Bluetooth Headset in Windows gets disconnected

In the latest news, Microsoft has reached a deal to purchase Activision Blizzard for 67.8 billion. Now franchises like Warcraft, Starcraft, Overwatch, Call of duty, Diablo are now the property of Microsoft and I am sure that some of these games we can expect to be included in the Xbox game pass. This is the second large game company acquisition by Microsoft, Acquiring Bethesda first and a big hit to Sony since Xbox will now have more games in its catalog and as exclusives. Of course, the sale has to go through the standard closing conditions and completion of regulatory review and Activision Blizzard’s shareholder approval before it’s finalized. Assuming that all goes well, the deal is slated to be completed during the fiscal year 2023, which is July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.

Task View feature inside Windows 11 is actually a great feature, letting you quickly view open windows and virtual desktops. How Task view itself could be reached with keyboard shortcut combination of ⊞ WINDOWS + TAB some users will prefer this way of using it and thus button on the taskbar is something you do not want or need. There is a very easy way to remove mentioned button and I will show you how to do it. Right-click the taskbar button itself and click on Hide From Taskbar. That’s it, you have done it. Now in order for you to bring it back if you change your mind, you will have to do some extra steps but it is nothing difficult. Right-click on the taskbar and click on Taskbar settings, you will be lead to Personalization > Taskbar. Inside locate Taskbar Items and switch Task View to ON, you will see the Task View button right away showing itself again.

Many Linux users if not all of them can run their distros from a USB drive but did you know you can run Windows 10 from a USB drive as well? Microsoft has introduced all the way back to Windows 8 one feature called Windows To Go and it kept it in Windows 8.1 and in Windows 10 as well. This feature is intended as a convenient way for workers to carry their corporate environments with them, but having your own copy of Windows on a thumb drive could be handy for backup purposes, too, or if you frequently use public machines that lack your preferences/applications or that have a restricted OS.

What you will need?

In order to actually make Windows 10 run from a USB drive you will need the following things:

1. USB drive with a minimum size of 20GB
2. Working computer with Windows 10 running on it
3. Rufus or another ISO to UBS tool, get Rufus here: https://rufus.ie/en_US/
4. Windows 10 ISO file

Making Windows 10 UBS drive

Install Rufus on your Windows 10 and run it. Stick USB in PC and open Rufus. On the screen that follows choose your Windows 10 ISO image and under Image options choose Windows To Go. Click on ready and you are finished, that’s it. After Rufus finishes you have now fully working Windows 10 bootable drive which you can use on another PC for whatever reason.

Taking information from the internet or from other sources usually involves selecting the text, copying it into the clipboard, and then pasting it into your file. In today's modern applications pasting text will most of the time take its formating with it.

By formatting what I am talking about are parameters like font size, line breaks, hyperlinks, font styles, etc. and sometimes you do not want any of these in your file, you would like and prefer to have just plain text so you can format it as you wish.

In order to paste just plain text instead of using the CTRL + V keyboard shortcut, press CTRL + SHIFT + V instead. This shortcut will paste the only text into your file.

Shortcut and Microsoft Word

Leave it to Microsoft to make its shortcut not work in their application. In Microsoft Word, you can only use the standard CTRL + V shortcut, if you press CTRL + SHIFT + V nothing will happen. So in order to paste the only text into a word document, choose to paste special > text only

Other applications

I have tried CTRL + SHIFT + V in various applications like photoshop, illustrator, InDesign, visual studio code, slack, discord, WordPress installations, etc and only one that has not worked for me was Word and office in general so you are safe to use this trick and have desired results.

The microphone has become from exclusive niche hardware to everyday requirements. In today's world when we live in a pandemic most of the work has shifted from office to home where people need working computers with microphones, working microphones. So what do we do when the microphone stops working? Keep reading on to find out and hopefully, we will fix this as fast as possible.

Check Microphone Privacy Settings

In 2019, Microsoft introduced new privacy features to Windows that give you more granular control over which apps are accessing your microphone. The side effect of this is that certain apps may be blocked from using your microphone without you even knowing. To find out if this is the issue, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone. Click Change and make sure the slider is set to On. This will broadly mean that the mic is now enabled on your PC. Next, make sure the slider under Allow apps to access your microphone is set to On, then look through the list of Microsoft Store apps to make sure the apps you want to use are selected. You’re likely to be using many apps, not from the Microsoft Store, so to make sure these are enabled, scroll down even further and set the Allow desktop apps … slider to On.

