How to Fix Windows Upgrade error 0xa0000400

The touchscreen feature inside Windows 11 is a pretty good thing but sometimes can be very impractical. The screen can easily and constantly get dirty due to fingers touching it all the time and there are users that do not wish or want to have this feature at all. If you are one of the mentioned users and for any reason, you do not wish to have a touchscreen-enabled then sit back and relax, we have you covered in this tutorial on how to fully disable touchscreen inside Windows 11.

Turn off touchscreen via device manager

1. Click on the Windows Search icon in the taskbar
2. Type Device Manager
3. Click on Device Manager from the list of results
4. Inside locate Human Interface Devices and click on the right arrow
5. In the list, find HID-Compliant Touch Screen and select Disable Device
6. Click on Yes to confirm

Disable it via Windows Terminal

1. Right-click on the Windows icon in the taskbar
2. Click on Windows Terminal (admin)
3. Inside run this command: Get-PnpDevice | Where-Object {$_.FriendlyName -like '*touch screen*'} | Disable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false

Conclusion

No matter which method you prefer, both of them will disable the touch screen inside Windows 11. Thank you for reading trough article and I hope to see you again. Take care.

Libcurl.dll - What is it?

Libcurl.dll is a Dynamic Link Library file; a component of Google Earth. Google Earth is a 3D software tool. Libcurl.dll file is visible within a 3D application with the help of which software users can see satellite images, maps, and other geography-related information from their computers. The Libcurl.dll file enables users to map the earth using superimposing images received via satellite imagery and also aerial photography. However, Libcurl.dll error messages may occur while using or installing this program. The libcurl.dll error message is displayed in either of the following formats:

• "Cannot find [PATH]libcurl.dll"
• "The file libcurl.dll is missing."
• "Libcurl.dll Not Found"
• "This application failed to start because libcurl.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."

Solution

Error Causes

Libcurl.dll may occur due to several reasons. These include:

• Bugged program
• Viral infection may add malicious codes to Libcurl.dll file and generate error messages
• Registry issues
• Missing libcurl.dll file
• Hard disk failure
• Misconfigured system files

If you experience difficulty in using Google Earth and come across libcurl.dll error message, it is advisable to resolve the error immediately typically because this error has severe consequences. If not fixed timely, it can lead to the blue screen of death errors, system hang-ups and freezes, sluggish PC performance, PC crashes and browser crashes, slow internet speed, and other system errors.

Further Information and Manual Repair

This error is crucial but the good news is that it is easy to fix. To resolve it, you don’t have to hire a technical expert and pay hundreds of dollars. You can repair the issue with ease by yourself regardless of whether or not you are technically sound. Continue reading to find out the best solutions to fix libcurl.dll error code on your system without any hassle. Here are some of the easiest and the best methods to resolve libcurl.dll error:

1. Check your recycle bin

Since .dll files are shared by multiple programs, there is a possibility that you might have accidentally deleted libcurl.dll file when uninstalling a certain program on your system which was also sharing this file. And because of this, you may experience the missing libcurl.dll error message. To resolve it, all you have to do is to check your recycle bin. If you find the file here, restore it. Once restored, try running the program again! If the error code does not appear, then this means it is resolved. However, if it continues to persist, then try other solutions given below.

2. Scan for Malicious Software on your System

While downloading files and checking unknown emails malicious software like viruses, malware and spyware can also enter your PC. Such software can damage and corrupt dll files. This could be the underlying cause of libcurl.dll error on your PC too. So, to resolve the issue, scan and remove malicious viruses and spyware from your system by using a powerful anti-virus. However, please note, anti-viruses are notorious for slowing PC performance and also sometimes you may also have to stop all other activities on your PC.

