Diagnosing your PC/Preparing Automatic Repair

TPM or Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 is a must-have if you plan on upgrading your system to Windows 11. So what exactly is TPM and do you have it?

What exactly is TPM?

TPM is a tamper-resistant hardware technology tasked with generating and storing encryption keys inside it for better PC security. It can be remotely used to authenticate hardware and software by utilizing a unique endorsement key placed into the hardware itself. This technology can be used for example in BitLocker inside Windows in order to have data on a hard drive encrypted so if the mentioned drive is connected to another computer it would not be able to be accessed since the encryption key is stored in the TPM module. Microsoft is pushing its agenda that Windows 11 must be and must feel like safety first OS which will protect user data and user information and requiring TPM means that each Windows 11 will be secure so no additional software patches will be required for an extra layer of security. Windows 11 will assume that each user has TPM encryption enabled and will be built upon that.

Do you have TPM on your computer?

If your computer or hardware has been purchased in 2016 or later there are very high chances that you already have the required technology to run Windows 11. Unfortunately, many gaming motherboards have not been placing TPM in their boards and you might not have it. Also, there is the option of you having it but it is turned off in motherboard settings making Windows unable to detect it. As you can clearly see there are a lot of scenarios around required tech and honestly it is a complete mess. But lucky for you there are ways to find out do you possess the needed module in order to make an upgrade. On your current computer on which you would like to make an upgrade in your current Windows OS press ⊞ WINDOWS + R to open the run dialog. Inside run dialog type in TPM.msc and press ENTER to open Trusted Platform Module Management on Local Computer. You will immediately receive information do you have the required module. If everything is fine, you are good to go, however, if it says that compatible TPM cannot be found there is a chance that either you do not have needed hardware or it might be turned off inside motherboard settings.

Check motherboard UEFI

If you have a newer motherboard but Windows utility cannot detect TPM there is a chance that it might be turned off directly on your board. In order to check this, you will have to boot up your PC into UEFI either by pressing the corresponding key when it is turned ON or from Windows reboot options. Once you are inside UEFI you need to find security options and see if there is an option to turn ON or enable TPM. Since every motherboard is different and has different UEFI software we cannot cover all of the permutations and the best we can do is hope that provided information is enough. You can also visit your motherboard manufacturer to see instructions for your specific case.

Conclusion

TPM itself is generally an OK idea and I can surely see good sides of it but there is this lurking feeling that generally, Microsoft is not really concerned about the security of our data and that the real requirement for this is trying to battle software piracy. I simply cannot trust company which introduced tons of telemetry tracking through ages and which has done everything in their power to battle non-legal use of their software. I do not promote piracy but I support free choice and besides, who can tell me what will happen if TPM malfunctions, will I lose all of my data forever? It is not so uncommon that TPM has malfunctioned in the past and it is only logical to presume it can do it again in the future but this time we will not have the choice not to use it, we will be forced into it.

In recent times, some Windows 10 users have seen an error code BCM20702A0, when using Bluetooth and they are concerned as to what it is all about. We can say for certain that it has something to do with your Bluetooth driver. The error message in question is:

The drivers for this device are not installed. There are no compatible drivers for this device.

The problem here tends to no longer allow specific Bluetooth components to properly communicate with your Windows 10 operating system. It also affects laptops that do not have native Bluetooth support; therefore, the manufacturer installed a dongle on the inside to deliver the service. This is not the best way to do things because native support is always better. On the other hand, maybe you’re using a Broadcom USB Bluetooth dongle that is acting up, and as such, the error is showing. Below are solutions provided for this particular error and how to eliminate it.

