If you suddenly find your Windows 10 computer stuck on the “Preparing to configure” screen for quite a long time now after you run Windows Update, read on as you will be guided on how you can fix that issue in this post.
During an update process, there’s a lot of things that go on in the background which is why Windows Updates take quite a while before it finishes. It can be at 25%, 50%, or even 100% but the only message you’re going to see on your screen is the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer”. However, if you notice that the Windows Update is taking a longer time than it’s supposed to, the first option is to wait some more but if it’s still the same, then there’s definitely something wrong. This kind of issue occurs when Windows Update fails to configure in short correctly download and install the update. When this happens, it will revert all the changes which are why you were advised to wait for a couple of hours.
There are two possibilities why your computer is stuck on the “Preparing to configure Windows, Don’t turn off your computer” screen. The first one is that the Windows 10 operating system is installing any updates. The second one is when the user profile takes time to load or encounters an error. There are several options you can try to fix the problem. You can try running System Restore or boot your computer in Safe Mode or repair the corrupted profile via Registry Editor. You might also want to try using installation media to boot and repair your computer if the other options didn’t work.
Option 1 – Perform System Restore
Tap 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 problem is fixed or not.
Note: If you can’t boot into the desktop of your computer, you can run System Restore in the Advanced Startup Options by following these steps:
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.
Once it’s done, restart your computer.
Option 2 – Boot your computer in Safe Mode
You can try to tap the F8 key if you have it enabled in your Windows 10 computer, as you start your system to boot into Safe Mode. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can access the Start Menu and the Mouse and Keyboard. Aside from that, you can also access your files and other built-in tools in Windows such as Command Prompt, PowerShell, Computer Manager, Device Manager, Event Log Viewer, and many more. On the other hand, if you haven’t enabled the F8 key, you can just go to the Advanced Startup options to boot your computer into Safe Mode. Once you’re there, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart > Tap the number 4 key. After that, your computer will restart in Safe Mode. If you want to reboot into Safe Mode with Networking instead, you can tap the number 5 key and for Safe Mode with Command Prompt, tap the number 6 key. Once your computer is in Safe Mode, you can use any of the built-in tools to restore your computer or troubleshoot the problem that’s causing your computer to get stuck at the “Preparing to configure” screen.
Option 3 – Try to repair your corrupted profile via Registry
In this third option, you can try to repair the corrupted profile using the Registry but before you proceed, take note that you can only try this if you can boot into your desktop and if you can, make sure to create a System Restore Point and then follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Then type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Registry Editor.
Next, go to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList
Once you’ve opened the registry key, you should see a list of all the user profiles on your computer. Now click on each S-1-5 folder and look for the “ProfileImagePath” entry and double click on it to check which user account it is related to. You will see a path like “CUsersACK” where “ACK” is the username.
You should know which of the user account is corrupted. Just look for a key named “RefCount” and change its Value data to “0” and click OK. And if it isn’t available, simply right-click on the right pane and create it.
After that, double click on the key named “State” and make sure that the Value data is “0” and click OK.
Exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Option 4 – Try to use installation media to boot and repair your computer
Another thing you can try to resolve the issue is to use the Windows installation bootable media so you can boot and repair the operating system. To use it, follow these steps:
You need to first create an installation media which has the dame version of the operating system installed in your computer.
After that, once you reach the Install Windows screen, click on the “Repair your computer” link.
Wait until the repair is completed and then shut down your computer
Now once your computer has restarted, check if it can now boot properly.
Operating systems now give users a feature that allows them to create separate partitions out of HDD or SSD-based storage in order to store data in an organized manner. This small yet powerful feature has always been supported by Microsoft. However, there are times when users might fill up on some particular very soon. This may result in the lack of space for that partition which makes the entire process of using PCs slower since there is a large chunk of files that has to be indexed in a smaller partition. If you are one of the users experiencing this dilemma, you need to either delete the other partitions to allocate their storage to the partition that is short on storage or simply recreate the partition so that all the useless data will be deleted and you can start afresh with the overflowing partition.
In this post, you will be guided on how you can delete any storage partition from your Windows 10 PC via Disk Management, Command Prompt as well as Windows PowerShell.
