Fix Your system requires SMB2 or higher Error

Repairing a corrupt Group Policy in Windows

If you recently made some changes in your Windows 10 computer using the Group Policy Editor but they were not reflected and you got errors instead, it could be that your Windows computer wasn’t able to read the Group Policy file (registry.pol). To resolve this kind of issue, you have to repair the potentially corrupted Group Policy using the options given in this post. .As you know, Group Policy is a feature in the Microsoft Windows Active Directory which allows an admin to make changes in the features on Windows PCs that are on the network. So if the modifications you just made weren’t successfully applied, then there could be something wrong with the registry.pol file on the client or it could also be that the Group Policy folder is missing. To fix this issue in the Group Policy, you need to refer to the given suggestions below and make sure that you have admin privileges as you execute them.

Option 1 – Try to delete or recreate the missing registry.pol file

The entire settings of the Group Policy are stored in the registry.pol file so if it went missing, all the changes you make will not be reflected. The good thing is that you can recreate it but if the file exists and is corrupted, you need to delete it first before you recreate it.

First, go to the C:/Windows/System32/GroupPolicy/Machine location.
And from there, check if the registry.pol file exists or not. If it’s there, just delete it permanently by tapping the Shift + Delete keys.
Now it’s time to recreate the file. Just open Windows PowerShell with admin privileges by tapping Win + X + A keys.
After opening PowerShell, type this command: gpupdate /force
The command you entered will recreate the registry.pol file and will refresh the Group Policy. Restart your computer.

Option 2 – Try recreating the secedit.sdb file

The security settings of Group Policy are stored in the secedit.sdb file so if you made some changes to security and they weren’t reflected, you can try to delete and recreate the secedit.sdb file instead of deleting the Group Policy file. All you have to do is navigate to the C:/WINDOWS/security/Database folder and look for the secedit.sdb file and rename it or move it to another folder. After that, restart your computer. Once your computer has restarted, the secedit.sdb file will be created again.

Option 3 – Try to reset the Group Policy to default

You can also try to reset the Group Policy back to its default state. There are several ways you can do that. You can either use the gpupdate or the secedit command in the Windows PowerShell to do that. Resetting the Group Policy will resolve any issues that could be caused by its current settings.

Option 4 – Try to perform System Restore

System Restore can also help resolve the Group Policy issue. It could be that prior to the issue, you’ve made some changes in the system that might have affected the Group Policy. To undo these changes, perform System Restore.

First, 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.

Option 5 – Use the DISM tool

You can also try running the Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management or DISM tool. This tool will repair the Windows System Image as well as the Windows Component Store in your Windows 10 computer. So if there are any missing or corrupted folders and files, the DISM tool can restore and repair them. As a result, any system consistencies and corruptions will be fixed. To run this tool, follow these steps:

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.

Cannot find a system image on this computer

If you are trying to restore your computer using a System Image that has been created by the Windows Backup and Restore tool but encountered an error message instead that says, “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer”, you’ve come to the right place as this post will walk you through in fixing this error. Here’s the complete context of the error message:

“Windows cannot find a system image on this computer, Attach the backup hard disk or insert the final DVD from a backup set and click Retry. Alternatively, close this dialog for more options.”

In the error message, you are offered two choices – to either Retry or Cancel the operation. You can try to select Retry to try again but you will most likely get the same error if you do so. This kind of error can occur if the name of the WindowsImageBackup folder or any of its sub-folders has been modified. On the other hand, this error can also pop up if this folder or any of its sub-folders have gone missing or have become corrupted. To resolve the error, you can try to move the WindowsImageBackup folder or check its sub-folders. You can also try to isolate the System Image file or rename the System Image folder or remove all the unwanted sub-folders as well as use Command Prompt in Repair mode.

Option 1 – Try to move the WindowsImageBackup folder

The WindowsImageBackup folder must be stored in the root of the volume where it is stored, in line with the functioning of the System Restore utility. For example, if the WindowsImageBackup folder is stored in the “C:/Backups/System Restore Backups/New” location, then you have to move it to the C: drive as well.