3. Clean the Cluttered Disk, Repair dll files and Restore the Registry

Libcurl.dll file error may also occur due to hard disk failure. This triggers registry issues. If you don’t clean the registry every now and then, it overloads the hard disk with files. These include both important and unnecessary files like internet history, temporary files, cookies, junk files, invalid registry entries, and bad keys. These clutter the disk, damaged dll files, and the registry. Therefore first you need to clean the cluttered disk, repair libcurl.dll files and restore the registry. Executing it manually can take a lot of time as you may find it complex if you are not a computer programmer. However, the best, easiest, and quickest way to clean, repair, and restore the registry is to download Restoro

Why Restoro?

Restoro is an innovative, advanced, and multi-functional PC repair tool loaded with powerful and PC performance boosting utilities including an intuitive registry cleaner,  an antivirus, Active X controls, and class module, and a system optimizer. So, whether the libcurl.dll error message is triggered by a viral infection, hard disk failure, or registry issues, this tool takes care of all! The registry cleaning feature scans all registry issues, cleans the hard disk by removing unnecessary and obsolete files, repairs damaged and corrupt dll files, and restores the registry thereby resolving libcurl.dll error in seconds. Simultaneously, the antivirus utility removes viruses and malware if found. And the system optimizer feature ensures optimum PC performance. Restoro is easy to navigate and operate. It is user-friendly, safe, bug-free, and efficient. Furthermore, it is compatible with all Windows versions. Click here to download Restoro and repair your PC and resolve libcurl.dll error today!

Finding files via File Explorer can be a really slow and tedious process and if you are searching often it can accumulate a lot of time loss. I am a person which often has assets for projects in several different folders and altho I am trying my best to be tidy and organized sometimes I can not remember where I have placed certain assets that I need, in this case in order for me to find a required asset I usually search it via command prompt because it is lightning fast and gives results in second not minutes compared to File Explorer. If you are in a similar position and you need fast results please read on as we dive deeper into the command prompt and its usage. To quickly open the command prompt press ⊞ WINDOWS + X to bring Windows secret menu and choose the command prompt, you can also choose the admin version but for sake of this specific task, there is no difference. in the command prompt you need to type the next command:

dir \search term* /s

where search term* is well, what are you searching for. Now if you are looking for a specific file this command is straightforward, you just change search term* with file_name.extension and there you go, but know that this command can be used to be more powerful, for example, you can find all JPG files in your drive by typing dir \*.jpg /s or all files named work by typing dir \work.* /s " * " is a so-called joker sign, it replaces several characters with any in a given string, meaning that dr*s will give you all results with the first 2 letters dr and last one s. Use this to specify better search results and you will get your files in no time.

This post will guide you in fixing high CPU, Memory, and Disk usage problems caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. NTOSKRNL stands for “NT Operating System Kernel. This file is a kernel image that is responsible for a lot of systems-based processes such as Hardware Virtualization, Process, and Memory. Aside from that, it is also the one that compresses the old pages of memory that reduces the overall amount of memory being used. If you notice that your computer is running slowly and you find that the NTOSKRNL.exe file is hogging your resources such as disk usage, CPU usage as well as memory usage, then read on as this post will guide you in fixing the problem caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. Make use of the options given below to resolve the issues caused by NTOSKRNL.exe. 1] Scan your computer for potential malware There might be a good chance that your computer might be infected with malware. And this malware might be associated with the NTOSKRNL.exe file and hence making it consume a lot of system resources. So, I would really recommend you to make sure that your Antivirus is up to date and then scan your computer with it specifically the C:/Windows/System32 folder because this is the location where the NTOSKRNL.exe file is located.

Option 1 – Put your computer in a Clean Boot State

The first thing you have to do is to put your computer in a Clean Boot State as this can help you in finding any incompatible programs that are causing the problem.

• Log onto your PC as an administrator.
• Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
• From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
• Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
• Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
• Click Disable all.
• Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
• From there, start to isolate the problem by checking which one of the programs you installed recently is the root cause of the problem.

Once you’ve found any incompatible programs, you need to uninstall them. Refer to the steps below to do so.

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

Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.