1. Run the Bluetooth Troubleshooter

   Press ⊞ WINDOWS to open the menu and select settings In settings choose Update & Security Go to troubleshoot and on the right panel click on additional troubleshooters Click on Bluetooth Select Run the troubleshooter, then sit back and allow the tool to do its thing. Once you’ve completed the task, click on Apply this fix if any repairs are needed Reboot your computer

2. Install Broadcom driver from official website

   Windows drivers for Broadcom Bluetooth devices are no longer posted on their website. They should be available through Microsoft’s Windows Update service. If drivers were not downloaded automatically by Windows Update, use Device Manager to refresh the driver from Windows Update. However, the Broadcom Bluetooth drivers seem to be available here on the Lenovo website. To fix the BCM20702A0 driver error, you may download and install them. After downloading it, right-click on the downloaded item, and select Run as administrator. After installation, restart your computer, then check again if it works.

3. Remove all Bluetooth drivers and USB controllers

   If previous solutions did not work, go to device manager and remove all Bluetooth devices along with all USB controllers. Reboot your computer and Windows will automatically reinstall and set all devices.

Every time a new drive or any storage device is connected to a Windows 10 computer, the operating system tends to allot a drive letter to it automatically. Not only that, as the OS also maps the location of the drive which helps it point the letter to the exact port location of the drive and serve requests from the user. As a result, it builds up a bit of cache as per the pattern in which the user uses the storage of the computer. This whole process is known as “Auto Mounting” which works for hard disks or optical drive readers that are connected using the SATA ports and even for USB drives that are connected using the USB ports. There are several ways you can enable or disable the Auto-Mount feature in Windows 10. You can do it using the MountVol tool or the Registry Editor or the Diskpart utility. Before you proceed, it is recommended that you create a System Restore point first so that you can always undo the changes you made in case anything goes wrong.

Option 1 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via MountVol tool

In this option, you will be using the mountvol command in the Command Prompt. Refer to the steps below.

• Tap the Wins key once and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option to run it with admin privileges.
• Next, type the following command and tap Enter to enable the Auto Mount feature:

mountvol /E

• On the other hand, if you want to disable the Auto Mount feature, type the following command instead:

mountvol /N

• After that, type the command below to remove all the previously assigned drive letters:

mountvol /R

• Finally, restart your computer.

Option 2 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via Registry Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Then type “Regedit” in the field and tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• After that, navigate to this registry key: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesmountmgr
• Next, look for a DWORD named “NoAutoMount”. If you can’t find a DWORD with that name then simply create a new DWORD with the same name and make sure that the base is selected to Hexadecimal.
• Now double click on that DWORD and change its value to 0 if you want to enable it, otherwise, input 1 as its value to disable it.
• Restart your computer.

Option 3 – Enable or disable Auto Mounting via Diskpart utility

• Tap the Wins key once and type in “command prompt” in the field.
• From the search results, right-click on Command Prompt and select the “Run as administrator” option to run it with admin privileges.
• After opening Command Prompt as admin, type the following command and hit Enter to launch the Diskpart utility:

diskpart

• After that, a User Account Control prompt will appear. Just click on the Yes button.
• Next, type the following command and hit Enter:

automount

• Following the command you entered, you will an output that either says, “Automatic mounting of new volumes enabled” or “Automatic mounting of new volumes disabled” which means you can use it to check the status of Auto Mount.
• Now if you want to enable the Auto Mount feature, type the following command and tap Enter:

automount enable

• And if you want to disable the Auto Mount feature, just enter the following command:

automount disable

• To remove all the assigned letter and history of drives that were connected previously, type the following command:

automount scrub

• Finally, restart your computer.

Hello and welcome to errortools another tutorial which aims to make your computer life easier and more relaxed. This time we will be talking about how to switch sound output devices in Windows 10 in a matter of seconds between Headphones and external speakers, Between 2 different speakers, or any other audio output device in general. Windows 10 with its updates has really gone from OK to one of the greats, little hacks and shortcuts which every update has introduced have really made life easier. Now, your typical switching from one audio output device to another can be accomplished with your standard go to settings, go to devices, choose audio, pick one which you prefer and click on OK. This way altho nothing wrong with it is a little slow and if you need to switch your output devices several times in a single day often it can be time-consuming as well. Lucky for you we have a quick solution for you.