Option 2 – Try to check the subfolders of the WindowsImageBackup folder

The classification of folders and files plays an important part to restore in restoring a computer from a System Restore point. Thus, if have modified the names of any files or folders inside the WindowsImageBackup folder, then you need to set the defaults. After that, run System Restore again and check if it fixes the error.

Option 3 – Try to isolate the System Image file

If the System Image file is stored in a USB storage device along with various System Restore images, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting this error. To set things right, you have to make sure that the System Restore image you wish to restore your computer from, is the only one that’s present at the root of the USB storage device.

Option 4 – Try renaming the System Image folder

If you have renamed the System Image folder prior to running System Restore, then it is most likely the reason why you’re getting the “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer” error. This error pops up because the System Restore utility in Windows 10 looks out for the WindowsImageBackup folder so if you have renamed it, you need to change its name back to what it originally was to fix the error.

Option 5 – Try to remove all the sub-folders of the WindowsImageBackup folder

If you have stored some foreign files inside the WindowsImageBackup folder, you need to get rid of them right away and return the folder to its default state as this folder must be left alone and should not be meddled with if you want to run System Restore smoothly.

Option 6 – Try to use Command Prompt in Repair Mode

Open Command Prompt while your computer is in the Repair Mode.
Next, type and enter this command where you need to replace “<Partition Letter>” with your drive’s letter: dir <Partition Letter>
After you’ve found the WindowsImageBackup folder in any of the partitions, type and enter this command: dir <Parition Letter>WindowsImageBackup /s
The command you entered will display all the contents of the folder exceeding 10 GB in total size. You can check and confirm the integrity of the folder and if you find that the integrity is violated, then it is the reason why you’re getting the error.

CLR20R3 error while launching an Application

CLR20R3 error is received when you are launching an application in Windows 10. It can happen because of two reasons, a corrupted application file or missing system components. Keep on reading in order to find solutions to fix this error.

Run the program in compatibility mode
Locate problematic application executable file Right-click on executable Click on properties Go to the compatibility tab and try running the application in the previous version of Windows or as an administrator.
Reset Windows media component
Right-click on Start, then left-click on command prompt (admin) In command prompt type next command and after each line of command press ENTER regsvr32 atl.dll cd C:\WINDOWS\eHome ehSched /unregServer ehSched /service ehRecvr /unregServer ehRecvr /service ehRec.exe /unregServer ehRec.exe /regserver ehmsas.exe /unregServer ehmsas.exe /regserver
Reinstall Windows media player
Go to control panel Click on Program and Features > Turn Windows feature on or off. Expand Media Features, uncheck Windows Media Player, and click Ok. Restart your PC, go through the same steps, tick Windows Media Player, and restart your computer once again.
Reinstall .NET framework
Go to control panel Click on Program and Features > Turn Windows feature on or off. Uncheck “.NET Framework 3.5” and “.NET Framework 4.8”, and click Ok. Restart your computer, go through the same steps, check “.NET Framework 3.5” and “.NET Framework 4.8”, and restart your computer once again.
Update Windows
Go to settings and check for updates

Fix 0xC03A0005 error in Windows 10

When performing a Windows Backup to the NAS device (backup to a network share) that is running Samba, fails with an error message The backup failed, The version does not support this version of the file format (0xC03A0005). The problem occurs because of a conflict with the VHD file that is created by Windows Backup and is mounted during the process. There are three types of VHD files:

Fixed,
Expandable
Differencing

If the VHD file is a sparse file that is not supported by the native VHD driver, the mounting will fail, and you will get this error. An example VHD file is one that keeps expanding depending on the backup size. The problem occurs only in the case of File Level backup (file/folders in a volume) but not on the block level backup as the vhd file is never mounted. However, in the case of File Level Backup, the vhd is mounted, created by Windows Backup, which does not support the mounting of sparse files.

The solution is to use Strict Allocate: option in the smb.conf file

Login to SMB using SSH. Open the configuration file using the VI editor located at /etc/samba/smb.conf. If the option is not there, you can manually add strict allocate = yes which will make sure there are no sparse file that is created.