Check Microphone Driver

The outdated or corrupted driver could be the issue for the microphone not working in Windows 10. To check the driver status, follow these steps:

1. In your Start menu search for Device Manager
2. In the device manager window search for sound and expand it.
3. Once expanded, you should see your audio drivers. Note that the names of these will vary depending on the manufacturer.
4. On Audio, right-click, and select properties. On the General tab, check to see if the device is working properly.
5. If it is not working properly, click on the driver tab and select the update option.
6. Repeat for the other audio drivers.
7. Restart the computer.

Check the Sounds setting

1. In the taskbar, right-click on the speaker icon at the far-right corner and select the sound option.
2. On the Recording tab, click on the microphone and select the Properties option.
3. Select the levels tabs and increase the volume for both microphone and microphone boost.
4. Go to the Enhancement tab of the same pop-up and make sure that the immediate mode checkbox is checked.
5. Click Ok and restart the computer.

The sound troubleshooter

1. Right-click on the sound icon at the far-right corner of the taskbar and select troubleshoot sound problems.
2. The computer will detect any fault that exists with your audio and recommend fixes for you. You just need to read through the prompts and click the options that you think will work for you.

Try microphone on another computer

If previous steps have not produced results, try the microphone on another computer, if it is not working there then it is a hardware malfunction

Error Code 0x8007000d - What is it?

Error Code 0x8007000d is a common error code that can be found on the Windows 10 Operating system, although it can also appear in previous versions of the operating system, as well.

Common symptoms include:

• Inability to download new updates.
• Inability to run the Update tool through to completion.

There are four basic ways to try to resolve Error Code 0x8007000d on your Windows machine. Three of these are pretty simple for even the most basic users, while the final method requires some familiarity with running commands in the Command Prompt. If you don’t feel that you have the skill or confidence to complete the steps listed below, it is generally recommended that you get in touch with a qualified computer repair technician that can assist you in error resolution.

Error Causes

The main cause for the appearance of Error Code 0x8007000d on a Windows machine is that one of the files that the Update tool uses to run one or more updates cannot be found or has experienced damage. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can try on your machine that can be used to attempt to resolve the issues at hand.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Three primary methods exist for the resolution of Error Code 0x8007000d on a Windows machine. As mentioned above, two of these methods can usually be accomplished by basic users, while the third requires some degree of familiarity with the tools associated with the Command Prompt. If you don’t feel that you have the knowledge or skill necessary to follow these steps, contact a computer repair technician to aid you.

Here are the best ways to try to resolve Error Code 0x8007000d on your device:

Method One:  Use the Troubleshooting Tool from Windows Update

From the Windows Update tool, you can attempt to run a scan using the Windows Update Troubleshooter, which can try to identify the specific issue that is occurring and to fix it automatically.

Not only will this tool often fix the problem at hand, but it can also help you to avoid other errors that you may have encountered later on in the Update process. This tool should always be your starting point when you encounter an error as you attempt to download or install updates for your Windows machine.

After the tool has been run, restart your computer to apply any changes and then reopen the Update tool to reattempt installation.

Method Two:  Reset Your Computer

In some cases, the missing or corrupted files may be extensive enough that you need to restore your computer to an earlier point. If you create regular backups of your information or have a past version of the software that you can install, this can help you to resolve the issue. Otherwise, you may need to restore your device to its factory settings to resolve the error.

Always make sure to backup your important files and information before you perform a reset of your device, in order to ensure that you are able to return the computer to its original state when you have finished.

Method Three:  Use Command Line Tools to Resolve the Issue

One of the ways that you can try to resolve this particular error code is the use a DISM tool. This is accessed through the Command Prompt. In order to use this method, follow the steps below:

• Step One: Open up the search bar in the Start Menu and type in the words “Command Prompt,” selecting it and choosing to run it as an administrator.
• Step Two: Enter each of the commands below, hitting the “Enter” key when you finish each one:
  • exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
  • exe /Online /Clean-upimage /Restorehealth
  • Exit
• Step Three: Attempt to run the Update program again. In some cases, you may want to restart your computer before you attempt to run the Update tool again.

If you have not been able to resolve the error code using the steps above or if you are unsure of your ability to follow these steps on your own, get in touch with a trusted computer repair professional that is familiar with the Update process and the errors associated with it.