Switching guide

All right, now in order to be able to actually switch between your audio output devices make sure that all of them are working and that they are plugged in. For example, make sure that both of your headphones and speakers are turned ON and plugged in. Once you have confirmed that everything is in working order:

1. Click with a left mouse button on a speaker icon located on the right part of your taskbar next to the clock
2. Click on the small up arrow on the right next to your current audio output device.
3. The list will open, choose, and left click with the mouse button on your choice.

And that's it, you have changed your default audio output device in a matter of seconds. The good thing about this method is that Windows will remember output audio levels for each device.

Potential issue

If by any chance when switching your audio devices this way freezes volume control just go to the task manager and restart Windows Explorer. To restart Windows explorer:

1. Press CTRL + ESC to open task manager
2. Right-click on Windows Explorer
3. Left-click on restart

One of the great remote assistance software that helps you remotely access and control computers is TeamViewer. However, despite how efficient it is, there are still times when it throws up some errors and one of them is when TeamViewer is not able to connect and throws an error that says, “No connection to partner, Partner did not connect to router, Error Code WaitforConnectFailed”. This kind of error in TeamViewer mostly occurs when the Partner computer is not connected to a network. On the other hand, it could also occur when they are connected to a network so there are various causes for this issue. It could also be that the installation of the program itself was at fault or there is an incompatibility between the TeamViewer versions installed on both the computers and so on. Although there are several causes for this error, the potential fixes are still the same. You can try to restart the network or allow Full Access Control to TeamViewer or flush the DNS cache. For more information, refer to the following options but before you proceed, make sure that both your Windows 10 computer and TeamViewer program are updated to their latest stable versions.

Option 1 – Reboot your router

The first thing you can try to do to fix the error is to simply restart your router. All you need to do is reboot the router from its Admin panel or you can also turn it off manually and turn it back on after a couple of seconds so that it can completely reboot. Once you’re done, try accessing your server again and see if the error is now fixed.

Option 2 – Allow Full Access Control to TeamViewer

• First, open TeamViewer, and then from the Menu bar, click on Extras.
• After that, click on Options and select Advanced from the left side navigation panel.
• Next, click on the “Show advanced options” button located on the right-hand side.
• Then select Full Access from the drop-down menu of the Access Control option under the “Advanced settings for connection to this computer section”.
• Now click OK and check if the error is now fixed or not.

Option 3 – Try to flush the DNS configuration

You could also try to flush the DNS configuration in your computer to fix the error. How? Refer to these steps:

• Tap the Win + X key combination and click on the Command Prompt (Admin) option or you could also search “cmd” in the Cortana search box and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• After opening Command Prompt with admin privileges, enter each one of the commands given below sequentially in order to flush the DNS cache.
  • ipconfig/release
  • ipconfig/renew
  • ipconfig/flushdns
• Now type the exit command to close Command Prompt and then restart your computer and see if the problem is fixed.

On the other hand, you could also try to reset Winsock as well as the TCP/IP.

Option 4 – Run the Network Adapter troubleshooter

To run the Network Troubleshooter, refer to these steps:

• Open the Search bar on your computer and type in “troubleshoot” to open the Troubleshoot settings.
• Next, scroll down and select the “Network Adapter” option from the right pane.
• Then click on the Run Troubleshooter” button.
• After that, your computer will check for any possible errors and will pinpoint the root cause of the problem if possible.
• Restart your computer.

Option 5 – Try to perform Network Reset

You might perform a Network Reset to resolve the problem if none of the four given options worked. This will reset the entire network configuration including your IP address. To perform Network Reset, follow these steps:

• Tap the Win + I keys to open Settings.
• From there, go to the Network and Internet section.
• Next, scroll down and look for “Network Reset” under the status pane.
• After that, click on Network Reset and then on Reset now to start resetting the network configuration. Once done, check if it is able to fix the error or not.

