Windows 10 supports various devices to get connected to which makes it quite a flexible operating system. The connection varies on the fact that the device can be connected either with Bluetooth or other wireless and wired connection. However, no matter how great the features are, there a few times when they bring in some bugs too. One of these bugs won’t allow you to either remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device from your Windows 10 computer. So if you are currently experiencing this problem, read on as this post will guide you in fixing it.
Before you go over the suggestions laid out below, you need to create a System Restore Point first since, in one of the options, you will be making some changes with the registry files as well as some critical Windows settings. Once you have that covered, refer to the following options.
Option 1 – Configure the Bluetooth Services
The first thing you can do is configure Bluetooth Services.
Tap the Win + R key combination to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Windows Services Manager.
You will then see a list of services and from there, look for the following services and make sure that their default values are set as follows:
Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service – Manual (Triggered)
Bluetooth Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
Bluetooth User Support Service – Manual (Triggered)
Now click on the Start button to start all the aforementioned services and then check if you can now remove or reinstall the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard device.
Option 2 – Try running the Bluetooth Troubleshooter
As you know, Windows 10 has various troubleshooters with user-friendly interfaces where you can utilize them to fix issues in your PC. And since you’re dealing with some Bluetooth problem, you have to run the Bluetooth Troubleshooter.
Open the Windows 10 Settings.
Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
You should find the option for Bluetooth on your right-hand side – click on it then click on the “Run the troubleshooter” option.
Now follow the next screen options.
Option 3 – Try to reinstall or update the Bluetooth driver
The issue might have something to do with the Bluetooth drivers. It could be that it is outdated and needs to be updated or that you recently updated it and since then you have trouble removing the Bluetooth device and so to fix the issue, you can update, roll back or uninstall the Bluetooth drivers. How? Follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + X keys to open the Device Manager.
Next, look for the Bluetooth device and right-click on it.
Select the option “Update driver”.
After that, a new popup window will appear. In there, select the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software”.
Note: Checking the update may take a few minutes so you’ll have to wait until it finishes. If it is able to find an update, you must install it.
Option 4 – Get rid of any interference
If you have several wireless devices in the same room as your PC then it might have caused interference with the current connection in your PC which is why you have to switch off all the other devices and then try removing reinstalling the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.
Option 5 – Remove or reinstall the Bluetooth devices in a Clean Boot State
You might want to uninstall or remove the Bluetooth Devices while your computer is in a Clean Boot State. Putting your computer in this state will surely help especially if there are some processes that prevent the Bluetooth devices from being removed or reinstalled.
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.)
After that, try to reinstall or remove the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard devices again.
One of the worst problems users can encounter on their computers is Blue Screen of Death errors as some of them are quite hard to fix. One of them is the “The driver detected a controller error” Blue Screen error. It could be followed by “DeviceIdeIdeport0 OR”, “on deviceharddisk0dr0”, or “DR3” or the name of the drive or port that’s causing the problem. If you are one of the users who encountered this error, then the suggestions provided in this post would definitely help you in fixing the problem.
Option 1 – Try to disconnect and reconnect all hardware and cables
A lot of users reported that they were able to fix the problem by disconnecting and reconnecting cables and hardware like scanners, printers, cameras can help in fixing the problem. In addition, you can also boot your computer in a Clean Boot State so that you can find the problematic hardware by hit and trial method. Refer to the steps below to do so:
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.)
Option 2 – Update the device drivers
Updating the outdated device drivers in your computer can also help in fixing the problem. To do so, refer to these steps:
First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. From there, look for any outdated device drivers and click on each one of them.
After that, right-click on each entry of the device drivers and select the “Uninstall Device” option from the menu.
Now restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, go to the Settings app and Check for Updates in the Windows Update section.