Location services are greyed out in Windows

Location services is a built-in tool in Windows 10 is a useful tool that offers users location information even when your laptop or desktop computer does not have a GPS since it uses Wi-Fi positioning as well as your device’s IP address. However, there are instances when you might encounter some problems when using this service. One instance is when you suddenly find the toggle button for Location service greyed out. This kind of program could be due to some glitch in the system or some third-party application on your computer. Because of this problem, you won’t be able to toggle the Location service on or off and you won’t be able to make any changes in its settings. Worry not, for this post will guide you on what you can do to fix the greyed-out toggle button of Location services in Windows 10. Before you perform some troubleshooting steps, you might want to restart your computer and see if it fixes the problem. If it didn’t, then this problem is not just some minor glitch. Thus, you have to follow the potential fixes provided below to fix the problem but before you do that, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. After that, follow each one of the following options.

Option 1 – Put your PC in a Clean Boot State

The first thing you can do to resolve the problem is to put your computer in a Clean Boot State. It could be that there is a third-party program that’s preventing the toggle button from functioning. To isolate this possibility, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State.

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.)
Now check if you can now use the toggle button of the Location service or not.

Option 2 – Try to use the Registry Editor

If putting your computer in a Clean Boot state didn’t fix the problem, you might want to make some adjustments in the Windows Registry via Registry Editor.

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
After that, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServiceslfsvcTriggerInfo
From there, select the Key (folder) named as “3” and right-click on it, and then delete it.
Once done, exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Option 3 – Try to use the Windows Services Manager

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
Next, look for the “Geolocation Service” entry from the list of services.
Once you find it, right-click on it and select Properties. This will open a new mini window.
From there, make sure that it is “Running” and its Startup Type is set to “Automatic”.
After that, close the Services Manager and check if the problem is now resolved.

Option 4 – Try to use the Group Policy Editor

Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and click OK to open the Group Policy Editor.
After that, navigate to this path: Administrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsLocation and Sensors
Next, double click on each one of the following settings and select the “Not configured” or “Disabled” option.
- Turn off location scripting
- Turn off location
- Turn off sensors

Once done, navigate to this path: Administrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsLocation and SensorsWindows Location Provider
From there, double click on the “Turn off Windows Location Provider” policy setting and set its configuration to either “Disabled” or “Not configured”. You should see the following description of the policy setting in the window:

“This policy setting turns off the Windows Location Provider feature for this computer. If you enable this policy setting, the Windows Location Provider feature will be turned off, and all programs on this computer will not be able to use the Windows Location Provider feature. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, all programs on this computer can use the Windows Location Provider feature.”

Now restart your computer.

Headphones are not visible in playback devices

If you connected headphones to your Windows 10 computer to listen to audio but when you check it in the playback devices, you’re not able to find it, read on as this post will guide you in what you can do to figure out what exactly caused this kind of problem and how you can resolve it. This kind of issue could simply be with the headphone itself or the headphone port or your operating system. So if it turns out that the problem is with the hardware, you might have to replace the components. However, it is recommended that you troubleshoot the problem first before doing that. The most basic thing you can do is to try changing the headphone port, although this can be quite difficult since most computers don’t have any extra port for headphones if your computer has one, then give it a go. If it still didn’t work, follow each one of the options provided below.

Option 1 – Try to run the Playing Audio troubleshooter

Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even on the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10. Run this troubleshooter and see if it can fix the issue or not.

Option 2 – Try to update the Audio driver

If the error has something to do with software, chances are it might be related to the audio driver – it could be that the newest version of your Windows 10 does not work well with the old version of the driver. This is why you have to update your audio driver to the newest available version.

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type in MSC and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
Expand the section of the Audio inputs and outputs.
And then from the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
Restart your PC after the installation.

Note: If updating the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the website of your PC manufacturer and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.