Option 2 – Update or rollback 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 – Try to run the DISM tool

If the first two options didn’t work, then running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management might. Using this built-in tool, you have various options such as the “/ScanHealth”, “/CheckHealth”, and “/RestoreHealth”.

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

Option 4 – Try to stop the Runtime Broker process

The RuntimeBroker.exe or the Runtime Broker process is the one that monitors access to Windows APIs to make sure that the apps do not violate the core security of Windows. This process usually leaves a very small footprint. However, there are times when it consumes more resources than it’s supposed to and does not release memory after the work is done that results in a memory leak. As a result, it affects NTOSKRNL.exe which is why you have to stop the Runtime Broker process. To do so, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
• After opening Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the Runtime Broker process.
• Once you find it, check if it is using more than 15% of your memory. If it is, then you most likely have an issue with an app installed on your computer.
• Select the Runtime Broker process and right-click on it and then click on the End Task option to end its process.

Option 5 – Try to run the Performance Troubleshooter

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type “msdt.exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
• Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.

Option 6 – Try using the Windows Performance Toolkit

You can also use the Windows Performance Toolkit in finding the root cause of the problem. Just refer to the following steps to use this toolkit.

• Search for “cmd” in the Cortana Search box and click on Command Prompt from the search results to open it.
• Next, type in the command given below or copy and paste it and then hit Enter:

xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile -buffersize 1024 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular && timeout -1 && xperf -d cpuusage.etl

• After executing the command, wait for at least 60 seconds and then check the logs of the Windows Performance toolkit which is stored in a file named cpuusage.etl in the folder located at C:/Windows/System32. From there, you should see a list of all the causes of the System Resources being hogged.

The DailyProductivityTools Toolbar is packed as a browser extension that claims to increase your productivity with access to free online tools and developed by Mindspark Inc. This extension may seem handy at first, however, while browsing the internet with it active you will experience additional ads, sponsored content, and pop-up ads throughout your browsing sessions and search results.

When installed DailyProductivityTools changed your default new tab page to Search.MyWay.com disguising as a ‘Enhanced Google Search Engine’. This extension monitors your browsing activity, visited websites and links, then uses this information to better target Ads.

DailyProductivityTools has been marked as a Potentially Unwanted Program, and is recommended for removal by many anti-virus applications.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is a type of unwanted software, often a web browser add-on or extension, which causes modifications in the browser’s settings. Browser hijacker malware is designed for a variety of reasons. Generally, the idea is to force users visit certain sites that are aiming to increase their site visitor traffic and produce higher ad revenue. Many people believe that the browser hijacker is only a harmless website but that is incorrect. Almost every browser hijacker pose an actual threat to your on-line safety and it is important to classify them under privacy risks. What’s more, hijackers can make the entire infected system vulnerable – other harmful malware and viruses will grab these opportunities to intrude into your computer system very easily.

How one can identify a browser hijack

The following are some symptoms that suggest you have been hijacked: you find unauthorized modifications to your internet browser’s homepage; your internet browser is constantly being redirected to adult sites; the default web browser configurations have been modified and/or your default search engine is altered; you find many toolbars on the web browser; you see lots of pop-ups on your computer screen; your browser has become unstable or starts running slowly; you’re blocked to access those sites of antivirus solution providers.

So how does a PC get infected with a browser hijacker?

A browser hijacker can be installed on your computer if you check out an infected site, click on an email attachment, or download something from a file-sharing site. They could also come from add-on programs, also known as browser helper objects (BHO), browser plug-ins, or toolbars. Browser hijackers sneak into your pc along with free software downloads also that you unwittingly install alongside the original. Examples of popular browser hijackers are Fireball, Ask Toolbar, GoSave, CoolWebSearch, RocketTab and Babylon Toolbar. Browser hijacking can lead to severe privacy problems and even identity theft, disrupt your browsing experience by taking control of outbound traffic, considerably slows down your PC by consuming lots of resources, and lead to system instability also.