Option 3 – Try to update the BIOS
Updating the BIOS can help you fix the ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY BSOD error but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
Now restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Option 4 – Try running the Blue Screen Troubleshooter
You might also want to run the Blue Screen troubleshooter. It is one of the built-in tools in Windows 10 that helps users in fixing system issues including Blue Screen errors. It can be found in the Settings Troubleshooters page. To use it, refer to these steps:
Tap the Win + I keys to open the Settings panel.
Then go to Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
From there, look for the option called “Blue Screen” on your right-hand side and then click the “Run the troubleshooter” button to run the Blue Screen Troubleshooter and then follow the next on-screen options. Note that you might have to boot your PC into Safe Mode.
Option 5 – Try running the Memory Diagnostic Tool
The Memory Diagnostic tool in windows can help resolve the “The driver detected a controller error” Blue Screen error by checking and automatically fixing any memory-based issues. To run it, refer to these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to open Run and type mdsched.exe and hit Enter to open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.
After that, it will give two options such as:
Restart now and check for problems (Recommended)
Check for problems the next time I start my computer
Once your computer has restarted, perform a basic scan or you could also go for the “Advanced” options such as “Test mix” or “Pass count”. Simply tap the F10 key to start the test.
Note: After you select your preferred option, your computer will restart and check for memory-based issues. If it finds any issues, it will automatically fix them and if there’s no issue found, then it’s most likely not a memory-based issue so you should try the other options given below.
Option 6 – Replace your motherboard
If your computer is still under warranty, you should consider replacing your computer’s motherboard in case the options given above failed to work in fixing the Blue Screen error.
Error Code 0xC004F00F can appear during the Windows 10 installation and activation process. It is a fairly straightforward error code that occurs when a product key is entered in that is unable to be used to complete the final activation of the new operating system. This error code is most commonly related to the installation of new pieces of hardware on a machine that was already running Windows 10 at a previous time.
Error Code 0xC004F00F can also appear on other versions of the Windows software, so if you are not specifically trying to install and activate Windows 10 when this message appears, you may want to contact a qualified Windows technician to help resolve your system error, as the error code has different causes and resolution methods on other versions of the Windows operating system.
Solution
Error Causes
In some cases, Error Code 0xC004F00F will show up if you are attempting to install Windows 10 on a computer in which the hard drive has been replaced or significantly altered. It can also appear when other major pieces of hardware, like the motherboard, have been changed out. These pieces may be changed as part of an upgrade to new or better hardware or be changed due to the malfunction of the original pieces of equipment. Because it may appear to the Windows activation servers that you are attempting to use the same product code that you have used before to activate what appears to be a new machine (even if the machine is the same one, just with some new parts), you may see Error Code 0xC004F00F arise.
Error Code 0xC004F00F can also come up if you have installed Windows 10 on your machine in the past and have already used the product key that you are attempting to use again.
Further Information and Manual Repair
Error Code 0xC004F00F most commonly appears for users who have made major hardware or software changes done on their machine. Because this error specifically arises from the Windows activation servers believing that your computer is a new one, you’ll need to get in touch with the Windows support team in order to resolve the error. From their database, they will be able to confirm that you are not using a new computer and will be able to bypass the error, allowing you to complete the Windows 10 Activation process.
If you haven’t installed or replaced any of the hardware on the computer, but are still seeing Error Code 0xC004F00F arise during your Windows 10 installation, you will still need to get in touch with the Windows support team to bypass the error code.
Calling the Windows' Support Team
When you call into the Windows support team, you’ll want to specifically have a list of the following information readily available: Which pieces of hardware have been changed out on your computer prior to the installation and activation, what method you were using to install Windows 10, which version of Windows 10 that you were attempting to install, whether it was a single-use or multiple-use license, and basic details about your PC like its make, model, and age. You may also want to have the product key that you were attempting to use when Error Code 0xC004F00F first appeared.
By having all of this information ready and on hand ahead of time, you’ll have a greater likelihood that your error will be able to be resolved quickly and efficiently, avoiding long periods spent on the phone with customer service. Make sure that you specifically mention that you are experiencing Error Code 0xC004F00F during the Windows 10 activation process when you call into the Windows support team so that you can be connected to a representative who is equipped to help you resolve this specific problem.
