You might have experienced a situation when you restarted your Windows 10 PC after an upgrade and you tried logging into your account but only a screen with a message saying, “Preparing Windows”. If the screen only stays that way, this indicates that Windows 10 is trying to complete the upgrade or waiting for some files to load up so that you can use your account. Some users also reported that when they tried logging into their accounts, they also get the same message on their screens. To resolve this issue, read on as this post will show you what you can do if your Windows 10 PC is stuck on the “Preparing Windows” screen.
A lot of users have tried logging back into their account once more but to no avail as the same screen still greets them. And even when they tried the Ctrl + Alt + Del combo, it still didn’t work. This only goes to show that your account might somehow be corrupted.
The first thing you can do to resolve the issue is to try booting your computer into Safe Mode and then log in using an Admin account. If it seems like your admin account has caused the problem, you need to create an admin account first and then log in after you reboot into the account and then log off. After that, restart your PC normally and check if the problem’s resolved or not. If not, refer to the next given option below.
In this second option, you can try to repair the corrupted profile using the Registry but before you proceed, make sure to create a System Restore Point and then follow the steps below.
System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files with good system files that might be the cause why your screen is stuck at “Preparing Windows”. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
You can also run the Chkdsk utility to resolve the problem. 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.

Runtime Error ‘429’: Active X component Can’t Create Object
Error Causes
Error Causes“Your PIN is no longer available due to a change in the security setting on this device on this device.”
C:\Windows\Service\Profiles\Local\Service\AppData\Local\MicrosoftNote: From there, you should see a folder named “Ngc”. This folder might be the one that’s causing the problem so you are going to fix it by making some changes. This folder contains all the files responsible for any PIN-related settings. So if you are not able to access the Ngc folder, or it has gotten corrupted for some reason during an update here’s how to fix it.
Hive ransomware has been targeting Microsoft exchange servers lately vulnerable to ProxyShell security issues in order to deploy various backdoors. Once the backdoor has been placed various attacks can be performed including but not limited to network reconnaissance, stealing admin accounts, taking valuable data, and even installing and deploying file-encrypting algorithms.

ProxyShell is a set of three vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Exchange Server that allows remote code execution without authentication on vulnerable deployments. The flaw has been used in past by various ransomware like Conti, BlackByte, Babuk, Cuba, and LockFile.
Security vulnerabilities have been reported to be fully patched on May 2021 but how Hive was able to still be successful in exploiting PowerShell and infiltrating into the system there seems to be still some unpatched and open issues.
Hive has gone a long way since it was first observed in the wild back in June 2021, having a successful start that prompted the FBI to release a dedicated report on its tactics and indicators of compromise.
In October 2021, the Hive gang added Linux and FreeBSD variants, and in December it became one of the most active ransomware operations in attack frequency.
Last month, researchers at Sentinel Labs reported on a new payload-hiding obfuscation method employed by Hive, which indicates active development.
'Error 501: Not implemented or not supported.'
Error Causes“The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to close the application.”This kind of application error can occur due to several reasons which include damaged installation of the application or system files may have gotten corrupted or damaged. It could also be caused by a malware infection. There are a couple of suggestions provided in this post to help you resolve the error. You can try to run both a System File Checker scan and the DISM tool or reinstall the problematic application or repair-install Windows 10 as well as run a malware scan. Note that the options provided below do not have to be followed in sequence.
net stop wuauserv net stop bits rename c:windowsSoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
net start wuauserv net start bitsSince the folder has already been flushed, it will be populated afresh the instant your restart your computer and open Windows Update.