Windows is stuck in Airplane Mode

You left your computer to go to the bathroom or to fetch something to eat, maybe you have to answer the phone or open door to a friend and after some time you get back to your computer see the black screen, you move the mouse and it starts to come from sleep slowly. I am the kind of person who gets annoyed by this kind of behavior, I like my PC to be ON all time when I want it to be ON and my power plan on best performance so naturally, I have turned this sleep feature OFF. If you are interested to see how you to can turn off your screen sleeping follow this easy guide.

1. Press ⊞ WINDOWS to open the start menu and click on the settings
2. On settings, screen click on system
3. When the system dialog opens go to Power & Sleep and on the right side change all values to never.

Please note that after each update Windows tend to reset these settings so you will sadly have to return to this after each major update.

Symptoms of Blue Screen of Death Errors

Symptoms of a blue screen of death problem are easy to identify: if you have a blue screen error, then your computer will display a blue screen. Also known as the infamous “Blue Screen of Death”, this screen will pop up when something goes horribly wrong with your computer. The screen displays cryptic information about the problem before automatically restarting the system.

Bluescreen Of Death Errors Solution

Download Available To Completely Repair Blue Screen of Death Errors

Recommended: Download the Automatic Repair Utility to correct this and other PC performance issues.

Bluescreen Error Causes

This one can be a bit more complex: blue screens are caused by hundreds of different things. In fact, any miscommunication between the hardware and software of the computer can lead to the dreaded Blue Screen of Death, blue screens reference a communication problem between the Windows operating system and the hardware in your PC.

Why do computer blue screens of death errors occur?

Most computer users have experienced a blue screen of death at least once in their life. But have you ever stopped to wonder why they occur? Blue screens of death can occur for a number of different reasons, but the most common reason is that your PC’s hardware failed to properly communicate with its software, resulting in a fatal error. If your video card, processor, hard drive, or any other vital system component encountered a serious communication error with your operating system, then your PC may automatically display the blue screen and shut down for its own safety. Blue screens can also occur as a self-protection mechanism if the PC is overheated.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Where do Windows blue screen errors come from?

Blue screen errors come from many different sources on your computer. However, the majority of blue screen errors seem to come from the Windows Registry, which contains important configuration information about the programs, data, and personal files on your PC. Windows constantly rely on the registry in order to operate normally, but since the registry is incredibly complex (it holds hundreds of thousands of files), errors naturally develop over time. Fortunately, registry errors are fixable. They can be repaired using special registry cleaning software. During a scan, registry cleaning software looks for any registry entries that have errors. Once these entries are found, the software automatically repairs each entry. In many cases, this can permanently repair the blue screen error and prevent blue screens from ever appearing again.

Blue screen Windows 7

Windows 7, despite being Microsoft’s most popular operating system to date, is not immune to blue screen errors. It’s more stable than previous versions of Windows, although many users will inevitably encounter blue screen errors in Windows 7. No matter which version of Windows you’re currently using, the error remains the same: the hardware on your computer has trouble communicating with the software, forcing the system to display the blue error message we all love to hate.

“Blue Screen of Death”

There’s a reason this error message is famously called the “blue screen of death.” Immediately after displaying a blue screen, the Windows computer will ‘die’, which means that it restarts itself. Another reason why the error could be called the blue screen of death is that it is often displayed at the end of a PC’s life cycle. As PCs get older and their hardware starts to fail, blue screen errors become more and more common. In real life, death isn’t reversible. In the computer world, blue screens of death certainly are. With the right software support – like Restoro – even the most novice computer technician can fix their blue screen errors and restore their PC to healthy working conditions.

