How to Use and Configure Active Hours

Not a Valid Win32 Application Error - What is it?

Not a Valid Win32 Application error code that indicates either the file or the program you are attempting to run missing or corrupt. And because of this error, Windows is unable to open your desired file or run the program successfully.

Error Causes

The ‘Not a Valid Win32 Application’ is triggered due to multiple reasons such as:

• Unsuccessful program installation due to damaged disc/CD
• Corrupted or incompatible file
• The hard drive is loaded with bad and invalid entries
• Malware invasion or viral infection

When you come across this error code on your PC, it is advisable to resolve it as it will cause you a great deal of inconvenience hampering program and file accessibility. Furthermore, if the error code occurs due to malware or viruses, then it can lead to severe data security threats and privacy issues.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To resolve the Not a Valid Win32 Application error on your PC, you don’t need to be a technical expert or hire a professional. Though this error might be crucial it is easy to fix. Here are some of the many methods that you can try to resolve this error code on your PC:

• Check for File Compatibility

If you downloaded a file that is not compatible with your Windows version then you will come across this error. In this case, it is advisable to download the file version that is compatible and can run easily on the Windows version installed on your system. Nonetheless, if the file is compatible but still doesn’t run on your PC, then it’s possible that the file became corrupt during the download. Try downloading the file again.

• Check if the CD is Clean

You may also come across the Not a valid Win32 application error code if the program installation from the CD is unsuccessful. This happens when the CD is dirty or it is scratched. The program does not copy properly onto the computer from the damaged CD. So, if the CD is scratched and dirty, buy a new CD and try installing the program again.

• Verify the Program You Want to Run is Still on the Computer

If you are running the program from a shortcut, then verify that the program is still installed on your PC. This error may occur if the program is no longer installed on the computer. If you find the program is not installed on your system, then reinstall and try running the program again.

• Wrong File Name Issue

Make sure the program or the file you are attempting to run on your system does not contain the same name as the long filename directory it is saved in. For example, running a file named ‘program’ in the ‘program files’ directory can cause errors in some Windows versions. If this is the issue, then try installing the program in a different directory.

• Repair Hard Drive

If the hard drive is bad or corrupted, it can also generate the not a valid Win32 application. And because of this error files and programs fail to execute successfully as not all data can be read from the hard drive. To repair this issue first you need to run defrag and ScanDisk Microsoft built-in tools. These tools check for errors on the hard drive.

• Run an Antivirus

If the error code occurs due to a viral infection or malware attack on your system, then you must download an antivirus, scan, and remove such malicious software. However, antivirus may slow down the speed of your PC. So, to resolve speed issues and boost the performance of your system, you may have to download a system optimizer.

Sticky Notes is one of the useful programs and in the early days, the option is available for users to change the font size of the text a lot easier. However, for some unknown reason, Microsoft decided to get rid of this feature in the latest Windows Update. One would expect that the feature will be replaced by an even more useful feature but it’s not which makes the Sticky Notes app worse than before. Worry not though for it doesn’t have to stay that way as there is another thing you can try to change the font size in your Sticky Notes app and that’s what we’re going to cover in this post. As mentioned, Microsoft removing this font feature is quite strange and in the past, users asked for this feature and since it’s no longer available, you can try following the steps given below to bring it back. And for that, you need to go to the Ease of Access section in the Settings app. Refer to the steps given below for more instructions. Step 1: First, tap the Win + I keys to open Settings and then go to the Ease of Access section. Step 2: After going to the Ease of Access menu and select Display from the list of options. Step 3: From there, you should see an option that says “Make text bigger”. And then use your mouse to navigate to the slider to change the size of the font. Note: Take note that after doing all the steps above, it will change not just the Sticky Notes app but also everything in Windows 10. This method is actually the best since it only changes the size of the apps rather than a wholesale change in your Windows 10 computer. Step 4: Next, scroll under Display until you see the “Change the size of apps and text on the main display” option where you’ll see that the option is 100% but you’ll want to change that to 125%. Step 5: After that, click on the drop-down menu and select 125% and then restart your Windows 10 computer. Step 6: Now open the Sticky Notes app and check if you can now change the font size in the Sticky Notes app.

