HDMI which stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface is an audio/video interface that can be used to interconnect various multimedia devices. One of the common use for HDMI is when a CPU is connected to a monitor and a projector. Aside from that, it can also be used in connecting Blu-ray players and laptops to televisions as well as monitors.
One of the main advantages of using HDMI is that it can transmit both audio and video at high qualities such as 4K using only a single connection. However, you may also experience some issues in using it every now and then and one of them is when you find that after connecting the devices using the HDMI port, the screen appears to be black and there is no audio output. In such cases, there are a variety of hardware malfunctions that could be causing the problem with the HDMI connectivity. Although there a lot of potential causes, there are also potential fixes you can try to fix the problem.
Before you troubleshoot the HDMI Port problem, you might want to perform System Restore first as it might help you in fixing the problem. It could be that you’ve made some changes in some of the settings in your computer that triggered the problem. Thus, you can try run System Restore to undo them, refer to these steps:
First, press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the Stop error is fixed or not.
If the problem still persists after System Restore, then follow the given options below to further troubleshoot the problem.
Option 1 – Try to physically check the hardware of your computer
The first thing you can do is to check the physical status of the hardware in your computer. You can clean the dust off the hardware components like the Network Card or Graphics Card of the computer. You might want to use a small blower or you could also use a soft cloth and run the components gently. Make sure that you don’t damage any parts with moisture or cause harm to any circuits while you carry out this task.
Option 2 – Run the Video Playback troubleshooter
You might also want to run the Video Playback troubleshooter. To do so, refer to these steps:
First, open the Windows settings app.
Then navigate to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
From there, scroll down until you see the Video Playback section and click on it.
After that, you’ll see the Run the troubleshooter button, click on it to run the Video Playback troubleshooter, and follow the next on-screen instructions.
On other hand, you can also run the Hardware and Device troubleshooter if the Video Playback troubleshooter wasn’t able to fix the problem. You can run it from the same page that you run the Video Playback troubleshooter.
Option 3 – Try to rollback, update, or disable the Graphics card drivers
To fix the problem with the HDMI port, you can either roll back, update or disable them depending on your preference in order to resolve the problem.
First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for the Display Adapters and click on them.
After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters. Note that the rollback option is only available if the update was recent. So if it isn’t there, just click on the Update Driver option.
From there, Windows will automatically check for problems and update the Graphics card drivers.
Now restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.
Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.
Option 4 – Try to reset the Monitor
You could also try resetting the monitor or television using its hardware keys and see if it can resolve the problem. You can just refer to your TV or monitor’s guide for more information on how to reset them.
Option 5 – Try some miscellaneous fixes
Apart from the four given options above, you can also check out some miscellaneous fixes to fix the HDMI connectivity issue and here they are:
You can try to plug out the HDMI cord/cable from both source and destination and then plug it back in after a couple of minutes.
You can also check if the HDMI cable you are using is still in working condition.
You can also try to change the source and the destination of the video and see if either one of them is in a non-workable state.
Try checking if your settings are how they should be as intended in the “Project my screen” option by tapping the Win + P key combination on your keyboard.
If you suddenly noticed that your Onscreen keyboard in Windows 10 has become completely white or transparent for some reason, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on what you can do to resolve this kind of issue in your computer.
As you know, the on-screen keyboard is included in Windows 10 and has an executable file named “osk.exe”. The on-screen keyboard is a part of the Ease of Access feature in Windows 10 which allows users to navigate the computer with the help of the mouse instead of the physical keyboard. However, there are times when you might encounter some issues when using the on-screen keyboard. One of the issues reported recently is that the on-screen keyboard becomes transparent or it only displays the borders but there is no way for you to access it. You also won’t be able to move it from the view completely. To fix this problem, there are several suggestions you can check out. You can try to check the Fade button or run the Windows Touch Keyboard troubleshooter. You can also restart its process in the Task Manager. For more details, refer to each one of the given options below.
Option 1 – Try to check the Fade button
The first thing you can do is to check the Fade button on the on-screen keyboard. You can find it at the bottom right corner of the keyboard. If it is enabled, then it’s probably the reason why your on-screen keyboard is transparent as it lets it fade in the background. Thus, you have to disable it to resolve the problem.