Browser Hijacker Malware – Removal

Certain browser hijacking can be easily corrected by finding and removing the corresponding malware program through your control panel. But, many hijackers will be more difficult to locate or remove since it might get itself connected with certain important computer files that enable it to operate as a necessary operating system process. Novice PC users shouldn’t ever attempt for the manual form of removal, as it demands comprehensive system knowledge to do repairs on the system registry and HOSTS file. Professionals always recommend users remove any malicious software including browser hijacker by using an automatic malware removal tool, which is better, safer, and faster than the manual removal method. Among the best tools for repairing browser hijacker malware is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. It can help you eliminate any pre-existing malware on your computer and provides you real-time monitoring and protection against new internet threats. Along with anti-virus software, a system optimizer program, similar to Total System Care, can help you repair Windows registry errors, eliminate unwanted toolbars, secure your internet privacy, and stabilize software programs installed on your computer.

Malware Blocking Access To Safebytes Site And Anti-Malware Downloads - What To Do?

Malware can cause many kinds of damage to computer systems, networks, and data. Some malware types modify internet browser settings by including a proxy server or modify the PC’s DNS settings. In such cases, you’ll be unable to visit certain or all of the websites, and therefore unable to download or install the necessary security software to eliminate the malware. If you are reading this article, chances are you’re stuck with a virus infection that is preventing you to download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware program on your PC. Although this kind of issue will be tougher to get around, there are a few actions you can take.

Install in Safe Mode

In the event the malware is set to run at Windows start-up, then booting in Safe Mode should prevent it. Since only the minimum applications and services start-up in safe mode, there are hardly any reasons for conflicts to take place. The following are the steps you should follow to remove viruses in Safemode. 1) After switching on the computer, hit the F8 key while the Windows splash screen begins to load. This would invoke the “Advanced Boot Options” menu. 2) Select Safe Mode with Networking with arrow keys and press ENTER. 3) When this mode loads, you should have the internet. Now, utilize your internet browser normally and go to https://safebytes.com/products/anti-malware/ to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 4) Immediately after installation, run a full scan and allow the software to get rid of the threats it detects.

Switch over to an alternate internet browser

Certain viruses may target vulnerabilities of a specific browser that block the downloading process. In case you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by a virus or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the best course of action is to switch over to a different web browser like Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to download your favorite security software – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Run anti-malware from your USB drive

Here’s yet another solution which is using a portable USB antivirus software that can scan your system for malicious software without needing installation. Follow these steps to run the anti-malware on the infected computer. 1) On a clean computer, download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Plug in the USB flash drive to a USB slot on the clean computer. 3) Run the setup program by double-clicking the executable file of the downloaded application, with an .exe file extension. 4) When asked, choose the location of the USB drive as the place where you would like to store the software files. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish off the installation process. 5) Now, transfer the flash drive to the infected PC. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the pen drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Run Full System Scan to detect and clean-up up all kinds of malware.

SafeBytes Anti-Malware: Light-weight Malware Protection for Windows Computer

Nowadays, anti-malware software can protect your computer from different types of online threats. But how to select the best one amongst many malware protection application that’s available in the market? Perhaps you might be aware, there are many anti-malware companies and tools for you to consider. Some of them are good, some are ok types, while some will affect your PC themselves! It is important to choose a company that creates industry-best anti-malware and it has attained a reputation as reliable. On the list of highly recommended software programs is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. SafeBytes carries a superb reputation for quality service, and clients seem to be happy with it. SafeBytes antimalware is a highly effective and user-friendly protection tool which is suitable for users of all levels of computer literacy. Using its cutting-edge technology, this software will help you eradicate several types of malware including computer viruses, PUPs, trojans, worms, adware, ransomware, and browser hijackers.