Option 3 – Try enabling the headphones from the playback devices

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type the “CPL” command.
Tap Enter to open the Playback devices.
Next, right-click on any open space section and check the boxes for the “Show Disconnected Devices” and “Show Disabled Devices” options.
After that, this should help in displaying the headphones in the section of Playback devices.
And if they are disabled, you can just right-click them to have them enabled.

Find out bottlenecks in your PC easily

Building a custom PC is a great feeling but it can sometimes not be ideal and we are not talking about breaking or losing parts. What we mean is that choosing the right components can be sometimes a difficult task. Of course, picking a PC case can have its issues, choosing the right power supply can be tricky but pairing all components together, especially CPU and GPU can be tricky. bottlenecks

Builders with no depth knowledge and experience can sometimes choose improper CPU or GPU, picking one of them to be much more powerful than another thus not using it to its full potential because another component cannot handle stuff at the same speed. In order to not be trumped by this kind of stuff, there is a website that is completely free and you do not even need to be registered in order to use it. Bottlenet calculator link here What is even better, once you input your components you will get advice on what to change in order to tweak the system a little more to avoid bottlenecks even more. It is a very useful tool and we are advising you to use it in order to save money but not throwing it on some component that will be half used.

Chrome won’t open or launch on Windows

If you’re suddenly unable to launch or open Google Chrome or unable to load web pages, then it’s most likely that the files in Chrome have been corrupted or some plugin is taking up a lot of resources which is why you encounter an error message saying, “Google Chrome has stopped working”. And when you try to check the Task Manager, you’ll see that Chrome is really taking up lots of resources, however, when you check the Taskbar, strangely, you will see nothing. If you are currently facing this issue in Chrome on your Windows 10 PC, follow the given options below.

Option 1 – Kill Google Chrome’s process in the Task Manager

If you aren’t able to open Chrome, then maybe its process is running in the background and you don’t see the browser windows. If that’s the case, you may have to force quit the browser and then try to open it again.

First, right-click on the Taskbar then select the Task Manager. And if the Task Manager is not responding, you can just use the Alt + Ctrl + Del keys and then select the Task Manager.
After opening the Task Manager, under Processes, look for Google Chrome’s process which would most likely be named “chrome.exe”.
Right-click on Google Chrome’s process and then select the End task option.
Now try to open Google Chrome again.

Option 2 – Try checking if your antivirus program is blocking Google Chrome

There are instances when due to false-positive, a security or antivirus program might block Chrome which is why it failed to open properly. Thus, you can just disable the security program temporarily and then check if you can now open Chrome or not.

Option 3 – Delete the User Profile in Chrome

You can also try deleting the User Profile folder in Chrome. To do so, follow these steps:

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then copy and paste “%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser Data” and hit Enter.
From there, look for a folder named “Default folder” and then copy the folder to another drive as a backup.
After creating a copy of the folder, delete the Default folder.
Next, open Google Chrome again and go to Settings > Advanced > Reset.

Option 4 – Disable the Extensions in Chrome

There are instances when issues on a browser are triggered or caused by some problematic extension. To find out which one of your extensions is causing the problem, disable them all first and then enable them back one by one.

Click on the three-dotted icon for the menu located at the top-right corner of your screen.
Then click on the More tools option and go to Extensions.
From there, you will see a list of all the installed extensions in Chrome.
Disable all these extensions and restart the browser.
Now enable them back one by one to figure out which one of them is the culprit. You could also remove extensions that you no longer use.

Option 5 – Run the Chrome Cleanup tool

You might also want to try running the Malware Scanner & Cleanup tool in Chrome. This is a built-in tool that can help you get rid of any unwanted pop-ups, banners, ads, unusual startup pages, toolbars, and malware. Thus, it can help you to resolve the issue in Chrome.

Option 6 – Try to reinstall Chrome

If running the Malware Scanner & Cleanup tool in Chrome didn’t work out for you, you can try reinstalling it. To do so, follow these steps:

Open the Settings app and go to System > Apps & features.
From there, look for Chrome and uninstall it from your PC.
Then go to the official website of Google Chrome and download its latest version and install it.

