A Quick Guide to Repair User32.dll Error Code

As of the time of writing this article you no longer need or are required to have a password if you plan to log in to your Microsoft account. Microsoft explored various options for account security and came to the conclusion that passwords are obsolete. Microsoft is letting you access your account through the Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key, SMS verification, or email verification code. All of these methods are way better in terms of security than passwords.

How to turn these features on?

To get rid of your Microsoft password, the process is simple. You simply need to go to your Microsoft account, click “advanced security options,” then “enable passwordless accounts” under the Additional security section.

If your printer has been working just fine and you suddenly get an error message saying, Printer not activated, error code 30”, then something is definitely wrong and it’s not good especially if you have lots of things to do. Worry not, as this post will help you resolve the printer issue. Simply follow each one of the given options below carefully.

Option 1 – Try running the Printer Troubleshooter

The first thing you can to resolve the printer issue is running the Printer Troubleshooter. This built-in troubleshooter can detect and automatically fix the problem for you. To use it, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “msdt.exe /id PrinterDiagnostic” in the field and click OK or hit Enter to open the Printer Troubleshooter.
• Then click the Next button and follow the next on-screen instructions to fix the issue with the printer.

Option 2 – Check if the concerned printer is set as the default one

It could be that the printer you are trying to use is not set as the default printer. This is mostly the case so to fix the issue, you need to set the concerned printer as default. To do that, follow the steps below.

• Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings app.
• After opening Settings, select Devices from the menu and then click the Printers and scanners option.
• From there, look for the printer you are using among the list of options. After you find it, click on it and select the Manage option.
• Now click on the “Set as Default” option to set the printer as default.

Option 3 – Try updating the driver for USB Composite Device

The problem with your printer might also be caused by the USB Composite Device. It could be that the USB Composite Device is acting up. Thus, you need to remove and reinstall it. How? Follow the steps below.

• First, click the Start button and type “device manager”.
• Then click on the “Device Manager” from the search results to open it.
• From there, look for the USB Composite Device option and right-click on it, and select the Update Driver from the options.
• Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.
• Now uninstall and remove the printer driver software and reinstall it then refresh.

Option 4 – Try updating all the drivers for your Printer

• 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. Look for Print queues from the list of drivers displayed and click on it to see all the Printer drivers.
• Next, right-click on each one of the drivers and select “Update driver” to update the driver. Do it for all the Printer drivers
• After that, select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
• Restart your PC and try printing a document again and see if the “Printer not activated, error code -30” no longer pops up.

Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your printer manufacturer and check if there’s a new update – if there is, download it.

Without any fanfare, news, or information Bethesda has released a completely free upgrade for legendary Quake 1. Free upgrade is automatically applied to all users who possess the original game and it has already been rolled out.

What has changed for good?

New textures, effects, and resolutions are one thing that will come first into your focus when you start the game. From the moment game is started it feels and looks like a game you remember from a long time ago. Models are also upgraded with a higher polygon count. Another thing that will hit you right away is the legendary OST by Trent Reznor in its full glory. If you have the original Quake and played it you will know that OST was missing from the Steam release and having it fully back is a great feature. I would argue that placing just OST alone in the steam release is enough for people to play it again since it adds so much atmosphere. Deathmatch and other multiplayer goodies are all here as well and there is a completely free new episode in the game with several levels. Yes, you get a free Quake upgrade in HD with an extra episode completely free.

The bad side of Quake coin

So this might come as a purist or obsessive nit-picking but there were two things that I, personally am not a fan of and have noticed during my gameplay. Please know that this is personal preference and by no other chance reflects the quality of the game itself but I just had to talk about it. Quake remake is made in a new engine and as such dynamic and gunplay feel different from the original, granted they have done the best they could to replicate the authentic feeling of the original game but there are parts of the game where I have felt that simply put, it feels different. Another thing is also tied to technology and the overall game is somewhat a little brighter and in some areas little softer in dark areas. Like I said this is purely personal preference and might come as nitpicking but I preferred the darker and grittier look of the original game. Darkplaces, the free custom-made upgrade did this in my opinion better.