SafeBytes has got a variety of wonderful features that can help you protect your PC from malware attack and damage. Some of them are listed as below:

Antimalware Protection: This deep-cleaning antimalware software goes much deeper than most antivirus tools to clean your computer system. Its critically acclaimed virus engine finds and disables hard to remove malware that hides deep inside your personal computer. Real-time Active Protection: SafeBytes gives round the clock protection for your computer restricting the malware attacks instantly. This software will continuously monitor your PC for suspicious activity and updates itself continuously to keep current with the latest threats. Web Filtering: SafeBytes gives instant safety rating about the pages you’re going to check out, automatically blocking harmful sites and make sure that you’re certain of your online safety while browsing the internet. Low CPU Usage: SafeBytes is well known for its low influence on computer resources and great detection rate of diverse threats. It runs silently and efficiently in the background so you are free to use your computer at full power all the time. 24/7 Customer Support: SafeBytes provides you with 24/7 technical support, automatic maintenance and updates for best user experience. SafeBytes has come up with a wonderful anti-malware solution that can help you conquer the latest computer threats and virus attacks. There is no doubt that your computer system will be protected in real-time as soon as you put this software to use. So if you’re searching for the very best malware removal application out there, and if you don’t mind paying out some dollars for it, opt for SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you’d like to carry out the removal of DailyProductivityTools manually instead of using an automated tool, you may follow these simple steps: Navigate to the Windows Control Panel, click the “Add/Remove Programs” and there, choose the offending program to uninstall. In case of suspicious versions of web browser plug-ins, you can actually get rid of it through your web browser’s extension manager. You will likely also want to reset your internet browser. If you opt to manually delete the system files and Windows registry entries, utilize the following checklist to make sure you know exactly what files to remove before carrying out any actions. But bear in mind, this can be a difficult task and only computer experts can perform it safely. Furthermore, certain malicious programs have the capability to defend against its removal. It is advisable that you carry out the removal procedure in Safe Mode.

Dsound.dll Error Code - What is it?

Dsound.dll is a type of Dynamic Link Library. This is one of the many files that are associated with DirectX software. And DirectX software is used by most Windows-based games. Dsound.dll contains small programs that help run and load Windows-based games on your system. The Dsound.dll error pops when Windows-based games are unable to load and run on the computer. The error code appears on the screen in one of the following formats:

• "The file dsound.dll is missing"
• "File dsound.dll not found"
• "Dsound.dll not found. Reinstalling might help fix this."
• "Dsound.DLL Not Found"

Solution

Error Causes

Dsound.dll error is generated due to multiple reasons. These include:

• Corrupt, damaged, or missing Dsound.dll file
• Malware infection
• Outdated drivers

To play the games on your computer, it is important to fix the Dsound.dll error immediately.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve Dsound.dll error at home on your own without hiring a professional and spending hundreds of dollars in repair, here are some methods you can try:

Method 1 - Restart Your PC to Resolve

Sometimes the error may be a fluke and can be resolved by simply restarting your PC. So, before you try other methods, it is recommended that you restart your system first. If it resolves the issue, then that’s great. If it doesn’t, then try other methods given below!

Method 2 - Reinstall the Deleted Dsound.dll File

Since DLL files are shared files, there is a possibility that while uninstalling a game on your PC, you might have accidentally deleted this file too. If so, check your recycle bin and search for the deleted file. If you locate it, simply restore it. But if you can’t, then download the Dsound.dll file from a reliable DLL website. Make sure that the site is authentic because the last thing you want is to download malware instead of a DLL file.

Method 3 - Update Driver for Your Video Card

If Dsound.dll error occurs because of outdated drivers, then update them to resolve. You can do this by using a driver update wizard from within Device Manager. The wizard will guide you through the process, making updates simple.

Method 4 - Remove Malware

Download a powerful antivirus to scan and remove malware from your system. A malware infection can trigger a Dsound.dll error too.