Disk cleanup is part of Windows 10 tools and it is essential in keeping your computer up and running in optimal settings and to free so much needed space as well as remove temporary files that can accumulate over time. Using disk cleanup from time to time is recommended and a very useful habit that will save you some headaches and optimize your computer running time, speed up boot sequence, etc. Think of it like cleaning up your desk, from time to time it can get too overwhelmed with junk and non-important things and if you are keeping it tidy all the time each time you need to find something it will be much faster and easier, same goes with computers, so if you do not have it, try to develop a habit that once per month you start disk clean up and remove trash from your hard drive. In order to do so, press ⊞ WINDOWS + E to bring File Explorer up Once File Explorer is up and running right-click on the hard drive you wish to run disk cleanup on and click on properties. Properties Windows will open on the general tab, on that tab you have disk cleanup on the lower right part of properties, click on it. Wait for Windows to gather information about your hard drive and files on it. After it is finished you will be greeted with the next screen: Here you can thick and mark which items you would like to get rid of and which ones you would like to keep. Note that you can freely tick all of them and remove them since removing these files will not break WIndows in any way. make your choices and click on ok. You can also click on Clean up system files to run system files cleaner and get rid of junk there, you will not be able to choose any options there, Windows will alone clean up what is not needed. After disk cleanup is finished least thing you will have is more free disk space, but like mentioned, keeping your Windows and computer healthy goes a long way in its usability, speed, and performance.

Black Screen During Installation - What Is It?

Many are upgrading their OS to Windows 10, however, it’s not always smooth sailing because users have been reportedly experiencing different bugs including Black Screen after a successful update.

One common issue in installing Windows 10 is the appearance of a black screen after installation. This usually occurs when the user restarts the computer. Initially, there will be a black screen only appearing on the monitor. There are also cases where a mouse cursor is present, while some cases have no cursor at all.

Not only that, it seemed that you’ve lost all your desktop icons when experiencing this bug.

Solution

Error Causes

Just like the other bugs experienced by Windows 10 users, booting to a black screen has reasons. Before you even try to look for the solution, you first have to determine the cause of the error, in this case, the error would be black screen when booting.

• Error on external devices such as printer or mouse.
• Having outdated display/video drivers that normally result in black screen when OS is updated.

If error messages are left unsolved, you may encounter other Windows 10 related issues such as error code 0xc0000142. 

Further Information and Manual Repair

Before you even think of upgrading your OS to Windows 10, you need to know that there are specific system requirements and specifications to be able to successfully update your operating system.

• Minimum of 1 gigahertz (GHz) Processor
• Either 1 (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Ram
• You need at least 16 GB of free hard disk space
• A Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or later with WDDM 1.0 driver graphics card
• 800 x 600 display
• A Microsoft account and Internet access.

There are more system requirements in order to use other certain Windows 10 features, but we’ll focus on solving your black screen problem in this article.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While it’s possible that you’ll be able to find the solution for your black screen during Windows 10 update, contacting the service of a professional technician or using an automated tool is advisable if you’re not confident in performing the methods to be discussed.

Method 1: Windows 10 DVD Boot

1. Hit Repair your computer at the Install Now screen.
2. Press Advanced Options
3. When you’re in the Advanced Options find Troubleshoot and click it.
4. Proceed to pressing Startup Repair
5. Simply follow the instructions of the screen and check if that helps solve the black screen problem.

Method 2: Safe Mode from Windows 10 DVD Boot

1. Go to Install Now screen
2. Hit Repair your computer button
3. Go to Advanced Options
4. Click Safe Mode option

There’s a chance that you’ll get an error prompt saying, “installation cannot be completed in safe mode.” If this happens, simply press Shift + F10. This command will redirect you to the Command Prompt. You just open Device Manager by keying in devmgmt.msc then disable the display adapters, now check if you’ll be able to successfully boot in normal mode.