Option 1 – Delete storage partition via Disk Management
This is one of the simplest ways you can use to delete a storage partition. Go to the WinX Menu and from there, open Disk Management and then select the Drive you want to get rid of, right-click on it and then select Delete Volume.
Option 2 – Delete storage partition via Command Prompt
Tap the Win + X keys or right-click on the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or you could also type in “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on the Command Prompt icon and then select the “Run as Administrator” option from the context menu.
Once you have Command Prompt pulled up as admin, type in and enter this command – diskpart
After entering this command, the Diskpart Utility will start. Diskpart Utility is a command line-based utility just like Command Prompt but it will get a UAC Prompt after you invoke it so you have to click Yes for the UAC Prompt.
After that, type in list volume and tap Enter to see the list of all the partitions created on your PC. This includes both types of partitions that are visible to a normal user in the File Explorer as well as the ones that are created by Windows 10 by default which helps it in storing the boot files and other essential system files.
You should see a list of all the partitions made on your computer. Select the partition you want to delete by its Unique Identification number as Volume X where X denotes the Unique Identification Number.
Next, type in the select volume number command and hit Enter to select the desired volume.
Then delete the volume you’ve selected and type in the delete volume command and hit Enter to delete the volume you just selected and convert it into unallocated space.
Option 3 – Delete storage partition via Windows PowerShell
Start by tapping the Win + X keys or simply right click on the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or you could also type in “windows powershell” in the Cortana search box and right-click on the Windows PowerShell icon and select the “Run as administrator” option.
Once you’ve opened the Windows PowerShell, type in the Get-Volume command and hit Enter to get a list of all the partitions on your PC.
Next, select the drive letter you want to delete and then type in the Remove-Partition –DriveLetter command and hit Enter to delete the selected partition. Note that you need to replace the drive letter with the letter of the partition you want to get rid of.
After that, it will ask you for confirmation. Just hit the Y key for Yes or hit the A key to say Yes to All. This will delete all the partition you’ve selected and will move them in as unallocated space.
And that’s how you delete a Drive Partition or Volume in Windows 10. Note that you should only follow the last two options given in case the Disk Management is not able to fulfill the user requirements.
Update and Shutdown/Restart is not working. As you have probably noticed, every time a new update is released and is downloaded on your Windows 10 computer, the operating system replaces the Restart and Shut down button with “Update and Restart” as well as “Update and Shut down”. This is most likely done so that you won’t miss the update. However, some users noticed that there are times when these buttons still continue to display the same message even if they’ve already performed the required operations such as shutting down or restarting their PCs. Cases like this happen when an update wasn’t installed properly or has failed which is why your computer keeps on prompting you to Update and Shutdown every time. To fix this dilemma, follow the options laid out below.
Option 1 – Try restarting the File Explorer
Restarting the File Explorer can definitely help you fix lots of issues especially when there is some issue with the user interface including this one.
On the right side of the Taskbar, right-click on any open spot.
Then click on Task Manager.
Next, scroll down until you see Windows Explorer.
After that, right-click on it and select Restart.
If you are able to kill its process, you have to tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “explorer.exe” in the field, and hit Enter to launch the Windows Explorer.
Option 2 – Try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter
As you know, Windows 10 has various auto-repair built-in tools to help users fix small issues which used to get fixed manually. And in this case, you will need the Windows Update Troubleshooter to fix the issue.
Go to Settings and click on Update and Security.
From there, click Troubleshoot and click on Windows Update and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” option.
After that, it will try to detect and automatically fix common issues in the Windows Updates which can be resolved by Windows itself. Note that the process may take several minutes before it completes so you need to wait until it’s done. Once it’s done, in case you have some pending update that wasn’t realized by the system early on, it will apply the fix right away and restart the Windows Update service.
Option 3 – Try setting the Power button to Shut down
In case the first two options didn’t work out, you can try changing what the power button does. To do that, refer to these steps:
Go to Control Panel > Power Options.
From there, select the “Choose what the power buttons do” option from the left side.
Then set the Power button setting the “When I press the power button” option to “Shut down”. After that, it will shut your computer down without installing the updates but obviously, this is only a temporary fix.
Option 4 – Turn off your PC instantly without updating it
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Type in “shutdown -s -f -t 0” in the field and hit Enter if you really want to turn off your computer without any delay.