Method 5 - Uninstall the Game and then reinstall it again

Try uninstalling the game during which you experienced this error. Sometimes the error may pop because of improper game installation. Uninstall it and then reinstall it. Once you’ve reinstalled it, try accessing it again. If it is accessible, the error is resolved.

Method 6 - Repair the Registry

DLL errors are also related to the registry. These files can get damaged if the registry gets loaded with junk files and cookies. In such as situation clean and repair the registry. You can do this manually but it can be time-consuming and tricky if you are not technically sound. Therefore download Restoro. It is a powerful and user-friendly PC Fixer embedded with a registry cleaner. The registry cleaner scans and removes all junk files clean the registry and repairs damaged DLL files immediately. Click here to download Restoro and resolve error Dsound.dll today!

As you know, the Windows File Explorer is quite a responsive program and contains tons of features. It allows you to do various customizations by changing Settings or changing the value of a Registry key or Group Policy modification. Either way, you will be guided on how you can enable or disable the Status Bar in File Explorer on your Windows 10 computer. The Status Bar is located at the bottom of the File Explorer and shows you how many items are inside the folder and how many items you’ve selected. In addition, it also shows you information about each item and can display items using large thumbnails with just a single click. In order to enable or disable the Status Bar in File Explorer, you can use the two given options below as reference. You can either use the Folder Options or the Registry Editor.

Option 1 – Enable or Disable Status Bar via Folder Options

• Tap the Win + E keys on your keyboard to open File Explorer.
• Then tap the Alt + F keys and click on Options.
• From there, make sure that you are in the View tab and look for the “Show Status Bar” option in the list that gets populated.
• After that, check if the Show Status Bar option is enabled or disabled. It is supposed to be enabled by default so if it is enabled and you want to disable it, just simply uncheck its checkbox otherwise, leave it as it is.
• Now click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made

Option 2 – Enable or Disable Status Bar via Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to pull up Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced
• Afterward right-click on Advanced and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and then input “ShowStatusBar as the name of the newly created DWORD.
• Now double click on the new DWORD and change its value to “0” if you want to disable Status Bar and “1” if you want to enable it.
• Then exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.

The Adaptive Brightness setting in Windows 10 is a useful setting you can use in adjusting your computer’s brightness. It helps you get the brightness automatically based on the light around your computer. However, there are times when it does not work or it doesn’t turn off when you want it to. If this issue happened right after you update or install Windows 10, then read on as this post will give you a couple of options you can try to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Try to run the Power Troubleshooter

The first thing you can do to resolve the issue with Adaptive Brightness is to run the Power Troubleshooter as the problem could occur due to some conflicted power settings. To use it, refer to the following steps:

• Open the Windows 10 Settings panel and go to Update & Security and then to Troubleshoot.
• After that, scroll down to your left-hand side and click the Power option.
• From there, you should see the “Run the troubleshooter” button. Click on it to fix the problem.
• Afterward, follow the next on-screen instructions that follow.

Option 2 – Try disabling or turning off the corresponding options in GPU settings

The problem might be due to the Graphics card settings. If you are using either an AMD graphics card or the HD graphics of Intel, you may have to disable the power-related options in the GPU settings. To be specific, you have to disable the Vari-Bright in AMD graphics card settings or the Display Power Saving Technology under Intel’s Graphics panel.

• AMD users:
  • Open the AMD Radeon settings panel.
  • Then go to Preferences. From there, select Radeon Additional Settings.
  • Next, go to the Power tab and click the PowerPlay option.
  • You should find an option called “Enable Vari-Bright” located on your right-hand side. Remove the mark from its checkbox and then save the changes you’ve made.
• Intel users:
  • Open the Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel from your Desktop.
  • Then select the Basic mode and go to the Power tab.
  • From there, select “On battery” as Power Source and then you’ll get the Display Power Saving Technology option. It should be set to enabled by default.
  • Now remove the mark from the checkbox and then save the changes you’ve made.

