How to fix Xbox error Update failed

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

In order to improve Xbox gaming experience, Microsoft is constantly releasing new software features and bug fixes.

If you want the best Xbox experience, it’s important that you keep your software up to date by downloading the latest updates.

Unfortunately, sometimes you can experience certain errors such as Update failed Xbox error.

“Update failed” Xbox error, how to fix it?

Fix – Xbox error “Update failed”

    1. Try installing the update again
    2. Check if you have enough storage space
    3. Delete the system cache
    4. Reinsert the storage device
    5. Install the update from a USB flash drive or CD
    6. Roll back updates
    7. Use the USB flash drive as a storage device
    8. Check your network connection
    9. Try using a wired connection
    10. Use your phone as a mobile hotspot
    11. Disconnect all external storage devices
    12. Restart your modem
    13. Delete and redownload your profile
    14. Delete the corrupted content
    15. Format your hard drive
    16. Replace your hard drive

Solution 1 – Try installing the update again

If you get Update failed error message after trying to install a certain update, you should try to install it again and check if the error reoccurs. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your console.
  2. Once your console restarts, press the Guide button on the controller.
  3. Go to Settings and select System Settings.
  4. Now select Network Settings. Select the Wired Network or your wireless network.
  5. Choose Test Xbox Live Connection option and select Yes if you’re asked to update the console software.

Solution 2 – Check if you have enough storage space

Before you try to install new software updates, be sure that you have enough storage space to install them.

Some updates require more than 200MB, therefore you might have to remove some files from your hard drive.

To do that, follow these steps:

  1. From Xbox Home go to Settings and select System.
  2. Select Storage and choose your storage device.
  3. Now you should be able to choose between different content including Games and Apps, Gamer profiles, Demos, Videos, Themes, Gamer Pictures, Avatar Items, System Items and Music.
  4. Select the content that you want to delete, for example, Demos, Music or Videos and choose Delete.
  5. Select Yes to confirm that you want to delete the content.

In some cases you don’t even have to delete your content. If you have external storage device attached, you can simply move your content to it to make enough space for the update to install.

Solution 3 – Delete the system cache

Your system cache includes game updates, system update installation packages and other files that can sometimes interfere with your Xbox and cause this and many other errors to appear.

To fix this problem on Xbox 360, you need to clear the system cache by following these steps:

  1. Press the Guide button on your controller and choose Settings. Select System Settings.
  2. Now select Storage.
  3. Highlight a storage device and press Y to open Device Options. Keep in mind that you can select any storage device to clear cache for entire system.
  4. Choose Clear System Cache option.
  5. When the confirmation message appears, choose Yes.

If you own Xbox One, you can clear cache by doing the following:

  1. Press and hold the power button on your console to turn it off.
  2. Unplug the power cable from your console.
  3. While the power cable is plugged out, press the power button on the console few times. This process will ensure that any remaining power in the battery is drained thus clearing the cache.
  4. Connect the power cable to the console and wait until the light on power brick turns from white to orange.
  5. After that, press the power button on your console to turn it on.

Solution 4 – Reinsert the storage device

According to users, sometimes you can fix Update failed error simply be reinserting the storage device.

If you’re using an Xbox Memory Unit or USB flash drive instead of a hard drive, simply remove it and reinsert it. If you’re using a hard drive, you need to remove it by following these steps:

  1. Turn off your console.
  2. Position the console horizontally.
  3. On the right side of the console you should see a hard drive cover.
  4. Open the cover and remove your hard drive.
  5. After removing the hard drive, wait for a few seconds and reinsert it.

After reinserting the hard drive, try to install the update again.

Solution 5 – Install the update from a USB flash drive or CD

If you have problems while downloading and installing updates, you might want to install the update from a USB flash drive or a CD. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Download the latest Xbox update to your PC.
  2. The update will be in a zip archive, therefore you’ll need to extract it.
  3. Copy the content from the zip archive to a USB flash drive. Alternatively, you can burn the content to a CD or DVD.
  4. Insert the USB drive or CD to your Xbox.
  5. Restart the console.
  6. Once the console restarts, the installation process will start automatically.
  7. Select Yes to confirm that you want to install the system update and follow the instructions on the screen.

Need a full walkthrough for the USB method? Follow the step by step guide here: Update Xbox Offline.

Solution 6 – Roll back updates

If you’re having problems while installing updates, you might want to consider rolling back the installed updates. This process will delete all system updates that are installed on your console. To roll back updates, do the following:

  1. Press the Guide button on your controller and choose Settings > System Settings.
  2. Select Storage.
  3. Scroll down to Memory Unit or hard drive and highlight it.
  4. Now press the Left bumper, Right bumper and X. Repeat this step one more time.
  5. If you performed the previous step correctly, you’ll see a confirmation message on your screen. Select Yes.
  6. Your console will now restart.
  7. After your console restarts, you’ll be asked to install pending updates, so be sure to install them.

Solution 7 – Use the USB flash drive as a storage device

According to users, you can fix Update failed error on Xbox simply by inserting the a USB flash drive and using it as a memory unit. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Connect a USB thumb drive to your Xbox.
  2. Once the drive is connected, go to Settings > Storage Settings.
  3. Select the first option in order to use USB flash drive as a memory unit.

After doing that, try installing the update again and check if the problem is resolved.

Solution 8 – Check your network connection

Sometimes you might not be able to install updates due to network connection errors. To check if there are any network errors that prevent you from accessing Xbox Live, do the following:

  1. From the Dashboard choose Settings.
  2. Go to Network and select Test network connection.
  3. Wait for a few moments for the scan to check your network connection.

If there are any problems with your connection, you need to resolve them first before you can download and install updates.

Solution 9 – Try using a wired connection

Sometimes issues with wireless connection can appear and they are usually caused by wireless interference, high packet loss or latency. You can avoid all of these problems simply by using a wired connection.

Connect your Xbox directly to your modem with an Ethernet cable and check if the problem is resolved. If you can’t do that, you might want to change the location of your wireless router in order to get the best reception.

Solution 10 – Use your phone as a mobile hotspot

Users reported that they fixed the Update failed error on their Xbox by using their phone as a mobile hotspot.

After connecting the to the mobile hotspot with their Xbox, users were able to download and install the update without any problems.

If you can’t create a mobile hotspot, you might want to try downloading the update on a different network.

Solution 11 – Disconnect all external storage devices

According to users, sometimes this error can occur due to external storage devices.

To fix this problem, be sure to remove all external storage devices from your console.

After doing that, try to download and install the update, and it should install without any issues.

Solution 12 – Restart your modem

Sometimes you won’t be able to install the latest updates due to network errors, and one of the simplest ways to fix this problem is to restart your modem. To do that, follow these steps:

  1. Press the power button on your modem to turn it off. In addition, you can unplug your modem from the power outlet. If your modem is connected to a wireless router, be sure to turn off the router as well.
  2. Now turn off your console by pressing the power button on the front.
  3. Wait for a couple of minutes and turn your router and modem back on. If you don’t have a router, just turn on your modem.
  4. Now turn on your Xbox and try to download the update again.

Solution 13 – Delete and redownload your profile

Sometimes you can fix this problem simply by removing your profile and downloading it again. This is a simple procedure, and in order to do it you need to do the following on Xbox 360:

  1. Go to Settings > System.
  2. Select Storage.
  3. If you have external devices connected to your Xbox, select All Devices option. If you don’t have any external storage, select Hard Drive.
  4. Select the profile that you want to delete and choose the Delete option.
  5. Now select Delete Profile Only option to remove your profile without removing saved games and achievements.

After deleting the profile, download it again by following these steps:

  1. Press the Guide button on your controller.
  2. Select Download Profile option. If this option isn’t available, you need to sign out of your current profile.
  3. Select the Download Profile button.
  4. Enter your Microsoft account login information.
  5. Select the storage device for your profile and wait for it to download.
  6. After that, check if the problem is resolved.

To remove your profile on Xbox One, follow these instructions:

  1. Scroll left on the Home screen.
  2. Choose Settings > All Settings.
  3. Go to Account and choose Remove accounts.
  4. Select the account that you want to remove and choose Remove.
  5. After you’re done, select Close.

To add your account, do the following:

  1. On the Home Screen scroll left.
  2. On the Sign in tab select Add & manage.
  3. Now select Add new.
  4. Enter your login information.
  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process.

In some cases you might get signed out of your profile when you encounter issues while installing updates.

If that’s the case, you just need to download your profile again and the issue should be resolved.

Solution 14 – Delete the corrupted content

According to users, you can fix this error simply by deleting the corrupted content from your hard drive.

After you delete the corrupted content, test your internet connection and check if the problem is resolved.

Solution 15 – Format your hard drive

According to users, they managed to fix Update failed error on their Xbox simply by formatting their hard drive.

We have to warn you that formatting your hard drive will delete all your files, therefore we urge you to back up all important files. To format your hard drive, do the following:

  1. Start your console without a disc in the tray.
  2. Go to Settings > System.
  3. Select Storage.
  4. Highlight the storage device you want to format and press the Y button.
  5. Select Format.
  6. You’ll see a confirmation message. Select Yes to format the storage device.
  7. You might be asked to enter your console’s serial number before you’re able to format your hard drive. You can find the serial number on the back of the console. After entering the serial number, the formatting process will start.

Once again, we have to mention that formatting your hard drive will delete all your files, including saved games, so be sure to back up all important files before starting.

Solution 16 – Replace your hard drive

If the problem still persists, you might be able to fix it by replacing your hard drive. Few users reported that the issue was completely resolved after replacing their hard drive with a new one, so you might want to try that.

To see how to remove your hard drive, be sure to check Solution 4 for detailed instructions.

Update failed error will prevent you from downloading important updates on your Xbox, but we hope that you fixed this error by using one of our solutions.

READ ALSO:

Xbox One consoles to get a 1906 update next month, with first preview build coming next week

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft has just released the Xbox One 1905 update today, which brings improvements for Xbox Live Messaging, Friends List and Sorting. This new system update follows the 1904 update released in April, and we’ve just learned today that a 1906 update will also be coming in June.

Brad Rossetti, the head of the Xbox Insider Program announced the upcoming 1906 update on Twitter today, teasing that a first preview build could be released as soon as Monday.

The Xbox One 1906 update will probably be another minor release, just like the 1905 update. It’s also worth noting that the 1905 update is still coming from the same 19H1 development branch that gave us the Xbox One 1904 update in April, as well as the Windows 10 May 2019 update on the PC side.

We don’t know yet what’s coming in the Xbox One 1906 update, but we guess that some experimental features that have been in testing in preview 1905 builds may well end up there. We’re thinking about the new “Play Later” list for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, as well as the Voice channels in Xbox Live Messaging that were mentioned in a previous build.

As usual, Preview Alpha Xbox Insiders should get the new bits first, so make sure to check your Xbox Insider settings before the next testing period kicks off.

How to download and install Silverlight on Windows 10

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Microsoft Silverlight was used in the past, but with rapid change of Internet and introduction of new technologies Silverlight was replaced by them.