You could also tap the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select Shut down from the bottom right menu.
Just like the third option, this is also only a temporary fix.
Option 5 – Try running the Windows Module Installer
The Windows Module Installer is a built-in service in Windows 10 that allows you to fix the stuck Windows Updates in your computer. To use it, follow these steps:
In the Cortana search box, type in “cmd” and from the search results that appear, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option from the context menu.
Once you’ve opened Command Prompt as admin, type the SC config trustedinstaller start=auto command and tap Enter.
After the command is executed, you will see the “[SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS” message displayed on the Command Prompt console.
Now exit Command Prompt and then check if the buttons are now back to normal.
Option 6 – Put your PC in a Clean Boot State
Log onto your PC as an administrator.
Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
Clear the “Load Startup items” checkbox and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
Click Disable all.
Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
After putting your PC in a Clean Boot State, try creating a system restore point and see if the problem still occurs. Clean Boot troubleshooting is designed to help you isolate the problem. For you to execute a clean boot troubleshooting, you must do a couple of actions (the steps are given above) and then restart your PC after every action. You might have to disable one third-party app after the other to really isolate the issue. And once you’ve narrowed down the problem, you can either disable the third-party app that’s causing the problem or remove it. Note that you must switch your PC back into the Normal Startup mode after you’re done troubleshooting the problem. Here’s how you can do it:
From the “Start” menu, go to System Configuration.
After that, switch to the General tab and click the option for “Normal Startup”.
Next, go to the Services tab and clear the checkbox for “Hide all Microsoft services”.
Then find and click “Enable all” and if prompted, you have to confirm.
Afterward, go to the Task Manager and enable all the Startup programs and confirm the action.
Error code 80073712 is one of the dozens of error codes affecting Windows 10 users. It occurs when users attempt to upgrade their operating system but experience a failure. The error code usually results from problems associated with missing or damaged files within Windows Update. Common symptoms of this error code include the following:
The inability of Windows Update to successfully complete the upgrade process
Message box highlighting the presence of error code
Solution
Error Causes
In the case of error code 80073712, the issues preventing Windows Update from completing the upgrade process are most likely due to problems with files within Windows Update. For instance, there may be corruption within the Component-Based Servicing (CBS) manifest.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Manual repair methods offer solutions to Microsoft users who are experiencing Windows error codes like the upgrade error code 80073712 in Windows 10. The manual repair methods in this article are not guaranteed to fix problems unrelated to this error code. Thus, be certain you are experiencing error code 80073712 before you attempt to implement the solutions provided below.
Method One: Run Windows Update Troubleshooter
Since issues related to Windows Update may be causing error code 80073712 to occur, one of the best solutions you can consider is to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. This troubleshooter will be able to detect and fix corruptions within Windows Update files or any other issues directly related to Windows Update. To implement this manual repair method, follow the steps listed below:
Step one: Open your Internet browser
Step two: Type www.microsoft.com/downloads
Step three: Type Windows Update Troubleshooter in the search bar at the top-right corner of the Microsoft website.
Step four: Select Windows Update Troubleshooter then wait for the webpage to load.
Step five: Select Run troubleshooter
Once you run the troubleshooter, you should be able to verify and fix any errors within Windows Update files. Restart your machine after the troubleshooting process is complete them proceed by checking Windows Update to see if you are able to complete the upgrade. If Windows Update downloads the upgrade and the installation of the upgrade occurs, the problem has been resolved. Otherwise, error code 80073712 will reoccur, in which case you will need to move to manual repair method two.
Method Two: Run DISM Tool
Another option available to Windows users experiencing error code 80073712 is to download and run the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. This tool checks for inconsistencies or corruptions that may be preventing Windows Update services from functioning correctly. To download and run the tool, follow the instructions below:
Step one: Type Command Prompt in the search box near the Start button
Step two: Right-click Command Prompt, then click Run as administrator, providing administrator password or confirmation where necessary.
Step three: Select Allow
Step four: Press Enter after typing the following command:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
Wait a few minutes to ensure that the process is complete. Once you’ve run the DISM tool, it will detect errors, for instance within registry data, and correct or replace them. Restart your machine after running this tool then check Windows Update. Attempt to download the upgrade to see if you have successfully resolved error code 80073712. If you experience an upgrade failure, move to the next manual repair method mentioned below.