I must admit that I am a big Western Digital fan, I have been using their hard drives really long time and I must admit that I am very happy with their products. Sometimes they could be a little more expensive than other drives on market but security and performance are on their side. If you ever wanted to purchase Western Digital or WD hard drives or you are considering getting one, no doubt that you have come across their color cryptic line of products. 1TB Hard drive can come in 6 different colors in your search products query and if you are not familiar with the WD color coding of hard drives you might be a little lost as to which one is right for you and what are the differences. This article is made to explain exactly that, what are WD colors representing so you can choose the right one for your needs. Western Digital has decided to use color codes in order to mark their series of disks which means that each color represents different hard drive series and it is made and aimed for different use, we are going to explore in detail each series below:

WD BLUE

Blue series is all around typical hard drive made and meant for daily use in desktop computers for all kinds of tasks. You can use it in casual gaming or for storage, its purpose is tailored for all-around casual daily users.

WD RED

WD Red HDD is designed for NAS and RAID systems. Its purpose is to be turned 24/7 who ever need access to it. Get this series if you need to have constant access to files or if you need a reliable RAID hard drive.

WD GREEN

Green series of the hard drive is manufactured for low power consumption and for storage, they are meant to be used for storage and not accessed regularly.

WD PURPLE

Purple line of hard drive products is designed solely for video surveillance systems. Instead of having a preference on reading data like WD RED, the PURPLE series is given preference on writing, constant writing to be more precise.

WD BLACK

The black series is made for an external storage medium with high performance. Due to the high performance, WD Black hard drives are much popular among photo editors and high-end gamers.

WD GOLD

WD Gold HDD provides a long-term cold storage medium. Therefore, this series of Western Digital hard drives are suitable for data centers. These hard drives can handle many sophisticated systems simultaneously and work well with different servers That's it, I hope that you have now a more clear understanding of the WD color-coding of its hard drive series. As always thank you for reading and I hope you will have a great day. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

Symptoms of Blue Screen of Death Errors

Symptoms of a blue screen of death problem are easy to identify: if you have a blue screen error, then your computer will display a blue screen. Also known as the infamous “Blue Screen of Death”, this screen will pop up when something goes horribly wrong with your computer. The screen displays cryptic information about the problem before automatically restarting the system.

Bluescreen Of Death Errors Solution

Download Available To Completely Repair Blue Screen of Death Errors

Recommended: Download the Automatic Repair Utility to correct this and other PC performance issues.

Bluescreen Error Causes

This one can be a bit more complex: blue screens are caused by hundreds of different things. In fact, any miscommunication between the hardware and software of the computer can lead to the dreaded Blue Screen of Death, blue screens reference a communication problem between the Windows operating system and the hardware in your PC.

Why do computer blue screens of death errors occur?

Most computer users have experienced a blue screen of death at least once in their life. But have you ever stopped to wonder why they occur? Blue screens of death can occur for a number of different reasons, but the most common reason is that your PC’s hardware failed to properly communicate with its software, resulting in a fatal error. If your video card, processor, hard drive, or any other vital system component encountered a serious communication error with your operating system, then your PC may automatically display the blue screen and shut down for its own safety. Blue screens can also occur as a self-protection mechanism if the PC is overheated.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Where do Windows blue screen errors come from?

Blue screen errors come from many different sources on your computer. However, the majority of blue screen errors seem to come from the Windows Registry, which contains important configuration information about the programs, data, and personal files on your PC. Windows constantly rely on the registry in order to operate normally, but since the registry is incredibly complex (it holds hundreds of thousands of files), errors naturally develop over time. Fortunately, registry errors are fixable. They can be repaired using special registry cleaning software. During a scan, registry cleaning software looks for any registry entries that have errors. Once these entries are found, the software automatically repairs each entry. In many cases, this can permanently repair the blue screen error and prevent blue screens from ever appearing again.

