Can’t type in Win apps, Search, Cortana, etc.

As you know, the CHKDSK utility is proven to be one of the useful tools to fix any issues that concerns file system, storage, and disk. However, as useful as it may be, it is still not immune to issues as you could encounter errors when running it. One of these errors is the “One such error is the CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode” error. If you receive such an error message while running CHKDSK, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will help you sort the problem out. It is possible that the drive is read-only or that the Write Protection is enabled. It could also be that the drive is already being used and scanned by a different program or utility. To get rid of this error, there are a couple of suggestions you need to check out. You can try to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery or run it on Boot. You could also try to disable Write Protection. For more detailed steps, follow the given instructions below.

Option 1 – Try to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery

The first thing you can do to resolve the error in CHKDSK is to run the CHKDSK utility from Recovery. How? Follow these steps:

• First, boot into the installation environment for Windows 10 from a Windows installation media.
• Next, click on the “Repair your computer” option.
• After that, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
• After opening Command Prompt, type this command and tap Enter: chkdsk <Partition Letter>: /r /f
• Wait until the disk error checking process is completed.
• Once it’s done, exit the Command Prompt window and restart your computer and then see if the error is fixed.

Option 2 – Try running the CHKDSK utility on Boot

On the other hand, you can also try to run the CHKDSK utility on Boot so you can fix the error and recover any damaged segments of the drive.

• Open an elevated Command Prompt and enter this command: chkdsk /r
• After that, you will a message that says, “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”
• Type Y and tap Enter to schedule a CHKDSK scan once your computer reboots next time.

Option 3 – Try to remove the Write Protection from the drive

As mentioned, removing the Write-Protection on the concerned drive could also help you fix the problem and there are two ways to get rid of the write protection – you can either use the Diskpart utility or the Registry Editor. How? Refer to the following steps.

Via Diskpart utility:

• Open Command Prompt with admin privileges and then type the “diskpart” command and tap Enter to execute it.
• Next, type “list disk” and tap Enter to get the list of all the Disk connects or all the partitions that are formed on those disks.
• After that, you need to choose one command depending on the list of commands you entered. Type “select disk #” and tap Enter to select the disk or partition you want to select.
• Then type “attribute disk clear readonly” and tap Enter to Disable the Write Protection on the selected disk or partition.

Via Registry Editor:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “Regedit” in the field and then tap Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to the following registry key:

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStorageDevicePolicies

• After that, look for the DWORD named “WriteProtect” and double click on it, and then set its Value Data to “0”.
• Now restart your computer and see if the problem is now fixed or not.

The Gardening Enthusiast toolbar is another product that is advertised as a helpful addition to your browsing experience when it is really nothing more than the software you should remove as soon as possible. It is touted as a toolbar that will provide you with a lot of useful gardening tips. That is the hook to get you to install it. But, in truth, the only thing that it does is provide you with links to popular gardening websites that you can easily find on any search engine.

When installed the extension will change your default search engine and home page to MyWay.com

While browsing the internet with this extension you will see additional sponsored ads and links throughout your browsing session.

Anti-virus applications have marked this extension as a Browser Hijacker and are therefore marked for removal. While not considered malware, the fact that many users find it to hinder browser performance has led to its detection and flag for optional removal.

About Browser Hijackers

Browser hijacking means a malicious program code has control over and modified the settings of your browser, without your permission. Practically all browser hijackers are made for marketing or advertising purposes. Usually, hijackers will force hits to internet sites of their preference either to increase web traffic producing higher ad earnings, or to obtain a commission for every user visiting there. Nevertheless, it isn’t that harmless. Your internet safety is jeopardized and it is extremely annoying. Once the malware attacks your laptop or computer, it starts to mess things up a whole that slows your PC down to a crawl. In the worse case, you will be forced to tackle serious malware threats too.

Browser hijacking symptoms

The typical symptoms that suggest having this malware on your PC are: your home page has been reset to some unfamiliar website; you see new unwanted favorites or bookmarks added, usually directed to ad-filled or pornography sites; the default online search engine has been changed and the web browser security settings have been lowered without your knowledge; find new toolbars that you didn’t add; you notice lots of pop-up ads on your screen; your web browser gets sluggish, buggy, crashes quite often; Inability to navigate to certain sites, especially anti-malware and also other security software webpages.