Benefits Of Using Restoro, BSOD Error Codes

Restoro is one of the world’s most popular PC optimization programs. Used by professional PC technicians around the world, Restoro is a feature-rich software suite that has helped many PC users breathe new life into an old PC. Restoro optimizes computer performance in hundreds of different ways. It looks through the registry and repairs any erroneous entries it finds. It also hunts down and eliminates malware and goes to work with the press of a button. And most importantly for you – it’s also amazingly effective at repairing blue screen errors. Ready to experience the Restoro difference? Here are a few more advantages of our favorite software program:

• Easy for anyone to use: A few years ago, only the most tech-savvy individuals could optimize their computer’s performance.  Everybody else had to pay for expensive tech support or simply buy a new computer. Thankfully, the software development community has come up with innovations like Restoro which are easy for anyone to use. Just click a button and your computer will be clean within minutes. The process could not be easier.

• Surprisingly fast: There are hundreds of thousands of files in the Windows Registry. In spite of that fact, Restoro goes to work incredibly quickly. It scans the depths of your PC in an effort to uncover whatever is causing your blue screen errors. The entire scan is complete within just a few minutes, making it easy for anyone to scan their computer on a regular basis.

• Free trial: It’s good to be skeptical. And if you don’t think Restoro will fix any of the errors your computer is experiencing, then that’s okay. However, when you download the free Restoro, you can instantly scan your computer for errors. If any errors are found during this scan, then you can repair these problems with the click of a button.

• Fixes frustrating errors: Blue screen errors are incredibly frustrating. You can’t get any work done on your computer when experiencing a blue screen problem. For that reason, Restoro helps alleviate some of the most frustrating PC problems in the world today.

• More than just blue screen repairs: Sure, blue screens are annoying. But they’re only one of many different errors that a PC can develop over time. Fortunately, Restoro does more than just fix blue screen errors. The software also identifies and repairs other problem areas on your PC, making it easy to optimize performance.

Ready to get rid of your blue screen errors – permanently? Restoro today!

Action Classic Games Toolbar is another product from Mindspark Interactive Network, Inc. that may claim to relieve users of their boredom with more than 500 online games. The Action Classic Games toolbar is available for download from its official web page and Google Web Store, though it is normally distributed via advertising directly from its website. When installed, it will change your home page and new tab to MyWay.com and start gathering user browsing information while active.

Browsing the internet with Action Classic Games enabled will result in the additional ad and sponsored content placement throughout the browsing sessions. This extension has been flagged as a Browser Hijacker by several top anti-virus applications and is therefore not recommended to keep on your computer.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking is a type of unwanted program, usually a browser add-on or extension, which causes modifications in web browser’s settings. There are plenty of reasons why you might experience an internet browser hijack; however commercial, marketing, and advertising are definitely the key reasons for their creation. The idea is to force users to visit particular websites which are looking to increase their website visitor traffic and produce higher advertisement revenue. While it might appear naive, these tools were created by vicious people who always look to take full advantage of you, so that they could make money from your naive and distraction. In a much worst case, your internet browser could be hi-jacked to download malicious software that will do a lot of damage to your computer or laptop.

Key signs that your web browser has been highjacked

Symptoms that a web browser is a hi-jacked include: 1. home-page is changed 2. your internet browser is constantly being redirected to pornography sites 3. default search engine is changed 4. you’ll see multiple toolbars in your browser 5. you find numerous ads appear on your browsers or computer screen 6. your browser has instability issues or exhibits frequent errors 7. you’ve disallowed entry to particular websites, including the website of an anti-malware software developer like SafeBytes.

How does a PC get infected with a browser hijacker

Browser hijackers infect computers via malicious email attachments, downloaded infected documents or by checking out infected internet sites. They also come from add-on software, also called browser helper objects (BHO), browser plug-ins or toolbars. Other times you might have accidentally accepted a browser hijacker as part of an application package (usually freeware or shareware). A good example of a well-known browser hijacker is the latest Chinese malware known as “Fireball”, which has attacked 250 million computer systems around the world. It works as a hijacker but can be changed into a full-functioning malware downloader afterward. The presence of any browser hijacker malware on your computer might considerably diminish the web browsing experience, monitor your online activities that result in major privacy issues, create system stability issues and eventually cause your computer to slow down or to a practically unusable condition.