Method Three: Perform a Clean Install of Windows 10
The issues related to error code 80073712 may also be resolved by performing a clean install of Windows 10. This manual repair method ensures that any previous versions of your Windows operating system are removed before you attempt to access an upgrade. This can prove effective as it helps users avoid issues that would otherwise cause error codes or poor PC performance in cases where errors are present on one’s system.
To successfully perform a clean installation of Windows 10, be prepared to follow step-by-step procedures that include the following:
Step two: Click Run, then select Create installation media for another PC
Step three: Select changes to the installation options, then select Next
Step four: Choose USB flash drive or ISO file, then click Next
Step five: Select drive, then Next
Step six: Select Finish, then restart your computer, ensuring that the media option you choose, whether USB flash drive or DVD, is in your machine before you choose to reboot.
Step seven: Press any key then follow the prompts provided to set up Windows 10.
Method Four: Download an Automated Tool
If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 8 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.
Same as Windows 10, Windows 11 also keeps track of date and time using an internet time server. But in a case that you need to change the date or time for any kind of reason here is a guide for that process:
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
Click on Time & Language in Taskbar
Inside Time & Language click on Date & Time
Turn off Set Time Automatically by clicking on the switch next to it
Below find Set the date and time manually and click on Change
Inside, Change Date and Time window use the drop-down menu to set desired date and time
As you know, the Settings app is a vital part of Windows 10 as it helps in fixing issues in the system and offers users access to various Troubleshooters, as well as the Reset function and many more. So if you want to Reset this PC or a Windows Store app, you need to use the Settings app to do so. However, one of the most annoying errors you can encounter when using the Settings app is that it crashes or sometimes does not open at all. Thus, if you are having issues with this app, worry not for there are alternative ways you can try to reset your Windows 10 PC.
For you to reset your Windows 10 PC without using the Settings app, the main option you have is to use the Advanced Startup options and there are different methods by which it can be accessed. It can be accessed via Lockscreen, Command Prompt window, or via Start Menu.
Option 1 – Reset Windows 10 via Lockscreen
You need to first boot into the Advanced Startup options from the lock screen. If you’re already logged in to your account, you have to hit the Win + L keys to get on the lock screen.
Next, click on the Power button located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
After that, hold the Shift key and click on Restart to restart your computer into the Advanced Setup option mode. And from there, you can reset your Windows 10 computer.
Option 2 – Reset Windows 10 via Command Prompt
Search for “cmd” in the Cortana search box or hit the Win + R keys to open the Run box and type “cmd” in the field and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.
If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, click Yes to proceed in opening Command Prompt.
After that, type the following command and hit Enter to execute it:
shutdown /r /o /f /t 00
After you execute the command, it will restart your computer into the Advanced Startup options where you can reset your Windows 10 computer.
Option 3 – Reset Windows 10 via Start Menu
Tap the Win key or click on the Start button located in the Taskbar.
Then click on the Power button at the bottom right portion of the screen.
Next, press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and then click on Restart. This will restart your Pc into the Advanced Startup options.
Note: Once you have access to the Advanced Startup options, you have to go to the setting which allows you to Reset your Windows 10 PC. All you have to do is select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC to reach the following screen
Afterward, select either the “Keep my files” option or the “Remove everything” option depending on your preference, and then proceed to the next on-screen instructions that follow to reset your Windows 10 computer.
Error Code “Windows 10 isn’t activated after upgrading for free” – What is it?
Windows 10 isn’t activated error occurs when Windows users attempt to upgrade to Windows 10 for free and end up in a non-activated state. It is a Windows 10 activation error affecting PC owners who attempt to upgrade their Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 operating systems. A message box will appear with the following message: “Windows 10 isn’t activated after upgrading for free from Windows 7 SPI or Windows 8.1 update.”
Common symptoms of this error code include the following:
Inability to upgrade for free to Windows 10
The appearance of activation error code in the message box
Solution
Error Causes
To understand the cause of this activation error, users will need to understand activation within Windows. Activation is a process that allows Windows to verify that you are upgrading your operating system based on the Microsoft Software Licensing Terms. These terms specify, for instance, the number of devices upon which you can use Windows.