Option 2 – Try to run the Windows Touch Keyboard troubleshooter
The next option you can check out is running the Windows Touch Keyboard troubleshooter. This troubleshooter will help you identify the problem and would fix them automatically.
Option 3 – Try to restart the process of the on-screen keyboard via Task Manager
The next thing you can do is to restart the on-screen keyboard’s process in the Task Manager. Just follow the steps below.
First, tap the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
Next, go to the Processes tab and look for the option that says, “Accessibility On-screen Keyboard”.
Once you found it, click on the drop-down arrow next to it and right click on the “On-screen Keyboard” option, and select End task to end its process.
After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “osk.exe” in the field, and then hit Enter to open the on-screen keyboard.
Finally, some good news for Blizzard entertainment after tons of bad stuff happening around it regarding lawsuits and people layoffs. Diablo 2 has become the most-watched game on Twitch after its official release and sold copies are on a satisfactory level.
For people not familiar with recent events, the state of California has sued Blizzard for various things including discrimination and offensive behavior. Later Blizzard executives were caught shredding some evidence and things just started to go to worse from there.
After much drama, many people believed that this is the end for Blizzard entertainment and that they would not be able to recover from this since the community has sided with California and Blizzard has received a large punch as many subscribed WOW players have left the game.
Things are not so grim as they were looking as their Diablo 2 remake has made moderate success despite being released in these troubling times and there are rumors of Overwatch 2 planned release date as of the first quarter of 2022.
This post will guide you through fixing the INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR Blue Screen Error on your Windows 10 computer. If you encounter this kind of Blue Screen of Death error, this means that the policy manager experienced a fatal error which in turn means that it can happen because of Drivers or Software or even due to external hardware. And so to resolve the issue, here are some suggestions that might be of help.
Option 1 – Update the Device drivers
As mentioned, the INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR BSOD error might have something to do with the drivers. It could be that the drivers are outdated so you need to update them in order to resolve the issue.
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. If you see a red or yellow sign that shows up against the driver, right-click on the driver’s name and select “Update Driver Software” or “Uninstall”. And if you find any drivers with a label saying, “Unknown device”, you need to update them as well.
Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
Restart your PC.
Option 2 – Check the Device performance and health
You can also try checking the device's performance and health in the Windows Defender Security Center.
Open the Windows Defender Security Center.
From there, check if there is a yellow exclamation icon in the Device performance and health section.
After that, click on the View report option and you might see Health Report that points towards Storage Capacity, Device Drivers, or Apps and Software which should give you an idea of what the root cause of the problem really is.
Option 3 – Try to run the Chkdsk utility
Running the CHKDSK utility might also help you resolve the INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR Blue Screen error. If your hard drive has issues with integrity, the update will really fail as the system will think that it’s not healthy and that’s where the CHKDSK utility comes in. The CHKDSK utility repairs hard drive errors that might be causing the problem.
Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
After opening Command Prompt, execute the following command and hit Enter:
chkdsk /f /r
Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.
Option 4 – Try increasing the size of the Hibernation file
In the Cortana search box, type “command prompt” in the field, and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
Next, type in the following command and hit Enter to execute it:
powercfg /hibernate /size 100
Note that the default size of the Hibernation file is 75% and after executing the command, it should increase to 100%. Now exit Command Prompt and check if the problem’s now fixed or not.
Option 5 – Try to run the troubleshooters
Blue Screen Troubleshooter:
Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.
Performance Troubleshooter:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type “msdt.exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.
System Maintenance Troubleshooter:
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type “msdt.exe /id MaintenanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the System Maintenance Troubleshooter.
After that, click on Next to start troubleshooting the problem and wait until it’s done then check if it fixes the problem or not.
Option 6 – Uninstall the programs you installed recently
Chances are, some programs that you just installed might be the one that’s causing the BSOD error. Thus, you need to uninstall the program to resolve the problem.
In the search box, type in “control” and then click on Control Panel (desktop app) among the search results.