Windows ImageAcquisition High CPU & Disk usage

What is Windows ImageAcquisition High CPU & Disk usage? The Windows Image Acquisition is the driver model in charge of the communication between the graphics hardware and the operating system. There are times when it causes high disk and CPU usage in Windows 10 systems which results in slow performance of the computer. To fix this issue, read on as this post will help you in addressing the problem. The cause of this problem might have something to do with the hardware or the drivers. And so if your computer becomes slow because of the Windows Image Acquisition process, here are some suggestions that might be of help. You can try to restart the Windows Image Acquisition service, run a System File Checker Scan, disconnect & reconnect imaging hardware as well as update and reinstall the drivers and updating the graphics drivers. For a complete set of instructions, follow the given options below.

Option 1 – Try restarting the Windows Image Acquisition Service

Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
From there, look for the Windows Image Acquisition Service and check on its service Status.
If the Service Status is blank, right-click on it and select Start. And if the service Status is Running right-click on it and select Restart. After that, check if your computer’s performance is now back to normal.

Option 2 – Try running a System File Checker scan

As you know, running a System File Checker scan can help in replacing missing files as well as repair the corrupted ones which might be the reason behind the problem.

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:

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

Restart your computer after the scan is completed.

Option 3 – Try disconnecting and reconnecting the imaging hardware and then update and reinstall its drivers

It could be that the hardware that calls for the Windows Image Acquisition service has some issues which are why disconnecting and reconnecting the imaging hardware like scanners, printers, cameras can help in fixing the problem. In addition, you can also boot your computer in a Clean Boot State so that you can find the problematic hardware by hit and trial method. Refer to the steps below to do so:

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.)

Option 4 – Try updating the 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.

Windows Defender error code 0x80073afc

If you receive an error code of “0x80073afc” in Windows Defender after you boot your Windows 10 computer or when you try to manually run Windows Defender, then it could be that the Windows Defender files are corrupted. In such cases, this error could also occur if there is third-party security software that interferes with the smooth functioning of this Microsoft Security Client. If you are one of the users who are currently facing this issue, then here are some suggestions you can check out to resolve the Windows Defender error code 0x80073afc.

Option 1 – Try to check the status of all the Windows Defender-related services

In the Cortana search box, type “services” and click on the Services icon to open the Services Manager. Alternatively, you can also tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run prompt and then type “msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager
After opening the Services Manager, look for the following services and make sure that their Startup type is set to their default values:
- Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Service – Manual
- Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection Service – Manual
- Windows Defender Antivirus Service – Manual
- Windows Defender Firewall Service – Automatic

You can right-click on each one of the listed services and then select Start to start them.
And if some of the services don’t have their default values, just double-click on the Services to change the Startup types and select the correct option from the drop-down menu of the Startup type under the Properties box.
Next, set up the Startup type of these services to Automatic and then click on the Start button if the services are not running yet.
Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then see if it fixed the problem or not.

Option 2 – Try to re-register the concerned DLL files

You could also try to re-register some Dynamic Link Library or DLL files on your computer as this could also help in fixing the Windows Defender error.

In the Start search, type “cmd” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
After opening Command Prompt as admin, type the following commands one after the other:
- regsvr32 dll
- regsvr32 dll
- regsvr32 dll
- regsvr32 dll
Once you’ve entered the commands given above, it will re-register the concerned DLL files in your system.
Now restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Option 3 – Try to use the Registry Editor

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.
Afterward, navigate to this registry path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Options
Next, look for the DWORDs named “MSASCui.exe”, “MpCmdRun.exe”, “MpUXSrv.exe” and “msconfig.exe”.
If you can’t find these DWORDs, refer to the next given option below.
Restart your computer.

Option 4 – Check the Environmental Values

Type “View advanced system settings” in the Windows search box and select the appropriate result.
This will open a new mini window. From there, go to the Advanced tab and click on the “Environment Variables…” button located at the bottom part of the window.
Next, look for the “%ProgramData%” variable name and make sure that its value is set to C:/ProgramData.
Then click OK to save the changes made.

Option 5 – 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 to 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