 1 – Try to enable Windows Recovery Environment

• In the Windows Start Search, type “PowerShell” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Windows PowerShell and then select the “Run as administrator” option to open it with admin privileges.
• Next, type the “reagentc /info” command and tap Enter to execute it.
• After that, if the output states that Status is enabled, then you’re all set.
• Now type the “reagentc /enable” command and tap Enter to enable the Windows Recovery Environment. You will see a success message at the end signifying that Windows RE is available.

Option 2 – Try to fix the corrupted or missing “Winre.wim” file

If the Winre.wim file is either corrupted or missing, you need to get a new copy of this file from another computer where the Windows RE is working. Once you’re able to get a new copy of the Winre.wim file, you have to set the image path to a new location. For more details, refer to these steps:

• First, type “Powershell” in Windows Start Search and right-click on Windows PowerShell from the results, and select Run as administrator.
• Next, execute the given command below to change the path of the WIM file to the new location. Note that the steps should be used when the file path of the Windows Recovery Environment is different from the usual spot.

Reagentc /setreimage /path C:RecoveryWindowsRE

• As mentioned, if the file is corrupted, you just have to get a new copy from another PC but before you do that, make sure that the WINRE on that computer is disabled (just enable it later on) and then place it in the C:/Recovery path and then set its path again using the command given above and then verify its path by executing the following command.

reagentc /info command

Note: Since the Recovery folder is hidden as well as the WINRE folder in it and you won’t be able to access them using the Windows File Explorer, you need to use the Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt so that you can access them.

Option 3 – Try checking and fixing the WinRE Reference in the Windows Boot Loader

The Windows Boot Loader is the one that determines if it has to load the Windows Recovery Environment. It could be that the boot loader is pointing to an incorrect location which is why you’re getting the error. To resolve it, you have to check and fix the WinRE Reference in the boot loader. How? Follow these steps:

• In the Windows Start Search, type “PowerShell” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Windows PowerShell and then select the “Run as administrator” option to open it with admin privileges.
• After that, execute the “bcdedit /enum all” command.
• Next, look for an entry in the Windows Boot Loader identifier set as Current and look for “recoverysequence” in that section and take note of the GUID.
• Ensure that the device and the osdevice items show the path for the Winre.wim file and that they are the same. If not, you need to point the current identifier to the one which has the same.
• Once you’ve found the new GUID, execute this command: bcdedit /set {current} recoverysequence {GUID_which_has_same_path_of_device_and_device}
• Now check if the error in the Recovery Environment is fixed or not.

Option 4 – Try creating a Recovery Media

You could also try creating a Recovery Media to resolve the error in the Windows RE. All you have to do is download the Windows 10 ISO file using the Media Creation tool and then create a recovery drive. Once you’re done, check if it fixes the problem or not.

If you are trying to connect to the internet using the Microsoft Edge browser but encountered an error message instead that says, “Can’t connect to the proxy server”, read on as this post will show you how you can fix this error. This kind of error in Microsoft Edge could be caused by incorrect proxy settings or worse, malware. To fix this error, here are some suggestions you need to check out:

Option 1 – Try to check your internet connection

The first thing you can do to resolve the “Can’t connect to the proxy server” error in Microsoft Edge is to check your internet connection. There are times when your internet connection or Wi-Fi router can cause such problems. In such cases, you have to ensure that you have a valid internet source and if you are using a Wi-Fi router, you can try to use another connection and then see if the error is gone or not.

Option 2 – Try to disable the manual proxy set up from the Settings

In case you miss it, there is actually an option in the Settings panel that you can use to set up proxy in your Windows 10 computer. So if you encounter the “Can’t connect to the proxy server” error, you should disable manual proxy for the meantime and check if it fixed the error or not.

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Windows Settings.
• Then go to Network & Internet > Proxy.
• And on your right-hand side, ensure that the Automatically detect settings are enabled and that the Use a proxy server option under the Manual proxy setup is disabled.
• Now try to open any website again and see if the problem’s fixed.

Option 3 – Try disabling the VPN

Like pointed out earlier, if you are using VPN, this could be the reason why you’re getting the “Can’t connect to the proxy server” error so the most obvious thing to do is for you to turn off the VPN and try to load a website in Edge again. And if you use a VPN software that works using their software, you can just completely exit or log-off from its account. On the other hand, if you are using a built-in Windows 10 VPN, you can simply turn it off or delete all the settings you have created there.