Browser hijacker removal

The one thing you can try to get rid of a browser hijacker is to find the malicious software inside the “Add or Remove Programs” list in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel. It may or may not be there. If it is, try and uninstall it. However, many browser hijackers are hard to get rid of manually. No matter how much you attempt to remove it, it may keep coming back again and again. Besides, browser hijackers could modify Windows registry so it could be very difficult to restore all the values manually, particularly when you’re not very tech-savvy individual. You might opt for automatic browser hijacker removal by just installing and running a reliable anti-malware application. To eradicate any type of browser hijacker from your personal computer, you should download the following professional malware removal tool – SafeBytes Anti-Malware. Together with the anti-malware tool, a PC optimizer, such as SafeBytes Total System Care, will help you in removing all related files and modifications in the Windows registry automatically.

Learn How to Remove a Virus that is Blocking Websites or Preventing Downloads

Malware could potentially cause all sorts of damage after they invade your computer, from stealing your personal information to deleting data files on your PC. Certain malware types modify web browser settings by adding a proxy server or modify the PC’s DNS configurations. In these instances, you will be unable to visit some or all of the sites, and therefore unable to download or install the necessary security software to remove the computer virus. If you are reading this article right now, you might have probably recognized that a malware infection is a reason behind your blocked web traffic. So what to do if you need to download and install an anti-malware application like Safebytes? There are a few steps you can take to circumvent this issue.

Boot your PC in Safe Mode

If the virus is set to run automatically when Microsoft Windows starts, stepping into Safe Mode may block the attempt. Just bare minimum required applications and services are loaded when you boot your computer into Safe Mode. To launch your Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computers in Safe Mode with Networking, follow the instructions below. 1) At power on, hit the F8 key before the Windows splash screen starts to load. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu. 2) Make use of the arrow keys to choose Safe Mode with Networking and hit ENTER. 3) When you are into this mode, you should have online access once again. Now, utilize your browser normally and navigate to https://safebytes.com/products/anti-malware/ to download and install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 4) After installation, do a full scan and let the software program delete the threats it discovers.

Download the security program using an alternate browser

Some malware may target vulnerabilities of a specific browser that block the downloading process. If you are not able to download the anti-malware software program using Internet Explorer, this means the virus may be targeting IE’s vulnerabilities. Here, you should switch over to an alternative internet browser such as Chrome or Firefox to download the Safebytes program.

Make a bootable USB antivirus drive

Another option would be to make a portable antivirus program on your USB stick. Try these simple actions to clean up your affected PC using portable anti-malware. 1) On a virus-free PC, install Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Put the pen drive into the clean computer. 3) Double-click on the downloaded file to run the installation wizard. 4) When asked, choose the location of the pen drive as the place where you want to store the software files. Follow the instructions on the computer screen to finish up the installation process. 5) Now, plug the pen drive into the corrupted PC. 6) Double-click the EXE file to open the Safebytes tool right from the thumb drive. 7) Hit the “Scan Now” button to begin the malware scan.

Features and Benefits of SafeBytes Anti-Malware

Would you like to install the very best anti-malware program for your computer? There are various applications in the market that comes in paid and free versions for Windows computers. A few of them are good but there are numerous scamware applications that pretend as genuine anti-malware software waiting to wreak havoc on your computer. You should pick a product that has gained a strong reputation and detects not just computer viruses but other kinds of malware too. While thinking about reliable programs, Safebytes Anti-Malware is certainly the highly recommended one. SafeBytes anti-malware is a trusted software that not only protects your computer completely but is also very easy to use for people of all ability levels. Using its outstanding protection system, this utility will instantly detect and remove the majority of the security threats, including browser hijackers, viruses, adware, ransomware, trojans, worms, and PUPs.

There are numerous amazing features you’ll get with this security product. Listed below are some of the highlighted features included in the application.