FullTab is a Browser Extension for Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. When installed this extension hijacks your home page, and changes your default search engine to http://search.fulltabsearch.com. This extension usually comes bundled with other freeware software, and while installed it monitors your internet browsing activity, visited links, clicked pages, and other private information that it later uses to distribute targeted unwanted ads in your search results.

While this extension is installed, you will see modified search results, injected ads, sponsored links, web page redirects, and sometimes even pop-up ads. Several anti-virus scanners have detected this extension as a Browser Hijacker, and due to the information it is gathering from your computer it is not recommended to keep.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijackers (sometimes called hijackware) are a kind of malicious software that modifies web browser configuration settings without the user’s knowledge or consent. These hijacks appear to be increasing at an alarming rate globally, and they can be truly nefarious and sometimes harmful too. Browser hijackers are capable of doing more than just changing home pages. Usually, browser hijacking is utilized for earning advertising revenue that comes from forced ad clicks and website visits. Most people believe that such websites are legitimate and harmless but that is not the case. Almost every browser hijacker poses an actual threat to your online safety and it is necessary to categorize them under privacy risks. Browser hijackers can also let other vicious programs without your knowledge further damage your personal computer.

Browser hijacking signs and symptoms

There are numerous signs that indicate the web browser is hijacked: 1. your browser’s home page is suddenly different 2. you find redirected to internet sites you never meant to visit 3. the default web browser settings are modified and/or your default web engine is altered 4. you find unsolicited new toolbars added 5. unstoppable flurries of pop-up advertisements appear on your personal computer screen 6. webpages load slowly and sometimes incomplete 7. you can’t navigate to specific web pages, like computer security software-related sites.

Precisely how browser hijacker infects computers

There are many ways your PC can get infected with a browser hijacker. They usually arrive through spam e-mail, via file-sharing networks, or by a drive-by download. They are usually included with toolbars, BHO, add-ons, plug-ins, or browser extensions. Browser hijackers sneak to your pc in addition to free software application downloads also that you unintentionally install along with the original. Examples of popular browser hijackers include Fireball, GoSave, Ask Toolbar, CoolWebSearch, RocketTab, and Babylon Toolbar. The presence of any browser hijacker on your system can considerably diminish the web browsing experience, record your internet activities that lead to troublesome privacy concerns, diminish overall computer performance and cause application instability as well.

Removal

Some browser hijacking can be quite easily corrected by identifying and removing the corresponding malware software through your control panel. However, most hijackers are very tenacious and require specialized tools to remove them. And there’s no denying the very fact that the manual fixes and removal methods can certainly be a difficult job for a rookie PC user. Additionally, there are many risks associated with tinkering around with the pc registry files.

Virus Blocking Access To Safebytes Website And Anti-Malware Downloads - What You Should Do?

All malware is inherently dangerous, but certain types of malicious software do much more damage to your computer than others. Some malware is meant to interfere with or block things that you’d like to do on your computer. It may not allow you to download anything from the net or prevent you from accessing a few or all sites, especially antivirus websites. If you are reading this article now, you have probably recognized that a malware infection is a reason behind your blocked internet traffic. So how to proceed if you want to install an antivirus program such as Safebytes? There are some actions you can take to get around this problem.

Start Windows in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is actually a special, basic version of Microsoft Windows where just minimal services are loaded to counteract viruses and other troublesome programs from loading. If the malware is blocking the internet connection and affecting your PC, running it in Safe Mode will let you download anti-malware and run a scan while limiting possible damage. In order to enter into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press F8 while the computer is booting up or run MSCONFIG and look for the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. After you restart into Safe Mode with Networking, you can download, install, as well as update the anti-malware program from there. Right after installation, run the malware scanner to eliminate most standard infections.