Getting a Qualified Technician
If you are not comfortable in working with the Windows support team or have not been able to successfully resolve Error Code 0xC004F00F even after getting in touch with customer support, contact a qualified technician who is familiar with the Windows 10 activation process and can walk you through the things that you will need to communicate to the Windows support team in order to have them bypass or resolve the error code.
If you wish to always have at your disposal a utility tool to fix these Windows 10 and other related issues when they do arise, download and install a powerful automated tool.
A slow PC startup can be pretty annoying. This usually results from various computer issues. If your computer is acting sluggishly, here are four ways to speed up your PC startup.
Error Code 1627 is a type of HP printer installation error. It usually occurs when you try to install an HP printer on your PC. The error code 1627 pop-up hampers your ability to install an HP printer successfully.
This error code is usually displayed in the following format:
Installation Error: Call to Driver Package Install returned error 1627 for package C:ProgramFilersHPHP deskjet 2510 seriesDriver storePipelinehpvplog.inf
Solution
Error Causes
Like every device installed on your PC, printers also need software called drivers to function on Windows Operating System.
Although Windows supports several computer devices since many drivers are already installed in Windows but there are some devices that do need additional software to get started and operate smoothly on Windows such as Hewlett-Packard HP printers.
Installing a Hewlett-Packard printer driver is slightly more time-consuming and complex than any other driver. Causes for HP printer installation usually include:
Driver issues
Bad Registry Keys
Though this is not a fatal error, it is still advisable to fix it right away to avoid inconvenience.
Further Information and Manual Repair
To resolve this error on your PC, you don’t necessarily have to hire a professional and spend hundreds of dollars in repair. The good news is that HP Installation error code 1627 is quite easy to fix. Here are some of the best and proven DIY methods to resolve error code 1627:
Method 1 - Uninstall and then Reinstall HP Printer Driver
HP printer installation errors can occur due to driver issues. If the driver is not installed properly or is outdated, you will never be able to install an HP printer on your PC successfully.
Therefore to solve this issue, first, make sure the driver used for printer installation is up to date. If it is outdated, then update it. On the other hand, if the printer driver is up to date but not installed properly then reinstall it. In both situations, first, you must uninstall the driver.
Uninstalling the previous installation will help you clean the system. Once the system is clean you can reinstall the HP drivers again.
To uninstall, go to the start menu and then the control panel. Now go to the Add/Remove program option and uninstall the driver. To activate changes, reboot your PC. Now install the updated version again.
Method 2 - Clean the Registry
If the printer software installation fails while updating, then this means the removal of the failed software was not successful. It may not show up in the Control Panel program list.
This means the entries of the failed software are still present in the registry of your PC. In this scenario, you need to clean the registry and remove the bad entries from there to successfully install the HP printer driver on your system.
Though this can be done manually this can be both time-consuming and slightly challenging if you are not technically sound. Therefore, to remove bad entries from the registry in seconds in just a few clicks download Restoro.
This is a user-friendly PC Repair Tool deployed with a powerful registry cleaner. The registry cleaner scans your entire PC, detects and removes all bad entries and files corrupting the registry right away.
Once the registry is cleaned, you can try installing the printer driver again. This is most likely to resolve the issue.
Click here to download Restoro.
Method 3: Locate and Install the Driver
As was pointed out, you might need to reinstall the printer driver again. Using DriverFIX, you'll be able to automatically update your computer system and install the drivers your computer needs to operate smoothly.
So, you have finished with work, game, movie, music, email, or whatever on your PC, you look at the clock, it is late, you decide to go to sleep or outside, you click on the power button and choose shutdown. Now when a PC is shut down you feel good and go with your business but the next time you power it up you get the same error like the computer never really shut down in the first place. You wonder why and reboot it, just in case and all of the sudden error is gone.