Exactly how browser hijacker finds its way to your PC

A browser hijacker can be installed on your computer when you go to an infected site, click an e-mail attachment, or download something from a file-sharing website. They could be included with toolbars, BHO, add-ons, plug-ins, or browser extensions. Other times you might have accidentally accepted a browser hijacker as part of a software program package (generally freeware or shareware). Examples of popular browser hijackers are Fireball, Ask Toolbar, GoSave, CoolWebSearch, Babylon Toolbar, and RocketTab. Browser hijackers can record user keystrokes to gather potentially invaluable information that leads to privacy issues, cause instability on computers, significantly disrupt user’s browsing experience, and ultimately slow down the PC to a point where it will become unusable.

Removing browser hijackers

Certain browser hijacking could be easily reversed by identifying and eliminating the corresponding malware application from your control panel. Unfortunately, many of the software products used to hijack an internet browser are deliberately designed to be hard to detect or get rid of. You should think of undertaking manual fixes only if you are a tech-savvy person, as risks are associated with tinkering with the computer registry and HOSTS file. Browser hijackers can be effectively removed by installing anti-malware software on the affected PC. If you need to remove persistent hijackers effectively, install the award-winning anti-malware tool Safebytes Anti-Malware. And employ a system optimizer, like Total System Care, to eliminate all related files in the registry and fix browser issues.

How To Get Eliminate Malware That Is Preventing Anti-Malware Installation?

All malware is inherently harmful, but certain kinds of malicious software do more damage to your computer or laptop than others. Certain malware types alter internet browser settings by including a proxy server or change the computer’s DNS configuration settings. When this happens, you’ll be unable to visit certain or all of the sites, and thus unable to download or install the necessary security software to get rid of the computer virus. If you are reading this, chances are you’re stuck with a virus infection that is preventing you to download and/or install Safebytes Anti-Malware software on your computer. Even though this sort of problem can be harder to get around, there are some steps you can take.

Remove viruses in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a special, basic version of Microsoft Windows where only the bare minimum services are loaded to prevent viruses as well as other problematic applications from loading. In the event, the malware is set to load immediately when PC boots, shifting to this particular mode can prevent it from doing so. To enter into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking, press F8 while the PC is starting up or run MSCONFIG and locate the “Safe Boot” options under the “Boot” tab. Once you reboot into Safe Mode with Networking, you could download, install, as well as update anti-malware software from there. At this point, you can run the antivirus scan to eliminate viruses and malware without any interference from another application.

Switch over to an alternate internet browser

Malicious code might exploit vulnerabilities on a specific browser and block access to all antivirus software websites. In the event you suspect that your Internet Explorer happens to be hijacked by a virus or otherwise compromised by cybercriminals, the most effective thing to do would be to switch over to a different browser like Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to download your chosen computer security software – Safebytes Anti-Malware.

Install security software on a flash drive

To successfully get rid of the malware, you need to approach the problem of installing the anti-malware program on the affected computer system from a different perspective. To run antivirus from a USB drive, follow these simple measures: 1) Make use of another virus-free computer to download Safebytes Anti-Malware. 2) Plug the USB drive into the clean computer. 3) Double click on the downloaded file to open the installation wizard. 4) When asked, select the location of the pen drive as the place in which you want to store the software files. Follow the activation instructions. 5) Unplug the pen drive. You may now use this portable antivirus on the infected computer. 6) Double-click the anti-malware program EXE file on the pen drive. 7) Click on “Scan Now” to run a complete scan on the affected computer for viruses.

Benefits and Features of SafeBytes Security Suite

If you’re planning to purchase anti-malware for your desktop, there are numerous brands and utilities for you to consider. Some are well worth your money, but most aren’t. You must select a company that creates industry-best anti-malware and has earned a reputation as trustworthy. Among few good applications, SafeBytes Anti-Malware is the highly recommended software program for security-conscious people. SafeBytes anti-malware is a very effective and easy-to-use protection tool that is designed for end-users of all levels of IT literacy. Using its cutting-edge technology, this application will help you get rid of several types of malware like viruses, worms, PUPs, trojans, adware, ransomware, and browser hijackers.