As you know, a Virtual Private Network or VPN is used to access a particular network from another network which is why it is also referred to as a mini-internet. Moreover, you can use it in two ways. One, you can use it to get you access to a closed server which means that you would not be getting access to the internet. Second, you can also use it to access a set of resources while at the same time get access to the internet. However, what if you want to access your resources at home even when you’re away? And what if you want to use the private server at home or at your office even when you’re away? This is where the callout for a VPN server for yourself comes in. And so in this post, you will be guided in how you can create a public VPN server on your Windows 10 computer. Follow each one of the given steps below to get started. Step 1: Find your IP address. This step is rather simple since all you have to do is open Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center. From there, click on “Local Area Connection” and then click on Details where you’ll see your IP address next to “Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address”. Step 2: Next, set up port forwarding on your router. In this step, you will have to configure port forwarding in your router so that you would be able to connect to the VPN server through a public network like the internet.

• Log in to the Admin Panel of your router. You have to do this since your router will be the gateway for your access to the network.
• After you’re logged in, look for the “Port Forwarding” or “Applications and Gaming” or “NAT/QoS” menu tab and other similar names.
• Now you need to set the port number to 1723 for connections based on Point to Point Tunneling Protocol.
• Then save the configuration and reboot your router.

Step 3: Set up a VPN server on Windows 10.

• In the Cortana search box, type “ncpa.cpl” and click on the related entry from the search results.
• After that, tap the Alt + F keys to bring down the File Menu and then select New Incoming Connection which will open a mini window where you can allow the user accounts on the particular machine to access the VPN connection.
• On the other hand, you can also click the “Add someone” button so that you can add someone else to the whitelist that can access the connection.
• Now click on Next and you’ll see an option to select how people will connect to the network. Check the checkbox for the “Through the Internet” option.
• After that, you will see a page where you have to configure the network. Just select IPv4 and then click on Properties.
• From there, you will be asked to continue some additional settings like letting users access your Local Area Network or how IP addresses will be allocated to these users. Click on OK to save the changes you’ve made.
• Click on Allow Access after you configure the network. And if you want to, you have the option to print this information for future reference or for the client machine.
• Now click on Close to exit the configuration process.

Step 4: Allow the VPN Connections through the firewall In this step, you will have to allow the VPN connections through the firewall.

• In the Cortana search box, type “Allow an app through Windows Firewall” and click on the related search result to open the intended Windows Firewall settings.
• Next, click on Change Settings.
• Then scroll down to check if Routing and Remote Access is Enabled for both the Public and Private networks and click on OK.

Step 5: Set up a VPN connection on Windows 10 Now all that’s left for you to do is to set up a VPN connection on Windows 10.

• Go to Settings > Network and Internet.
• From the list of options given, click on VPN located on the left pane to see the related settings.
• After that, click on the “+” icon to add a VPN connection.
• Next, select Windows Default under VPN Provider and under the Connection Name, input your VPN’s name, and then enter the IP address you got from the VPN service provider under the Server name or address section.
• Now select PPTP under VPN type since it is the most commonly used protocol for VPNs.

As you know, you can find the number keys in two spots on your keyboard – one is above the letters while the second one is at the number pad. Recently, a number of users reported not being able to type any numbers on their keyboards while some reported that their keyboards only type numbers. This issue could occur on both sets of the number keys or on the one at the number pad. This is a rare situation and seldom happens to users. So if you are one of the few who experience the same problem then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to fix the keyboard issue. This issue is most likely due to a switched-off number pad, outdated or corrupted keyboard drivers, turned on mouse keys or it might have something to do with the physical connections. Whatever the cause is, here are some options you have to try to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Try to enable Numlock

The first thing you can do to fix the issue with the keyboard is to enable the Numlock since one of the most common reasons for this kind of problem is where the keyboard won’t type numbers because the Numlock key is disabled. Thus, you have to enable this key by pressing it once to enable the number pad.

Option 2 – Turn off the Mouse key

• From the Start Menu, go to Control Panel.
• Navigate to Ease of Access Center.
• Then select the option “Make the keyboard easier to use”.
• Navigate to the option “Control the mouse with keyboard” and then uncheck the “Turn On Mouse Keys” option to turn off the Mouse key.
• Click on Apply and then on OK to save the changes made.