If something similar has happened to you or you had the feeling that after shutting down your computer has not really felt like shutting it down, do not seek professional help, everything is OK with you because when you click on shut down, your computer does not really shut down!
Truth is that Microsoft has changed how to shut down works and how rebooting works in Windows with an update but has not publicly said anything about it so some users may experience this feeling of not shutdown phenomenon and might even think there is something wrong with their PC.
Why this change?
A few years ago shutdown button and option in Windows were really shutting down OS, but things changed when Microsoft wanted to increase boot-up speed. Now when that decision was made shutdown option was changed. So, what was changed? Well in order to increase Windows booting time, the shutdown will now turn off power to PC components and it will look like everything is indeed shutdown but the Windows kernel will actually be saved to a hard drive with all settings and just awaken once the PC is turned back ON. This will result in all errors and other stuff being just still present same as they were once the system was instructed to be turned off.
Rebooting your PC will now clear kernel and file from the hard drive and you will get a clean system startup without any issues tied with the kernel itself.
Workaround
Now that we know why and what change has been made to Windows logical question is can we shut down our PC at all properly? Luckily for us, the answer is yes and we will not need any external application to do it, we can still do it inside Windows itself and it is quite quick and easy.
Bringing back the old shutdown
In order to bring the old shutdown functionality of your PC please follow the instructions but be aware that by doing this your PC will boot a little bit slower since it will have to load the kernel from scratch each time computer is turned ON.
First thing is to go to settings and go to System
Then once you are inside the system, navigate to the power and sleep and click on it to select it. Once you have it selected to all the way to the right and click on additional power settings.
When you click on advanced power settings you should be led to the control panel's power options. Inside this panel click on top left link where it says Choose what the power button does.
Inside options, you will need to untick the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended), this option has been ticked ON by the Windows update and probably without notifying you. Option means exactly what was described, it will save kernel state on the hard drive for faster boot time but sadly it can cause some issues since it will never be reloaded from 0.
If you are unable to uncheck the box click on the text beside the shield icon that says: Change settings that are currently unavailable (you will have to be logged in as administrator).
Conclusion
Altho turning off fast startup and shutting down the PC completely will for sure extend your bootup time I still believe that it is the right choice since sometimes a lot of clutter and bad things accumulate over time inside the OS and can cause a vast variety of problems in a long run. So stay safe and shut down that PC as it used to be in the past.
As you know, Windows 10 has a complicated mechanism for Activation which helps in the verification of a genuine copy of Windows 10. However, there are times when you might encounter some errors during the activation process. One of these errors is the error code 0xc000f074. This kind of error could be due to the Key Management Service or KMS which is unreachable by the client computer or if the key used in the SLSetAuthenticationData function call is incorrect.
This kind of error mostly affects surfaces on computers that are upgraded from either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. In such cases, you may encounter any of the following error messages:
“Windows is unable to reach your company’s activation service. Please connect to your corporate network. If you are connected and continue to see the error, contact your system administrator. You can also click on the error detail to find the exact error. Error code: 0xC004F074.”“Activating Windows(R),(Key hash)…Error: 0xC004F074 The Software Licensing Service reported that the computer could not be activated. No Key Management Service (KMS) could be contacted.Please see the Application Event Log for additional information.”“Error 0xC004F074, SL_E_AUTHN_MISMATCHED_KEY, The Software Licensing Service reported that the key is mismatched.”
To fix the Windows 10 Activation error 0xC004F078, you have to use the correct key for your type of Windows copy or use Command Prompt to reinstall the key or you could also try running the Activation troubleshooter.
Option 1 – Try running the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter
The first thing you can do to resolve the Activation error code 0xc000f074 is to run the Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter. To do so, follow these steps:
Go to Settings and then select Activation.
After that, click on the Windows Activation and then troubleshoot. This will help you address most of the commonly found activation issues in Windows devices.