SafeBytes anti-malware takes PC protection to a totally new level with its enhanced features. Here are some of the features you will like in SafeBytes.

Anti-Malware Protection: Built upon a highly acclaimed anti-virus engine, this malware removal tool can detect and remove several stubborn malware threats such as browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, and ransomware that other typical antivirus programs will miss. Real-time Threat Response: SafeBytes offers real-time active supervision and protection from all known viruses and malware. It will constantly monitor your computer for hacker activity and also gives end-users sophisticated firewall protection. Safe Browsing: Safebytes allots all sites a unique safety ranking that helps you to have an idea of whether the website you’re about to visit is safe to browse or known to be a phishing site. Lightweight: SafeBytes is renowned for its low impact on processing power and great detection rate of countless threats. It works silently and efficiently in the background so you are free to make use of your personal computer at full power all the time. 24/7 Premium Support: You will get 24/7 technical support to quickly resolve any issue with your security software. SafeBytes will keep your personal computer safe from the latest malware threats automatically with hardly any input needed from you again. Malware problems will become a thing of the past once you put this software to use. You’ll get the best all-around protection for the money you spend on SafeBytes Anti-Malware subscription, there is no doubt about it.

Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)

If you do not wish to use malware removal software and like to remove Gardening Enthusiast manually, you could do so by going to the Add/Remove Programs menu in the Control Panel and deleting the offending program; in cases of browser add-ons, you may uninstall it by visiting the browsers Add-on/Extension manager. You might also want to reset your home page and search engine providers, and also delete browsing history, temporary files, and internet cookies. To make sure of complete removal, find the following Windows registry entries on your computer and remove them or reset the values appropriately. However, editing the Windows registry is really a difficult job that only experienced computer users and professionals should attempt to fix the problem. In addition, certain malware keeps replicating which makes it difficult to eliminate. Completing this task in Safe Mode is advised.

In case you don’t know, Microsoft hooks up every machine that is running Windows 10 with an Advertising ID which helps them in providing Windows 10 users with relevant ads. These ads are delivered to users in the Action Center, Start Menu as well as the ads inside the UWP Applications. What makes these advertisements relevant is that they keep track of your browsing trends, likes and dislikes, with the help of the Advertising ID. However, if you are not fond of advertisements and you do not want this feature of Microsoft to track your usage, worry not for you actually have the option to disable targeted ads on your Windows 10 computer by turning off the Advertising ID. And you can do that during Windows 10 Setup or using the Group Policy Editor. For more details, refer to the instructions provided below for each one of the methods.

Option 1 – Turn off Advertising ID during Windows 10 setup

If you are about to install Windows 10, then during the installation process, your computer boots into the Install and Configure Windows 10 screen with Cortana that assist you during the setup. Once you reach the last page which is “Choose privacy settings for your device”, you will see the Advertising ID of your computer. Under the Advertising ID, you have to disable or toggle off the “Apps can use advertising ID to provide more personalized advertising in accordance with the privacy policy of the app provider” option. After you disable it, click on the Accept button to proceed with the installation. After that, the copy of your Windows 10 you are using will have the Advertising ID disabled by default.

Option 2 – Turn off Advertising ID via Group Policy Editor

• First, tap the Win + R keys to launch the Run utility.
• Then, type “gpedit.msc” in the field and click OK or tap Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• Next, navigate to this group policy setting: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > User Profiles
• Now double click on the “Turn off the advertising ID” option and set the radio button to Enabled. Once you do, you will see the following description on your screen:

“This policy setting turns off the advertising ID, preventing apps from using the ID for experiences across apps. If you enable this policy setting, the advertising ID is turned off. Apps can’t use the ID for experiences across apps. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, users can control whether apps can use the advertising ID for experiences across apps.” Note that setting the radio button to Enabled or Not Configured will turn off the data collection of the Advertising ID.

• Finally, exit the Group Policy Editor and then restart your computer to apply the changes made successfully.

If this unfortunate COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has managed to teach us, I would argue it is that our health is the most important thing. So in that spirit, we will continue in this article reviewing some of the best fitness trackers that can be found in the time of writing this article in 2021. Now the market for fitness trackers is not small by any means and offerings are also not small, from no-name manufacturers costing only a few bucks to more serious one’s going slightly over 100 USD there is a fitness tracker for everyone. In this particular article, we will not focus on cheap few dollars no-name ones, instead, we will be offering top ones in the field among some in the middle range simply because we can stand behind them considering quality and precision.