Once you have a genuine copy of Windows and you are following the terms mentioned earlier, you should be able to activate and complete the upgrade to Windows 10. However, the activation fails when these conditions are not met. Note also that the error may occur if users fail to upgrade to Windows 10 before reinstalling, requiring them to repeat the installation process by first going back to the previous version of Windows present on their system. Once the upgrade process is not done as should, you might encounter other Windows 10 errors such as error code 0xc0000142
If you see this error code, “Windows 10 isn’t activated after upgrading for free” proceed to rectify it using manual repair methods below.
Further Information and Manual Repair
To fix this activation error code in Windows 10, users will need to employ at least one manual repair procedure. This process can successfully be completed by non-technical Windows users. However, you may also consider getting assistance from a Windows repair technician if you are not certain you have the requisite skills needed to complete the manual repair tasks below.
The main methods to resolve the error code “Windows 10 isn’t activated after upgrading for free from Windows 7 SPI or Windows 8.1 update” is as follows:
Method One: Manually Activate Windows
If you attempted upgrading for free to Windows 10 and ended up with the activation error you will need to first perform a manual activation. Follow the steps below to complete the process.
Step one: Tap or click the Start button
Step two: Select Settings then Update & security
Step three: Select Activation
Step four: Once activation status is Connect to the Internet to activate Windows, click or tap Activate
The steps above enable users to successfully activate Windows 10 if the issue involves a connection problem. However, if Windows is not activated, it may mean your copy of Windows is not genuine. This may require you purchase a copy of Windows to rectify the issue. However, if you have a genuine copy of Windows proceed by applying the steps found in method two.
Method Two: Use Product Key to Verify Copy of Windows
A valid product key is one way you can verify your copy of Windows is genuine. This will enable you to complete activation and allow you to access the free upgrade to Windows 10. Follow the steps below.
Step one: Click or tap the Start button
Step two: Select Settings then Update & security
Step three: Click Activation
Step four: Select Change Product Key then type in the product key. (Ensure you type the 25 characters in the correct order.)
Method Three: Use an Automated Tool
Error codes in Windows often occur due to poor maintenance of one’s PC. To improve your system and reduce your machine’s risk of experiencing error codes, download a powerful automated tool. This tool is both powerful and user-friendly, making its benefits accessible to even the most non-technical Windows users.
DuckDuckGo has risen in the public eye as a private search engine offering searches without tracking. A less known fact about DuckDuckGo is that they have their own browser, well they have it for the Android platform and it was stated that it is coming for desktops soon.
People were excited for this new browser for a few reasons, one of them being privacy and another that it is built from scratch, not using existing chromium runtime that assured users that privacy is the main focus. Still, lately, things got a little out of control. Duckduckgo is under fire from users since a security researcher has discovered that there is an exception for Microsoft trackers inside Browser.
The main feature of their browser is that it blocks tracking scripts and most online advertising with the goal of preventing servers from collecting data about your online behavior. Of course, tracking protection is never 100% effective since it requires a lot of manual labor from people to add sites and links to blocklists but it was discovered that DuckDuckGo has a defined exception in the browser for Microsoft owned ad networks and tracking scripts giving them free pass even when they are related to privacy compromisation.
Zach Edwards first pointed out the exception in a series of tweets, after noticing DuckDuckGo on iPhone and Android wasn’t blocking LinkedIn and Bing advertisements on Facebook’s Workplace site.
You can capture data within the DuckDuckGo so-called private browser on a website like Facebook's https://t.co/u8W44qvsqF and you'll see that DDG does NOT stop data flows to Microsoft's Linkedin domains or their Bing advertising domains.
DuckDuckGo’s CEO and founder, Gabriel Weinberg, replied with his own series of tweets.
Most of our other protections also apply to MSFT-owned properties as well. This is just about non-DuckDuckGo and non-Microsoft sites, where our search syndication agreement prevents us from stopping Microsoft-owned scripts from loading, though we can still apply protections post-load (like 3rd party cookie blocking). We are also working to change that.
