Microsoft’s initial Windows 11 hardware requirements were not really well received by users and they were not really clearly represented from the start making a lot of potential customers slowly drift away from the hype.
It seems that Microsoft has acknowledged this since they have changed their tune about system hardware requirements for the upcoming Windows 11.
It seems that Windows 11 will be able to be officially installed on unsupported computers but with a little inconvenience.
What is a catch?
Windows 11 will still have the same hardware requirements and if the PC meets them, that computer will be officially supported, other ones (any that can run Windows 10) that do not meet system requirements can still run Windows 11 but the system will have to be clean installed. So no upgrade option for old computer users, just a clean install.
This means of course that you will need to download the ISO image and make a bootable USB in order to install it. Also since you will be doing a clean install do a backup of the hard drive since it will need to be formatted.
Also, Microsoft has stated that with unofficially supported PC some driver updates might not be delivered leaving you with either older driver versions or relying on your hardware manufacturer on them. This is still not confirmed by Microsoft, just stated as an option. We will see how it goes.
Conclusion
It is very good that Microsoft has reconsidered its system requirements and will not stubbornly push its initiatives over the top requirements allowing even older computers to install new OS.
I am sure over time lot of users will upgrade their hardware and drive into officially supported waters, but it is good that they will be able to use new OS on their current hardware.
If you encounter Windows Update error 0x80092004 while trying to update your Windows 10 computer, then this post is for you. This kind of Windows Update error could be due to many reasons but none of them includes your hardware or installed driver software. Microsoft releases updates that are either not supposed to go out, or you install them when you click on the Check for Update button which can install updates that have not finished testing yet. As a result, you may encounter the Windows Update error 0x80092004
To resolve the Windows Update error 0x80092004, here are some fixes you can try.
Option 1 – Try removing recent updates and packages
When a Windows Update fails, it mostly rolls back and cleans up all its residues. However, there are times when it doesn’t and you can clean that package manually. To remove recent updates and packages, you can go to the Update History and find out what KB updates were installed and once you’ve figured it out, you can execute the DISM tool to remove it manually.
Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
After that, execute the “Dism /online /Get-Packages”. This will give you a list of packages that were recently installed.
Now run the Remove Package program to remove the concerned update and package.
Note: Keep in mind that the remove package command is made for AMD 64-bit machines specifically.
Option 2 – Try deleting the files from the SoftwareDistribution folder and resetting the Catroot2 folder
The downloaded Windows Updates are placed in a folder called “SoftwareDistribution”. The files downloaded in this folder are automatically deleted once the installation is completed. However, if the files are not clean up or if the installation is still pending, you can delete all the files in this folder after you pause the Windows Update service. For complete instructions, refer to the steps below.
Open the WinX Menu.
From there, open Command Prompt as admin.
Then type in the following command – don’t forget to hit Enter right after typing each one of them.
net stop wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After entering these commands, it will stop the Windows Update Service, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Cryptographic, and the MSI Installer
Next, go to the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution folder and get rid of all the folders and files thereby tapping the Ctrl + A keys to select them all and then click on Delete. Note that if the files are in use, you won’t be able to delete them.
After resetting the SoftwareDistribution folder, you need to reset the Catroot2 folder to restart the services you just stopped. To do that, follow these steps:
Type each one of the following commands.
net start wuauservnet start cryptSvcnet start bitsnet start msiserver
After that, exit Command Prompt and restart your computer.
Option 3 – Try to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
Running the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter could also help you resolve the “We couldn’t install some updates because the PC was turned off” error. To run it, go to Settings and then select Troubleshoot from the options. From there, click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button. After that, follow the next on-screen instructions and you should be good to go.
Option 4 – Try to manually install the Windows Updates
Windows Update Error 0x80092004 might be due to a Windows Update that has failed. So if it is not a feature update and only a cumulative update, you can download the Windows Update and install it manually. But first, you need to find out which update has failed, and to do so, refer to the following steps:
Go to Settings and from there go to Update and Security > View Update History.