Blue screen Windows 7

Windows 7, despite being Microsoft’s most popular operating system to date, is not immune to blue screen errors. It’s more stable than previous versions of Windows, although many users will inevitably encounter blue screen errors in Windows 7. No matter which version of Windows you’re currently using, the error remains the same: the hardware on your computer has trouble communicating with the software, forcing the system to display the blue error message we all love to hate.

“Blue Screen of Death”

There’s a reason this error message is famously called the “blue screen of death.” Immediately after displaying a blue screen, the Windows computer will ‘die’, which means that it restarts itself. Another reason why the error could be called the blue screen of death is that it is often displayed at the end of a PC’s life cycle. As PCs get older and their hardware starts to fail, blue screen errors become more and more common. In real life, death isn’t reversible. In the computer world, blue screens of death certainly are. With the right software support – like Restoro – even the most novice computer technician can fix their blue screen errors and restore their PC to healthy working conditions.

Benefits Of Using Restoro, BSOD Error Codes

Restoro is one of the world’s most popular PC optimization programs. Used by professional PC technicians around the world, Restoro is a feature-rich software suite that has helped many PC users breathe new life into an old PC. Restoro optimizes computer performance in hundreds of different ways. It looks through the registry and repairs any erroneous entries it finds. It also hunts down and eliminates malware and goes to work with the press of a button. And most importantly for you – it’s also amazingly effective at repairing blue screen errors. Ready to experience the Restoro difference? Here are a few more advantages of our favorite software program:

• Easy for anyone to use: A few years ago, only the most tech-savvy individuals could optimize their computer’s performance.  Everybody else had to pay for expensive tech support or simply buy a new computer. Thankfully, the software development community has come up with innovations like Restoro which are easy for anyone to use. Just click a button and your computer will be clean within minutes. The process could not be easier.

• Surprisingly fast: There are hundreds of thousands of files in the Windows Registry. In spite of that fact, Restoro goes to work incredibly quickly. It scans the depths of your PC in an effort to uncover whatever is causing your blue screen errors. The entire scan is complete within just a few minutes, making it easy for anyone to scan their computer on a regular basis.

• Free trial: It’s good to be skeptical. And if you don’t think Restoro will fix any of the errors your computer is experiencing, then that’s okay. However, when you download the free Restoro, you can instantly scan your computer for errors. If any errors are found during this scan, then you can repair these problems with the click of a button.

• Fixes frustrating errors: Blue screen errors are incredibly frustrating. You can’t get any work done on your computer when experiencing a blue screen problem. For that reason, Restoro helps alleviate some of the most frustrating PC problems in the world today.

• More than just blue screen repairs: Sure, blue screens are annoying. But they’re only one of many different errors that a PC can develop over time. Fortunately, Restoro does more than just fix blue screen errors. The software also identifies and repairs other problem areas on your PC, making it easy to optimize performance.

Ready to get rid of your blue screen errors – permanently? Restoro today!

The world today is still sadly under pandemic and by the looks of it, COVID-19 is here to stay, well at least for some time in the near future. Razer seems to think so as well since their upcoming gear is not really what you would expect. Enter Hazel, a new and upcoming Razer smart mask.

Protection

Hazel mask has a high bacterial surgical N95 filter with fluid resistance that will protect you against large droplets and splashes. A detachable active ventilator regulates airflow and is capable of filtering around 95% of airborne particles. Mask comes with a special charging case that has an auto sterilization UV light that will kill bacteria and viruses inside the case interior while it charges. When the mask is recharging it will change color from red to green visually showing the level of the current charge. Mask of course has easy to replace filters inside ventilators and Razer is standing by that fully charged mask will last enough for full-day use. An active ventilation system brings cool air while releasing breathing heat at the same time drastically reducing CO2 inside the mask that could produce dizziness and headache. Silicon guard is on its edge gluing to around your face in order to prevent exterior air sneaking inside the mask and positioning it firmly so it does not rest on your lips in order for easier and clearer communication.