Active Protection: SafeBytes gives real-time active checking and protection against all known viruses and malware. They’re highly efficient in screening and eliminating various threats because they’re regularly revised with the latest updates and safety measures. Best AntiMalware Protection: Safebytes is made on the best virus engine within the industry. These engines will detect and remove threats even during the early stages of a malware outbreak. Safe Web Browsing: Safebytes allots all sites a unique safety ranking that helps you to have an idea of whether the webpage you’re going to visit is safe to browse or known to be a phishing site. Light-weight: SafeBytes is renowned for its minimal influence on computer resources and great detection rate of various threats. It works silently and efficiently in the background so you are free to utilize your computer at full power all of the time. 24/7 Customer Support: Support service is accessible 24 x 7 x 365 days via email and chats to answer your questions. To sum it up, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is really great for securing your laptop or computer against all sorts of malware threats. There is no doubt that your PC will be protected in real-time once you put this software program to use. So if you’re searching for the very best malware removal tool out there, and when you don’t mind shelling out some dollars for it, opt for SafeBytes Anti-Malware.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

To remove Action Classic Games manually, go to the Add or Remove programs list in the Windows Control Panel and select the program you want to get rid of. For web browser plug-ins, go to your web browser’s Addon/Extension manager and select the plug-in you intend to disable or remove. Additionally, it is advised to factory reset your web browser settings to their default state. To be certain of complete removal, find the following Windows registry entries on your system and remove it or reset the values accordingly. Please keep in mind that only advanced users should try to manually edit the registry because removing any single vital system file results in a major problem or even a system crash. Moreover, some malware keeps replicating which makes it tough to get rid of. Doing this malware-removal process in Safe Mode is suggested.

Sharing is caring, an old saying says. I completely agree and that is reason enough for this article filled with sharing goodness. Holidays are coming and I hope that the holiday spirit is strong with you, that you will spend them in peace and with loved ones. All that being said wouldn’t it be great if you can spend some joy with close ones and share some of your games on their account so they can enjoy them as well? Well, you can and it is not complicated as well. Follow this easy guide to see how can you get someone’s account up and running with some of your games.

The steam Family sharing feature

The family Sharing feature inside Steam will let you share your games to another account so owners of that account can play games that you have purchased without the need to buy themselves. You can allow up to 5 accounts and 10 devices to play your library games, and owners of these accounts will have their own achievements. Be aware that enabling this option will place your entire library on the share, you will not be able to choose which games you would like to share and therefore any kind of parental controls are not applying here. Also know that once the game is running on one device, others will have to wait for one playing to finish before they can get a spin on it. Only the owner of the game can play whenever he wants as a priority but others will have to wait for the game to be not run by someone else.

How to Share Your Game Library

In order to share your game library have a person, you wish to share games with at his device on ready to go and enable steam guard on your account. To enable steam guard login into your account and on the top left corner click on Steam and then on Settings. Inside settings click on the Manage Steam Guard Account Security button. Choose the way of authentication either by mail or steam guard mobile app. Check Get Steam guard codes by email radio button and re-login into account.

Sharing Games on another Steam account

Now that Steam Guard is enabled on the primary account let’s share some games!!! Inside client again, in the top left click on Steam and again on settings. In the left panel choose and click on Family. Inside Family section check box beside Authorize Library Sharing on This Computer. Log out of your account and login into the client user account credentials you wish to share your library with (this is your friend or cousin account, they need to log in to Steam client on your computer but with their credentials). After they have successfully logged in, log them out and re-log with your account again. Now go again into Steam > Family and now you should see an account in the box at the bottom with the user name or your friend or relative. Confirm that this is an account that you wish to share the library with by clicking on the checkbox next to the name. Now let users login into the desired device with their credentials and they will have access to your entire library. Happy gaming!

What is the Runtime Error R6025?