If you want to use Silverlight on Windows 10, today we’re going to show you how to do it.

Table of contents

How to install Silverlight on Windows 10?

To install Microsoft Silverlight, you need to do the following:

  1. Go to Microsoft’s website and download Silverlight.
    silverlight-download
  2. After downloading it, you should be able to use it without any problems.
    silverlight-install

As we already mentioned, if you visit a website that still uses Silverlight, you’ll have to use Internet Explorer 11 or Firefox in order to display Silverlight content.

Google Chrome has dropped support for NPAPI plug-ins and it doesn’t run Java or Silverlight anymore, so you’ll have to use one of aforementioned browsers.

Check which browsers still work with Silverlight and fix common errors with these guides: Browser support for Silverlight and Silverlight not working.

Silverlight was once a popular framework, but it was replaced by HTML5, and in fact, even Microsoft recommends streaming services to use HTML5 over Silverlight.

HTML5 is supported by all major modern browsers. It works perfectly on all platforms and devices, and there are no additional plug-ins to install.

Silverlight is slowly but surely becoming a thing of a past, and even Microsoft suggests users to move on from Silverlight to different technologies.

If you still need to run Silverlight, you can download it and install it by following the instructions above.

FAQs

Can I install Silverlight on Windows 11?

Yes, the legacy installer still runs, but Silverlight reached end of support in October 2021 and modern browsers block it; it only works through Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

How do I open a Silverlight site on Windows 11?

Install Silverlight, open Edge, go to Settings > Default browser, set Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode to Allow, restart Edge, visit the site, then select … > Reload in Internet Explorer mode.

Why does Silverlight not load in Chrome or regular Edge tabs?

Chrome, Edge, and Firefox removed plugin support, so Silverlight content will not run in standard tabs; only Internet Explorer mode in Edge can host the required ActiveX control.

Is using Silverlight on Windows 11 safe or recommended?

It is not recommended for the open internet since it is out of support; if you must use it for a line of business app, isolate usage to trusted intranet sites, restrict permissions, and plan a migration to HTML5 or WebAssembly.

Windows 10 v1703 KB4499181 is all about security improvements

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Microsoft releases Patch Tuesday Updates every month to fix known issues and security flaws affecting Windows operating systems.

This month, the Redmond giant is back with a new round of Windows 10 cumulative updates. More specifically, Microsoft released KB4499181 for Windows 10 v1703. The company completely focused on improving the security of Windows components, including the system’s built-in IE and Microsoft Edge browsers.

However, we recommend to pause the updates for around 2-3 weeks until a stable release is available. Sometimes, Windows 10 updates may bring along some major bugs that Microsoft’s engineers failed to detect before the official rollout.

Furthermore, you should enable the system restore option before installing the update. In case you experience any issues, you can use the system restore options to rollback to a working OS version.

Let’s have a brief look at what KB4499181 brings in terms of improvements and bug fixes.

KB4499181 changelog

Fix for Visual Studio Simulator launch issues

Previously, Windows 10 users were unable to launch Microsoft Visual Studio Simulator. Microsoft fixed all these issues in KB4499181.

Japanese fonts bug fix

Microsoft Excel users pointed out that some Japanese fonts are triggering MS Excel formatting issues. The company promised to release a fix in the upcoming release. Finally, KB4499181 fixes all such issues.

A series of security patches

As a part of the Windows 10 cumulative update KB4499181, Microsoft rolled out a series of security patches for most of its products. To learn more about these patches, you can check out the official update page.

Download KB4499181

You can download Windows 10 cumulative update KB4499181 automatically on your system.

However, if you have not yet received the update, you can navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Check for updates.

Alternatively, you can manually download the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

As a quick reminder, a new Windows 10 version is just around the corner. Microsoft is ready to release Windows 10 version 1903 aka the May 2019 Update later this month.

Windows Insiders are currently testing the build. The company wants to make sure that no major bugs make their way to Windows 10 users. That is the reason Microsoft delayed the official release and preferred last-minute testing. 

RELATED ARTICLES YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT:

How to download and install Windows Essentials on Windows 10

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

We saw all sorts of great tools from Microsoft over the years, and one of these tools is Windows Essentials.

Windows Essentials worked great on previous versions of Windows, and since this is such widely used set of tools, we decided to make a small guide on how to install Windows Essentials on Windows 10.

Windows Essentials is a collection of Microsoft’s applications and it was first released in 2006.

Over the years Windows Essentials went through various changes with some tools added and others removed from the suite.

Regarding updates, the last update for Windows Essentials was released in 2012, and since Microsoft isn’t actively working on Windows Essentials, many are concerned whether will Windows Essentials run on Windows 10.

We’re pleased to inform you that Windows Essentials can be installed on Windows 10, and that many of its applications work perfectly.

The customer support period ended in January 2017, so it is not available for Windows 10. Currently, Windows Essentials can’t be downloaded from Microsoft Store.

If you need something similar to this product, you may try Microsoft Photos app, where you can create and edit videos with text, music, animations, filters, and 3D effects.

You can also download Windows Essential from third party websites, but on your own risk.

How can I install Windows Essentials on Windows 10?

Installing Windows Essentials on Windows 10 is rather simple, and you can install it by following these steps:

  1. Download Windows Essentials.
  2. Run the setup file.
  3. When you get to the What do you want to install window select Choose the programs you want to install.
     essentials-setup
  4. Select the programs you want to install. Make sure that Messenger isn’t selected.
    choose-programs
  5. Click Install and wait for the installation process to finish.
    installation

If you’re not familiar with Windows Essentials, we’ll give you a short guide on what does each application do.

First on our list of tools is OneDrive. As you know, Windows 10 comes with OneDrive preinstalled, therefore you cannot install it using Windows Essentials.

If you want to know what is OneDrive and how it works on Windows 10, we wrote an article about it, so be sure to check it out.

Next on our list is Windows Live Mail. This is a popular email client and direct successor to Outlook Express. If you’re planning to use this client, bear in mind that Windows Live Mail doesn’t work with Outlook anymore.

windows live mail wind8apps

If you want to download and use Windows Live Mail on Windows 10, check out this guide.

Photo Gallery is an image viewer with a simple to use interface. In addition to viewing images, this tool allows you to edit images, apply different effects to them and share them online.

photo-gallery

If you want to download and install Photo Gallery on Windows 10, follow the simple steps from this guide.

Photo Gallery not working on Windows 10? Don’t worry, we’ve got the right solution for you.

Movie Maker is a popular video editing software, and many older users will probably remember that this tool was a part of older versions of Windows.

Microsoft did some changes, and Movie Maker is now a part of Windows Essentials, and it works perfectly on Windows 10.

movie-maker

Movie Maker has stopped working? Check out this guide and solve the problem in no time.

Windows Live Writer is a blogging client and it allows you to access several major blogging services such as WordPress, SharePoint and many others.

By using this tool you can easily write blog posts right from your desktop, without using the blog’s web interface.

We should also mention Windows Live Messenger. As you remember, we choose not to install this tool because Windows Live Messenger service was discontinued in 2013.

Since Messenger service was canceled, all of its users switched to Skype.

As you can see, Windows Essentials worked great on Windows 10, and you could install it and use it without any problems.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

READ ALSO:

Download Windows 10 KB4494440 to fix virtual drive errors

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

This month’s Patch Tuesday updates landed with a plethora of bug fixes and improvements. These include both security and non-security updates for all Windows 10 versions.

If you’re running Windows 10 v1607, you can now download and install KB4494440 on your machine. This build takes the existing version of Windows 10 Anniversary Update to build version 14393.2969.

This build didn’t introduce any new changes to the operating system. However, there are some important quality enhancements that make this update worth downloading.

In this article, we are going to provide you with a brief overview of some of KB4494440’s key improvements, and known issues.

KB4494440 major improvements and fixes

Security flaws fixed

Microsoft recently discovered a new side-channel vulnerability in Windows 10 and named it as Microarchitectural Data Sampling. This security flaw targeted various 64-bit versions of Windows. Thankfully, Microsoft fixed this flaw in this release. 

Zone transfers failure

KB4494440 fixed an issue that was restricting zone transfers over TCP. This bug can only appear during a transfer case involving primary and secondary servers.

1309 error message

Microsoft addressed an issue that was popping up 1309 error message.  The bug appeared during installation or removing of some file types saved on a virtual drive.

KB4494440 known issues

As a matter of fact, Microsoft acknowledged a total number of four known issues that came along with KB4494440.

Microsoft warned its users that they may encounter the error 2245 (NERR_PasswordTooShort). Notably, this bug causes cluster service to fail.

This error message appears if you set 14 or more characters for the Minimum Password Length group policy setting.

Moving further, the second bug is related to some specific operations that may fail to complete. The tech giant says that you may encounter the following error code while renaming your files and folders: STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL (0xC00000A5)

Microsoft suggested some temporary workarounds to fix these issues. You can expect a permanent fix in the upcoming release.

Comment down below if you are experiencing some KB4494440 issues.

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Xbox One 1905 system update is out with improvements for Xbox Live Messaging, Friends List and Sorting

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft is rolling out the May 2019 update for Xbox One systems. The update has been in testing for some time, and primarily focuses on greatly improving the social experience in the system, giving users quicker access to the friends they play with most.

Microsoft is moving all messages from those who might not know you into a separate message requests tab, which helps clean up the experience as a whole and help the player focus on those that matter. It’s important to know that the transition to the new messaging system in the update will cause group chats to be deleted, so those wishing to keep their chat logs will have to archive them manually.

Another very nice addition is that users will now be able to see which device their friends are playing off of thanks to the small indicator icon that represents either a phone, PC, or Xbox. This is especially useful in helping players know which device to use if they want to join the game with them, or perhaps in deciding which players are using the same device as they are.

One last important change is how games are sorted. Articles (a, an, the) are no read in the sorting of games, meaning that, for example, The Witcher will now be sorted under “W” instead of the “T”. It’s how titles should be sorted, and it’s sure to please many users who have their own digital libraries.

As pointed out on the blog post, the updates are thanks to Insider feedback, and Microsoft encourages those who might want to participate to download the Xbox Insider Hub to help provide feedback and ideas.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate reaches Preview Delta ring

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

Microsoft is testing the waters of its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate before its official unveiling later this year by floating it to gamers enrolled in Insider preview rings and this time, Preview Delta ring participants can join in the testing.

As early as today, May 16, 2019, anyone enrolled in the Preview Delta Insider flight for Xbox One can join and test Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (XGPU) alongside with other supported preview ring users.

Other details of today’s rollout include:

When you join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, we will apply any prepaid time you have on Xbox Live Gold and/or Xbox Game Pass toward Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, up to a maximum of 36 months. For example, if you have 3 months of Xbox Live Gold and 3 months of Xbox Game Pass already on your account when you purchase your first month of Game Pass Ultimate, you will have a total of 7 months of Ultimate on your account before you need to renew your membership.