Option 3 – Try resetting the Power Plan defaults

You might also want to use a command-line tool to resolve the problem. This command-line tool is known as PowerCfg. It is a command utility tool that will scan your computer for 60 seconds to know its power. This tool gives detailed results in the form of an HTML report that will help you in evaluating the real cause of the battery drain issues. You can also use this tool to reset the Power Plan defaults of your computer. To use it, follow the steps below.

• Open the Command Prompt as administrator.
• Then type in the following command and tap Enter to execute it:

powercfg –restoredefaultschemes

• After the command has been executed, restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try updating your Graphics drivers

• 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: You also have the option to 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.

Option 5 – Try disabling adaptive brightness via Registry Editor

Since you will be dealing with Registry files in this post, you need to create a System Restore point first. Once you have that covered, proceed to the following steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREIntelDisplayigfxcuiprofilesMediaBrighten Movie
• Now double click on the “ProcAmpBrightness” and set its value to “0”.
• Now go to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREIntelDisplayigfxcuiprofilesMediaDarken Movie
• From there, double click on “ProcAmpBrightness” and set the value to “0”.
• Then close the Registry Editor and restart your PC and then see if the problem’s fixed or not.

Recently, a number of users reported an error in Google Chrome that says, “ERR_SOCKET_NOT_CONNECTED”. If you are one of these users, read on as this post will guide you in resolving this error. This kind of error in Chrome is kind of vague so it could be caused by a couple of factors like DNS server issues, Socket Pools, third-party plugins or extensions, and many more. Whatever the cause may be, there are several options you can check out to resolve the problem. You can try to flush the Socket Pool or change the DNS address or remove unwanted extensions or reset your Google Chrome browser.

Option 1 – Try to flush the Socket Pool

• Open Google Chrome and in the address bar, type “chrome://net-internals/”.
• After that, select Sockets on the left side panel.
• Next, select Flush socket pools from the right-side panel.
• And once it’s done, restart your Chrome browser and check if the “ERR_SOCKET_NOT_CONNECTED” is fixed or not.

Option 2 – 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 the “ERR_SOCKET_NOT_CONNECTED” error. 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 3 – Get rid of any conflicting browser extensions

• Open Chrome and press Alt + F keys.
• Go to More tools and click Extensions to look for any suspicious browser extensions or toolbars.
• Click the Recycle bin and select Remove.
• Restart Chrome and press Alt + F keys again.
• Proceed to On Startup and mark Open a specific page or set of pages.
• To check if the browser hijacker is still active, click Set pages, if it is active, overwrite the URL.

Option 4 – Try to reset Google Chrome

Before you proceed, make sure that the Chrome browser is not running anywhere in the background via Task Manager. Once you’ve made sure that it’s no longer running, refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser Data” in the field and tap Enter to open this location.
• From there, look for the Default folder and then tap the Shift + Delete button and if a confirmation prompt appears, click on Yes.
• After deleting the Default folder, open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots icon located in the top-right corner to open the menu.
• Next, click on Settings and scroll down and then click on Advanced to open the Advanced Settings.
• Then scroll down until you see the “Reset and clean up” section and click the “Restore Settings to their original defaults” option.
• After that, you will see a confirmation box and from there, click on the Reset settings button to reset your Google Chrome browser.

A PC that turns on by itself every so often can get quite annoying. Many users have faced this problem countless times. There are lots of possible reasons why your Windows 10 PC turns on by itself, wakes up from sleep, standby, or even when it’s shut down. To find out what exactly woke your computer, simply open Command Prompt as admin and type the following command:

powercfg –lastwake

Once you enter the command given above, it will show you the last device that woke your PC up. After that, you need to type in the next command:

powercfg –devicequery wake_armed

After entering the command, it will show you a list of all the devices that could wake your PC up. The goal in running these commands is to understand the reason what’s really causing your PC to turn on and see the reason is on the hardware level or not. Here are a couple of options you can try if your Windows 10 PC turns on by itself.