This process will normally allow you to complete the Windows 10 installation, if that’s the case you can just update the display adapter drivers from the manufacturer’s website. Restart your computer and see if this solves the problem.

Method 3: Driver Roll Back

1. Hit Windows Key + X then press the Device Manager
2. Expand the Display Adapters option
3. Right-click the listed Display Adapter and press on properties
4. Find the Driver Tab and click on it, then press Roll Back Driver

Do take note, however, that the Roll Back Driver option is not available if there was no previous version installed.

Method 4: Check External Devices

Since one common cause of black screen during a Windows 10 update is the external devices you use in your computer, you might want to consider these steps as well.

1. Simply unplug all of the external devices you currently use
2. Restart your computer
3. If in case this solved your black screen problem, carefully plug back the devices one at a time to determine which of the device is the culprit.
4. Update the drivers for the outdated hardware using a reliable third party tool.

Method 5: Fast Startup Disabled

Some Windows 10 users had success in solving their black screen problem by disabling the fast startup.

1. Go to the Control Panel, find Power Options and press “Choose what the power button does,” which is located in the left pane of the panel.
2. Hit the “Change settings that are currently unavailable.”
3. Make sure to unmark the checkbox button saying, “Turn on fast startup.”

If you are in the process of booting up your computer but suddenly encountered an error saying, “The Boot Configuration Data for your PC is missing or contains errors” with an error code of 0xc0000454, read on as this post will help you resolve the problem. The error code 0xc0000454 occurs when you boot your computer and when the Windows Boot Manager encounters an issue with the Boot Configuration Data or BCD. The error code 0xc0000454 (STATUS_INSUFFICIENT_NVRAM_RESOURCES) signifies that there are no sufficient NVRAM or Non-Volatile Random Access Memory resources to complete the API. NVRAM is a component of the system based on the software that stores the Boot Configuration Data in an operating system. Usually, a simple restart can resolve the problem. However, if you’ve already done that and it’s of no use, then there are other potential fixes you can check out to troubleshoot the problem. To resolve the error code 0xc0000454, here are some potential fixes that should help:

Option 1 – Try to repair corrupted BCD

As mentioned, the error could also be due to corruption in BCD, and to fix it, you can use Bootrec.exe – a built-in command-line tool used to troubleshot issues related to boot up and Windows Startup. Before you run this tool, make sure that you have inserted a bootable USB or DVD into your computer. Once you have that covered, follow these steps:

• You need to go to the Advanced Startup Options.
• Then click on Troubleshoot.
• Next, select the Advanced Options and then Command Prompt.
• Once Command Prompt has been pulled up, enter each one of the following commands and in the sequence that they are given to rebuild BCD files and repair MBR files:
  • Bootrec /Fixmbr
  • Bootrec /FixBoot

• After you execute the commands given above, you should see a confirmation message that says, “The operation completed successfully”.
• Now type the “Bootrec /RebuildBCD” command to rebuild BCD.
• Finally, close Command Prompt and then restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.

Option 2 – Try to run the Automatic Repair Utility

You might also want to use Automatic Repair in fixing the error. To do so, follow the steps below.

• You can start by creating and booting from a bootable Windows 10 USB Stick.
• After that, click on Repair your computer located on the bottom left corner when you are on the initial Windows Startup screen.
• Next, click on Troubleshoot, and then on the other screen, click the Startup Repair option.
• Now select the operating system you want to repair. Once you do that, it will start to repair your operating system. Wait until the process is completed and then check if the problem’s now fixed.