Please note that if you redeem Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Live Gold tokens after joining Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the information presented during the token redemption is inaccurate. This is a known bug and we are rapidly working on deploying a fix. During Xbox Insider testing, we recommend redeeming any Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Live Gold tokens prior to upgrading to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

So it appears to be a rolling enrollment that will credit participants for any current expenses invested in either of the individually supported subscription services in Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Live, up to 36 months.

Also noted, are the potential bugs that may occur during test such as token redemption, that subscribers need to be on the lookout for after signing up.

How to download and install Microsoft Expression Studio on Windows 10

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

In the past Microsoft created many great tools, and one of these tools is Microsoft Expression Studio.

Many users are concerned whether these old tools can work on modern operating systems, therefore today we’re going to show you how to install Microsoft Expression Studio on Windows 10.

Microsoft Expression Studio was a set of tools designed for building web and Windows applications along with rich digital media content.

Expression Studio was released in 2007, and over the years Microsoft has enhanced the Expression Studio suite with new and exciting features.

Unfortunately, the Expression Studio was discontinued by Microsoft in 2012, and the last version of this tool was released in June 2010.

Install Microsoft Expression Studio on Windows 10

Microsoft Expression Studio is available for download, and you can easily install it on Windows 10 by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to Microsoft Expression Studio download page and download the tool.
  2. Once you’ve download the tool, run the setup file.
  3. Choose which tools you want to install and click the Install button.
    expression-studio-setup-1
  4. Wait for the tools to install.
    expression-studio-setup-2
  5. After the setup process is completed, just start any of the tools.

If you don’t know which tools are available in Microsoft Expression Studio, we did a quick test for all of them, and all tools ran without issues without using the compatibility mode.

First tool is Microsoft Expression Web and this tool is used for creating HTML websites.

In addition to Expression Web, there’s also Expression Web SuperPreview available that allows you to test your websites in different resolutions for different versions of Internet Explorer.

expression-web
expression-web-superpreview

Microsoft Blend is a tool designed for creating Silverlight applications, and we’re happy to say that this tool works without any issues on Windows 10.

expression-web-blend

Microsoft Expression Design is a photo editing tool, and you can use it to design your applications, websites or to edit photos.

expression-design

Next we have Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture that is used to record your desktop, so it’s great if you’re making video tutorials for example.

Last tool on our list is Microsoft Expression Encoder, and this is a video editing tool that you can use to create and edit your own videos.

expression-web-encoder

As you can see, Microsoft Expression Studio works without any issues on Windows 10, and you can download and install it by following our instructions above.

Keep in mind that Microsoft Expression Studio has a trial version with a period of 60 days.

Because it is an old tool, its system requirements are modest. It needs a PC with 1 GHz or faster processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 2 GB or more of available hard-disk space.

This isn’t the only legacy software from Microsoft, and we wrote on how to download and use Encarta Kids in one of our older articles, so don’t miss it.

Latest Edge Insider Canary build now matches your OS theme on Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft’s new Edge Insider browser on Windows 10 currently uses a light theme by default, but Microsoft is changing this in the latest Canary build 76.0.160.0. As spotted by Techdows (via MSPoweruser), Microsoft Edge will now respect your default Windows 10 theme, and automatically enable the dark theme if you did so in system settings.

Previously, Edge Insiders had to go to edge://flags to force the web browser to automatically match their OS theme. However, in the new Canary build 76.0.160.0, you can now set the Microsoft Edge theme flag as “Default” and be assured that the browser will respect your OS theme. As of this writing, this only works on Windows 10 and not on Edge Canary on macOS.

In other Microsoft Edge-related news, the beta version of Microsoft Edge on iOS has been updated today and it can now sync favorites with the Edge Insider browser on Windows 10 and macOS. The Android version of Microsoft Edge was previously updated with this same capability a couple of weeks ago.

The new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge was one of the highlights of Microsoft’s Vision keynote at Build 2019 last week, and we’ve also seen the first macOS builds and beta build for Windows 10 leak during the event. The Microsoft Edge team has yet to announce when a stable version for Windows 10 and macOS will be available, and a Linux version is also not confirmed yet.

System Cannot Find Python.exe: How to Fix it

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

If you’re installing a package for Node on Windows 10, you might receive the following error: system cannot find python.exe.

This issue can become very annoying since it stops you from accessing your Python and Node files freely. In the past, we covered Python runtime error, but this is a different issue.

In today’s guide, we will take a closer look and show you the best ways to fix this problem.

Why does it say Python was not found?

  • Missing Windows Build Tools on your PC.
  • Python’s executable file is not in the environment variable.

Where does Python exe install?

Like any regular software, Python will be installed in the Program Files directory. The exact location is the following:

C:\Program Files\Python

How can I fix system cannot find python.exe error?

Install the Windows Build Tools

  1. Press Windows key + X and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).powershell windows can't find python executable
  2. Type in the following command: npm install  --global --production windows-build-toolsinstall build tools windows can't find python executable
  3. After the first installation is completed, also install node-gyp by typing in the following command: npm install node-gyp
  4. Press Enter.

Restart the terminal window and try to install the package with problems again. After making these changes, the installation process should go without any issues.

In this article, we explored the best and fastest way to deal with the system cannot find python.exe error while trying to install Node.

Missing components are usually responsible for this error, but you can fix that simply by running a few commands from the command line tool on your PC.

If you have more issues, visit our error loading Python DLL guide for more information. Our latest guide covers the python27.dll is missing issue, so be sure to visit it.

In case you also run into Python error OXZEP7 software, our dedicated guide provides simple solutions to resolve it.

Follow these steps carefully, and this problem will be resolved. Please let us know if this fix worked for you by using the comment section below.

Xbox One’s LEGO Batman 3 and The Surge video games come to Xbox Game Pass

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The Surge and LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham are now both playable as part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, as its title suggests, is the third entry in the LEGO Batman video game series and features an incredibly large roster of DC Comics characters to play as in LEGO form. Green Lantern fans in particular will feel well-represented. The game supports local multiplayer for up to two players at the same time.

The Surge is a Sci-Fi action title with a strong focus on melee combat. The game came out relatively recently in 2017 and supports HDR10 lighting when played on an Xbox One X console.

The Surge and LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham follow a number of new video games joining Xbox Game Pass this month. For The King went straight to Game Pass after it launched on Xbox One last week and was preceded by Tacoma, Surviving Mars, and Black Desert the day before. Earlier in May, Descenders, Wolfenstein II and Wargroove also joined the growing Xbox Game Pass library.

As per usual, all of these new video games take the place of existing Xbox Game Pass titles with 11 more games set to leave the service before the end of the month.

Do you have Xbox Game Pass? Let us know why or why not in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming content.

LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham
LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham
Download
QR-Code

LEGO® Batman™ 3: Beyond Gotham
Developer:
Warner Bros. Games
Price:
$19.99


The Surge
The Surge
Download
QR-Code

The Surge
Developer:
Focus Entertainment
Price:
$2.99

May Patch Tuesday updates fix KB4495667 font bugs

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Microsoft recently acknowledged that KB4495667 may sometimes trigger various Excel issues.

The company says that some fonts can affect the layout of documents created in Microsoft Excel after the installation of the update.

When using the MS UI Gothic or MS PGothic fonts, the text, layout, or cell size may become narrower or wider than expected in Microsoft Excel. For example, the layout and cell size of Microsoft Excel sheets may change when using MS UI Gothic.

The tech giant recently release the May 2019 Patch Tuesday updates fixing this problem. If you don’t want to download the latest Windows 10 updates, Microsoft suggests there are two options to get rid of this issue.

You can either uninstall the recently installed optional updates or use a switch to a different Japanese font like MS Mincho or Yu Gothic.

As a quick reminder, Microsoft didn’t release any new features in Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4495667. However, the update came with a series of performance enhancements and bug fixes. 

Updates triggering font bugs

Microsoft confirms that these updates are hit by the above-mentioned bug:

  • Windows 10 version 1809: Build 17763.475 (KB4495667)
  • Windows 10 version 1803: Build 17134.753 (KB4493437)
  • Windows 10 version 1709: Build 16299.1127 (KB4493440)
  • Windows 10 version 1703: Build 15063.1785 (KB4502112)
  • Windows 10 version 1607: Build 14393.2941 (KB4493473)

Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7

As we reported earlier, the latest statistics released by NetMarketShare prove that the popularity of Windows 10 is increasing now.

The market share of the OS is increasing as more and more Windows 7 users are upgrading their machines.

Some recent reports suggest that around 825 million active devices are currently using Windows 10. Microsoft is very close to hitting the 1 billion user mark.

Microsoft announced that it would no longer provide official support and security updates to Windows 7 users beyond January 14, 2020. Hence, the Windows 10 user base is expected to increase by the end of this year.

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KB4499167 fixes app launch issues in Windows 10 v1803

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

It’s Patch Tuesday again and Microsoft released a bundle of new security updates for devices running Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

Apart from the April 2018 Update, the tech giant released new cumulative updates for all the Windows 10 versions currently supported. These updates addressed major vulnerabilities affecting the OS.

Back to Windows 10 v1803,  KB4499167 bumps the current version of Windows 10 to build 17134.765. The recent release fixed a long list of issues improving the stability of the OS.

KB4499167 major improvements and fixes

Application launch issues

Microsoft addressed an issue with Microsoft Visual Studio Simulator that was restricting it from launching properly.

Fixes for .msi and .msp files installation issues

Some users reported that they encountered “Error 1309” during the installation and uninstallation of some .msp and .msi that were basically saved on a virtual drive.

Zone transfer bug fix

Previously, Windows 10 users were experiencing a bug that caused zone transfers failure. KB4499167 fixed the bug for primary and secondary DNS servers.

Japanese font bugs fixed

We have already reported, some Japanese fonts caused formatting issues in KB4495667. Thankfully, Microsoft fixed the issue with MS PGothic and MS UI Gothic fonts in this release.

Security updates

KB4499167 brings various security updates for Internet Explorer, Windows Cryptography, Windows Virtualization, Windows Wireless Networking, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Microsoft Edge, Windows Kernel, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Server, Microsoft Graphics Component, Microsoft JET Database Engine and Windows Datacenter Networking.

KB4499167 bugs

KB4499167 brings two known issues to the table. The tech giant says that some specific operations that are performed on CSV folders or files may encounter error xC00000A5. 

The update may bring some issues of its own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you back up your system before installing the latest updates.

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Download Windows 10 KB4499179 to fix Excel font issues

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

The May 2019 Patch Tuesday edition is here and brought a new cumulative update (KB4499179 ) to Windows 10 v1709 users. Windows 10 cumulative update KB4499179 bumps the existing version to build number 16299.1146.

This patch came with numerous security updates and fixes to address some new security flaws.

Microsoft no longer releases security patches to Windows 10 version 1709. The tech giant ended official support for Windows 10 v1709 IoT Core, Workstation, Home and Pro versions in April.

Enterprise, loT, and Education edition users still enjoy updates for an extended period of 12 months. 

It is therefore recommended that users upgrade their PCs ASAP. That is the only way users can continue to receive the latest security and feature updates on their machines.