Next, check which particular update has failed. Note that Updates that have failed to install will be displayed under the Status column which has a label of “Failed”.
After that, go to the Microsoft Download Center and look for that update using its KB number and once you find it, download and then install it manually.
Note: You can also use the Microsoft Update Catalog, a service from Microsoft that provides a list of software updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. With the help of this service, it can be easier for you to find Microsoft software updates, drivers as well as fixes.
The color settings in a Windows computer certainly matter a lot especially when it comes to printing pictures. Users who are found or edit photos for a living change their computer’s color settings in order to ensure that the printout looks like the actual colors. However, those settings might not be appropriate for computer display and you can really tell right away that there something’s not right in the display. You might also notice some weird tint which isn’t easy to get rid of. You can’t actually tell the difference at first, not until you look at some other computers and then wonder what’s wrong with yours so, in this guide, you will know how to restore the display color settings back to their default state on your Windows 10 PC.
Make sure to follow each one of the steps laid out below carefully to restore the default Display Color settings.
Step 1: Set the Color Management Settings to default.
In the Start search box, type in “color management”. Once you see it in the search results, open it.
Once you’ve pulled up the Color Management window, go to the Advanced tab. From there, make sure that every single option is set to default – from all the options in both the “Windows Color System” and “ICC rendering intent to WCS gamut mapping”.
Note: You also have the option to reset it for everyone by simply clicking on the “Change system defaults” button.
Finally, you can also try to calibrate your display.
Step 2: Set the Graphics Properties to default.
After making changes in the Color Management settings, you need to also set the Graphics Properties to default.
Start by right-clicking on any empty space on your desktop.
Then select the Graphics properties from the context menu. From the Graphics properties window, you will see that most sections have to restore defaults.
Step 3: Try using Nvidia Color Settings for Desktop
The next thing you can try is using the Nvidia Color Settings if you have Nvidia graphics installed on your Windows 10 PC. Just the Control Panel to reset the color settings.
From the system tray, launch the Nvidia control panel.
Next, go to Display > adjust desktop color settings.
From there, select the display and then select the Nvidia Settings.
After that, change the options accordingly in order to get the correct combination though you can always leave them to default.
Windows 11 provides several different ways to make your cursor stand out and be easier to spot inside it. You can make the mouse pointer larger, invert it, or change its color.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
Click on Accessibility in the sidebar
Select Mouse Pointer and Touch
Adjust mouse cursor size with size slider by clicking on circle and dragging it left or right
Under Mouse Pointer Style pick desired style from White, Black, Inverted, and Custom
White: The cursor is white with a black outline (standard setting)
Black: Cursor is black with a white outline
Inverted: Cursor automatically changes color to an inverted version of the color it is currently hovering over
Custom: You can pick the color for the cursor that you want.
And that is all about it, once you are done with pointer customization just close settings, all changes are saved automatically.
If your Windows computer is not booting up and displays Secure Boot Violation – The system found unauthorized changes on the firmware, operating system, or UEFI drivers error message on the screen, then you can follow this tutorial to troubleshoot the problem.
When you encounter this kind of problem on your computer, you will get the following error message on your screen:
“Secure Boot ViolationThe system found unauthorized changes on the firmware, operating system, or UEFI drivers.Press [OK] to run the next boot device or enter directly to BIOS Setup if there are no other boot devices installed.Go to BIOS Setup > Advanced > Boot and change the current boot device into other secured boot devices.”
This kind of error message pops up due to the Secure Boot that protects your computer from running any non-OEM signed boot software during startup. In other words, the Secure Boot firmware is the one that scans for non-signed boot software each time your computer boots up and if it detects anything strange, it will block the boot and will display the error message. To fix this error, there are two things you can try. You can try to disable the Secure Boot or try using a System Restore Point. For more detailed instructions, refer to each one of the options provided below.