Fitbit Charge 4 fitness and activity tracker

Fitbit is not a pioneer company in the world of fitness trackers and it shows. Charge 4 model offers maybe the best quality, performance, and features for its price. It stands out with implemented GPS meaning that you will need your phone for tracking workouts. It also offers step tracking, sleep tracking, automatic workout-tracking, active zone minutes, etc. It weighs 30g and has 1 inch grayscale OLED. Battery life is said to hold up to 4 days if you use built-in GPS regularly, if you decide to use GPS constantly device will last only 5 hours. Without GPS it can last up to 7 days and it is water-resistant and waterproof up to 50 meters.

Amazfit Band 5

Amazon’s offering of fitness tracker is aimed at beginners and as such, it is lacking some advanced features including an automated working tracker or GPS, also the model does not have replaceable bands so customization is not an option. It does however offer activity and sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring and it is the only model that integrates with Alexa. The manufacturer states that the battery can last up to 15 days depending on usage which places Amazfit Band 5 as a device that has a longer life of use. The device itself is packed with a 1.1-inch color OLED and it weights 12g. It is splash-resistant, not water-resistant.

Xiaomi Mi Band 6

Xiaomi tracker is the best budget version on this list including in it 30 sport modes like running, cycling, yoga, swimming, and more. Battery life is not bad also packing up to 14 days of life but only if the device is not used constantly. It has activity and sleep tracking, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, customizable replicable bands and it is water-resistant up to 50m. It comes in a 1.56 inch AMOLED color display and it weighs 63g. The device also has menstrual health tracking making it a great device for women.

Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 fitness tracker

Now we are getting into serious and little more expensive ones. Galaxy Fit 2 is among the top-notch trackers currently on the market. It of course can work along with Samsung’s smartwatches and mobile phones. Packed in the military-grade 1.1-inch casing with color AMOLED and weighing 91g with battery life up to 21 days and water resistance up to 50m this bracelet is an absolute beast. It comes packed with features from standard sleep tracking to automated workout-tracking but it also has a connection to Samsung’s Health mobile app to choose from over 90 workouts, it monitors heart rate and stress levels making it really one of the complete solutions for serious fitness enthusiasts.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 fitness tracker

Last on our list is Garmin vivosmart 4. The device itself is not very impressive, 7 days battery life with 0.7 inch OLED display and 17g weight packed with 50m water resistance is nothing spectacular, Samsung’s model is packing better hardware and way more battery life but all of the mentioned devices fall flat if we compare software to Garvin. Garvin’s Vivosmart 4 software is best on the list, it keeps track of your steps, sleep, calories burned, floors climbed, various exercises, and heart rate as standard features but you'll have advanced sleep tracking with REM sleep. It can also gauge blood oxygen saturation levels during the night with its wrist-based Pulse Ox sensor. In addition, a relaxation breathing timer complements the all-day stress tracking feature. Lastly, the "Body Battery" monitor helps optimize your daily activities based on your energy levels making it truly the only complete tracking solution on this list. That's it for our review of fitness trackers of today, be sure to come back each day to find more interesting articles and tips for your everyday digital life.

Windows 10 is undeniably one of the great operating systems and the same thing can be said about a lot of computers that are running it. However, there are instances when things don’t go as you expect them to be. One of the many issues you might face when using Windows 10 is the inability to upload any pictures over the web. If you are facing this issue right now, you are not alone for a lot of users have suffered from the same problem at least once. Even though it might seem like a minor problem, some users find it inconvenient especially the ones who often upload pictures online. Worry not though for this post will guide you on what you can do if you aren’t able to upload any images to websites on your Windows 10 computer. To get started in troubleshooting the problem, here are some suggestions that might help:

Option 1 – Try to clear browser cache and try downloading again

There are times when some data in the browser is conflicting with the loading of the website and triggers some problems like not being able to upload pictures to websites. And so you can try to clear your browser’s data. This might be a very basic solution but oftentimes it works in fixing this kind of odd problem in your browser.