After that, select Programs and Features from the list which will give you a list of all the programs installed on your computer.
From there, look for the concerned program and select it and then uninstall it.
Note: If you have downloaded the app from the Windows Store, you can simply right-click on it from the application list and then uninstall it.
Option 7 – Run Windows Defender offline
You also have the option to run Windows Defender offline and scan your computer to see if any malware has infected the computer and the one that’s causing the INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR Blue Screen Error.
Recently, some users reported not being able to boot up their Windows 10 computers. And during the startup phase, at some time, the bootup sequence is halted with a Recovery error along with an error message saying, “Your PC/Device needs to be repaired” with an error code of 0x0000605.
This kind of error message indicates that Windows was not able to verify the digital signature for the file as the signing certificate or it could be that it has expired. To resolve this error, you can follow the potential fixes given below and see if you stumble upon a fix that might work out for you.
Option 1 – Change the Date & Time settings in the BIOS
Some users reported that they were able to fix the error by changing the Date & Time settings in the BIOS. Upon checking, they saw that in their BIOS settings, the date was off several years. As a result, the incorrect date and time settings end up ticking the system into believing that the Windows build has expired long before the actual expiration date.
You can check if the error pops up due to the same reasons by accessing the BIOS settings. To do so, you have to tap the Boot key that’s associated with your motherboard manufacturer during the initial startup phase. After that, you can search for a particular boot key online or you can also tap keys like F2, F4, F8, F10, F12, and the Delete key.
Once you’re able to access the BIOS settings, locate the Date & time or anything similar, and then check if the date is correct or not. If not, you need to change the date to the actual date and then save the changes made and restart your computer and then check if the issue is now fixed or not.
Just remember that if the actual date is past the expiration date of the build you have, you need to change it to an older date. If your Windows 10 PC is able to boot back up, you have to update it to a stable Windows build and then go back to the BIOS settings and change the date to the current one else you will definitely encounter Windows update errors in the future as well as security alerts.
Option 2 – Perform a clean install of a stable Windows 10 build
If every system boot fails accompanied by a BSOD error with error code 0x0000605 “A component of the operating system has expired” and you’ve already followed every instruction on option 1, then it’s most likely that your current Windows build has already expired. Remember that almost all the Windows 10 Insider Preview builds (98xx) are created along with an expiration date and when your computer reaches the expiration date, you won’t be able to boot your computer up.
Note that the exact expiration date varies based on the build number. And prior to the expiration date, the operating system will start to display some error warnings telling you that the build will expire and urge you to update the most recent build available. And so once the computer reaches its expiration date, it will begin to reboot every three hours until it no longer boots up which is about 2 weeks approximately after the license has expired.
Once the expiration date is up and your computer no longer boots up, you need to perform a clean install and then install the latest Windows 10 build to resolve the issue once and for all.
The Recycle Bin is undeniably an important place to make files ready for deletion. To put it simply, it assumes some importance but there are times when it displays an unpredictable behavior. For instance, it just suddenly goes missing and even Cortana is unable to find it. A lot of users have experienced the missing Recycle Bin issue in their Windows 10 computers. If you are one of these users, you might have wondered where the Recycle Bin icon has gone and how you can get it back. Worry not, as this post will provide you a couple of options you can try to bring back Recycle Bin in your Windows 10 computer.
Follow the given options below to get started.
Option 1 – Try to restore Recycle Bin
It could be that you have disabled the Recycle Bin by accident which is why Windows was not able to show it on your desktop. To restore Recycle Bin, follow these steps:
First, click on the Start button and select Settings.
Next, select the Personalization setting and then select Themes from the left pane.
After that, click on the “Desktop icon settings” link under the “Related Settings” heading. This will display a list of icons in the Desktop Icons window.
From there, make sure that you check the checkbox for “Recycle Bin” to make it appear on your Desktop screen once again.
Option 2 – Try to recreate the Recycle Bin
If the first option didn’t work, then it could be that Recycle Bin might have been deleted which is why you fail to restore it. And to resolve this problem, you need to recreate Recycle Bin. Refer to the following steps to do so:
You need to launch the Windows File Explorer first and go to the View tab.