Option 1 – Disable the Secure Boot in the BIOS
Disabling the Secure Boot in the BIOS settings is definitely recommended to resolve the issue. 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 2 – Try running System Restore in Advanced Startup Options
Since you probably can’t boot into your Windows 10 computer, you can try to run System Restore again in the Advanced Startup Options.
Boot your computer into the Advanced Startup Options screen.
From there, you will see some options to troubleshoot when you can’t log in to Windows in the usual way.
Now select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt.
After that, type “rstrui” and hit Enter to execute the command which will start the System Restore process.
Option 3 – Make a proper bootable USB Drive/Stick
To make a proper bootable USB drive, you need to use the Windows Media Creation tool. The Media Creation tool in Windows allows you to use the ISO installation file to make a bootable device that you can use to install Windows on your PC. Note that this is kind of different from the usual installation process as it could erase your computer’s current settings and data on the primary drive. Thus, before you proceed, you need to backup all your data into some removable drive and then use the Media Creation Tool to make a bootable drive.
After making the bootable drive, you need to plug it into your computer and then reboot.
Next, tap the F10 or Esc key to open the boot options.
Now set the boot priority of the removable drive the highest. Once the setup comes forth, follow the next onscreen instructions and install Windows without any problems.
Spying via some malicious app on the target phone is not a new thing but it can be very uncomfortable and even against the law in some countries.
Infecting the target phone can be done in various ways, another person can intentionally download and install applications on it, and you can install them via some phishing attacks or by an online scam. Once installed this piece of software presents a very serious invasion of privacy since it can track text messages, track phone location in real-time, record calls in real-time, eavesdrop on calls, take control of the camera and microphone, and many other applications.
Here are some common symptoms of mobile phones infected with spyware.
Symptoms of spyware
Random reboots Slow performance Strange text messages Overheating Unusual high data usage Non-familiar apps in the app list The fast drain of the battery Long shutdown time Strange interference and sounds during calls Signs of activity during standby mode
If your phone exhibits any of these symptoms you might have a spyware app installed and running on it.
Common spy apps
There are many apps that have been designed to spy on people that can be downloaded in the app store or on Google Play today. Most of these spyware apps are aimed at parents wanting to keep an eye on and protect their children. However, these can be used by anyone in order to spy on a target person via their phone.
Below is a list of common apps that can be used to spy on you. Many spyware apps require a phone to be ‘jailbroken’ or ‘rooted’ before being installed, this is when the phone’s operating system is changed to allow the phone to become unlocked and customizable.
mSpy : An undetectable spying app for iOS devices. It can be used to read your chats, see your location, view your email, check your call history, record your keystrokes, and more.
Spyera : This app requires rooted and jail-broken iPhones to work. It can go undetected and monitors phone calls and your call history. It even allows call recording and eavesdropping on live calls.
Flexispy : Flexispy prides itself as the #1 phone monitor for parents and can monitor everything from calls to social texts.
Umobix : This powerful spyware app has a dashboard that allows users to easily monitor someone’s location, calls, texts, keystrokes, all major social media, and more. You can detect Umobix because it heats up the infected phone and greatly affects the battery life of the infected device.
Ikey Monitor : Although it requires the device to be rooted for Android or jailbroken for iPhones, this spy app captures keystrokes, passwords, and screenshots, allows for call recording and supports multiple languages.
Clevguard : Available for both iOS and Android, Clevguard allows users to track GPS and Wi-Fi locations, capture screenshots remotely, and more. Due to a recent update, the spy app drains the target phone’s battery significantly.
Remove spyware from your phone
If any of the beforementioned apps are present on your phone you need to remove them right away.
Go to your phone settings and remove the malicious applications, then download some protection suite and scan the whole phone for any other trace of software remains or other malware apps.
0xc00d36cb error shows up when you are trying to play a video or movie using the default player in Windows. This error can occur due to a glitch in the media player or corrupted system files. in this guide, we will show you how to tackle this issue and fix it.