The runtime error R6025 can be quite annoying for PC users as it pops up randomly anytime. It is a type of runtime error but typically associated with C++ programming. The error is displayed in the following format:

‘Runtime Error! Program: C:…R6025-Pure Virtual Function Call’

Solution

Error Causes

The runtime error R6025 is triggered due to the following reasons:

• Runtime components of Visual C++ libraries are missing
• Microsoft.NET framework damaged
• Registry corrupted with bad files and data overload
• Virus and malware invasion

Further Information and Manual Repair

Try the solutions given below to repair the runtime error R6025 on your system:

Cause: Microsoft.NET framework damaged

Solution: If this is the underlying cause of the error, then it is advisable to reinstall and repair the Microsoft.NET framework on your PC. To reinstall this framework, go to the start menu, click control panel, programs and then click ‘Turn Windows features on or off’. Here you might be promoted for an administrator password. Insert the password to proceed. Now locate Microsoft.NET framework 3.5.1 and uncheck this box, press OK and then reboot your system. After that open ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ and check the Microsoft.NET framework 3.5.1 and then restart your PC. This will hopefully resolve the error.

Cause: Runtime components of Visual C++ libraries are missing

Solution: If runtime components of Visual C++ libraries are missing, then you will have to download and install these from different websites. This can be time-consuming and slightly complicated for you if you are not technically sound.

Cause: Malware Attack

Solution: If the runtime error R6025 is triggered due to a malware attack, then you will have to install and run a powerful antivirus on your PC. This will help detect and remove such malicious software affecting your system.

Cause: Registry Issues

Solution: If registry corruption is the underlying cause of the runtime error R6025 on your PC, then you need to clean up the registry and repair it. The best way to clean and repair the registry is to download Restoro. Restoro is an advanced PC repair tool integrated with powerful and highly functional utilities all in one. Utilities include a registry cleaner and a system optimizer. It has easy navigation, a user-friendly interface, and is compatible with all Windows versions. Users of all levels can operate it to resolve all kinds of PC errors including the runtime error R6025. The registry cleaner utility wipes out all the unnecessary, malicious, obsolete files and invalid entries overloading the RAM. It frees up the disk space, repairs the damaged files and the registry. Furthermore, Restoro also functions as a system optimizer. It detects system instability issues and resolves them while boosting the speed of your PC. To resolve the runtime Error R6025 on your system in seconds click here to download Restoro PC repair tool now!

What is 0x3D55? As you know, Windows 10 is loaded with various Universal Windows Platform or UWP apps such as the Microsoft News, Weather, Calculator, Windows Mail, and many other applications that are based on the modern UWP platform of Microsoft that was introduced in Windows 10. Each one of these apps has a shared piece of code in the kernel for them to be able to get executed across any device that runs the Windows 10 OS which includes laptops, PCs, 2-in-1 devices, mobile phones, mixed reality headsets, and many more. However, there are times when the runtime information for these apps ends up getting corrupted which causes them not to function as expected and throws errors like the error 0x3D55. This kind of error can be pinned down when the UWP app malfunctions and you can also find an error message in the Event Log that reads, “0x3D55: Package family <App name with ID> runtime information is corrupted”. So if you encounter this error, read on for this post will walk you through fixing it. There are three suggestions you need to check out to fix this error – first, you can try to reset the Microsoft Store cache, second, you can try to re-register or reinstall the problematic app and lastly, run the Windows Store App troubleshooter.

Option 1 – Try to reset the Microsoft Store cache

Just like browsers, Microsoft Store also caches as you view apps and games so it is most likely that the cache is no longer valid and must be removed. To do so, follow the steps below.

• Right-click on the start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator).
• Next, type in the command, “wsreset.exe” and tap Enter. Once you do, the command will clear the cache for the Windows Store app.
• Now restart your PC and afterward, try opening Microsoft Store again and then try to install your app or update your computer again.

Option 2 – Run the Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooter

The Microsoft Store Apps Troubleshooter will help you in fixing the error 0x3D55. This is a great built-in tool from Microsoft that helps users fix any app installation issues. So this is worth a try to solve the problem. This built-in tool also helps you fix the Windows 10 Store if it isn’t working. To use the Windows Store Troubleshooter, follow the steps below.

1. Tap Win + I keys again to open the Windows Settings panel.
2. Go to Update & Security and then go to Troubleshoot.
3. On your right-hand side, scroll down to find the Windows Store Apps and then click on the Run the troubleshooter option and see if it fixes the problem.