The Windows 10 Activation Troubleshooter will determine if your license key is a valid Windows 10 digital license for an edition that is not currently installed. If it turns out that it’s not, then the troubleshooter will show you how to install the correct edition.
Option 2 – Try to use the correct key for the type of Windows version you have
If the Windows Activation troubleshooter wasn’t able to resolve the error, then you can try using the correct key for your type of Windows version. All you have to do so is check the type of your Windows copy if it’s OEM, retail, or volume. And make sure that you have the correct, valid product key for your operating system.
Option 3 – Try to use Command Prompt to reinstall the key
In the Start Search, type “command prompt” and right-click on Command Prompt from the search results, and then select “Run as administrator”.
After that, execute this command to uninstall the existing key: vbs /upk
Next, you need to install the KMS product key by executing this command: vbs /ipk <The KMS Product Key>
Once you’re done, you will see a prompt that’ll tell you whether the operation was either successful or not.
To active, the KMS product key online, use this command: vbs /ato
Use this command to activate the key using the telephone: exe 4
After you’ve activated the KMS product key, restart the Software Protection Service. You can also verify the Activation Status to check if your fix was successful or not.
Option 4 – Contact Microsoft Support for assistance
If you’re at your wits’ end in trying to upgrade your computer, you should consider contacting Microsoft Support for help as they can offer you various options that would make fixing Windows Activation error code 0xc000f074 a lot easier and faster.
The Winload.efi file is an Extensible Firmware Interface or EFI file. EFI files are executable files for the firmware of the computers that are mainly based on UEFI and execute the tasks of loading the files to the bootloader of the computer. They are used for a specific set of tasks such as turning on the computer, installing Windows, restarting the computer or resetting it, and so on. This is why the Winload.efi file is a significant file so if it gets corrupted, lost, or damaged, it would be impossible for the Windows operating system to proceed.
Here are some errors you can encounter that are related to the Winload.efi file:
efi is missing
efi cannot be found
efi is missing or contains errors
This program can’t start because winload.efi is missing from your computer
This application requires the file winload.efi, which was not found on this system.
There was a problem starting [path]winload.efi. The specified module could not be found.
In addition, the 0xc0000225 , 0xc00000e and 0xc0000001error codes are also associated with the Winload.efi file.
Before you start troubleshooting the problem, you can try to perform System Restore first. This will help undo any changes you’ve made in your computer that might have triggered the Blue Screen error. To perform System Restore, here’s what you have to do:
First, press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
After that, type in “sysdm.cpl” in the field and tap Enter.
Next, go to the System Protection tab then click the System Restore button. This will open a new window where you have to select your preferred System Restore point.
After that, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the process and then restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed or not.
If System Restore didn’t help in fixing the Blue Screen error, now’s the time for you to resort to the troubleshooting tips provided below but before you get started, make sure that your create a System Restore point first.
Option 1 – Try rebuilding the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) and repairing MBR
Once you get to the Welcome Screen part, click on Next.
Afterwards, click on the Repair your computer option located on the bottom-left part of the window.
Then click on Troubleshoot.
Next, select the Advanced Options and then Command Prompt.
Once Command Prompt has been pulled up, the following commands to rebuild BCD files and repair MBR. Don’t forget to hit Enter right after you type each command.
bootrec /repairbcd
bootrec /osscan
bootrec /repairmbr
Once the command line is successful in finding out a Windows installation, hit Y to let it boot from the list which will successfully rebuild BCD.
Now type “exit” to close Command Prompt and then restart your computer to successfully apply the changes made.
Option 2 – Disable the Secure Boot in the BIOS
Disabling the Secure Boot in the BIOS settings is definitely recommended to resolve errors related to the Winload.efi file. To disable Secure Boot, here’s what you have to do:
First, boot your computer into Windows 10.
Next, go to Settings > Windows Update. From there, check if there is anything that you have to download and install if you see any available updates. Usually, OEMs send and update the list of trusted hardware, drivers, and operating systems for your computer.