KB4499179 changelod

MS Excel issues fixed

Some users previously reported that MS PGothic or MS UI Gothic fonts in MS Excel caused some visible changes in the formatting of text, cell or the size of its layout. KB4499179 fixed the issue.

Microarchitectural Data Sampling vulnerability fix

Microsoft claims that KB4499179 addresses a newly discovered vulnerability targeting Windows 10 users. This security flaw is named Microarchitectural Data Sampling.

HSTS TLD fixes for UK govt websites

The HTTP Strict Transport Security Top Level Domains for Microsoft Edge and IE welcomed the addition of “uk.gov” in the latest release.

KB4499179 known issues

Surprisingly, Microsoft acknowledged only one known issue in KB4499179. This issue is related to operations performed on files or folders that are on CSV. 

Microsoft recommended its users to try one of the following workarounds.

  • Perform the operation from a process that has administrator privilege.
  • Perform the operation from a node that doesn’t have CSV ownership.

The company says that it is working to fix the issue and an update should be released very soon.

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KB4494441 patches Windows 10 side-channel security vulnerabilities

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Microsoft started rolling out the May 2019 Patch Tuesday cumulative updates to Windows 10 users.

Similar to the previous releases, KB4494441 build does not bring any new system features. This release specifically deals with non-security vulnerabilities in Windows 10.

As a matter of fact, the majority of non-security enhancements are targeting enterprise and business users. 

Update KB4494441 increases the current version of Windows 10 to to build version 17763.503. The update also addresses Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities on Windows 10 devices. 

The company designed a brand new mitigation strategy named Retpoline to deal with Spectre variant 2 vulnerability on machines running October 2018 Update. Retpoline resolves performance issues caused by some previous builds.

KB4494441 major improvements and fixes

Protection against side-channel vulnerabilities

Microsoft released fixes to deal with a bundle of speculative execution side-channel vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities were targeting devices running the latest Intel processors.

HSTS TLD fixes

Previously uk.gov was not a part of HTTP Strict Transport Security Top Level Domains. Thankfully, KB4494441 added those websites to HSTS TLD for both Microsoft Edge and IE users. 

Microsoft fixed error 1309

Some users reported that they were experiencing error 1309 during the installation and removal of specific .msp and .msi files. These files were saved on a virtual drive.

Additionally, a bug was preventing Windows 10 users from launching Microsoft Visual Studio Simulator. Microsoft addressed these issues in KB4494441.

Security updates

The tech giant also released important security updates for different products including  Internet Explorer, Windows Kernel, Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Server, Microsoft JET Database Engine, Windows Graphics, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Microsoft Edge and Windows Virtualization.

KB4494441 bugs

Microsoft acknowledged four known issues that come along with KB4494441. The company warns Edge users that they may experience configuration issues with their printers.

Furthermore, some Asian language packs that exist on your PC may trigger 0x800f0982 error. 

KB4494441 will be automatically downloaded on your system through the Windows Update section. Moreover, you can also visit the Microsoft Update Catalogue to download the update directly on your system.

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Launch programs on virtual desktops with VDesk for Windows 10

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

If you’ve been looking for a virtual desktop app for Windows 10, we have one for you: VDesk. It’s a free, open-source program that allows you to open several virtual desktops on which you can switch between separate programs.

This is not the first virtual desktop app available for Windows: Microsoft also rolled out its own virtual desktop app during the Windows XP era.

VDesk, what it does and how to use it?

Running a virtual desktop is similar to using multiple displays, with the difference being that only one virtual desktop is visible at a time. You can also move the programs from one virtual desktop to the other.

VDesk speeds up access to your programs, documents, and other files as well.

It doesn’t just put all shortcuts in one place, but also gives you the opportunity to create logical groups of icons, displaying them only when you need to run a program.

When you’re done, the virtual desktop hides all shortcuts and you get rid of all the maze of icons spread on your desktop.

If you want to navigate from one desktop to another, use the mouse wheel or the Tab key from the keyboard.

VDeskIt is a command line program, but you also have the option to integrate its functionality in File Explorer.

For example, the command vdesk run:notepad.exe launches Notepad on a virtual desktop. Also, you can select on which virtual desktop is launched.

Therefore, the command vdesk on:3 run:notepad will open Notepad on virtual desktop 3.

Run vdesk -install on the command line and you will see a new “open in new virtual desktop” option when you right-click on executable files in File Explorer.

The command vdesk -uninstall will help you undo this entry from File Explorer.

You can choose to run VDesk when you launch Windows 10 and choose to always load programs on virtual desktops when the operating system starts by creating batch files and adding them to the startup locations of the OS.

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Windows Media Player Crashes in Windows 10/11 [QUICK FIX]

Posted on by Ivan Jenic

Watching a movie in Windows Media Player can be done very easily seeing that this application is implemented in the Windows 10 operating system.

The tool has a very user friendly interface but you might have already stumbled upon the most annoying issue that can happen to you while using the application.

Sometimes, the program may crash in the middle of a movie or just right after you open it.

Read this guide to learn what you can do in order to apply some troubleshooting steps and prevent your Windows Media Player from crashing again.

Windows Media Player might crash for more than one reason but the most common is that the registry files that use the application might have gotten damaged or deleted by a third party application.

This issue usually appears when you update to another version of Windows like the Windows 10 or just by installing an application that interfered with the registry files for Windows Media Player.

Steps to fix Windows Media Player crashes

  1. Troubleshoot from Control Panel
  2. Run an SFC scan
  3. Disable and reenable startup applications
  4. Windows Media Player issues in Windows 10 and their fixes

First Method: Troubleshoot from Control Panel

  1. Press and hold the button “Windows” and the button “X”.
  2. You should now have in front of you a menu where you will need to find the “Control Panel” feature.
  3. Left click or tap on “Control Panel” icon.
  4. Left click or tap on the “View All” button in this window.view all control panel
  5. You must find there the troubleshooter for “Windows Media Player Library and Windows Media Player Settings”
  6. Run every troubleshooting step you have there and select “apply the fix” to make the changes to the operating system.
  7. Close the windows you have opened and reboot the Windows 8.1 operating system.
  8. Try starting your Windows Media Player and see if it crashes again.

Second Method: Run an SFC scan

  1. Press and hold the “Windows” button and the “X” button.
  2. Right click on the “Command Prompt” window and left click on Run as Administrator.
    Note: or left click on “Command Prompt (Admin)” icon.
  3. You should have in front of you the command prompt window with administrative privileges.
  4. You will need to write in the Command Prompt window the following: “sfc /scannow” but without the quotes.sfc scannow command prompt
  5. Press the “Enter” button on the keyboard.
  6. Let the SFC scan finish.
  7. After the SFC scan is completed you will need to close the Command Prompt window.
  8. Reboot the Windows 8.1 device.
  9. Try again and see if your Windows Media Player is still crashing.

Third Method: Disable and reenable startup applications

  1. Swipe in from the right side of the screen.
  2. Left click or tap on the “Search” feature.
    Note: Move the mouse cursor to the lower right side of the screen to open the menu if you are using a mouse.
  3. In the search box you will need to write the following: “msconfig” without the quotes.
  4. Open “System Configuration” window.
  5. Left click or tap on the “Services” tab situated in the upper side of the window.
  6. Check the box next to “Hide all Microsoft Services”.hide all microsoft services
  7. Left click or tap on the “Disable All” button.
  8. Left click or tap on the “Startup” tab situated in the upper side of the window.
  9. Left click or tap on the “Open Task Manager” feature.
  10. Left click or tap on the “Startup” tab in the Task Manager window.
  11. In the list you have there you will need to click on each application at a time and left click or tap on the “Disable” option.
  12. Close the Task Manager window.
  13. In the “System Configuration” window in the Startup tab you will need to left click on the “OK” button.
  14. Reboot your Windows 8.1 operating system.
  15. After the devices start again, check and see if your Windows Media Player is working.
  16. If it is, then one of your applications you disabled from Startup is interfering with your Windows Media Player.
  17. If it isn’t you will need to enable the applications you had on the Startup and reboot the Windows 8.1 device again.

Fix specific Windows Media Player issues in Windows 10

Windows Media Player has some additional issues in Windows 10. Of course, you can use the troubleshooting methods listed above on any Windows version. But if you’re looking for specific fixes for Windows 10, then read on.

If you have this version installed on your PC or laptop, here are some of the most encountered issues that might appear and bother you. First of all, in Windows 10, WMP might simply disappear.

You will find the solution on how to fix this problem in our dedicated guide on how to fix Windows Media Player disappearing in Windows 10.

Some file types may not be played by WMP, but we also have a solution for that, especially for AVI files that are not played by Windows Media Player. If it does not work, we recommend you to follow the steps from the tutorial on how to add an AVI Codec in WMP.

That’s it, a few methods that you can follow in order to fix your Windows Media Player and prevent it from crashing again during your usage. Please write us below for any additional questions you might have on this subject and we will help you further with this issue.

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Microsoft open sources one of Bing’s most advanced AI tools

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

Once again Microsoft has sought the counsel of the open source community and laid one of its most power AI technologies at its feet.

As of May 15, 2019, the open source community congregating at GitHub repositories will now have access to Microsoft’s Space Partition Tree and Graph (SPTAG) algorithm that “allows users to take advantage of the intelligence from learning models to search through billions of pieces of information, called vectors, in milliseconds.”

As a bit of a refresher, Vector searching stems from the evolution of keyword search but conduct searches based on broader conceptual understanding more than specific keyword queries. As voice search lurches towards prominence, Vector searches that involve more conceptual questions such as “How tall is the tower in Paris?”, will spur answers that involve Paris’ most well-known landmark, the Effiel Tower, without the user ever having to explicitly involve the Effeil keyword.

Microsoft AI blog author Charlie Walburger walks through the more nuanced description of Vector searching as such:

Essentially a numerical representation of a word, image pixel or other data point, a vector helps capture what a piece of data actually means. Thanks to advances in a branch of AI called deep learning, Microsoft said it can begin to understand and represent search intent using these vectors.

Once the numerical point has been assigned to a piece of data, vectors can be arranged, or mapped, with close numbers placed in proximity to one another to represent similarity. These proximal results get displayed to users, improving search outcomes.

The combination of Microsoft’s SPATAG algorithm used in Bing, and the evolution of voice and audio search is on display in this new 2:37 min long company produced video below.

Microsoft’s Bing search engine has been implementing Vector searches for its own efforts to varying degrees of success and now developers with considerably fewer resources than the software giant, will reap the benefits of its cloud development A/R.

Once deprecated MS Paint to receive new accessibility features in Windows 10 May 2019 Update

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

If Microsoft at one time had been encouraging Windows 10 users to leave legacy apps for new UWP experiences such as OneNote for Windows 10 and Paint 3D, now there are more indications the company isn’t ready yet to leave classic Windows apps behind. Following years of neglect, the Notepad app recently received several new features such as additional keyboard shortcuts and improved UTF-8 encoding, and now we’ve just learned that the classic Paint app is also getting some love in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update.