Option 4 – Disable the proxy server for your LAN

If your PC was just attacked by some adware or malware as of late, it is possible that it has changed the network settings in the system and might display spam advertisements. Thus, you have to disable the proxy server for your LAN. To do that, refer to these steps:

• 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 5 – Temporarily disable Firewall and third-party antivirus

Firewall and antivirus programs are known to block files the instant it detects a threat to the system. However, there are some cases when it can also block a file even when it’s a safe one. Thus, your antivirus or firewall programs might be the reason why you can’t download anything on your Windows 10 computer. To isolate the issue, you need to temporarily disable both the Firewall and antivirus programs and then check if you can now download anything from the internet. Do not forget to enable them again as disabling them can leave your computer vulnerable to cyber threats.

Option 6 – Clear the browsing data of Microsoft Edge

• Open Microsoft Edge.
• Then click on the three horizontal dots to open the menu.
• From there, click on Settings. And under Settings, click the “Choose what to clear” button under the Clear browsing data section.
• Next, check all the checkboxes and then click the Clear button to clear the browsing data in the Edge browser.
• Restart Edge.

Option 7 – Try to reset, repair or reinstall Edge via Settings

You can reset, repair or reinstall the Edge browser through Settings. If none of it helped, you can try the following:

• Open File Explorer and then go to this path – C:/Users/YourUsername/AppData/Local/Packages

Note: Before you type in the path in the Address bar, make sure that you put your user account name in place with the “YourUsername”.

• Tap Enter to proceed.
• Next, look for the folder named “MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe” then right-click on it.
• Click on Properties and uncheck the option “Read-only” under the General tab in the Properties window.
• Click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made.
• After that, look for the MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder again and delete it. And if a prompt stating “Folder Access Denied” appears on your screen, just click on the Continue button to proceed – doing so will delete most of the content inside the folder except for the folder named “AC”.
• Restart your PC.
• Now all you have to do is to re-register Microsoft Edge using PowerShell. In the Start Menu, search “Windows PowerShell”.
• Right-click on Windows PowerShell from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Type in this command in the PowerShell windows and tap Enter – Cd C:/Users/YourUsername

Note: Once again, make sure that you key in your user account name in place of “YourUsername.

• After that, type in this command and tap Enter – Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}
• Restart your PC.

Option 8 – Scan your computer for malware using Windows Defender

Your computer could be infected with malware which might have triggered the “Can’t connect to the proxy server” 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.

As you know, Windows 10 has a complicated mechanism for Activation which helps in the verification of a genuine copy of Windows 10. However, there are times when you might encounter some errors during the activation process. One of these errors is the error code 0xc000f074. This kind of error could be due to the Key Management Service or KMS which is unreachable by the client computer or if the key used in the SLSetAuthenticationData function call is incorrect. This kind of error mostly affects surfaces on computers that are upgraded from either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. In such cases, you may encounter any of the following error messages:

“Windows is unable to reach your company’s activation service. Please connect to your corporate network. If you are connected and continue to see the error, contact your system administrator. You can also click on the error detail to find the exact error. Error code: 0xC004F074.” “Activating Windows(R), (Key hash)… Error: 0xC004F074 The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted. Please see the Application Event Log for additional information.” “Error 0xC004F074, SL_E_AUTHN_MISMATCHED_KEY, The Software Licensing Service reported that the key is mismatched.”

To fix the Windows 10 Activation error 0xC004F078, you have to use the correct key for your type of Windows copy or use Command Prompt to reinstall the key or you could also try running the Activation troubleshooter.

Option 1 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter

The first thing you can do to resolve the Activation error code 0xc000f074 is to run the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings and then select Activation.
• After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.

The Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter will determine if your license key is a valid Windows 10 digital license for an edition that is not currently installed. If it turns out that it’s not, then the troubleshooter will show you how to install the correct edition.

Option 2 – Try to use the correct key for the type of Windows version you have

If the Windows Activation troubleshooter wasn’t able to resolve the error, then you can try using the correct key for your type of Windows version. All you have to do so is check the type of your Windows copy if it’s OEM, retail, or volume. And make sure that you have the correct, valid product key for your operating system.

Option 3 – Try to use Command Prompt to reinstall the key

• In the Start Search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results, and then select “Run as administrator”.
• After that, execute this command to uninstall the existing key: vbs /upk
• Next, you need to install the KMS product key by executing this command: vbs /ipk <The KMS Product Key>
• Once you’re done, you will see a prompt that’ll tell you whether the operation was either successful or not.
• To active, the KMS product key online, use this command: vbs /ato
• Use this command to activate the key using the telephone: exe 4
• After you’ve activated the KMS product key, restart the Software Protection Service. You can also verify the Activation Status to check if your fix was successful or not.

Option 4 – Contact Microsoft Support for assistance

If you’re at your wits’ end in trying to upgrade your computer, you should consider contacting Microsoft Support for help as they can offer you various options that would make fixing Windows Activation error code 0xc000f074 a lot easier and faster.