After that, go to the BIOS of your computer.
Then go to Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Startup options. If you click on Restart Now, it will restart your computer and give you all the advanced options.
Next, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. As you can see, this screen offers you further options including System restore, Startup repair, Go back to the previous version, Command Prompt, System Image Recovery and UEFI Firmware Settings.
Select the UEFI Firmware Settings which will take you to the BIOS.
From there, go to Security > Boot > Authentication tab where you should see Secure Boot. Note that every OEM has its own way of implementing the options so it varies.
Next, set Secure Boot to Disabled and set Legacy Support to On or Enabled.
Save the changes made and exit. Afterward, your computer will reboot.
Option 3 – Run System File Checker scan
You might also try running the System File Checker or SFC scan to fix the error. System File Checker is a command utility built into your computer that helps restore corrupted files and missing files. Refer to the following steps to run it:
Hit the Win + R keys to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
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:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them
Reboot your computer.
Option 4 – Disable the Early Launch Anti-Malware Protection
You need to restart your computer in the Start Menu first while holding down the Shift key on your keyboard.
After that, it will restart your computer to Startup Settings.
Now ensure that the 8th option is labeled as “Disable early launch anti-malware protection.
Then tap the F8 key since the aforementioned option above is listed at number 8. This should launch and load Windows on your PC with the Early Anti-malware protection disabled for that session only when you try to carry out the same task and then check if the error related to the Winload.efi file is now fixed.
In 2014 Proton mail started as an end-to-end encrypted email service offering secure and private email services. Proton mail is still live and going with the same dedication to privacy and security but the company has expanded its offering into cloud storage drive services.
Starting as a public beta at the end of 2020, Proton Drive is keeping its privacy and security policy philosophy with the new service. Proton Drive is the newest service besides Proton Calendar, Proton VPN, and Proton Mail.
Drive has end-to-end encryption for everything on it including files themselves, filenames, folder structure, folder names, extensions, and file sizes. This means that you and only you can access your files. Servers are located in Geneva, Switzerland and they are under Swiss privacy laws making sure that your files are protected. Proton services in general are all open source so anyone can take a look at them to be sure that nothing is lurking under the hood. For now, sync is done either via the android app or web interface but the desktop client will come soon since currently, it is under development.
Sadly free plan of Proton Drive will give you only 1GB of storage which is much less than other services and sadly payments plans are also not so jaw-dropping going for $4 USD per month for a 200GB plan or with Proton ultimate subscription that will set you $10 behind but you will get 500GB of drive storage. Of course, if you value privacy for your files these options are good but if you do not mind that part other services have much better options.
All in all Proton Drive is a great cloud storage solution if you need privacy and well worth the investment. With the ultimate subscription, you will get enough space for most people and company needs with other services and guaranteed privacy and security, on the other hand, if you just need a large amount of cloud storage not caring too much about privacy other options are better.
If you are testing your headphone or your speaker but all of a sudden encountered an error that says, “Failed to play test tone” in your Windows 10 computer, worry not for this post will walk you through how you can fix this problem.
The test tone is used to check the right-left balance of the headphones and speakers in your computer, however, if you are not able to use it, there are several options you can check out. You can try to run the Playing Audio troubleshooter or restart the services that are related to Windows Audio. Aside from these, you could also disable Audio Enhancements or you could also change the default test tone rate and bit depth.
Option 1 – Try to run the Playing Audio Troubleshooter
Since the Windows 10 operating system has the Playing Audio Troubleshooter, you can use this troubleshooter to try and fix the problem with the “No Audio Output Device is installed” error. You can access this tool in the Control Panel or in the Taskbar Search and even on the Troubleshooters page of Windows 10.
Run this troubleshooter and see if it can fix the issue or not.
Option 2 – Try to restart the Windows Audio-related services
The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to restart the services related to Windows Audio. Although the audio services start automatically on every system boot, there are times when they might fail to start. Thus, you can start these services manually by following these steps:
Tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility and type “services.msc” in the field and hit Enter to open the Services Manager.