Utilize an alternate internet browser to download an antivirus program

Malicious program code could exploit vulnerabilities on a specific web browser and block access to all anti-virus software websites. If you appear to have a virus attached to Internet Explorer, then switch over to a different browser with built-in safety features, such as Firefox or Chrome, to download your preferred antivirus program – Safebytes.

Make a bootable USB anti-virus drive

Another solution is to store and run an antivirus program completely from a Thumb drive. Do these simple measures to clean up your affected computer using portable anti-malware. 1) On a virus-free computer, download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Put the pen drive into the uninfected PC. 3) Double-click on the downloaded file to run the installation wizard. 4) When asked, select the location of the pen drive as the place where you would like to store the software files. Do as instructed on the screen to finish up the installation process. 5) Now, insert the USB drive into the corrupted PC. 6) Run the Safebytes Anti-malware directly from the pen drive by double-clicking the icon. 7) Hit the “Scan Now” button to start the virus scan.

Ensure the Safety of Your PC by Using SafeBytes Anti-Malware Software

Do you want to install the best anti-malware application for your laptop? There are many applications available in the market that comes in free and paid versions for Windows systems. Some of them are great, some are decent, and some will affect your PC themselves! You need to go with a tool that has obtained a good reputation and detects not only computer viruses but other types of malware too. While thinking about trustworthy applications, Safebytes Anti-Malware is certainly the highly recommended one. SafeBytes anti-malware is a powerful, very effective protection application designed to assist users of all levels of IT literacy in finding and removing malicious threats from their personal computers. After you have installed this program, SafeBytes sophisticated protection system will make sure that absolutely no viruses or malicious software can seep through your computer. SafeBytes has outstanding features when compared to various other anti-malware programs. A few of them are given as below: Real-time Threat Response: SafeBytes provides round-the-clock protection for your personal computer restricting malware intrusions instantly. They’re extremely effective in screening and eliminating different threats because they’re regularly improved with new updates and safety measures. World-class AntiMalware Protection: With its advanced and sophisticated algorithm, this malware removal tool can detect and get rid of the malware threats hiding within your PC effectively. Quick Multithreaded Scanning: SafeBytes’s high-speed malware scanning engine cuts down scanning times and extends battery life. Simultaneously, it will effectively detect and eliminate infected computer files or any internet threat. Web Security: Through its unique safety rating, SafeBytes alerts you whether a site is safe or not to access it. This will make sure that you’re always certain of your safety when browsing the world wide web. Lightweight: This tool is not “heavy” on the computer’s resources, so you’ll not see any overall performance difficulties when SafeBytes is operating in the background. 24/7 Live Professional Support: You can obtain high levels of support round the clock if you’re using their paid software.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

To eliminate FullTab manually, navigate to the Add/Remove programs list in the Windows Control Panel and select the program you want to get rid of. For internet browser extensions, go to your web browser’s Addon/Extension manager and select the add-on you want to disable or remove. You’ll probably also want to reset your browser. To ensure the complete removal, find the following Windows registry entries on your system and remove them or reset the values accordingly. However, this is a challenging task and only computer professionals could carry it out safely. Moreover, certain malware keeps replicating which makes it difficult to eliminate. You are advised to do this process in Safe Mode.

This post will guide you in fixing the (1058) ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED error you can encounter when trying to launch various games. Usually, this error pops up during startup and prevents you from running the game. In fact, this error has become quite a headache for many users. Some of the games it affects are Smite, Paladins, Far Cry, and many more. In most cases, this error is caused by missing or corrupted game files. It could also be caused by the anti-cheat utility you might have installed along with your games. Whichever the cause is, you can try to check out the possible fixes given below to resolve the (1058) ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED error.

Option 1 – Verify the Integrity of the Game files

This is the first option you can try no matter what kind of issues you are having with Steam games.