Option 2 – Open your browser in Incognito Mode

The next thing you can do to fix the problem is to try opening the web page in Incognito Mode. When your browser is in this mode, it will work without extensions. This would help in fixing the problem especially if it was caused by some extension or toolbar in your browser. All you have to do is open any web page in Chrome and tap the Ctrl + Shift + N key combination to open a window in Incognito Mode.

Option 3 – Try to disable and get rid of the problematic extension

The next thing you can do after trying the Incognito mode in your browser is to see if a browser extension is the one that’s causing the problem. And if you have installed a lot of browser extensions, then identifying which one is the culprit may take a while but not too long. Once you’ve identified the culprit, you can get rid of that browser extension and see if you can now upload pictures on websites.

Option 4 – Try to reset your browser

You might also want to reset your browser as it could also help in resolving the issue. To reset your browser, here’s what you have to do:

Google Chrome

• Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
• After that, click on Settings.
• Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
• After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
• Now restart Google Chrome.

Mozilla Firefox

• Open Mozilla Firefox and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
• In the Extensions, menu Remove the unwanted extension.
• Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
• Select Options and then move to the General menu.
• Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

• Launch Internet Explorer.
• Next, click the wrench icon for Settings.
• Then click Internet Options.
• After that, go to the Advanced tab.
• From there, click the Reset button. This will reset Internet Explorer’s settings to their default condition.
• Now click OK to save the changes made.
• Restart your computer.

Option 5 – Update your browser or switch to another one

The last option you can try is to update your browser. You can do it by checking for any available updates from its official site and then install it. However, if updating the browser did not help, you might want to consider switching to another browser.

What is Error 2032?

Error 2032 is a Windows stream error. The error is generated when running applications like Flash. It shows that the application is unable to request ads from server.

Error Causes

The error 2032 is triggered due to multiple reasons including:

• The URL cannot be located or is blocked
• HTTP Service is not found
• Incorrect proxy settings
• Automatic cookies handling
• Corrupt Flash Player
• Viral infection
• Registry issues

Further Information and Manual Repair

Here are some easy and best do it yourself methods to resolve the error 2032 on your system:

Fix the Proxy Settings

To do this, first, go to the start menu and press RUN, type regedit in the RUN box and press enter. Now from the left-hand panel of the registry path open: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings. Now double click the proxyenable string and replace its value with 0. After that, right-click on proxy server and select delete option. Then exit Regedit and restart your PC to activate changes.

Verify the URL

Sometimes the error 2032 may be generated due to wrong or incorrect URL in the HTTP Service URL property. So, verify your URL and look for typos. Specifying the correct URL can fix the error right away.

Check Cookies Handling

Automatic cookies handling can also trigger this error code. Therefore, to resolve the error, it is advisable to disable automatic cookies handling. This can be done by launching your web browser. Go to tools and then press the privacy tab. Now click on the advance tab from settings and un-check override automatic cookie handling. To confirm changes press OK.

Uninstall and then Reinstall the Flash Player

It is possible your Flash Player is corrupt. Therefore, another way to fix error 2032 is to uninstall the Flash Player and then reinstall it on your system.

Scan for Viruses

Programs usually get corrupted due to two reasons, viruses or registry issues. Therefore, to remove viruses on your PC, download and run an antivirus program.

Clean and Restore Registry

Also, clean the registry.

In case you don’t know, new support has been added by Microsoft to Windows 10 that now allows users to turn off or on the Mobile Hotspot remotely. The Mobile Hotspot feature, known earlier as “Virtual Networks”, was first introduced with the initial release of Windows 10. With this new feature to remotely turn on or off the Mobile Hotspot in Windows 10, users can just use the Bluetooth on their mobile phones to turn off or on the Mobile Hotspot even when their Windows 10 computers are out of their reach. To turn off or on the Mobile Hotspot feature in your Windows 10 computer remotely, there are two options you can try. First, you can do it using the Windows 10 settings app or using the Registry Editor. To get started, refer to the following options.

Option 1 – Turn off or on the Mobile Hotspot remotely via Windows 10 Settings app

• First, you need to open the Windows 10 Settings app and from there go to Network & Internet and then go to the Mobile Hotspot section.
• After that, scroll down to the “Turn on remotely” section.
• Once done, make sure that the toggle button is set to ON and that the Bluetooth of both devices is turned on and paired as well. This should enable the feature to turn on or off the mobile hotspot remotely.