Then look for the services named “Windows Audio” and “Windows Audio Endpoint Builder”.
Double click on each one of these services and check if their Service Status is set to Running or not and also check if the Startup Type is set to Automatic.
If none of the services are running, just click on the Start button and select the Automatic option from the drop-down menu.
Now click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made and then check if the error is fixed.
Option 3 – Try to update the Audio driver
You might also want to consider updating or the Audio driver as it could help in fixing the error.
Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type in devmgmt.msc and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
Expand the section for the outdated device drivers.
And then select the outdated driver(s) and right-click on it/them.
From the drop-down menu, select the Update Driver option and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of the driver.
Then also click on the option, “Search automatically for updated driver software.
Restart your PC after the installation.
Note: If updating or reinstalling the Audio driver didn’t work, you can go to the manufacturer’s website and look for the support section where you can download the drivers for your computer. You just need to take note of your PC’s correct model and model number so you can find the appropriate driver.
Option 4 – Try changing the default test tone rate and bit depth
Windows selects a default test tone rate and bit depth depending on your headphone or speaker. This allows you to look for the best sound quality from your audio output device. So if your headphone or speaker has some problems with the default settings, then it’s no wonder why you’re getting the “Failed to play test tone” error. To fix this, you can try to change the default test tone rate and bit depth by following the steps below.
First, you need to open the Windows Settings panel and then go to System > Sound.
Next, look for the Device properties option located on your right-hand side and click on it.
After that, select the Additional device properties option and go to the Advanced tab.
From there, select a different test tone rate and bit depth and then click on the Test button.
Once done, check if it was able to fix the problem or not.
Option 5 – Try disabling the Sound or Audio enhancements
To make your operating system’s specific hardware sound nothing but perfect, both Microsoft and third-party vendors have shipped audio enhancement packages which are usually referred to as “Audio Enhancements” in Windows 10. However, there are instances when instead of improving the sound or audio quality of your computer, it can cause problems so to fix the problem you need to turn off these audio enhancements. How? Simply follow the steps below.
Type in “Sound” in the taskbar search and then from the list of results, select “Sound Control Panel”.
After clicking Sound, the Sound properties box will pop up. From there, go to the Playback tab and right-click on the default device i.e. Speakers or Headphones then select Properties.
After that, the Speakers properties box will appear. From there, go to the Enhancements tab and select the checkbox for the “Disable all enhancements” option.
After you fresh install Windows 10 on your computer, it allows you to set up a PIN just before you can start using it. However, a number of users reported that the Windows 10 installation gets stuck on the “Set up a Pin” phase. If you are one of the users who experience the same thing, then read on as this post will walk you through fixing the problem.
As users start to use their newly installed Windows 10 computer, they reported that the screen is still stuck even after they enter the correct PIN twice and there is no way for them to go forward or backward. Note that this is a part of the account setup and that your computer must stay connected to your internet connection before you finalize everything. And even though the PIN works when the computer is offline, the account setup still needs an internet connection, at least for a fresh installation.
The solution for this kind of issue is quite easy and there won’t be any problem even if your computer shuts down or restarts since the installation is already complete and all that’s left is the account setup. To fix this problem, follow the steps given below.
Step 1: The first thing you have to do is to turn off your internet connection or disable all connectivity from your computer.
Note: If you are using either an Ethernet cable or a Wi-Fi switch to connect to the internet, you have to disable or remove them. But if you don’t have any options, just completely turn off your internet connection.
Step 2: The next thing you have to do is to force your computer to shut down and then restart your computer. The setup process will eventually pick up exactly where it left off. The only difference is that there is no connection to the internet and your screen will no longer be stuck on the PIN setup screen so you now have the option to skip it and wait until you’re logged in for the first time.
Step 3: Once you’re done, you can then you can choose to Setup Pin later on and turn your internet connection back on or connect your computer with an internet connection.