DuckDuckGo says it uses over 400 sources for search engine results, including the company’s own web crawler, but typical link results are sourced most commonly from Bing. According to Weinberg, DuckDuckGo’s ability to use Bing search results depends on a carved-out exception for Microsoft’s ads in the mobile browser. A representative from DuckDuckGo told that third-party cookies from Microsoft services are still blocked.
Of course, the main aim and campaign of DUckDuckGo's rise was private search and private browsing so this kind of news did not go well among long supporters. The latest statement from them is as follows:
We have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity when browsing, because that frankly isn’t possible given how quickly trackers change how they work to evade protections and the tools we currently offer. When most other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are usually referring to 3rd-party cookie protection and fingerprinting protection, and our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new Mac beta, impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including those from Microsoft.
What we’re talking about here is an above-and-beyond protection that most browsers don’t even attempt to do — that is, blocking third-party tracking scripts before they load on 3rd party websites. Because we’re doing this where we can, users are still getting significantly more privacy protection with DuckDuckGo than they would using Safari, Firefox and other browsers. This blog post we published gets into the real benefits users enjoy from this approach, like faster load times (46% average decrease) and less data transferred (34% average decrease). Our goal has always been to provide the most privacy we can in one download, by default without any complicated settings.
The Windows 10 Telemetry and Data Collection features are auto-enabled and they collect all sorts of user activity and sends it to Microsoft. Microsoft says that the data collected only enhances the overall user experience and Windows functionality better but the number of data breaches happening across the globe has forced users to be extra cautious about their data privacy. So naturally, from stronger passwords and other services management, it is only logical to turn off Windows data gathering.
To do so:
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog.
In the Run dialog type: taskschd.msc
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER key combo to open Task Scheduler in admin mode.
On the left pane, navigate to the: Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Customer Experience Improvement Program
At the location, on the middle pane, right-click on the task named Consolidator and select Disable from the context menu...
Repeat the process with all other tasks listed in the middle pane.
USB ports, just like any other ports, also comes with a power rating. The default power output of a standard USB port is 0.5 amperes and if you notice, mobile phones charge slowly on USB ports which explains why. There are times when Windows may throw an error or warning that says, “Power surge on the USB port”. This kind of error occurs when a connected device tried to draw more power and the error comes as a part of that notification so when you select it, it will say,
“A USB device has malfunctioned and exceeded the power limits of its hub port. You should disconnect the device”.
To easily fix the problem, you can try to disconnect the device and click on Reset and if you click on Close, the port will not work until you unplug it and then restart your computer.
On the other hand, if disconnecting the device did not resolve the problem, you can try running the Hardware & USB troubleshooter or use a USB hub. You can also try to reinstall, uninstall or roll back the USB drivers or run the OEM diagnostics. For more information, refer to each one of the potential fixes provided below.
Option 1 – Try to run the Hardware & USB troubleshooter
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 Hardware and Devices 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.
Note: You could also try to run the USB troubleshooter as it could also resolve the problem.
Option 2 – Try to use a USB hub
If you’ve encountered the error on a specific device, then it is possible that the device requires more voltage. To fix this error, you can try to use the same device on another computer and if you still got the same error, you might want to use a USB hub that comes with its power source. USB hubs come with high-speed charging ports that should be able to supply the power needed for the device.
Option 3 – Update, rollback or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver
If updating the drivers of the device did not fix the “The device is not ready” error, you can try to update, rollback, or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers instead of using the Device Manager. Refer to the following steps:
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 “Universal Serial Bus controllers” option and then right-click on each one of the USB drivers and select the Update Driver from the menu.
Note: If it is a regular USB drive, then it will be listed as a USB Mass Storage Device but if you have a USB 3.0 device, then look for a USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller.
Restart your PC and then click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option.
Note: If updating the USB Controller drivers didn’t work, you can try to reinstall them instead.
Option 4 – Try running OEM Diagnostics if you have any
If the laptop or desktop computer you are using is a branded one, OEMs usually include software to diagnose issues in the computer like the USB port error. So if you have this software, try to run it for diagnosis and use any given suggestions to fix the error.
Hello everyone, in today's tips and tricks we will focus on providing you with various solutions on how to solve the Device not migrated error that appears after the Windows update has been performed. Sometimes sadly updates to our operating systems can introduce us to various issues that look scary but in reality, they are solvable and not so scary at all. After all who would not find this message concerning, especially when it happens in the middle of work.