Note: The problem with the keyboard could stem down to a simple issue in its settings so if you have successfully followed the steps for this solution then you should be able to fix the problem.

Option 3 – Reinstall, update or rollback your keyboard driver

Once you’ve determined that the problem is in the software part of the keyboard, it is now time to try to reinstall, update or roll back your keyboard drivers. To reinstall the driver for your keyboard, refer to these steps:

• From the WinX Menu, open the Device Manager.
• In the Device Manager, you should find your laptop’s keyboard under the “Keyboards” option. Right-click on it and select the “Uninstall” option.

Note: If you’re not quite certain about your laptop’s keyboard, you can uninstall all the keyboards if there’s more than one.

• After that, restart your PC and see if the keyboard driver is installing automatically. If not, open the Device Manager again and right-click on Keyboards, and select the option “Scan for hardware changes” to install it.

Once the keyboard driver is installed again, check if your keyboard is now working properly or not.

Option 4 – Try connecting the keyboard to a different USB port or another computer

The problem might have something to do with the USB port that’s currently in use by your keyboard. It could be that it’s not working so it makes sense to unplug it and attach it to another USB port. You can also clean the USB port on both ends to ensure that they are not affected by corrosion. In addition, you can also try connecting the keyboard to a different computer and see if the Shift key works there or not.

Option 5 – Try to check your connections

You can also try checking if the connection mode you are using for your keyboard is functioning properly. For instance, if you are using a Surface 2-in-device, you can clean the connection pins and see if it resolves the problem.

Option 6 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooters

• The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
• After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
• From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
• Next, select Keyboard from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
• After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.

In Windows 11 by default inside the Start menu, there is recommended section that contains recently opened folders, documents, and files. If you do not wish this section and do not want recent items in your Start menu there is an easy way to turn it off.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
2. Click on Personalization
3. On the right side scroll down and click on Start
4. Click on the switch beside Show recently opened items in Start, Jump lists, and File Explorer
5. Close settings

Settings will be automatically applied and there will be no more recommended items inside your Start menu to create clutter, it will be nice and clean.

Internal Error 2324 - What is it?

Internal Error 2324 occurs when you try to upgrade Firefox on your Windows 7 PC. The program fails to install and run successfully. The following error message is displayed:

‘The installer encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2324.’

Solution

Error Causes

This error may occur due to different reasons. These include:

• Viral infection
• Bad registry entries (cookies or traces of old version of Firefox program)
• Other programs running on your PC during Firefox program installation
• Installation was not performed from the Administrator account

To use the Firefox web browser successfully on your PC, you first need to resolve error 2324 on your system.

Further Information and Manual Repair

To repair error 2324, try the following methods:

Method 1 - Perform a Clean Reinstall.

This means to remove the Firefox program completely from your PC and then reinstall it. To do this, remove the Firefox installation folder saved in one of the locations by default: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox Now download the latest Firefox version on your PC and save the setup file on your computer. After that double click, the downloaded installation file and follow the steps illustrated in the wizard to install Firefox on your PC.

Method 2

Sometimes Firefox installation may fail because of the interference from other programs running on your PC. Therefore, it is advisable to close all programs running in the background when upgrading the Firefox program. You can also disable programs like Logitech QuickCam and Spybot Tea Timer.  These are some of the many programs that are notorious for interfering with Firefox updates.

Method 3 - Scan for viruses to resolve.

Viruses are malicious programs that often enter computers through files downloads from unreliable websites and phishing emails. These programs then hide in your PC and infect it. You may often experience problems during program installation if your PC is infected by viruses. To fix the issue and ensure smooth Firefox program installation on your system, simply run an antivirus. Antivirus scans and detects all viruses in a few minutes. Upon detection, remove them right away to ensure your PC is free from such malicious programs. Now try updating Firefox on your system again. If it is updated smoothly, then the error is resolved.

Method 4

The registry of your system stores all the activities performed on your PC. You may have uninstalled the old Firefox version from the Control Panel but the traces of the uninstalled program may still remain in the registry as bad entries. These bad entries may be causing error 2324 to pop up on your PC. To resolve, you need to remove these entries from the registry. For quick removal, download Restoro. It is a user-friendly PC Fixer with a registry cleaner that scans and removes all obsolete files stored in the registry such as incorrect registry keys, bad entries, cookies, and junk files. Click here to download Restoro.