Hazel personalization and technical features

Hazel has a clear and transparent design making it better for social interaction since other people will be able to see your lips and smiles thus making it more natural. A low light mode that turns on automatically when it is dark outside is also aimed for easier communication. Speaking of communication, the mask comes with voice Amp technology that has a built-in mic and amplifier thus making your voice lines clear so you are not muffled when wearing the mask itself. Your friends and other people will be able to hear you like you are not wearing a mask at all. Thicker air loops apply less pressure on ears and can be adjusted for a more secure fit, while the mask itself can be custom-made to fit your face shape. And of course Hazel comes with 16.8 million colors and a suite of effects with Razer Chroma RBG

Many users would probably agree that the Windows Media Player, in most cases, is a lot better than the Groove. Although it is understandable why the Groove Music app was created, it may be time for Microsoft to bring its focus back on Windows Media Player. Even more, so that some users are experiencing an issue where they were not able to play their playlist in the Windows Media Player on their Windows 10 PCs. One particular user claimed that when he removed his music from the C drive and transferred them to the C drive for some reason he didn’t state. Right after he did that, any attempts to play songs in the Windows Media Player just don’t seem to work. Transferring music to a different location shouldn’t cause any issue but for some unknown reason, it did. According to security experts, the reason why the Windows Media Player didn’t play the playlist is that it still believes that the songs are still located in the C drive when they’re really not. So the question here is, how can you get the Windows Media Player to recognize the exact and correct location of the songs? Worry not, for this post will show you how exactly you can do that. Carefully follow each one of the instructions given below to fix the Windows Media Player issue.

Option 1 – Try running the WMP Troubleshooters

In case there are any issues with the Windows Media Player, you can always count on the WMP Troubleshooters to fix the problem for you. These built-in troubleshooters, namely, Windows Media Player Library and Windows Media Player DVD Troubleshooters can help you fix the problem, so run them both and see if you can now play those songs or not.

Option 2 – Try rebuilding the Windows Media Player Database

If the first option didn’t work for you, you might have to rebuild the Windows Media Player database. You can do this by following the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys at the same time to open the Run dialog box.
• After that, copy and paste this command in the field: %userprofile%Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftMedia Player
• Once you’ve pasted the command, hit Enter then you will see a new File Explorer which is the folder for the Media Player. You will have to delete every item in this folder, except for the folders. Meaning to say, you must only delete the individual contents inside but not the folders.
• Now launch the Windows Media Player again and watch as it rebuilds the music library automatically.

Installing Windows Updates in your Windows 10 computer does not always go smoothly as there are instances when you could encounter some errors along the way. One of these errors is error code 0x80244022 –WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_SERVICE_UNAVAIL HTTP 503. This kind of error can be encountered when you check, download or install any updates. At the time of writing, it isn’t known yet what the exact cause of this error is. However, there are some potential fixes you can check out to fix it. When this error occurs, you will see the following error message on your screen:

“There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x80244022).”

To fix error code 0x80244022, refer to the potential fixes provided below.

Option 1 – Disable the Proxy server

The first thing you can do is to try disabling the Proxy server as it might be the reason why you’re getting error 0x80244022 for Windows Updates. To disable the proxy server, refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “inetcpl.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to pull up the Internet Properties.
• After that, go to the Connections tab and select the LAN settings.
• From there. Uncheck the “Use a Proxy Server” option for your LAN and then make sure that the “Automatically detect settings” option is checked.
• Now click the OK and the Apply buttons.
• Restart your PC.

Note: If you are using a third-party proxy service, you have to disable it. In addition, if you are also using a VPN, you can try to disable it as well.

Option 2 – Run the DISM tool

You can run the DISM tool as well to help fix the error code 0x80244022 during Windows Update. 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 3 – Perform a System File Checker scan

The SFC or System File Checker scan could detect and automatically repair damaged system files that could be causing error code 0x80244022 to appear when you try to update your Windows 10 computer. 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 with 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 and hit Enter.

The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:

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

• Once done, restart your computer.