• Double click on the game’s icon located on your Desktop and then go to the Library tab in the Steam window.
• From there, look for GTA V from the list of games installed in your library.
• Next, right-click on its entry and select Properties.
• After that, navigate to the Local Files tab and click the “Verify Integrity of Game Files” button.
• Now, wait for the tool to complete checking the game’s integrity. You should see that some of the files may have been downloaded.
• Reopen the game and see if it now runs properly without crashing.

Option 2 – Apply some tweaks in the Service’s startup settings

As pointed out earlier, the error can also occur due to the anti-cheat tools that were installed alongside the game. These tools are usually used by games to check if you are running something which might give you an unfair advantage over other players. These anti-cheat tools include but are not limited to BattlEye, EasyAntiCheat, and PunkBuster. The error might occur if the service’s startup settings are not correctly configured which is why you can apply some tweaks in order to resolve the problem.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for any of the services mentioned above such as BattlEye, EasyAntiCheat Service, or PunkBuster Service. Then right-click on the service and select Properties from the context menu.
• After that, check if the service is started by checking the Service status. If it is started, click on the Stop button to stop the service and if it is already stopped, leave it as it is, at least for now.
• Next, make sure that the Startup type menu in the Service’s properties is set to Automatic before you go on.
• Now confirm any dialog boxes that may appear as you set the Startup type and then click on the Start button located in the middle before you exit Properties.

Note: You might get the following error message when you click on the Start button:

“Windows could not start the service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process.”

If you got the error message above, then here’s how you can fix it:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Next, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open Services.
• From the list of Services, look for any of the services mentioned above such as BattlEye, EasyAntiCheat Service, or PunkBuster Service. Then right-click on the service and select Properties from the context menu.
• Now go to the Log On tab and click on the “Browse…” button.
• After that, type in your account’s name under the “Enter the object name to select” box and click on Check Names then wait for the name to be recognized.
• Then click OK once you’re done and type in the password in the Password field when you are prompted to do so. This should resolve the issue.

Option 3 – Try reinstalling the Anti-cheat program

If the first two options did not work out, you can try reinstalling the anti-cheat program.

• Open Steam from your Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu.
• After opening the Steam client, go to the Library tab in the Steam window and then look for the Rust entry from the list.
• Next, right-click on the game’s icon in the library and select Properties.
• Now go to the Local Files tab under Properties and click the Browse Local Files button.
• From there, look for BattlEye, EasyAntiCheat, or PunkBuster folder depending on the game, and then double click on it to open the folder.
• Then right-click on EasyAntiCheat_setup.exe or the BattlEye installed file in the folder or PunkBuster and select the Run as administrator option.
• Exit the Steam client by clicking Steam > Exit from the menu located at the top.

Microsoft has released Windows 11 as a public beta release for all the people that are not willing to be in the insider program. Beta release as of this moment is identical to Insider Preview build 22000.100. and updates will not roll so fast as in insider preview and it is marked as unstable release, same as insider build. I would not install Windows 11 beta on the main PC since some drivers still have issues and may lead to some blue screens. Be aware that the beta build will have all Windows 11 system requirements including TPM 2.0. This is a big difference from insider build which can be installed on systems lacking official requirements. So basically if you have a spare PC that could run Windows 11 install it so you can see what it brings and feel it so you can make a decision will upgrade once it is released later this year.

Nvidia announced the third generation of GeForce RTX GPUs called Ada Lovelace. New technology is bringing 76 billion transistors with 18,000 CUDA cores along with new gen ray tracing cores and improved Tensor cores as well. The new lineup also comes with DLSS 3 which is vastly improved from its previous version pushing a 4 times increase in frame rates over native rendering.

RTX 4090, a better model of GPU will come with 16,384 CUDA cores and a boost clock speed of 2.52 GHz. Also, it is packed with stunning 24 GB of GDDR6V VRAM. In Nvidia's words, its performance is twice faster than the 3090 Ti in games like Flight simulator, three times faster on Portal RTX, and four times faster on RacerX.