Option 2 – Turn off or on the Mobile Hotspot remotely via Registry Editor

Before you get started with the second option, make sure that you create a System Restore point first. Once done, proceed to the following steps:

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and then hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
• Next, navigate to this registry path: ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWcmSvcTethering
• From there, look for the DWORD named “RemoteStartupDisabled” and set its Value data to be “0”. This will enable the feature that will allow you to remotely turn on or off the mobile hotspot in your Windows 10 computer. To disable it, just set its Value data to “1”.

Error Code 0xc004c008 - What is it?

This specific Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 error code has to do with the number of times you can use your license number to install windows programs on computers. All windows activation codes are licensed to be used one time for a device, to control piracy, but what happens when your PC crashes, or you have to change a hard drive component and are forced to re-install Windows Operating System. Luckily, there is an easy fix for this issue.

Solution

Error Causes

Basically, when you need to re-install the Windows operating system that you have previously bought and installed on another computer an error code will be displayed with a message telling you that the activation server determined that the specific key could not be used for activation. This occurs because the key has already been used on that computer, or a different one, to install operating systems. There are a few easy fixes for this issue, and most of them should be easily completed on your own.

Further Information and Manual Repair

There aren’t many explanatory ways to repair Error Code 0xc004c008. Below are two methods to go about addressing this issue.

Methods 1:

1. The first step is to open the “Run” Window. You can do this in two ways. First, press the “Window” key and press the “R” key simultaneously. This will open the “Run” menu. Or you can start the “run” window by going to the Start menu and selecting Run.
2. In the Run window type “SLUI 4” and click enter.
3. A Phone Activation window will open up, after which you'll need to select a few options.
4. First chose the country in which you registered the product for the first time.
5. Choose your country and a phone number will be displayed specific to your choice. You will now need to call the number provided.
6. After you’ve dialed you will be prompted to write your “Installation ID”. Type your “Installation ID” on the phone.
7. After that step, you will be asked how many copies of Windows have been installed using this license. Choose “1”, should anything else be chosen but “1”, this will not work.
8. After the process is completed, you will be given a confirmation ID and should be able to proceed as normal with installation. You will have a workable product key again.
9. Install whatever copy of the Windows Operating System you are attempting to with the new product key.

Method 2:

If the first method did not work, the only other option is to call Microsoft and walk through the process with a technician. To do this, dial “1-800-936-5700”. Explain the error that you received and the steps in the update process during which it was displayed. The technician will be able to walk through the steps from getting a new product key to finishing the installation.

If you're not a tech-savvy individual but would like to solve this problem without the aid of a technician, download a powerful automated tool to fix error code 0xc004c008.

Over time Applications change, some for the better some for worse. Some of them even stop receiving updates and are old and vulnerable. Sometimes standards change and some file types are not used anymore. Software evolves along with technology and that is good. Keeping old and useless applications inside your Windows is not so good. From various exploits to simply taking up space, maybe even slowing down OS it is always wise and good to clean your Windows from unwanted old applications. In this article, we will be mentioning some relics of old and providing you with an explanation of why you should remove them from your system if by any chance you still have them on it.

Silverlight

Silverlight was meant to be a competitor for Adobe Flash, it is a WEB framework that enables rich media content inside your WEB browser. The issue is that it is not developed anymore and today's browsers do not support it. The only browser that actually can support it is internet explorer which itself is not supported and how there is practically 0 content on today's modern WEB that will require Silverlight, it is safe and recommended to remove it.

Adobe Flash

Speaking of Adobe Flash, you should remove it as well. Flash has stopped receiving support as of January 2021 and browsers have dropped support for it and even blocked it due to security issues. However, there still might be some local installation of Flash itself inside Windows along with the old Shockwave player that stopped receiving support in 2019. You should remove them both.

JAVA

Now this one is tricky, by itself JAVA does not present any security issues since browsers do not support it anymore and the desktop version is not really slowing down your computer. This one has simply put just another media runtime that is not used and simply takes up space and resources. However if you have some applications that you do use that rely on it (I can really just think of JAVA Minecraft at this point) leave it of course but in any other case, it is just purely not needed.