Option 3 – Try to re-register the UWP app via PowerShell

• First, type “command prompt” in the Start Search and right-click on Command Prompt and then select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Next, navigate to this location in the command line utility: C:/Users/<Insert Username>/AppData/Local/Packages
• After that, execute the “DIR” command to view the list of all the directories in the given location.
• Once the list appears, look for the ID of the problematic app and take note of it.
• Now tap the Win + X key combination or right-click on the Start button and click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) option.
• If a User Account Control or UAC prompt appears, just click on Yes to proceed and open the Windows PowerShell window.
• Next, type in or copy-paste the following command to re-register the Microsoft Store app and tap Enter:

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.<YOUR APP ID HERE>).InstallLocation + 'AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}"

• Wait for the process to be completed and then restart your computer.

What is Error Code 37?

Error Code 37 is a Device Manager Error Code that you may come across when you are unable to use an installed hardware device on your PC. It will pop up on your screen with the following display:

“Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)”

If you receive the above message, it means that your operating system was unable to acknowledge the drivers for a particular peripheral device.

Solution

Error Causes

Error Code 37 mainly occurs due to device driver corruption. However, there are other factors that can trigger this error code, some of which are the following:

• Missing device drivers
• Out-of-date device drivers
• Presence of malware or spyware in the system
• The particular device is not compatible with your PC

Device driver corruption or other data corruption is not uncommon and part of everyday PC use.

From an installation gone wrong to an unexpected shutdown, commonly generated data errors are considered the main culprit behind error codes.

Further Information and Manual Repair

Just like most PC error codes, Error Code 37 isn’t that difficult to get rid of. There are many DIY methods you can try to have your PC running smoothly in no time. Here are a few methods to resolve this issue:

Method 1: Restart your PC

It is possible that the display of the error code is merely due to a temporary issue with your peripheral device and not anything serious.

Therefore, the quickest and easiest method to solve the error code 37 is to simply restart your PC.

Method 2: Scan for Viruses

If restarting does not do the trick, a quick scan for viruses and removing them is another simple method you can follow to fix your PC.

Since the error code is due to corruption of data, viruses such as malware or spyware create error in your PC’s registry and eliminating them can help restore some of the corrupt data, which also speeds up your PC.

Method 3: Undo recent changes

A possible explanation for the error code may be the recent changes in your Device Manager or due to the peripheral device installation. You can thus undo the changes by either:

• Remove or change settings of the installed peripheral device
• Roll back the version of the driver to the one before the update.
• Use System Restore to reverse the changes made in the Device Manager

Method 4: Manually uninstall and reinstall the drivers

If the above stated methods do not help in speeding up your PC and is still giving you an error code, you may want to manually uninstall and reinstall the corrupt or missing drivers. Here are the following steps:

• Double-check if the installed external device is properly connected and working smoothly
• Open Device Manager and double click on the device that is causing problems
• When it opens, click on the ‘Driver’ tab and click ‘Update Driver’

Method 5: Use DriverFIX

However, updating the missing or corrupt drivers can be time consuming and may also require having a hardware documentation ready that contains specific details about the driver that you should download.

To avoid this time-consuming process, you can use DriverFIX software.

DriverFIX will help you to download the required driver without you having to waste your precious time and effort looking it up in a user manual. This latest software technology is embedded with its own database that tracks the missing or corrupt driver according to your PC’s motherboard version and specific details.

It is user-friendly, which means that it will relieve you from the frustration of such PC error codes appearing from time to time and enable your PC to work efficiently in no time.

Click here to download DriverFIX to resolve Device Manager error code 37 today!