Yesterday, a new blog post on the Windows Insider blog highlighted new Accessibility features coming to Paint in the May 2019 Update. To our knowledge, this isn’t something that Microsoft previously discussed during the 19H1 testing period, but it was hard to imagine Microsoft ever updating its Paint after announcing its deprecation in favor of the new Paint 3D.

“We know that Microsoft Paint (MSPaint) is well-loved by customers and we’re pleased to announce new accessibility features coming to Microsoft Paint with the release of the Windows 10 May 2019 Update,” wrote Brandon LeBlanc from the Windows Insider team yesterday. The main change is that the app is getting full keyboard input support: Microsoft added lots of new keyboard shortcuts making it possible to use the app and create drawings without using a mouse or touch input.

If creating images using only keyboard input is great, Microsoft has also changed how Paint interacts with Narrator and other Screen Readers. The company will be listening to feedback and may continue to improve Paint with new features going forward. That’s quite a big turnaround for an app that Microsoft wanted to make an optional Microsoft Store download at some point.

Thanks for the tip, Leo!

Windows 10 Game Bar gets a name change to Xbox Game Bar with latest Insider update

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft is renaming the Windows 10 Game Bar to Xbox Game Bar, as can be seen in the latest update of the beta app available for early adopters. A rename of the app actually makes a lot of sense, especially given how tightly integrated it is to Xbox Live. In addition to the name change, the update also features the new Welcome pop-up window, which gives helpful suggestions as to what you can do with the app if you’re not already familiar with it (via MSPU).

The update comes not too long after the recently introduced Looking for Groups widget was added to the beta, allowing users to find other players with similar missions and objectives. Additionally, the Chat widget also recently allowed users to quickly paste images, such as screenshots, that were captured in the clipboard.

Microsoft has been working on the new Game Bar for some time now, which splits the single bar that most Windows 10 users are likely familiar with into multiple “widgets.” These include chat, friends, broadcasting, CPU performance and even music controls for Spotify.

If you’re eager to try the new features out, you’ll need to be running the Windows 10 October 2018 update or later, but you don’t have to worry about becoming a Windows or Xbox Insider. You can sign up to try the beta by downloading the Xbox Insider Hub app on the Microsoft Store. From there, just open the app and join the Windows Gaming list to make the update available to download from the Store

Microsoft announces first early release of Web Template Studio, a VS Code extension for making cloud based web apps

Posted on by Kip Kniskern

Microsoft continues to build on the success of Visual Studio Code, a free, cross platform code editor that’s rapidly becoming one of the most popular IDEs (integrated developer environment), and today has announced an early look at the Microsoft Web Template Studio. This cross-platform extension for VS Code, open sourced on GitHub and created by Microsoft Garage interns, starts out using a single full stack app path using React and Node.js, but the community driven extension is seeking input on what else developers are looking for. The installation page for the dev-nightly builds of Web Template Studio describes the new extension:

Web Template Studio (WebTS) is a Visual Studio Code Extension that accelerates the creation of new web applications using a wizard-based experience. WebTS enables developers to generate boilerplate code for a web app by choosing between different front-end frameworks, back-end frameworks, pages and cloud services. The resulting web application is well-formed, readable code that incorporates cloud services on Azure while implementing proven patterns and best practices. Sprinkled throughout the generated code we have links to Docs to provide useful insights.

If this sounds familiar, Microsoft already has a Windows Template Studio for building native UWP apps, but now developers can build web applications using the same familiar tools and workflow. You can learn more about Microsoft Web Template Studio from the blog post or try it out with Visual Studio Code.

UNESCO project is helping students rebuild historical structures damaged in conflict using Minecraft

Posted on by davew

In the same vein as Ubisoft offering up Assassin’s Creed Unity to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral, Minecraft is being used in a special project by UNESCO. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) created a project for students and teachers around the world to recreate historical sites located throughout Syria and Iraq using Minecraft. Here’s a video look at what UNESCO hopes to achieve with History Blocks.

As noted on its website, History Blocks hopes to allow teachers and students to learn and work together to recreate historical sites destroyed by war.

“The History Blocks project is an answer to the hundreds of historical monuments destroyed in war zones. With it, teachers can work together with their students to rebuild, restore and preserve the World Heritage sites that have been brought down by the conflicts.”

Minecraft Education tweeted about the UNESCO project and how it helps students in the Middle East learn about their cultural heritage through these sacred structures that were destroyed in war.

At the moment, History Blocks is being used in lesson plans in classrooms in more than 30 countries. For teachers interested in using these lessons in their classrooms, UNESCO has the History Blocks lesson plan available for download via Dropbox.

High Performance Mode Missing on Windows 10 [Fix]

Posted on by Matthew Adams

Using a proper power plan is important, but many users reported that high performance mode is missing on Windows 10.

In case you’re not familiar with it, we have a great guide on high performance vs balanced power plan that you should check it.

This can be a problem, but in today’s guide, we will show you how to fix this issue.

Where is my high performance power plan in Windows 10?

This power plan is located in Power Options in Control Panel. You can access it by doing the following:

  1. Press Windows key + S and type power plan. Select Choose a power plan.
  2. From there, you should see all available power plans.
  3. Select High performance plan.

How do I enable missing high performance mode in Windows 10?

1. Add a new High-Performance battery mode

  1. Press the Windows key + Q hotkey.
  2. Enter power plan in Cortana’s search box as shown directly below.choose power plan
  3. Then click Choose a power plan to open the Control Panel as shown below.choose power plan
  4. Click Create a power plan to open the options shown directly below.create a power plan
  5. Select the High performance option there.
  6. Enter a title for the plan in the text box, and click the Next button.
  7. Then users can adjust the settings for the plan by selecting alternative options on the drop-down menu.custom power plan personalize
  8. Click the Create button to add the new plan.
  9. After that, select the new custom plan within the Power Options Control Panel applet.

This is a bit complex solution, but it can help you if high performance mode is missing on Windows 10.

2. Adjust Power Settings With the Power Mode Slider

  1. However, users can also select a high-performance mode with the Power mode slider bar. To adjust power settings with that bar,  enter power plan in Cortana’s search box.
  2. Select Choose a power plan to open the Power Options Control Panel applet.
  3. Users can’t adjust the Power mode slider bar without the Balanced option selected. So, select the Balanced radio button if it’s not already selected.
  4. Then close the Control Panel.
  5. Double-click the battery icon on the Windows 10 system tray to open the Power mode bar shown directly below.
    power options notification area
  6. Now users can drag that bar to the far right to select a high performance mode.

As you can see, missing high performance mode on Windows 10 isn’t a major issue, and it can be fixed with these simple solutions.

If you need even more power, you might be interested in the ultimate performance power plan. We have a great guide on it, so be sure to visit it.

Did you use a different solution? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Fix CPU fan speed error detected on Windows 10/11 like a PRO

Posted on by Tashreef Shareef

Sometimes while booting your PC, the BIOS may display CPU fan speed error detected message on the screen. This error appears on custom built PCs and most of the time can be fixed with a few tweaks.

Are you bothered by the CPU Fan Speed error detected while booting Windows? Try configuring (ignoring) Fan Speed Low Limit in BIOS settings. That should stop the error message from reappearing. If it doesn’t, make sure to check your Pump connection. Finally, update your BIOS if updates are available.

Read about each step below.

How do I stop CPU fan speed error detected while booting Windows

  1. Ignore CPU Fan Speed Low Limit
  2. Check your Pump Connection
  3. Check for BIOS Update

1. Ignore CPU Fan Speed Low Limit

A quick fix for this issue appears to be setting the CPU Fan Speed Low Limit option in the BIOS to ignore. Users have reported that ignoring the fan speed limit has fixed the issue for them. Here is how to do it.

Enter the BIOS

First, you need to enter the BIOS / UEFI. You can enter BIOS through different ways but the easiest one is to enter the specified key on your keyboard when the PC starts to boot.

Below instructions are for Windows 10 devices.  In case it doesn’t work you can easily find the right key for your desktop with a bit of search.

  1. Click on Start and Settings.
  2. Click on Update and Security.
  3. Click on Recovery.
    recovery advanced startup
  4. Under “Advanced Startup” click on the “Restart now” button.
  5. You should see an Options menu. Click on Troubleshoot.
    troubleshoot advanced recovery menu
  6. Under Troubleshoot options, click on Advanced Options.
  7. Click on “UEFI Firmware Settings”.uefi firmware settings
  8. Click on Restart.
  9. You should see the BIOS screen after a brief shutdown.

Ignore CPU FAN Speed

  1. Assuming that you are in the BIOS screen, go to the Advanced Mode and then click on the Fan Control section / Monitoring tab.
  2. The CPU Fan headers should show “CPU Q-FAN Control – Enabled or Disabled”.
  3. Enable the Settings.
  4. Now, set “CPU Fan Speed Low Limit” to Ignore.

Save the changes and exit the BIOS screen. Restart the PC to see if the CPU fan speed error detected error is resolved.

2. Check your Pump Connection

If you are new to the custom PC build world, you may end up making some obvious mistakes. One of which is connecting the pump connector to CPU fan header. This may result in CPU fan speed error.

The right way to do is to connect the Pump to a Molex connector through an adapter. You may need to purchase the adapter separately.

Open your build and make sure the 2 fans on radiator are connected to Y fan cable adapter and CPU fan header. In case you don’t have Y fan cable adapter, you can connect one fan to the CPU header and other to the CPU optional (opt) header.

3. Check for BIOS Update

If your CPU fans are connected right and you have ignored the warning and the message still appears, check for any pending BIOS updates. BIOS updates usually come with Windows updates, you can check for the latest version on the motherboard manufacturer’s website.

Download the Windows 10 May Patch Tuesday updates now

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

UPDATE: The May 2019 Patch Tuesday updates are here. If you want to install the latest Windows updates on your PC, follow the download links listed below:

You can read the original report below.

Microsoft is all set for another round of Patch Tuesday updates today.  The company will roll out a series of new updates today to fix the vulnerabilities that exist in different products.

Therefore, we can expect the update to come with a bunch of security enhancements.

Just like all the previous releases, the May Patch Tuesday Updates should also bring some fixes for the Japanese era bugs.

Furthermore, we have seen that Microsoft is determined to improve the performance of Windows 10 systems. So, Patch Tuesday will also come with some non-security improvements and fixes.

How often are Windows 10 updates released? Find out from our detailed article about Patch Tuesday!

Back up your system ASAP

Windows 10 cumulative updates often turn out to be a disaster for users, and specifically IT Administrators.

Windows 10 users often experience a various update issues including installation failure, download stalls and BSoD errors.

Therefore, it is better that you delay or defer the installation of all of these updates until a stable build is available.

Alternatively, it is highly recommended that you should perform a complete backup of your systems before installing these updates.

This system backup option will help you to get rid of any potential issues.

If we’re lucky, we may even get the Windows 10 May 2019 Update today

The Windows 10 May 2019 Update has some exciting new features on the list. It is coming with File Explorer improvements, improved Action Center experience, and High DPI improvements.