Quicktime

While we are at media runtime and stuff that just simply is not needed, Quicktime is one of them. Now this Apple Video player and codec is still pretty developed and active in Apple’s iOS environment, Windows version has not been updated since 2016 and it was discovered that it contains some critical vulnerabilities. Uninstall it and if you need a player that could play MOV files, just use a VLC player that can play them without any separately installed codec.

uTorrent

This one, the same as CCleaner was once a good application, as a matter of fact, it was the best torrenting application. Sadly it has fallen from its grace very low, from getting tons of ads in its interface to findings in 2015 that code of torrent client was packed with a crypto miner that used system resources of an installed computer to mine crypto without user’s awareness. You should uninstall this torrent client if you would like to get your PC back and not provide it for cryptocurrency mining for the company that developed it. Use qBittorrent or TIxati, open-source and free ones that have everything needed for any torrenting needs.

Toolbars and Browser extensions

There are a lot of toolbars for browsers and extensions that are malicious in nature or simply not updated providing security issues. It is very advisable to remove this as soon as possible.

WinRAR

WinRAR has gained its large popularity solely for the reason that you could download it from the official site like shareware and use it forever. The license never expired and you could use it indefinitely. Sadly not much has been improved in the application itself and it is slowly falling out in its range of what it can do. There are better open source and free options today like 7zip, PeaZip, ZIPvare, and more that are working the same as WinRAR if not even better.

Windows and manufacturers Bloatware

Yes, applications that come bundled with Windows and with some laptops that include manufacturers made software for different tasks like its own specific media players, calculators, etc. It is known that these applications are not better than their open-source rivals and there are too many of them including some that you will probably never use. It is the same as buying a new phone bundled with tons of applications that you do not need, did not ask for, and do not use. Delete all of them. Considering Windows there are also some Store application like Candy Crush Saga demo and other are safe to remove if not needed. That’s it, our advice for old and not needed applications so you can keep your PC safe and fast.

As you know, the Windows 10 operating system has support for a dedicated high-end graphics processor that brings in capabilities inside to support Graphics Cards from NVIDIA or AMD. This helps the operating system to function in a much better way by segregating the graphics-intensive operations from the CPU to a dedicated processor. However, there are times when it also experiences some issues that lead to some errors like the “Failed to create a graphics device” error. It is possible that your computer has more than one screen or graphics card which is why you’re getting this error. To fix it, you need to try reinstalling DirectX or reinstall the Graphics Card driver. You could also try to manually check the hardware or power cycle of your computer. To start troubleshooting the “Failed to create a graphics device” error, follow the given suggestions below.

Option 1 – Try running the DirectX Diagnostic Tool

Since the error has something to do with the DirectX Graphics APIs, you can run the DirectX Diagnostic tool to resolve the problem.

Option 2 – Try updating or re-installing DirectX

If the DirectX Diagnostic tool didn’t work, you can try to update or reinstall DirectX instead. This can help in fixing the problem because when you reinstall or update DirectX, it will replace the incompatible or corrupted components of DirectX from your computer.

Option 3 – Update or reinstall the Graphics card drivers

• First, boot your computer into Safe Mode.
• After that, tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
• Type in 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 the Display Adapters and click on them.
• After that, right-click on each entry under the Display Adapters 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.

Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturers like NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD and go to the section called Drivers then check if there’s a new available update – if there is, download and install it.

Option 4 – Try to physically check the hardware of your computer

You might also want to check the physical status of the hardware in your computer. You can clean the dust off the hardware components like the Graphics Card of the computer. In doing so, you have to use a small blower or you could also use a soft cloth and run the components gently. Make sure that you don’t damage any parts with moisture or cause harm to any circuits while you carry out this task.

Option 5 – Try to power cycle your computer

You could also try to power cycle your computer to fix the error. To do that, you have to turn off your computer in a way that the power is completely cut off and all the fresh configurations of files are loaded when your computer is booted up. The first thing you have to do is to shut down your computer and if you are using a laptop with a removable battery, you must remove the battery for a couple of minutes before you plug it back in and boot your laptop. On the other hand, if you are using a desktop computer, press and hold the power button until the CPU goes off and take out the power cable for a minute or so and then plug it back in. Boot your computer and see if the error has been resolved.