From this tab, select Options and click on the drop-down arrow and then select the “Change folder and search option”.
Afterward, switch to the View tab when the Folder Options window appears on your screen and select the “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” option.
And then unmark the checkbox next to the “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” option and click on both the Apply and OK buttons, respectively.
Next, go back to the File Explorer and click on “This PC” located on the left bar and go to the C: drive.
From there, you will find a file named “$Recycle.Bin” located at the top.
Open this folder to access its contents and you should see the Recycle Bin icon located at the top.
After that, right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and click on the “Send To” option and then click on “Desktop (create shortcut)”.
It will then confirm and recreate the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop screen.
Note: Even though this icon is quite similar to the original one, it actually differs from it. The difference is that you won’t see if fill up when you delete files and you can’t simply empty it by right-clicking on the shortcut. On the other hand, you can still drag items into it just like with the original one. So when you want to empty the content of the newly restored Recycle Bin, you just have to double-click on the shortcut and right-click on the recycle bin in the window that appears, and select the “Empty Recycle Bin” option. In addition, now that you’ve set up the Recycle Bin shortcut, you have to re-activate the “Hide protected operating system files” to keep the important files and folders in your computer hidden.
Option 3 – Try to repair the Recycle Bin
If both the first two options failed to restore the missing Recycle Bin, then you can try repairing it instead. There are times when the Recycle Bin is removed from the Desktop screen due to some corrupted Windows system files. To fix these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM tool. This tool is known to repair potentially corrupted files in your system as having them could also system issues like the missing Recycle Bin. To repair these corrupted system files, you can run the DISM commands:
Tap the Win + X keys and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
After that, input each one of the commands listed below sequentially to execute them:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Once you’ve executed the commands given above, restart your computer and check if the problem is now fixed.
Option 4 – Make sure that you are not in Tablet Mode
Since Windows 10 is designed to work on both desktop and mobile devices, it could be that your computer has slipped into Tablet Mode which explains why you’re not seeing the Recycle Bin. To check if your computer is really in Tablet Mode, follow these steps:
Go to the Start menu and select Settings.
Next, select the System setting and from the left pane select the Tablet Mode.
From there, make sure that the buttons next to the options given below are set to the off position:
If you are trying to run or starting a program on your Windows 10 computer and you suddenly get an error message saying, “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time”, read on as this post will show you what you can do to fix the problem.
This kind of error pops up since the Application Information Service does not respond to the requests to raise applications to Administrator in Windows 10 like the Task Manager, Service updates, and so on. Thus, you won’t be able to run or open apps and will only get stuck with this error.
The “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time” message is a type of network error that typically occurs when there is a temporary mismatch between the requested control and the state of the service to be controlled. It’s most likely that the service is in a state of start-pending, stop-pending, stopped or it may already be used by another user which explains why this error message suddenly appears.
You can encounter this error message on any Windows operation. Here are some of the most common occurrences:
Debugging a Windows service
Starting Task Manager
Starting Registry Editor
Starting Firewall
Starting services.msc
Starting dsm.exe
Updating services
Asking for file permissions, etc.
According to Microsoft MSDN, the error occurs because:
“There is a temporary mismatch between the requested control and the state of the service to be controlled. The service may be in a state of start-pending, stop-pending, or stopped. Wait a few minutes, then retry your operation.”
If after a few minutes, the error still appears, then you may have to follow the options prepared below.
Option 1 – Try to restart the Credential Manager Service
Go to the Start menu.
Then type in “services” in the search box.
From the search results, right-click on “Services” and select the “Run as Administrator” option.
Next, look for the Credential Manager Service in the Services window.
Once you found it, double-click on it to open its Properties. From there, you need to click on the Stop button.
After that, set the Credential Manager Service to “Automatic” and click on the Start button to restart it.
Option 2 – Try to start the Application Information Service
You can also try starting the Application Information Service to fix the “Error 1061 The service cannot accept control messages at this time”. Just open the Windows Services Manager and make sure that Application Information Service is Started. And if you find that it’s already started, you need to restart it.
Option 3 – Try killing the IIS Worker Process via Task Manager
Tap the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select the Task Manager.