But what if Microsoft is planning to surprise its users and roll out the May 2019 Update today? After all, the update was supposed to roll out in April but was postponed due to some major OS bugs.

We will keep an eye on the upcoming Patch Tuesday release. Keep visiting WindowsReport for the latest information regarding the latest features and bugs included in the Windows 10 May 2019 Patch Tuesday updates. 

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How to fix common FIFA 17 issues on Windows PCs

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

FIFA 17 is an impressive game that will definitely have you hooked you for hours in front of your computer screen. But as impressive as it is, playing FIFA 17 has been a bumpy ride for many Windows PC owners due to various issues.

The bad news is that for some issues, there are no workarounds available yet. The good news is that the majority of bugs can be fixed. We’ll list the solutions in this article.

Fix common FIFA 17 issues

 1. VC++ runtime error

Many gamers reported that the following error message appears during the installation process: “VC++ runtime redistributable package was not installed successfully. Setup cannot continue.”

  1. Go to C:Program Files (x86)Origin GamesFifa 17_Installervc
  2. Run the vcredist_x64.exe file
  3.  Immediately go back to your Origin Library and install the game.

2. Issues with saving the resolution option when starting the game

  1. Go to: C: > Documents > FIFA 17, open the fifasetup.ini file
  2. Add your customized resolution at the RESOLUTIONHEIGHT and RESOLUTIONWIDTH options
  3. Save the file and go back to the game.

3. The game crashes when launched

  1. Go to the Origin game library.
  2. Right-click on the game and select Repair.

If you’re experiencing the issue on Windows 10, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the FIFA 17.exe file > right-click on it > select Properties.
  2. Select the Compatibility tab > check the option “Compatibility Mode” > select Windows 7.

If your computer has two graphics cards, use this workaround:

  1. Go to Control Panel and run your graphics card.
  2. Go to Add > make profiles for fifaconfig.exe and fifa15.exe
  3. Launch regedit > change the value of the following two keys from 1 to 0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoft
WindowsNTCurrentVersionWindowsRequireSignedAppInit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432Node
MicrosoftWindowsNTCurrentVersion
WindowsRequireSignedAppInit

4. E0001 error

This error is caused by graphics card incompatibility issues. The only solution to get rid of this error is to run the game on low settings.

5. FIFA 2017 doesn’t start; the game never worked

  1. Start Origin as the game administrator
  2. Use CCleaner to clean your registry.
  3. Delete the Origin cache files.
  4. Check your hardware, by running the chkdsk command in Command Prompt to eliminate potential issues.
  5. Make sure your antivirus software/firewall are not the culprits. Adding the game to the exceptions’ list doesn’t always solve the problem. Nevertheless, add the following programs to your exception list: authorizationUI, TS4.exe, Origin.exe.
    1. Comodo Firewall is notorious for blocking FIFA 17.
  6. Start the game in windowed mode. If the game runs, lower the settings and then put it back to full-screen.
  7. Reinstall Origin and the game and make sure they are on the same drive.
  8. Repair the game through Origin
    1. Go to the Origin game library.
    2. Right-click on the game and select Repair.
  9. Clean boot your PC
  10. Make sure that you don’t have programs with known conflicts with Origin.
  11. Update your graphics drivers.
  12. VPNs can lead to potential conflicts with the game. Turn off your VPN and check if this solves your problem.
  13. Update your Windows version.
  14. Update FIFA 17: right-click on the game in Origin and select Search for Updates.
  15. Flush the DNS Cache.

6. Fix graphics issues

  1. Update your graphics drivers.
  2. Turn down shadows and adjust graphics settings.
  3. Disable third-party background apps and then set FIFA 17 in High Priority in Task Manager.
  4. If your computer is equipped with an Nvidia GPU, go to Settings and set Power Management Mode to Maximum Performance.

7. The people in The Journey don’t have faces

  1. Go to NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings.
  2. Select FIFA 17.
  3. Choose the desired graphics processor: High-performance NVIDIA processor.
  4. Check the box next to Application-Controlled.

8. Cannot join an online session

If you want to play online in multiplayer mode, you need to fully install the game. If you can’t accept invites, it may be because the game needs to be completely installed.

Game Fire is a game booster that will get rid of freezes, lags, low FPS and other annoying issues while playing. Try it for free for a better gaming experience.

Many gamers are also reporting the game randomly freezes and this appears to be the most severe issue so far.

Despite the various workarounds gamers have tried so far, there seems to be no permanent solution for these annoying freezes.

DirectX crashes represent another common bug that has been ruining the gaming experience for thousands of FIFA 17 gamers.

direct x crash FIFA 17

Players developed various workarounds to fix this problem but again, none of them are permanent solutions. It appears that at this stage, the only solution for the DirectX crashes and the random freezes in FIFA 17 is a hotfix.

Game freezes also plagued FIFA 16 and EA released a fix on October 6, 2015. Let’s hope EA reacts as promptly as it did last year and releases a fix for FIFA 17 as soon as possible.

We also have a dedicated guide what to do if FIFA 17 is not launching, so don’t miss it for more solutions.

How has your FIFA 17 experience been so far? Is the game running smoothly for you or you have encountered Fifa 17 issues? In case you’ve encountered other workarounds for the issues mentioned above, you can list the troubleshooting steps in the comment section below.

An error occurred while generating the report WSUS [Full Fix]

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

Windows Server Update Services or WSUS is in charge of your updates, but sometimes you might encounter An error occurred while generating the report error. This can be caused by simply an unstable network connection.

But most of the time, it’s related to recent software changes that have left your machine in a restart pending state. And restarting doesn’t seem to quite do the trick. However, we have a few solutions that can help you out, so let’s begin.

How can I fix An error occurred while generating the report WSUS error? The first thing that you should do is to reset Winsock and restart the WSUS server using Command Prompt. If that doesn’t work, make sure that Windows Firewall isn’t interfering with WSUS in any way.

What to do if WSUS reports aren’t working?

  1. Reset Winsock
  2. Restart WSUS server
  3. Check your Firewall
  4. Registry editing
  5. Remote desktop solution
  6. Update or reinstall your network drivers

1. Reset Winsock

In order to fix An error occurred while generating the report error, you need to reset Winsock by doing the following:

  1. Start Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Enter netsh winsock reset catalog in Command Prompt and press and press Enter.
  3. Type netsh int ip reset reset.log, and press Enter.
    netsh int ip reset reset.log An error occurred while generating the report
  4. Restart your PC and try running the update services again.

2. Restart WSUS server

In order to do this, follow these steps:

  1. From your Start Menu, open Command Prompt with Administrator rights.
  2. Now type the following command: 
    C:Program FilesUpdate ServicesToolscommand prompt An error occurred while generating the report
  3. And now type in: 
    WsusUtil.exe postinstall /servicing
  4. Now restart your WSUS Server.

3. Check your Firewall

You can disable your Windows Firewall, and check if that solves the An error occurred while generating the report error.

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. Then click on Windows Firewall.
    windows defender firewall
  3. Now, click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
  4. Now, the Allowed App window will open.
  5. Click on the Change Settings button.
    allow apps through firewall An error occurred while generating the report
  6. Check the boxes next to the apps or programs you want to allow through the Windows Firewall.
  7. Click OK to save your new settings.

4. Registry editing

The following fix involves you editing some registry sections. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Firstly, click Start and click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
    regedit
  2. Locate and then click to select the following registry subkey:
    ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM
    CurrentControlSetControlSession Manager    .
  3. After you select the subkey right-click on PendingFileRenameOperations, and then click Delete.
  4. Locate the following registry subkey and click on it:
    ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE
    MicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
    WindowsUpdateAuto Update    .
  5. After you select this key, right-click RebootRequired, and then click Delete.
  6. In the File menu section, click on Exit to exit the Registry Editor.
  7. Restart your machine.

5. Remote desktop solution

This fix works in the event that you’re using a remote desktop server, and you’re facing connectivity issues. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, then go to Administrative Tools and Open Computer Management.
    administrative tools An error occurred while generating the report
  2. In the console section, click the Local Users and Groups tab.
  3. In the details tab, open the Groups.
  4. Click on Remote Desktop Users, and then click Add.
  5. In the Select Users dialog box, click Locations to specify the search location.
  6. Click on Object Types to specify the types of objects you want to search for.
  7. Type the name you want to add in the Enter the object names to select box.
  8. Click on Check Names.
  9. When you locate the name, click OK.

6. Update or reinstall your network drivers

If all else failed, you might fix An error occurred while generating the report error by updating or reinstalling your network drivers.

Firstly, in order to update them, follow these steps:

  1. In the search box on the taskbar, select Device Manager.
  2. Select a category to see names of devices, then right-click on the one you’d like to update.
  3. Select Update Driver.
    update driver
  4. Now click on Search automatically for updated driver software.
    search for drivers automatically An error occurred WSUS
  5. Once it’s done updating you’re all set.

If this method doesn’t work, you can use third-party applications, such as Fortect Driver Updater. By using this tool, you’ll automatically update all your drivers with just a couple of clicks.

To reinstall your network drivers, follow these steps:

  1. Repeat the first step from the previous workaround.
  2. Right-click on the name of the device, and select Uninstall.
  3. Now restart your machine.
  4. Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver at start-up.

There you go, these are 6 solutions that might help you fix An error occurred while generating the report error. If our solutions helped you feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

Got an old USB flash drive? 20 great ideas on how to use it

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

USB flash drives are the most convenient way to transfer files from one computer to another, but if you have an old USB flash drive that you don’t use for file transfer anymore, you can use it for several other things.

What to do with an old USB flash drive?

  1. Run an antivirus software from USB flash drive
  2. Unlock your computer using a USB flash drive
  3. Run Linux from a USB flash drive
  4. Run Portable apps from USB flash drive
  5. Encrypt it and use it to store sensitive data
  6. Create a password reset USB
  7. Use it as a portable server
  8. Sync your files automatically
  9. Use it as an external storage for your smartphone or tablet
  10. Create an App install drive
  11. Create repair disk
  12. Use it with your password manager
  13. Create a Windows 10 installation media
  14. Create a digital time capsule
  15. Use it to play retro games
  16. Create a digital library
  17. Use it to listen your favorite music in your car
  18. Use it for Virtual Network Computing
  19. Use it as a network drive
  20. Give your USB flash drive to charity

1. Run an antivirus software from USB flash drive

If you have an infected PC that you cannot access, sometimes you can remove the problem by running the antivirus scan from your USB flash drive.

Many antivirus solutions offer USB or CD recovery tools, so find the antivirus you wish to use, download USB or CD recovery image. Use it to create a bootable USB flash drive that you can use to remove viruses and other malware from your computer.

2. Unlock your computer using a USB flash drive

If you want to protect your computer from unauthorized access, you can use tools such as Predator. After downloading and installing this tool, you’ll be asked to connect your USB drive in order to create a specific key that will be used to unlock your computer.

Bear in mind that all your files and folders on this USB flash drive will remain intact, and you can still use this drive to transfer files.

In addition to creating a key on your USB flash drive, this tool will also require you to create a password so you can access your computer in case you lose your USB flash drive or if it stops working for some reason.