Run the video playback troubleshooter
Click on Start and select Settings.
Go to Update and Security.
Scroll down and open the Troubleshoot tab.
Scroll down and select the Video Playback option.
Click the Run the Troubleshooter button.
The troubleshooter will perform an initial scan and offer a few options.
Select Continue with this troubleshooter.
The troubleshooter will scan the system again for driver and codec issues.
Follow on-screen instructions and apply recommended fixes.
Reset the Movies and TV app
Click on Start and select Settings.
Go to Apps and open the Apps and features tab.
Scroll down to Movies and TV.
Select Movies and TV.
Click Advanced options.
Scroll down and click on the Reset button.
Create a new user account
Click on Start and select Settings.
Open Accounts.
Open the Family & other users tab.
Scroll down to Other users and click the Add someone else to this PC button.
In the Microsoft account window, type your email address.
If you don’t want to enter an email address and establish a local account, click on I don’t have this person’s sign-in information option instead.
Next, select Add a user without a Microsoft account (for a local account).
Else, enter your Microsoft account login details.
Enter a user name and password for your new account. Also, select a security question and add an answer to it.
Once the new profile is ready, log out of your current account.
Check for permission issues
Right-click on the problematic file and select Properties.
Open the Security tab.
Click the Advanced button.
In the Advanced Security Setting window, click the Change link.
In the Select User or Group window, enter Everyone in the text box.
Click the Check Names button.
Click OK and Apply to save the changes.
Close all the Properties windows.
Try playing the file or modifying the properties and check for any improvements.
Windows 11 has brought us a new and revamped settings application that will cover most personalization and overall settings for your operating system. But as much as the new settings app is tweaked and modified there are still some things that can be modified only inside Control Panel.
Since the Control Panel icon itself is somewhat not right away once clicked on the start button we are presenting you a couple of ways to open it so you can change each detail you want.
Via Start menu
The most straightforward and easiest way to reach and open the control panel is via the Start menu. In order to do it just click on the Start menu and type in the control panel. Then click on Control Panel Icon in the results.
Pin Control panel icon to the taskbar
In order to actually pin the control panel to Taskbar, you will need to open it first. Use the previous simple and fast steps in order to quickly open it then in the taskbar right-click on its icon. Choose Pin to Taskbar and close control panel. Now you can open the control panel quickly just by clicking it on its icon in the Taskbar.
Add Desktop icon
If you liked the idea to have an icon that you can click in order to fast open the control panel but you are not very fond of the icon being located in your Taskbar then let's place it on Desktop instead. In order to place a special control panel icon on the desktop, we will use Windows setting app. Open settings app with ⊞ WINDOWS + I and go to Personalization tab. Inside the personalization tab, go to Themes and click on Desktop Icon Settings. Check the box beside Control Panel and click on OK. The Control Panel icon will appear now on your Desktop and you can double click on it to launch it.
Run Control Panel from the Run dialog box
Same as in the previous version of Windows you can also open the Control Panel via Windows built-in run menu. This is mostly the preferred way to gain access to it by system administrators. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog. Inside dialog type in control and press ENTER. Control Panel will open right away.
The NVIDIA Control Panel is a useful tool for users who have NVIDIA graphics on their PCs as this tool allows users to how the graphics card is used on the computer using several controls that come with the graphics card from NVIDIA. Thus, it can be quite inconvenient when it suddenly crashes all of a sudden for some reason. This kind of problem could be due to the toggling of Output Dynamic Range is limited, or there could be some issue with the integrity of the Power Supply for the graphics card, and many more. So if you are using NVIDIA on your computer and its Control Panel keeps on crashing on your Windows 10 computer, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in sorting the problem out. For more details, refer to the guidelines laid out below.
Option 1 – Try to toggle the Output Dynamic Range
The first thing you can do to fix the problem is to toggle the Output Dynamic Range by following these steps:
Navigate to this path: Display > Change resolution.