Next, click on More details to expand the Task Manager and then look for the IIS Worker Process entry which should be displayed in the list under the Processes tab. From there, you can see it in the Background processes. Once you find it, kill its process.
You can also try to look for the “w3wp.exe” entries and end its process. if you find many entries, right-click on some of them and select the End task option from the context menu.
A lot of users complain about low storage space each time a Windows Feature update is released as well as to complain about not being able to download the updates, slow update experience, and many other complaints. The main issue is that many users do not have enough storage space available on their PCs. And now to make sure that none of the updates gets stuck because of low storage space, Microsoft presented the Reserved Storage feature which comes preinstalled with v1903 or those where v1903 was clean installed. This guide will be showing you how you can enable or disable the Reserved Storage in your Windows 10 computer.
As you know, the Windows Update process should have enough space so that it can download, extract and apply the update on the computer. Usually, the size of the Reserved Storage is around 7GB which gives enough space for the update, temporary files, system caches, apps, and many more. And according to Microsoft, the size of the Reserved Storage space will vary from time to time and will depend on how you use your computer.
Explanation
The Reserved Storage space feature is enabled by default on devices that come preinstalled with the May 2019 update or after performing a clean installation of the Windows 10 OS. To check if your computer has this feature, you need to go to Settings > System > Storage and from there click on the “Show more categories” link and then click on the “System & reserved” option. However, if you can’t find the Reserved Storage from the list, then it’s probably because your computer has limited space on the hard disk or it is not a fresh or new install. On the other hand, if you have this feature but have no use for it and want to disable it instead, then read on as this post will also show you how it’s done.
Solution
Keep in mind that when you disable the Reserved Storage feature, chances are, you might be unable to enable it back so you need to make sure that it’s really what you want to do before you disable it permanently. So if you really want to disable Reserved Storage, you can do so using the Registry Editor. Before you proceed, you have to create a System Restore point first and then carry out the following steps.
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Next, navigate to this registry path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionReserveManager
From there, double click on the DWORD named “ShippedWithReserves” and set its value to “1”.
Once you’re done, restart your computer and see if the Reserved Storage feature is now gone.
On the other hand, if you want to reduce the Reserved Storage space, there are two ways you can do that. First, you can go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Manage optional features and from there, uninstall the optional features that you do not use. The second one is you have to go to Settings > Time & Language > Language and then uninstall the languages and their add-on which you don’t use.
Note: The Reserved Storage feature is also used by system processes and apps to create temporary files and once the Reserved Storage space fills up, Windows 10 will delete them automatically. It is undeniable a useful feature so disabling it is not recommended but if you are running on low storage space and don’t have much choice, then you may disable it at your own risk.
Browsing the internet doesn’t always go smoothly, you might encounter ads, pop-ups, viruses, malware, and even errors. In this post, we’ll walk you through how you can fix the 502 Bad Gateway error that you might encounter in browsing the internet. This kind of error suggests the server which is the one that’s acting as a gateway to facilitate in taking your request to the server and bring some response back has received an invalid response or even no response at all. It could be that the connection is broken or that there is an issue on the server-side that returns an invalid response. Even though the 502 Bad Gateway error is a server-related error, there are still a few things you can try that might help resolve it, if tapping the Ctrl + F5 keys does not resolve the problem.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter what website you open as this error can appear on any website. To resolve the problem, you need to follow the options prepared below.
Option 1 – Check the network cable connections and restart your router
As with other connection problems, this is the most basic thing to do before you try other troubleshooting options because the root cause of the problem might be as simple as a cable not connected properly or a router that just needs to be restarted. Thus, checking the network cable connection to see if there is anything out of order can help as well as restarting your router.
Option 2 – Reset Winsock, TCP/IP & Flush DNS
Resetting Winsock, TCP/IP, and flushing DNS might help you resolve the issue. 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.
netsh winsock reset – type in this command to reset Winsock
netsh int ip reset resettcpip.txt – type in this command to reset TCP/IP
ipconfig /flushdns– type in this command to flush the DNS cache
Next, restart your PC and check if the problem’s fixed.