Option 3 – Disable the Secure Boot in the BIOS

Disabling the Secure Boot in the BIOS settings is definitely recommended to resolve the error. To disable Secure Boot, here’s what you have to do:

• First, boot your computer into Windows 10.
• Next, go to Settings > Windows Update. From there, check if there is anything that you have to download and install if you see any available updates. Usually, OEMs send and update the list of trusted hardware, drivers, and operating systems for your computer.
• After that, go to the BIOS of your computer.
• Then go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Startup options. If you click on Restart Now, it will restart your computer and give you all the advanced options.
• Next, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. As you can see, this screen offers you further options including System restore, Startup repair, Go back to the previous version, Command Prompt, System Image Recovery, and UEFI Firmware Settings.
• Select the UEFI Firmware Settings which will take you to the BIOS.
• From there, go to the Security > Boot > Authentication tab where you should see Secure Boot. Note that every OEM has its own way of implementing the options so it varies.
• Next, set Secure Boot to Disabled and set Legacy Support to On or Enabled.
• Save the changes made and exit. Afterward, your computer will reboot.

Option 4 – Try to reset the BIOS

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

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

Apple introduced the Live Photo feature way with iPhone 6S in their iOS9. Live Photo idea was that each time you take a photo, your phone will capture a few seconds of video along with sound and all of that is sent when you share your photo. This of course can sometimes be really bad when some not wanted audio gets recorded in the background.

Since the feature was introduced it has been set as the default option when taking pictures so each time you snap one you just capture a small amount of video and audio along. Good thing is that this feature can be turned off and the even better news is that you can edit your old photos to remove back video and audio.

How to share only photo

You can keep your Live Photos but share only a single still typical photo if you wish. Go to the photos app on your phone and select the photo you wish to share. Press the Share button on the bottom left part of the screen and once the Share menu appears tap on the Live button in the upper left corner of the selected photo. The button should turn grey and become slashed and now you can share only still photo. This is only temporary for this one specific share so next time you want to do this you will have to go through the process again.

How to disable Live Photo

If you are not happy with the previous solution and really do not want to turn off the Live feature each time you want to share a photo or you just simply do not want the feature at all there is way to turn if off for good. Take note that you can temporarily not use this feature just by opening the camera, switching to photo mode, and then tapping on the Live photo button on the toolbar that looks like three circles one inside another. This will temporarily turn the Live Photo feature for this session but next time when you open the camera by default it will be turned on again. This is a good approach if you want the feature but sometimes you just want not to use it.

In order to turn it off completely go to the settings of your phone and go to Camera and then preserve settings. inside the preserve setting turn the switch Live Photo to ON position, now go-to camera and again click on the live photo button to turn it off but this time setting will be saved and next time you open the camera it will not be ON.

Editing old Live Photos

As stated before you can edit your old pictures in order to make them stills. You can edit them to remove audio only but keep the video part, or you can completely remove everything and convert them into typical still images.

In order to only remove audio from your Live Photos go to pictures and select one that you wish to change, click on edit, and inside edit tap on the Live Photo icon (three circles). Next tap on the audio icon located in the top left corner of your screen and it will change into the mute icon. Click on done and you are finished.

To completely remove the Live photo go to Photos, select picture, click on edit and select the live photo button again. This time tap and hold the Live button next to the sound until it turns gray with a strike through it. Click on done and you are finished.

Runtime Error 217 can be a big problem if you use your computer for business purposes and you have confidential data/documents stored on your system. This runtime error is quite dangerous. It can slow down your PC performance, lead to system failure and crash, make your system vulnerable to hacker’s attack, and also corrupt important files on your system.

Solution

Error Causes

There is no one particular cause behind the Runtime Error 217. This error can be attributed to several factors such as:

• Corrupt, missing, or faulty register DLLs of programs. This is usually the cause for Runtime Error 217 when installation is unsuccessful and the crucial system files fail to be registered within the registry.
• Exposure to Viruses like malware, adware, and spyware. Once a virus (es) gain access to your PC, you may experience Runtime Error 217. These malicious programs can damage your hard drive, boot sectors, memory banks, and registries.
• Outdated Msvcrt.dll (a Microsoft Visual C++ file) file called.
• Incorrect Regional settings

Further Information and Manual Repair

If you see Runtime Error 217 message pop up on your computer screen, you must fix and repair it right away before it becomes a big threat to you and your PC. Though Runtime Error 217 is alarming this does not mean that you need to panic. Keep calm and follow the recommended solutions to fix Runtime Error 217 given below.