Option 4 – Try disabling the Firewall or antivirus program

Disabling the antivirus program or Firewall or any other security software installed in your computer is always a good idea you can try when the Windows Update process does not go smoothly. So before you try updating your computer again, make sure to disable the antivirus or security program and once the Windows Update is done, don’t forget to enable the antivirus program back again.

Option 5 – Try resetting the Windows Update components

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution/SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:/Windows/System32/catroot2/Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 6 – Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

You might also want to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter as it could also help in fixing Windows Update 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.

If you are following the latest gaming trends and spend a lot of time on social media, watching streams, etc. you might be under impression that gaming as a hobby is very expensive. If you plan to play the latest games on a very large screen in their highest setting that might be true but if you do not care about that you can still play games and spend much less money on them.

That being said we are here to share with you some tips and tactics on how to play good games with minimum money spent.

Do not buy games the moment when they are released

Buying a game on its launch date is maybe the worst and most expensive thing you can do. Games have their highest price on launch day but sadly with the current state of the industry, they are in their worst state as well. Games eventually became better over time after patches are released but so does their price drops after the hype has calmed down. So if you really must have some specific game on its launch day, go for it but know that by doing so you are getting the worst version of the game for its higher price.

Wishlist games and wait for the sale

All services today have a wishlist, very good and money-saving tactic is to wishlist interesting titles and wait for them to be on the sale. Services will usually have the option of sending you an email once your wishlist titles are on sale so you will be notified once they do. A good tactic as well is to wait for large sales like for example summer, winter, easter sales, or many other seasonal ones.

Get free games

Some online stores are offering free games from time to time and some are always offering some titles as gifts in order to get customers to their platform. EPIC has become famous for gifting some great titles over the past years completely for free and there are a lot of free-to-play games on each platform that you can play.

Get second-hand PC

Having a new computer is great but if your budget is tight you might consider getting your PC as a second hand instead of the new one. Hardcore games will switch components more frequently than your typical users and usually the components will be sold cheaper and be more affordable.

Play games on some older devices in general

Many games today are available on many platforms not only just on your typical PC. Same titles are available on your mobile phones, tablets, and even on your Android TV. Many titles will not even require the latest technology or monster of a computer in order to run them. You can also lower game settings and play many games on lower hardware if you do not mind not having top graphics settings.

Play over the cloud streaming

If you are very tight on budget but want to enjoy new games in their full glory there is always the option to play games via a cloud streaming service, it is not exactly a mega cheap option since it has a monthly fee but it is cheaper than some high-end gaming computer. If you combine this with the game pass you can enjoy the latest games with high-quality settings and pay it on a monthly basis.

What is Mastodon? Mastodon is an open-source microblogging network very similar to Twitter. You can make 500 characters post messages called toot (tweet), share videos or images, and follow other people. But unlike Twitter, Mastodon is decentralized, meaning the entire Mastodon is not run by a single company pulling all strings.

Mastodon can be used directly in your web browser or through a mobile client on a smartphone or tablet. It includes features that seem copied from Twitter-like replies, boosts (retweets), favorites (loves), a timeline view, blocking, and voluntary content warnings that hide sensitive content.

Mastodon also has some great features that Twitter does not have like automated post deletion for the older post of a certain age, requiring approval for follows without restricting your account, and opting out of search engine indexing.

Currently, there are also no ads on Mastodon meaning no ad tracking or ad network surveillance.

How Does Mastodon Work?

Mastodon is a social media network made of nodes called servers or instances each running special software meaning anyone can run their own Mastodon instance (if they have a proper dedicated server). When you have your own instance it can be linked in the federation or remain private, so individuals or companies can have control over individual Mastodon servers.

The software itself is open source based on the social networking protocol ActivityPub which was developed by WWW Consortium.

While using Mastodon, people sign up for accounts with specific instances. Once logged in, you can view a local timeline (of posts from that instance only) or, if the instance is federated with others, see a federated timeline comprised of toots from people in other instances. Mastodon users can send messages to each other using their Mastodon account names that are similar to email addresses in that they feature the server address as well as the user name.