Option 3 – Change the DNS
Changing the DNS server for your network can also help you fix the 502 Bad Gateway error. You can use a public DNS like the Google Public DNS, Open DNS, Yandex DNS, Comodo Secure DNS, and many more. All you have to do is to override the default DNS settings on your PC so that you can specify which DNS server is used as well as which IP address should be used for a specific domain.
Option 4 – Try updating the Network Adapter Driver
Follow the steps below to update your Network Adapter Driver:
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run window and then type in the “devmgmt.msc” command and hit Enter to open the Device Manager window.
From there, expand the list of all the network drives and update each one of them.
Note: If updating the network drivers didn’t help in fixing the problem, you can also try to uninstall the very same drivers and restart your Windows 10 PC. After that, the system itself will reinstall the drivers you just uninstalled. Alternatively, you can also download and install the drivers from the manufacturer’s website directly.
Option 5 – Try a Network Reset
When all else fails, you might have to consider resetting your entire network settings. Simply follow the steps below to do so.
Click on the Start button and then click on the gear-like icon for Settings to open it.
Next, select Network and Internet.
Then scroll down and look for “Network Reset” – click on it and then click on the Reset now button.
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.
As you know, storage devices are an important part of the computer system for porting, saving, and extracting data files. And for you to differentiate between storage devices on your computer system, each one of the storage devices is labeled with a unique number referred to as Disk Signature for identification.
The unique disk identifier is stored as a part of the MBR or Master Boot Record. Disk signature is used by operating systems in order to identify and set apart different data storage devices and hard disk drives in the computer for data access.
These days, Disk cloning has become a regular practice in upgrading to larger hard disk drives. Drives are cloned in order to produce a similar copy to use both the original drive and cloned copy together. Moreover, lots of virtualization tools are being used to virtualize the physical hard disk drives to create virtual hard disk drives and several virtual machine clones that are created with the existing virtual hard disk drives. And since these are identical copies, chances these copies may have identical disk signatures. As a result, when you use both disks that have identical signatures at the same time you run into the Disk Signature Collision problem. This kind of problem does not often occur as the Windows system does not really allow two disks to function simultaneously when they have the same disk signature.
When you encounter a Disk Collision problem in your Windows 10 computer, you may see the following error messages:
The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible
The disk is offline because it has a signature collision
This disk is offline because it has a signature collision with another disk that is online
You can fix the disk collision problem by changing the disk signature which you can achieve using the command line utility diskpart in Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt or using Windows Disk Management utility.
To fix the disk collision problem, you can make use of the command-line utility called diskpart in Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt to view and change the signature, or can make use of Master Boot record in the Windows Registry. You can also make use of Windows Disk Management Utility to change the signature. Simply follow the given options below to change the disk signature either way.
Option 1 – Change Disk Signature via Diskpart
Type “command prompt” in the Windows Search bar and then right-click on the related search result and select the “Run as administrator” option.
After that, type the “diskpart” command and hit Enter to open Diskpart.
Next, type the “list disk” command to display all the disks available in the system.
Next, take note of the problematic disk number with the status Offline from the list and then type the “Select disk x” command where x is the offline disk to select the offline disk. For instance, if you type “select disk 1”, it will display the “Disk 1 is now the selected disk” message.
Now type the “Uniqueid disk” command to display the disk signature and to change the disk’s signature and set the disk online, type the “unique disk ID= (New signature)” where (New signature) is the new ID in hexadecimal. For instance, you can set the new id as “unique disk ID= 1456ACBD”.
Note: If you have given the wrong format ID, the command prompt will display the following error:
“The specified identifier is not in the correct format. Type the identifier in the correct format: in hexadecimal form for an MBR disk or as a GUID for a GPT disk.”
After you’re done, the disk will be online, and then restart your computer.
Option 2 – Change Disk Signature via Disk Management Utility
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “diskmgmt.msc” and hit Enter or click OK to open Disk Management.
Next, right-click on the disk that is marked as Missing or Offline.
After that, select the Online command from the drop-down menu.
Then from the selecting option Online, Windows will generate a new disk signature.