• If the error occurs because you called the outdated Msvcrt.dll file, then you must update the file. This can be easily done by clicking the start menu, accessing the control panel, and then hitting the Windows update tab.
• When you experience Runtime Error 217 due to incorrect regional settings on your PC, then to resolve this issue simply go to the start menu and select Control Panel. Now in the control panel, you’ll find the option clock, click on it and go to the language and region settings. Choose your specific regional settings and save.
• If the cause of the Runtime Error 217 is incorrect registry entries and DLL files corruption, then to fix the error, you need to download a Runtime Error 217 fixer. After you download this repair tool, run it on your PC. It scans and detects corrupted files and repairs the error swiftly.
• Nonetheless, if the cause of this problem is a virus, then you need to install a powerful antivirus program. When you run it, the antivirus scans your PC for viruses. Once the scanning is complete the results are displayed on the screen. The results show exactly how many viruses you have on your PC. Once the scan is complete, delete all the files and click repair.

Regardless of whether you have experienced the Runtime Error 217 on your PC or not, it is advisable to install a powerful antivirus and run it every time you use your PC. By running it regularly, you can make sure that you are not exposed to viruses, malware, and spyware programs. Even if your PC gets infected by them, you can delete and remove them timely before the damage is done.

nslookup is a command-line tool that helps in finding the DNS records of a website. It sends a name server query to the DNS and obtains the corresponding IP address. Aside from that, it can also perform some complex functionality such as finding details about FTP server, Mail server and many more but most of them are used by administrators. The best thing about nslookup is that it queries the DNS server directly and it does not rely on the cache. On the other hand, there is another tool called PING that is used to verify connectivity. PING sends a packet of information to the IP address or Domain and gets back a response in the form of packets. So if everything goes well, all packets are received but if not, it will help you find out where the delay in the network exactly is. However, the ping command does not always attempt a DNS lookup which means that it might be using the DNS cache and use the IP address available in that table. Although both nslookup and PING help you in identifying the host or IP address, however, they don’t always work and sometimes fail. So if your nslookup works but ping fails on your Windows 10 PC when querying the IP address of a website then it could be caused by many reasons. It could be that the nslookup queries work for you but when you try to use PING, it fails. For instance, if you open the abc.com website, here’s how it will look like:

nslookup xyz.com Server: dns.company.com Address: 192.168.1.38 C:> ping xyz.com Ping request could not find host xyz.com. Please check the name and try again.

The domain is converted into an IP address and then data is sent to that IP address when you use PING. So when a reply comes back it means that the data is going back and forth to that domain without any problem. However, if the DNS fails to resolve the IP address of the website or if your PC does not attempt a DNS lookup, you will receive a similar error message that says, “Could not find host” and so on. To resolve this issue, here are some options that might help.

Option 1 – Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS

Resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help you resolve the issue with nslookup and PING. To do so, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator) so you can pull up an elevated Command Prompt.
• After that, execute each one of the commands listed below. And after you typed in one after the other, you have to hit Enter.

1. netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
2. netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
3. ipconfig /flushdns – type in this command to flush the DNS cache

• Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.

Option 2 – Force Windows to do a DNS lookup using FQDN

• Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Change adapter options.
• From there, right-click on the network and select Properties.
• Next, in case you’re using IPv6, from the list of connections available in the list, select Internet Protocol Version 4.
• Then click on Properties and click Advanced.
• After that, switch to the DNS tab and select “Append these DNS suffixes (in order)” and click on the Add button and then add “.” as a suffix so that each time you query using PING and another tool, it will add a “.” at the end and will force the lookup.