The first thing that would pop into my mind is that I have lost tons of work and that something in my hardware has gone very wrong and it is dead. Luckily that is not the case and this error means that due to Windows update drivers were not properly transferred due to some compatibility issues, maybe it was a corrupt update file, etc. Of course, the reason could be hardware malfunction as well, but if everything was working fine before the update, it is a software issue, and I must say it is a common one and fixable. Please keep reading this guide in order to fix the Device not migrated error.
Update the Driver
You should always try this first, if the device is not recognizable, try updating its driver and see if the problem vanishes. In order to update the driver, we will need first to locate which device has not been migrated properly, we will do this with help of a search engine on the internet like google for example. So open your browser of choice, go to a search engine (google for example) and type in the search box first line from your error message, yes, that scary one. You will be given which device has malfunctioned and was not migrated properly, now we will locate the device and update its drivers. To do this press WINDOWS + X on your keyboard to bring up Windows secret menu and choose device manager.
Find device inside device manager, right-click on it, and choose properties. Go to the events tab and make sure that the device has migration issues.
You have now 3 options for updating the driver, you can do it manually, automatically, or with the driver installer. We will cover all 3 options so you choose which one best suits you.
OPTION 1: Manually.Close the Properties tab, go to the device manufacturer website and download the latest driver, if there are no drivers there, the only executable installer for the device skip this step and try the other 2. After you have downloaded the driver package from the website, right-click on the device and choose update driver.
Now navigate to the folder where you have downloaded your driver package and update the driver. Reboot your system.
OPTION 2: Automatic update.Close the Properties tab, right-click on the device and choose to uninstall.
Once the device is uninstalled, restart your system, and Windows will automatically search and install the latest driver for the device.
OPTION 3: Via driver installer.
If you have downloaded .EXE or executable driver installer from device manufacturers web site try installing it, if the installation fails, try using compatibility mode for the installer. Navigate where the installer is located, right-click on it, and choose properties. Go to compatibility TAB and try installing it with administrator privileges in Windows 8 mode.
Reboot your system after this step.
This should solve the issues, however, if the issue still persists, follow the next steps.
Verify the Corrupted System Files
Press WINDOWS + X on the keyboard to open the hidden system menu and choose Command prompt (administrator)
In the command prompt type in: sfc /scannow and press ENTER.
The scanning process and repair of files will take around 15 min. Leave it to finish completely, do not restart, work on the computer or shut it down while the process is active, and only after it is finished reboot your system.
Update Windows.
If your Windows is not updated sometimes this issue can be resolved by updating it on the latest version.
Click on start and then on settings.
Once the settings screen is opened, find and click on Update and Security.
Go to the Windows update tab and click on DOWNLOAD or click on check for updates for the latest Windows fix.
Reset BIOS to factory settings.
Sometimes BIOS not being properly configured can cause issues in Windows itself and prevent it from detecting PnP devices thus creating this error. Restoring BIOS back to the factory setting can help.
Turn off your computer and turn it back on. Press delete, f12, f11, or any other key which will take you to BIOS (default key is delete but sometimes manufacturers map this to another one. Once your screen turns ON you will see in the bottom message which key needs to be pressed in order to enter BIOS).
Sadly since every BIOS could be different we can not cover step by step guide for each but you need to find the option where you load BIOS defaults, click on it save, and exit. Your computer will restart and boot into Windows, check to see if the problem still persists.
Update BIOS
BIOS can cause issues with certain PnP devices when the newest Windows update is rolled. If reverting BIOS to the factory setting has not been successful try update.
Go to your motherboard manufacturer website, find the update and read step by step guide there since updating BIOS differs from version to version and from manufacturer to manufacturer.
After the update is done, restart the computer and hopefully, the error is gone.
Perform a System Restore
If everything else fails, perform a system restore to get Windows back into the state before the update was installed and when everything was working fine.
Press WINDOWS + R on the keyboard to open the run dialog.
In the run dialog, type control panel and press enter to enter control panel, locate recovery and click on it.
Inside the recovery screen click on Open System Restore.
Choose a date when everything was working in order, the best bet is the date before Windows update and roll it back.
Click on date, and then on next.