After you’ve done that, Predator will scan your computer every 30 seconds, and if your USB flash drive isn’t connected, your computer will automatically lock itself thus preventing unauthorized access.

This is a small and free tool, and it’s perfect if you want to protect your computer from unauthorized access.

3. Run Linux from a USB flash drive

If you are a member of Insider Program, you can run Linux GUI apps through Bash for Windows 10, but if you never used Linux before, you can use your USB flash drive to run Live USB version of Linux on your PC.

This can be great if you want to familiarize yourself with Linux, but at the same time, you can use Linux to remove problematic files such as viruses or to back up important files if you can’t boot to Windows 10.

To create Live Linux USB, you’ll need to download Universal USB Installer, and use this tool to create a bootable Linux USB drive.

This tool allows you to download Linux .iso files automatically, so you won’t have to download them on your own.

4. Run Portable apps from USB flash drive

If you need to run a specific application on a computer without installing it, you can always create a portable version of that application on your USB flash drive.

This can be rather useful if you want to run a specific application on your work computer or in internet cafe, or if you are simply trying to fix another computer.

To install portable apps on your USB flash drive, you’ll need to download PortableApps Platform. After you download and install the application, you need to connect your USB flash drive and select which portable apps you wish to install.

Once the apps are installed, you can simply plug in the USB flash drive to any other computer and run any of these apps directly from it without installation.

5. Encrypt it and use it to store sensitive data

If you have an old USB flash drive, you can always encrypt it and use it to store sensitive data. In order to encrypt a USB flash drive you’ll need a tool such as TrueCrypt or any other similar tool. You can find the right tool from these carefully selected 12 software solutions to encrypt a USB flash drive.

Just download the tool and follow the instructions carefully, and make sure not to forget your password because it’s the only thing that can unlock your USB flash drive. Also, check out this special guide on How You Can Encrypt your USB Flash Drive.

6. Create a password reset USB

If you use local account to access Windows 10, sometimes you might forget your Windows 10 password. We already wrote about what to do if you lose your Windows 10 password, but if you want to avoid all of that, it’s always good to have a password reset USB.

To create a password reset USB on Windows 10, do the following:

  1. Press Windows Key + S and enter User Accounts. Select User Accounts from the list of results.
    user-accounts
  2. Select Create a password reset disk from the menu on the left.
    password-reset-disk
  3. Follow the instructions from Password Reset Disk wizard to create a password reset disk.

Bear in mind that you’ll have to repeat this process if you change your account password. In order to create password reset USB, you’ll need to enter the latest Windows 10 password and this is why you’ll have to repeat all the steps.

In case you forget your Windows 10 password, you just have to insert your USB flash drive and click Reset password option from the log in screen.

Bear in mind that anybody can use this USB flash drive to change your computer password, so make sure to keep it somewhere safe.

7. Use it as a portable server

If you are a web developer, you are probably running a local server on your computer in order to test web applications.

Creating a portable web server on your USB flash drive can be useful if your hard drive gets corrupt and you have to finish your project, or if you simply want to test your application on a different computer.

There are several tools that can turn your USB flash drive into portable server and Server2Go is probably the best known for this purpose, but there are many alternative solutions available if this tool doesn’t work for you.

8. Sync your files automatically

If you have any important files on your computer, you can use tools such as SugarSync or SyncBackSE to automatically synchronize your files and copy them to USB.

Syncing your files is rather useful since it allows you to automatically create backup for your work or school project every time you connect your USB flash drive.

9. Use it as an external storage for your smartphone or tablet

If you have an old USB that you don’t use, you can always use it as an external memory for your Android device. In order to do that, you’ll need a device that supports USB OTG and USB OTG cable.

Bear in mind that some devices don’t have USB OTG drivers and required apps, so you might have to root your device and install an app that lets you mount external drives.

Bear in mind that rooting your smartphone or tablet will break your warranty, and if you’re not careful you can even cause permanent damage to your device, so keep that in mind.

10. Create an App install drive

If you install certain applications rather often on different computers, you probably might find a tool such as Ninite rather useful.

This tool allows you to create a single setup file for some of the most common applications, so you can easily install all of them.

Just select the applications you want, move Ninite to a USB flash drive, and run it on any computer to quickly install some of the most commonly used applications.

If you are a computer administrator, this tool is definitely one that you need to use.

11. Create repair disk

If you have an old USB drive that you don’t use anymore, you can use it to create a recovery drive with some of the most useful tools that will allow you to test your memory, partition hard drives and much more.

To do that, simply download Hiren’s Boot CD and use tool such as Rufus to create a bootable USB flash drive with that .iso file.

After creating a bootable flash drive, boot your computer from it and select one of the tools you want to use.

12. Use it with your password manager

Certain password managers, such as LastPass, allow you to download the portable version of their application along with a portable web browser and and use them from a USB flash drive.

This can be extremely useful if you are accessing your Facebook account or an email account from an unsafe computer.

By using portable password manager, your passwords will remain safe even if you use them on a public computer.

If you want to read more about useful manager tools, you should check out Top 10 tools to organize browser bookmarks on Windows PCs.

13. Create a Windows 10 installation media

Sometimes you might experience serious problems on Windows 10, and the only solution might be to reset or completely reinstall your operating system.

In case you need to do that, it’s always good to have a Windows 10 installation media in case you need to perform a reinstall.

14. Create a digital time capsule

If you have an old USB flash drive, you can use it to create a digital time capsule. In order to do that, you just need to collect as much information about the world as you can and store it on the USB.

Remember to keep that USB flash drive safe, so the future generations can see how world looked like.

15. Use it to play retro games

If you are a fan of retro games, you can always use the old USB flash drive to store them.

There is wide range of emulators available online, and since games for the most popular consoles don’t take too much space, you can easily put them on your USB flash drive and play them directly from it.

16. Create a digital library

If you enjoy reading, you can always store free ebooks on your old USB flash drive.

Ebooks don’t take too much space, and you can store hundreds of ebooks on a regular USB flash drive thus turning it into your own portable digital library.

17. Use it to listen your favorite music in your car

If you don’t own an expensive car radio that can read USB flash drives, you’ll be pleased to know that you can still use it to play your favorite music from the USB flash drive.

All that you need is a Thumbdrive Transmitter device that you connect to your car’s cigarette lighter socket. After you connect Thumbdrive Transmitter, connect your USB flash drive to it, turn on your radio and set it to the Transmitter’s frequency.

Bear in mind that sound quality might vary, and the Thumbdrive Transmitter might not be the most elegant solution, but it’s still better than buying a new car radio.

18. Use it for Virtual Network Computing

Virtual Network Computing, or VNC for short, allows you to access your computer remotely and use it without any restrictions. VNC tools come with graphical user interface, and you can even see your computer desktop and open applications in real time.

By using a VNC client from your USB flash drive, you can easily access your computer wherever you are, as long as you have Internet connection and USB port available.

19. Use it as a network drive

Many routers come with a USB port, and you can use that USB port to attach your USB flash drive and use it as a network drive.

The device will be available to all computers on your network and you can use it to back up files, or to stream music or videos.

20. Give your USB flash drive to charity

Many charity organizations are accepting USB donations and are using donated USB flash drives to help students in developing countries.

If you have an old USB flash drive that you don’t use anymore, and you can’t find a new purpose for it, we strongly suggest that you consider giving it to charity.

We hope that our list was helpful to you, and that you managed to find a new purpose for your old USB flash drive.

PC Gaming show at E3, led by Epic Games, plans lots of news and announcements

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

This year, PC Gamer will hold its fifth PC Gaming Show at E3 on June 10, just a day after Microsoft’s E3 press briefing. The event will be broadcasted live from The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, and this year’s lineup will be led by Epic Games, which according to the press release will “reveal brand new material for several games, including some exclusives, coming to the Epic Games store.”

Epic Games made headlines this year following the launch of its new Epic Games Store in December. If Valve’s Steam remains the leading digital video games storefront thanks to its massive collection of Windows, Mac and Linux games, Epic Games is willing to attract game developers by offering them a 12% revenue split, which is much more favorable than Steam’s standard 30%.

In recent months, Epic Games also managed to conclude some valuable timed-exclusivity deals for high-profile games such as Metro: Exodus or the upcoming Borderlands 3, with the latter expected to be one of the biggest games to launch this year. Earlier this month, the company behind the massively popular Fortnight game also announced the acquisition of Psyonix, the developer of the vehicular soccer video game Rocket League. The game is expected to launch on the Epic Games Store before the end of the year, but Psyonix said that the Steam version will continue to be supported.

It’s unclear what are the new game announcements Epic Games plans to reveal at the PC Game show, but the event will feature many other game studios including Chucklefish (Wargroove), Funcom (Conan Exiles), Paradox Interactive (Cities: Skyline), and more. “This year’s livestream will present more announcements and new trailers than any previous PC Gaming Show,” says PC Gamer Global Editor-in-Chief Evan Lahti. “From brilliant indies to studios that have shaped PC gaming for decades, we’re excited to showcase what’s next for the world’s most vibrant gaming platform.”

The PC Gaming Show will be broadcoasted live on June 10 at 10 AM PT, and you’ll be able to watch it on Twitch, Mixer or YouTube. PC gaming has become more interesting than ever thanks to the competition between digital storefronts, as well as the rise of subscription services such as Origin Access Premier, Discord Nitro, and Microsoft’s own Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud offerings. E3 2019 is now less than a month away, and the event should be pretty special this year with Microsoft promising to “go big” and Sony skipping the annual trade show entirely.

How to enable Microsoft Translate in the Edge Dev browser

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The current public version of Microsoft Edge, using the EdgeHTML rendering engine and UWP platform, supports Microsoft’s Translator extension to automatically translate foreign webpages. The company’s upcoming rebuild of Edge using Chromium will add native support for translation though, cutting out the need for an extension. In this guide, we’ll show you how to enable and use it today.

This functionality isn’t yet enabled by default in the Chromium Edge Dev or Canary builds. As such, it should be considered experimental until Microsoft officially announces it. We’ll be enabling it manually using a feature flag – see our guide to Edge Dev flags to understand how they work and where to find them.

Enabling Microsoft Translate in Edge Dev

Begin by launching your Edge beta installation, whether Dev or Canary. Navigate to the “about:flags” URL. In the search box at the top of the page, search for “translate.” You should see a single flag appear, labelled “Microsoft Edge Translate.”

Change the value of the flag’s dropdown menu to “Enabled.” You’ll be prompted to restart Edge. Click the button in the banner at the bottom of the display to relaunch immediately.

Microsoft Translate in Edge Dev

Translation support will now be enabled inside Edge Dev, using Microsoft’s translation service. To see it in action, head to a foreign-language webpage. After a few seconds, you should see the Microsoft Translate popup appear in the address bar.

Edge will confirm whether it should automatically translate the webpage, saving you the effort of pasting it into a translation service yourself. You can choose the language to translate the page into, if you want to read it in a different language to your system one. The prompt also lets you tell Edge to automatically translate all future pages written in the source language, so you won’t have to continually acknowledge the popup.