Option 3 – Make sure that there is only one default gateway

If your computer has more than one NIC connected and there are multiple default gateways, then it will most likely create confusion which is why you need to remove the default gateway from the configuration of all NICs and make sure that there is only one default gateway.

Option 4 – Use the Google Public DNS

You might want to change your DNS to Google Public DNS as it could also help you in fixing the nslookup and PING issues. 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 5 – Check the Windows Host file

You can also try to cross-check the Windows Hosts file to find out if the website you are trying to open has been blocked, because if it is, then it’s no wonder why PING fails even when nslookup works. There are instances when some third-party application modifies the file and adds some websites to the blocklists. So if the website is indeed blocked, you need to remove it from the list.

Option 6 – Delete the WLAN Profiles

Deleting the WLAN Profiles might be a good idea if you are not able to connect to the internet on your computer and if you’re using Wi-Fi. It could be that the networks that were connected previously have gone rogue which is why it is not connecting properly. And so deleting the WLAN profiles might help you in fixing the issue with nslookup and PING.

Option 7 – Reinstall the Network Adapter Drivers

• Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
• Under the Device Manager, you will see a list of drivers. From there, look for the Network Adapters and expand it.
• Then right-click on each one of the Network drivers and select “Uninstall device”.
• Restart your PC.

One of the most useful and powerful built-in utility in Windows 10 is the DISM tool. This tool can be used with the Command Prompt command line as well as for other purposes. However, it is not without flaws and there are times when you may encounter some issues while using it. One of the problems you can get while using the DISM tool is the following error:

“The scratch directory size might be insufficient to perform this operation”

This kind of error in DISM occurs when the DISM command is executed from the Windows Recovery Environment due to the limited size permissions of a delivery where the operating is being performed. To fix this DISM error, you need to follow the instructions laid out below. Step 1: First, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and then type “cmd” in the field and tap Enter to open Command Prompt. Step 2: Next, you have to specify a scratch directory that contains the Windows folder and to do that, you can either use the DIR command or the BCEDIT command. So in the elevated command prompt type and enter “dir” or “bcedit”. Step 3: After that, you will see a list of folders inside the C: partition. Now you have to create a folder named “scratch” inside the partition. To do so, execute the following command:

mkdir C:Scratch

Note: The command you just entered will create a directory inside the root of the C: partition named Scratch. Step 4: Now that you’ve created the Scratch folder, note that each time you run any of the DISM commands, you have to enter the following code snippet in them:

/ScratchDir:C:Scratch

 Note: For instance, if you are using the DISM tool to repair the offline Windows image, instead of executing the “Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth” command, you now have to execute the “DISM /Image:C: /ScratchDir:C: Scratch /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth” command. And if you want to remove a selected installed update package, you can use the “DISM /image:C: /ScratchDir:C:Scratch /Remove-Package /PackageName:Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e75~amd64~~16299.196.4.9” command. Keep in mind that the mentioned package is only an example. And lastly, you also have to replace the drive letter in the new code snippet when you execute the commands given above.

Google's Pixel smartphone is one if not the best Android smartphone on the market. It regularly gets updates and Google is really trying to keep it as a top choice for Android smartphone users. One of the new things that Google has released for its smartphone series is a new emergency dialer.

With an emergency dialer, you will be able to quickly access local contact information for police, fire, and medical services. This dialer is able to contact before mentioned services even when the phone is locked and when you are traveling.

The idea is to quickly access the default emergency number no matter in which country you are currently in, service will find the appropriate number and set it as default so if you need it there is no delay in searching for the appropriate number and dialing it.

Once the service is enabled on the device you can swipe up and tap Emergency call without unlocking your phone or you can press and hold the power button for five seconds and tap Emergency.

If you have a Pixel smartphone go to the Google support page and follow instructions on how to enable this service. It costs nothing and it could potentially even save your life.