As you know, one of the useful and efficient utilities in Windows 10 is the DISM tool. It can be used with the Command Prompt command line which allows users to carry out various tasks. However, there are instances when the DISM tool could encounter some errors when you try to execute a command. One of these errors is the one that states, “The component store has been corrupted”. This kind of DISM error is due to an error in the image file. When you encounter the DISM Error 14098 when running the DISM tool, you will see the following content in the command line:

“C:>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:testmountwindows /LimitAccess Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 10.0.10586.0 Image Version: 10.0.10586.0 [==========================100.0% Error: 14098 The component store has been corrupted. The DISM log file can be found at C:WINDOWSLogsDISMdism.log C:>”

There are several fixes you can check out to fix the DISM Error 14098, “The component store has been corrupted”. You can try to run the Restore Health command or reset the Windows Update components, or whitelist the dism.exe in your antivirus program, as well as try to uninstall any recently installed updates. Follow the options provided below for more details.

Option 1 – Run the Restore Health command in a Clean Boot State

• First, you need to put your computer in a Clean Boot State.
• 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” check box 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.)
• Now open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• Then type and enter this command to execute it: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
• Wait until the process is completed and restart your computer.

Note: If the Restore Health command fails, you can use the “/StartComponentCleanup parameter” by executing this command: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

Option 2 – Try to reset the Windows Update components

If by any chance that the second option didn’t work, resetting the Windows Update components could also help you resolve the problem. How? Refer to the following steps:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges.
• After that, type each one of the following commands and hit Enter after you key in one after the other.
  • net stop wuauserv
  • net stop cryptsvc
  • net stop bits
  • net stop msiserver

Note: The commands you entered will stop the Windows Update components such as Windows Update service, Cryptographic services, BITS, and MSI Installer.

• After disabling WU components, you need to rename both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. To do that, type each one of the following commands below, and don’t forget to hit Enter after you type one command after the other.
  • ren C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution/SoftwareDistribution.old
  • ren C:/Windows/System32/catroot2/Catroot2.old
• Next, restart the services you’ve stopped by entering another series of commands. Don’t forget to hit Enter after you key in one command after the other.
  • net start wuauserv
  • net start cryptsvc
  • net start bits
  • net start msiserver
• Close Command Prompt and reboot your PC.

Option 3 – Whitelist the “dism.exe” in your antivirus program

The DISM error 14098 might also be caused by your antivirus program which could be interfering it from running. To fix this, you have to whitelist dism.exe. How? Refer to these steps:

• Open the Windows Defender Security Center from the system tray area.
• Next, click the “Virus & threat protection” option and then open the “Virus and threat protection settings”.
• After that, scroll down until you find the “Exclusions” and click on the “Add or remove exclusions” option.
• Then click the plus button and select the type of exclusion you want to add and from the drop-down list, select Folder.
• Next, navigate to this path and select the WinSxS folder: C:/Windows/WinSxS
• When a User Account Control or UAC prompt, just click on Yes to proceed.

Option 4 – Try to uninstall recently installed updates

There are times when some Windows Updates affect some mechanism internally when you update your Windows 10 computer. As a result, it causes issues with other components of the operating system which could be the reason why you’re getting the DISM error 14098.

• Go to Settings and select Update and Security > Windows Update.
• From there, click on the “View update history” option and then click on the “Uninstall Updates” option.
• This will open a new window that contains the list of installed Windows Updates.
• Now right click on the Windows Update you wish to uninstall and click Uninstall.

Each you connect time external devices like scanners, printers, and the likes to a Windows 10 computer, the device either pushes the drivers through the USB or any other port, or you are expected to install the drivers through external media. In both cases, the driver will be loaded into the system, allowing you to use the device. However, it doesn’t always go smoothly as you could encounter some errors like the “Windows cannot load the Device Driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the Device Driver is still in memory ( Code 38 )”. If you encounter such an error in the Device Manager, then this means that a previous version of the device driver is still in memory and that each time the device is used, that previous version is loaded into memory and then unloaded which triggers the “Windows cannot load the Device Driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the Device Driver is still in memory (Code 38)” error. This kind of error occurs if the operating system loads the unwanted driver or if it fails to unload the driver. It could be that there is an obsolete version of the driver that’s still installed in the system or it could also be that you need to update your USB drivers as they could be outdated or the problem could also be due to some third party program that is interfering with the installation. Whatever the cause is, here are some suggestions you can check out to resolve the problem.