Option 1 – Try disabling Fast Startup

As you know, Windows 10 comes with a mode called Fast Startup which does not turn off the computer in the usual manner. This mode keeps your computer in a mixed state so that when you turn it on again, it will be a lot faster. However, as useful as this feature appear to be, some security experts find this an issue, for numerous reasons – for one, it can turn on your Windows 10 PC by itself. Thus, you need to disable this feature to fix the problem.

Option 2 – You need to stop the Task Scheduler from waking up your computer

There are times when the issue has something more to do with the software than hardware. It could be that you are using a Scheduled Task to get some work done on your computer at a particular time of the day or many times a day. That’s why if you really are using Task Scheduler, you need to change the Power settings of Windows to make sure that it ignores those tasks rather than deleting them instead when your computer is either on Hybrid or Standby mode.

• Open the Power Options and then click on “Change Plan Settings”.
• After that, make sure to choose the correct power plan and then select the “Change advanced power settings” option.
• Next, look for the Sleep tree and expand it to view the “Allow Wake Timers” option and then disable it. Disabling this option will make sure that none of the program that could wake your PC up when it’s either on shutdown or sleep mode. However, this only applies to laptops.

Option 3 – Try to disable Automatic Restart

There are instances when the computer crashes and the system restarts itself. This is actually by design – when your computer has been left on standby, the computer will restart and if the program repeats, it will keep on waking your PC up.

• In the Search bar, type in “system”.
• Once it appears from the search results, click on it.
• Next, select Advanced system settings on the left side and then go to the Advanced tab.
• From there, click on Settings under Startup and Recovery.
• Then unmark “Automatically Restart” and click on OK.

Option 4 – Adjust the Power Management option of both the Keyboard and Mouse

As you know, two of the culprits in waking your PC up are the keyboard and the mouse. If they’re slightly moved or hit, your PC turns on. To prevent these two from waking your computer up, you need to make some adjustments to their power management option since they have one. You can disable this option to ensure that they won’t wake your PC up unless you really want it to.

• Tap the Win + X keys and then tap M to open the Device Manager and list all the hardware on your computer. From there, select your keyboard or mouse.
• Next, right-click and then go to Properties and go to the Power Management tab.
• In this tab, uncheck the “Allow this device to wake the computer” box.

Note: Aside from the keyboard and mouse, if you are also using any gaming rig to play games on your computer, then you might have to disable their power options as well as they could also wake your computer. Just make sure that either the keyboard or the mouse has the ability to wake your computer up at the very least as it can be quite inconvenient to tap the Power button every time you want to turn on your computer.

Option 5 – Modify Wake On Lan

The Wake On Lan feature can bring back your computer online if it is connected to a network. This feature is useful especially when a computer wants to communicate or to send data or files to a network computer which should come online only when it’s requested. Wake On Lan is built into the hardware, i.e. network adapter so it is one of the possible reasons why your PC turns on by itself.

• Tap the Win + x keys then hit M to open the Device Manager and then under the Network adapters, look for the one that was listed above. Take note that you must not change anything with the ones that are listed as Miniport.
• Next, right-click and select Properties and then go to Power management and from there, uncheck the “Allow this device to wake up the computer” option. This will ensure that no PC on the network can ever wake your computer up.

Option 6 – Prevent any scheduled Windows Update and Automatic maintenance

It is also possible that the Windows Update has restarted your PC to complete the update. This depends on your active hours or a predefined schedule. AS you know Windows has a built-in Automatic Maintenance mode which wakes the computer up at the scheduled time and performs the system update. This could be one of the possible reasons why your computer turns on by itself. so to prevent any scheduled updates and maintenance, you can simply change the time for Automatic maintenance. How? Follow these steps:

• Open Settings then go to Windows Update and Security >Windows Update and select Active Hours.
• After that, type in “Automatic maintenance” in the search bar to change the time for Automatic maintenance.
• From there, you can adjust the timing or just uncheck the “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time” box.