Official Windows 10 Twitter app gains new quote tweet media feature and more this month

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The official Twitter app for Windows 10 devices has received several updates over the past month or so and they’ve now finally been detailed in a new set of release notes.

Despite these notes being dated as May 5th, some of changes have only rolled out this week such as the new ability to include gifs and other media in a quote tweet (see above image). The inclusion of this particular feature is rather notable as it was only added to the iOS and Android Twitter apps last week, making it one of the few times Windows users have gotten a Twitter feature relatively soon after the smartphone users.

Some other notable changes made over the past month include the new ability to edit your birthday on your profile and the ability to delete Twitter Moments. The app is now also noticeably more stable and faster to load menu and timeline elements.

Here’s the full release notes:

New

  • Design: Many users are seeing the new site and designs for the first time. Welcome! We hope you enjoy the faster experience. There’s lots of improvements coming every day!
  • Accessibility: Added a reduced-motion setting under Settings -> Accessibility. This will also respect reduced motion settings from your OS if set and supported.
  • Tweets: Quote Tweets can now be sent and consumed with additional media in them.
  • Profile: You can now set or update your birthday.

Updated

  • Display: The Font Size and Night Mode controls are now found under Settings -> Display
  • Errors: Improved the messaging and display around several errors
  • Errors: Improved the messaging and display when certain pages have no Tweets to show
  • Moments: Allow deletion of moments
  • Accessibility: The input fields for adding alt text to images now grows a bit more

Fixed

  • Safari: Safari 10 should no longer be unusably laggy and slow. This is caused by a layout issue in Safari 10 though, and cannot be totally fixed. We recommend users update to a newer iOS or MacOS for even better performance.
  • Scrolling: Fixed going back to a page sometimes returning users to the wrong spot. The intent is that you should return to the Tweet you left the timeline from.
  • Emoji: The guitar emoji now has the proper number of strings and heads.
  • Windows: Emoji should now have more personal space when they are next to other emoji.
  • Windows: Fixed clicks frequently not registering and instead causing text selection.
  • Tweets: Consistently show more items in the Tweet activity pages (i.e. Likes + Retweets)
  • DMs: Media will now stop uploading when you cancel sending a DM.
  • DMs: Fixed issues where DMs would occasionally fail to send immediately after attaching media.
  • Profiles: Fixed a halo that would sometimes appear around avatar images
  • RTL: Icons should now come before the text in a few more places throughout the app

No actual app update is need to receive all of these changes as each change is automatically activated as soon as they’re made live due to the Progressive Web App (PWA) format.

Do you use the official Twitter app or do you prefer to use an alternative? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more Windows news.

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Here’s how to get your free Godzilla Xbox Avatar costume on Xbox One and Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

In an apparent marketing move to help promote the upcoming Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a new digital Godzilla outfit has been added to the Microsoft Store for gamers to throw onto their Xbox Avatars on Xbox One consoles and Windows 10 devices.

Officially referred to as the Godzilla Suit, this bit of digital content is completely free to claim and enable and can be grabbed on this page here in your web browser after logging into your Microsoft account.

After claiming it, gamers simply need to enable the Godzilla Suit as they would any other Xbox Avatar item in the Avatar editing app their Xbox One console. Once saved, the change will sync across all devices using the same Microsoft account.

Looking for some more cool free Xbox Avatar items? There are also official items based on Game of Thrones and Shazam.

Do you like to dress up your Xbox Avatar? Let us know why or why not in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming content.

Internet Connection Required in QuickBooks Tool Hub [Fix]

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

Quickbooks users have reported an Internet connection required in QuickBooks Tool Hub.

An error message will prevent users from downloading the latest updates on their PC. Unfortunately, using a browser might not work since QuickBooks isn’t working in Chrome for some users.

In the guide below, we’ll list a series of fixes that should allow QuickBooks to access the Internet and install the latest update.

Why does QuickBooks say No internet connection?

  • Problems with the network connection.
  • An expired subscription can cause this problem.
  • Antivirus and firewalls can interfere with QuickBooks.
  • Corrupted Quickbooks installation will cause network problems.
  • Expired desktop certificates are a common cause of this issue.

Does QuickBooks require an Internet connection?

No, you can use QuickBooks with a desktop app without an Internet connection. Keep in mind that this comes with several caveats:

  • The desktop version isn’t regularly updated.
  • No online security for your data.

What is a QuickBooks Tool Hub?

QuickBooks Tool Hub is a collection of tools that can help you fix various QuickBooks issues. It comes with the following features:

  • Quick Fix My File
  • File Doctor
  • Quick Fix my program
  • Password reset Utility
  • Install Diagnostic Tool

How can I fix QuickBooks Tool Hub Internet connection required?

1. Check the internet connection in QuickBooks

  1. Open QuickBooks and select Help in the menu bar. Next, click Internet Connection Setup.
  2. Check to have Use my computer’s Internet connection settings to establish a connection when this application accesses the Internet selected.
  3. Click Next and Done.
  4. Try to update and see if it works.

Our guide on how to fix the QuickBooks payroll service connection error will provide more information and solutions.

2. Check if your subscription is active

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Select Employees and click My Payroll Service.
  3. Click Account/Billing Information and make sure to have the payroll subscription set to Active.check quickbooks status active
  4. Close the window and see if QuickBook connects to the server.

Expired subscription is a common cause for QuickBooks Tool Hub Internet connection required error.

3. Allow QuickBooks connection through Windows Firewall

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Click System and Security and select Windows Firewall.windows firewall
  3. Under the Advanced settings, right click Inbound Rules and select New Rule.
  4. Under Programs click Next and choose This Program Path.
  5. Open QuickBooks file location and click Next.
  6. Select Allow the Connection and click Next.
  7. Make sure all the boxes are checked and then click Next.
  8. Input a name for the new rule. Lastly, click Finish.
  9. Follow the same steps for the Outbound Rules.

After doing that, check if the Internet connection required is gone in QuickBooks Tool Hub.

4. Give Intuit’s URL the Trusted Website privilege

  1. Open Internet Explorer and select Tools. Click on Internet Options.
  2. Open the Security tab and click the Trusted Websites icon.trusted websites google chrome
  3. Select the Sites button.
  4. Type in the Add this website to the zone box the next URL: *.intuit.com.
  5. Make sure to have the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone box unchecked
  6. Press Close and OK.

5. Do a clean install of QuickBooks in Selective Startup mode

  1. Press R + Windows buttons on your keyboard to open the Run box > type msconfig and hit Enter.
  2. In the general tab, choose Selective startup and Load system services.
  3. Open the Services and select Hide all Microsoft Services. Then, select Disable all.hide all microsoft services
  4. Uncheck the Hide all Microsoft Services box.
  5. Make sure that the Windows Installer box is checked and click OK.
  6. After your Windows starts up, reinstall the QuickBooks app. Then bring your computer to its normal configuration by following these steps:
  7. Press R + Windows buttons on your keyboard to open the Run box, type msconfig and hit Enter
  8. Select Normal Startup and click OK.
  9. In the System Configuration window, choose Restart.

6. Try to install or update QuickBooks Desktop Security Certificate

  1. Right click QuickBooks Desktop icon and select Proprieties.
  2. Select the Shortcut tab and choose Open File Location. Lastly, click OK.
  3. Go to QuickBooks app .exe file, right click on it and select Proprieties.
  4. Select the Digital Signatures tab and choose QuickBooks. Click on Install Certificate.
  5. In the Certificate Import Wizard, check to have Current User set as the Store Location and click Next.
  6. Select Next and then Finish.

We hope you successfully implemented our proposed solutions and fixed the QuickBooks Tool Hub Internet connection required error.

If you’re still having issues, our QuickBooks keeps crashing guide might be able to help you out.

Let us know if you found a different solution in the comment section below.

Cortana’s new conversational AI technology sounds almost human

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Microsoft is all set to enhance the intelligence of its Cortana Digital Assistant. Microsoft announced that Cortana will get conversational artificial intelligence technology very soon.

In simple words, Microsoft says that Cortana will now hold more natural and realistic conversations with its users. The Redmond giant acquired a natural language startup Semantic Machines last year and now it wants to get the most out of its technology.

Furthermore, the tech giant used a video to demonstrate its plans in front of the global community. The video showed that Cortana helping an executive to schedule and reschedule meetings with her colleagues.

The whole process was done in a more natural and realistic manner than ever before. 

As a matter of fact, the conversation was smooth and realistic to the extent that Cortana even used human-like phrases such as “umm”.

The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella ensures users that the company wants to eliminate command based interactions to allow smart conversations. 

Microsoft believes there is a room for improvement

Microsoft highlights the weaknesses of existing digital assistants in the following manner:

They can check the weather, traffic and sports scores. They can play music, translate words and send text messages. They can even do math, tell jokes and read stories. But, when it comes to conversations that lead somewhere grander, the wheels fall off.

The tech giant thinks that there is still a large room for improvement in this spectrum. Microsoft is undoubtedly aiming high for its digital assistant and it can turn out to be a revolutionary change for the company.

Microsoft wants Cortana to be your digital partner who seamlessly manages everything in your life from official meetings to ordering a gift for your friend.

This announcement clearly shows Microsoft’s vision for the future of its digital assistant. It remains to be seen if Microsoft manages to replicate in real live what it demonstrated in the video.

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Download and install WSL Arch Linux from Microsoft Store

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

After years of criticising open source projects and specifically Linux, it seems that Microsoft started to embrace the open source concept.

Previously, Fedora, Ubuntu and SUSE Linux made their way to Microsoft Store and now the recent candidate to join the team is Arch Linux.

Windows users can not only enjoy Arch Linux Terminal but they can also run utilities such as Pacman, bash, git, ssh and others. However, Microsoft says that Arch Linux Terminal is not available for Windows 10 S users.

Apparently, Windows 10 users are impressed by the documentation available for Arch users. One Reddit user wrote:

The best thing about Arch is their documentation, particularly their wiki. I’m looking stuff up there all the time and I don’t even run Arch, it’s just the best collection of Linux systems documentation there is.

Download and install Arch Linux Terminal

download Arch-Linux

You first need to enable Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on your Windows 10 system, before installing Arch Linux.

You need to visit the Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features >> Turn Windows features on or off and click Windows Subsystem for Linux. Finally, click OK and restart your system. windows subsystem for linux

Alternatively, you can open the Administrator PowerShell prompt and run the command mentioned below to enable WSL:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

Now your system is ready to run Arch Linux and you can now visit Microsoft Store to download the software. 

WSL 2 and Linux coming soon

Microsoft announced the release of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) at Build 2019. The company says that WSL 2 will leverage an in-house Linux kernel to offer new features including the support for Docker container. 

It seems like Microsoft is putting some extra efforts to bring some more features to the Windows 10 platform.

The company recently grabbed the attention of command-line users by announcing Windows Terminal. Microsoft plans to launch the terminal next month. It will allow users to access environments such as CMD, WSL and PowerShell from a single app. 

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