Next, scroll a bit on the right-side panel until you see the Output Dynamic Range drop-down.
After that, select “Full” from the drop-down menu.
Apply the changes you’ve made and see if it is able to fix the problem with the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Option 2 – Try changing the Power Management and Vertical Sync settings
The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to change the Power Management, as well as the Vertical Sync settings.
Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and go to this path: 3D Settings > Manage 3D Settings.
Next, set the Power Management to be “Prefer Maximum Performance” for your processor located on the right-side panel.
After that, set the Vertical sync setting off and then click on the Apply button located at the bottom-right portion of the window and check if it is able to fix the problem or not.
Option 3 – Try updating the drivers from the official site of NVIDIA
If both the first and second given options didn’t work, you can also try updating the drivers from the official NVIDIA website. And in case you don’t know the type of Nvidia graphics card that your computer is on, follow the steps below:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next type in “dxdiag” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
From there, you can see what type of Nvidia graphics card that your system is on.
Take note of your graphics card information and then look for the best drivers for your operating system. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the file, restart your PC.
Option 4 – Try to roll back the driver to the previous version
If updating the NVIDIA display drivers didn’t work for you, then it’s time to roll back the device drivers. It is most likely that after you updated your Windows computer that your driver also needs a refresh.
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 NVIDIA Drivers and expand it.
Next, select the driver entries that are labeled appropriately.
Then select each one of them and double click to open a new mini window.
After that, make sure that you’re on the Driver tab and if you are not, just navigate to it then click the Roll Back Driver button to switch back to the previous version of the NVIDIA Drivers.
Now restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.
Stop 0x00000050 is an error code that is popularly known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error. This error occurs when
Windows crashes on your system. Stop 0x00000050 error is displayed in a blue screen which is why it is called the BSoD error.
However, the parameters within the Stop 0x0000005 error message sometimes vary depending on your PC configuration.
Solution
Error Causes
The most common causes of the Stop 0x0000005 error are:
Hardware malfunctioning
Overheating of the components
Installation of a faulty device driver
Incompatible DLL files
Corrupt Registry
Spyware and Virus Infection
Whatever the cause may be, the Stop 0x00000050 error message is alarming and should be fixed at the earliest as it indicates major system stability problems that can often lead to data loss and system corruption.
Further Information and Manual Repair
To fix and repair the Stop 0x0000005 error you don’t always have to hire an IT professional. In fact, fixing this error is quite easy and you can do it yourself regardless of whether you have a good know-how of computers or not.
So, let’s get started! Here are some the easy DIY solutions to fix the Stop 0x0000005 error:
Sometimes this error may occur due to a temporary issue like overheating of the computer components. When this happens all you need to do is switch off the computer and allow the components to cool down. Try starting up your computer after a couple of hours. If the blue screen of death does not occur again, then this means there is nothing to worry about and the problem is resolved.
However, if the error appears again on your screen, then you need to try something else to solve and fix this error on your PC. If the cause of the error is a faulty device driver, then it is advisable to disable and remove it. Try updating the latest version of the faulty device driver. Using updated software helps ensure your PC keeps running smoothly.
If the cause of the Stop 0x0000005 error code is your system's exposure to viruses and spyware, then you must immediately download a powerful antivirus program. After you download it, scan for viruses on your system. Once the scanning is complete, you will see a scan report showing viruses on your PC. Delete all of them and click on repair.
Furthermore, you can also add more RAM to prevent and fix the Stop 0x0000005 error message on your computer. This solution is suitable when you try to run a program on your PC and you get this error message.
Microsoft’s initial Windows 11 hardware requirements were not really well received by users and they were not really clearly represented from the start making a lot of potential customers slowly drift away from the hype.
Windows 11 provides several different ways to make your cursor stand out and be easier to spot inside it. You can make the mouse pointer larger, invert it, or change its color.
Since the Control Panel icon itself is somewhat not right away once clicked on the start button we are presenting you a couple of ways to open it so you can change each detail you want.