RTX 4080 comes in two modes, one with 12GB VRAM and a stronger one with 16GB VRAM but differences do not end here. The lower model is packing 7,680 CUDA cores while the stronger one is going to 9,728 CUDA cores. We will wait to see how will these cores count impact real-world performance in games.

As for prices, the flagship model RTX 4090 will be $1,600 USD and it will hit the market on October 12th. RTX 4080 12GB model will be $900 USD and the model with 16GB VRAM will go up to $1,200 USD. This, of course, is the price for Founders Edition cards, OEM cards from third parties like ASUS, MSI, Gigatech, etc will cost more.

As you know, Windows Hello offers you quick access to computers since you can log in to your Windows devices three times faster compared to passwords with the help of the camera via Face recognition and fingerprint reader. This way, Windows Hello will recognize you right away. However, there are also times when you might encounter some problems when using Windows Hello. For one, if you are trying to add the PIN method to Windows Hello on your Windows 10 computer but you suddenly encountered an error code of 0x801c004d or if you are trying to use your existing pin and you encounter an error code of 0x80070490 along with an error message that says, “Not recognized”, then read on as this post will guide you on how you can fix both of these errors. Here is the complete content for both errors:

• “0x801c004d – Unable to enroll a device to use a PIN for login”
• “0x80070490 - Not recognized, Pin and fingerprint are no longer options for signing in”

If you got any of these two errors, there are several potential fixes you can check out to resolve them. You can try to check for any Windows Updates or create the PIN again or check the CNG Key Isolation Service. You could also try to reset the TPM or create a new User Account. For more information, follow the instructions provided below.

Option 1 – Try checking for any available Windows Updates

The first thing you can do is to check for any available Windows Updates. It is possible that your computer may be outdated and is the reason why you’re having troubles with Windows Hello. To check for Windows Updates, just go to Settings and from there, head over to the Update and Security section and click on Windows Updates located on the left pane, and then click on the Check for Updates option. Wait until the process of checking updates is completed and if it finds new updates, install it. After you install the new Windows Updates, check if you can now add the PIN on Windows Hello or not.

Option 2 – Try creating the PIN again

The next thing you can do is to create the PIN again by signing out and signing in again and then try creating the PIN once more. If this does not work, you can try restarting your computer and creating the PIN again. You could also try removing the PIN and then change it.

• Remove the PIN by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
• From there, go to the PIN section and click on the Remove button.
• You will be asked to verify your account to proceed in removing the PIN, enter your credentials.
• Restart your computer and then set up a new PIN.
• Once you’re done, restart your computer and check if the error is gone now.

Option 3 – Try checking the CNG Key Isolation Service

The CNG Key Isolation Service is the one that stores and uses long-lived keys in a secure process complying with the common criteria requirements and it is possible that the error could be related to this service. This service is hosted in the LSA processes and provides key process isolation to private keys and associated cryptographic operations as required by the common criteria. Thus, you need to check this service to see if it’s the one that’s causing the error.

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
• Next, locate the “CNG Key Isolation Service” and once you find it, double click on it to open its Properties box.
• After opening its Properties, check its Startup type and select Manual. This is the default setting and if it is Disabled, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting errors with Windows Hello, thus, you need to enable it.
• Once done, restart your computer and check if you can now add the PIN to Windows Hello. If you still get the error, then you might want to try setting the CNG Key Isolation Service from Manual to Automatic and then click on the Start button and see if it fixes the error or not.

Option 4 – Try to reset the Trusted Platform Module or TPM

You might also want to try resetting the Trusted Platform Module or TPM to fix the error. You can do this by opening Windows PowerShell and then executing the “Clear-Tpm” command. After that, check if the error is now resolved.

Option 5 – Try to create a new User Account

You could also try to create a new User Account on your Windows 10 computer to fix the Windows Hello error. Once you have created a new local user or administrator account in Windows 10, check if you are now able to add the PIN from this newly created user account.