Option 1 – Uninstall previously installed drivers and reinstall their latest working version from the manufacturer’s website

The first thing you can do is to uninstall the drivers that are currently installed on your computer and then reinstall their latest working versions from their official sites. This kind of error is commonly encountered while loading drivers for scanners and printers. This is due to the fact that their drivers and software come along with a package which is usually in external media like CD or DVD. So when you install the software package, there’s a possibility that a newer version has been launched by its manufacturer. When that happens, you have to uninstall the previously installed driver package and then download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website and install them.

Option 2 – Run the Hardware and Devices 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.

Option 3 – Update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver

Since it could be a driver issue, you can try to update or reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller drivers 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 – Restart your computer in a Clean Boot State

If the first three given options didn’t work and you still see the error when you connect external devices, you can try putting your computer in a Clean Boot State and then try connecting them again.

• 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” check box 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.)
• Now try to connect the external devices and check if the error is now gone.

Error Code 0x80073afc - What is it?

Error code 0x80073afc deals with an antivirus program first built into Windows 8/8.1 This error occurs when Windows Defender, the built-in anti-virus software in Windows 8/8.1 and higher, does not start automatically and users attempt to manually start the program. During the initialization period of the program start-up, something goes wrong and users get a 0x80073afc Error message. The error message states there was a problem with the initialization of the program. Windows Defender provides protection of your computer and it is advised by the Microsoft Corporation that you ensure it starts up automatically on every start-up.

Solution

Further Information and Manual Repair

Users have found several manual repairs that have fixed the problem without needing to contact technicians for extra help. While the methods below should solve your problem easily, if this is the first time you have encountered the issue you may want to do a simple restart. This has fixed the problem for some users and is the easiest first troubleshooting move. If it doesn’t work move on to the methods listed below, which are easily completed without extra help.

Before trying any of these methods, please make sure that you are logged into a profile that is listed as the administrator of the computer of his administrative powers enabled. If this is not the case you will not be able to complete the following methods. Please log out and log back in on the administrator profile.

Method 1:

First, check to see if you have a third-party anti-virus program installed on your computer. Some users believe that the built-in Windows Defender program is not powerful enough to handle the safety of their computer so they usually download a third-party program. However, that program may have caused a conflict with Windows Defender and may not allow it to open. If you do have a third-party program installed, try uninstalling it then manually starting Windows Defender.

Method 2:

If method one does not work, you may be infected by malware or a virus that has tampered with the settings on your computer and will not allow Windows Defender to start automatically or manually.

First, open Run by holding the “Win” key and pressing the “R” key. Then type “Regedit”. The program will ask for permission to follow through with this action. Click on “Yes” and the Open Registry Editor will open.

Find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Option and check to see if there are any files similar to MSASCui.exe or MpCmdRun.exe. If there are any file entries that resemble that, you will want to right-click on them before selecting the “Delete” option. If you do not see any entries that match, this is not the issue with your Windows Defender and you will want to try another method.

The Registry on your computer is very important. It helps tell your computer what programs are safe to run, what programs should be run, and what programs should not be run. If it is tampered with by a virus or Malware, multiple system operations can be affected.

However, if you did find similar file names, and you deleted them, try to start Windows Defender manually. If it does not work again, move on to the next method. 

Method 3:

If the first two methods do not work for your issue, and you are still receiving error code 0x80073afc when attempting to start Windows Defender, this step should solve the problem if you have Restore Point installed on your computer, which you most likely do.

For this method, we will be restoring your computer to a previous Restore Point. First, just like in method two, hold the “Win” key and press the “R” key. This will open run. Next type “Rstrui.exe” and click “ok”. After some time, you will see System Restore Windows. Click “Next” and select the restore point that you would like to go back to. After your computer has restored to the point you selected, check to ensure that Windows Defender has started correctly.

If the above methods aren't able to rectify the issue, you might have to download and install a powerful automated tool to get the job done.