Microsoft has announced an important change regarding Windows 10 and reserved storage yesterday. Starting with the next Windows 10 update, which Microsoft explicitly named “1903” in the blog post (this is a first, to our knowledge), the desktop OS will now reserve disk space for OS updates, apps, temporary files, and caches. For the most part, this is about helping users to install system updates without having first to free up space on their PCs.
“Reserved storage will be introduced automatically on devices that come with version 1903 pre-installed or those where 1903 was clean installed,” wrote Jesse Rajwan, Program Manager at Microsoft. When reserved storage is enabled, it should take around 7GB of disk space, though Microsoft noted that the amount of storage will vary over time depending on optional features and installed languages that users choose..
Here is how the feature will work on Windows 10 version 1903:
Every update temporarily requires some free disk space to download and install. On devices with reserved storage, update will use the reserved space first. When it’s time for an update, the temporary unneeded OS files in the reserved storage will be deleted and update will use the full reserve area. This will enable most PCs to download and install an update without having to free up any of your disk space, even when you have minimal free disk space. If for some reason Windows update needs more space than is reserved, it will automatically use other available free space. If that’s not enough, Windows will guide you through steps to temporarily extend your hard disk with external storage, such as with a USB stick, or how to free up disk space.
If you want to enable Reserved storage on your PC, you’ll need to be running Windows 10 Insider build 18298 or higher. The feature is actually hidden for now, but you can enable it in the Registry Editor and it will light up after you upgrade your PC to the next available build. You can get more details about how to turn on reserved storage by following this quest on the Windows 10 Feedback Hub.
Reserved storage should be a useful feature for most consumers, but it may be somewhat problematic on PCs with just 64GB of storage or less. “Over the last several releases we’ve reduced the size of Windows for most customers,” explained Rajwan. “We may adjust the size of reserved storage in the future based on diagnostic data or feedback,” he added.
Microsoft Planner, the company’s visual tool for organizing team work is now available for US Government cloud customers. The Trello competitor is now included with Microsoft 365 Government GCC and Microsoft 365 Government GCC High, with Microsoft 365 Government DoD coming soon.
“Since Planner first launched, we’ve heard a ton of interest and excitement from US government customers for a tool like Planner. End users in government agencies, from state and local to federal organizations, wanted a simple, intuitive, and collaborative task management tool to help them visually organize their team’s work. IT admins wanted to provide their users with a simple work management solution while still meeting the strict security and compliance requirements of the US government. We’ve been hard at work to make sure Planner would do both,” wrote Eray Chou, PM on the Planner and Project team.
For now, a couple of Planner features including Microsoft Teams integration, SharePoint integration and email notifications aren’t available for US Government customers, but Microsoft plans to add them later this year. “New Planner features will arrive in Microsoft 365 commercial cloud first and in US government cloud offerings shortly thereafter due to increased audit and certification requirements,” explained Chou.
Samsung has arguably gone back to the drawing board for its 2019 lineup of laptops, incorporating diamond cut re-designs and unique textile-patterned chassis.
During CES 2019, Samsung unveiled two new notebooks; a business-oriented Samsung Notebooks 9 Pro and a Gigabit-Wifi enabled Samsung Notebook Flash..
Samsung Notebook 9 Pro
Available: Early 2019
As the title would imply, this is the iteration of the Notebook Pro but brings a new redesign to the product line. With a cool metal exterior making use of diamond-cut edges that leave ridges along the length of the device, the Samsung Notebook 9 is now easier to handle and open in day to day use.
Aside from the aesthetic changes, that include reduced bezels on the screen, customized LED Indicator Bar and a more MacBook like keyboard re-design, the Notebook Pro 9 brings the industry standard 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 250GB of PCIe NVMe storage, active pen, fingerprint reader all in a 2.84lb package.
Samsung is claiming that the Notebook 9 Pro will get up to 14 hours of battery life running Windows 10 Home, presumably using synthetic benchmarking.
As a 3-in-1 device, Samsung including its Active Pen and additional S-Pen like technology in the Notebook 9 Pro is definitely noteworthy as Samsung’s Active Pen supports up to 4,000 levels of pressure sensitivity, making this device every bit as competent as a Surface Pro or iPad for creative tasks.
Samsung Notebook Flash
Available: Early 2019
Alongside its Pro offering, Samsung is testing the waters of Always Connected PC’s with its Gigabit-Wifi enabled Samsung Notebook Flash.
The new laptop, offered in charcoal grey, is making use of a unique textile-patterned chassis, similar to the Surface Pro Laptops, for its 13.3-inch screen and Samsung ‘typewriter keyboard’.
Unlike other recent PC offerings, the Flash falls short on the grandiose battery claims only sporting 10-hour battery capacity.
The Flash represents Samsungs lower tier offering but still packs plenty of useful everyday necessities such as two USB-C ports, Fingerprint reader, and 1920 x 1080 anti-glare 13.3 FHD LED display.
Samsung has already unveiled a slew of monitors, TV displays and connected speakers at this years CES, but we’re expecting to see a few more items presented by the company in the coming days.
It seems Razer is ready to ship its keyboard and mouse combo for couch gamers later today, as the company announced availability at CES 2019 earlier today according to a report from Windows Central. The Razer Turret also saw its way to the Microsoft Store in the form of a pre-order last month, and is expected to begin shipping at the end of March. However, it might be possible Razer wants to give a few units to gamers early by opening orders on its website.
The Razer Turret has been specifically designed for Xbox One gamers in mind, now that the console now supports fifteen games that have can take advantage of the new(ish) available input method for the latest consoles. Xbox One enhanced experiences include a dedicated Xbox key, which allows users to open the Xbox menu to access games, settings, and to turn off the console, and “Xbox Dynamic Lighting,” which changes the colors of the keys depending on the action happening in the supported game. Moreover, it should also work on just about any device that supports keyboard and mice, including Windows 10.
As we have already mentioned, as many as fifteen games on the Xbox One gained support for keyboards and mice on the Xbox One, The list includes games such as Fortnite, PUBG, Warframe, and The Sims. However Windows Central also pointed out the presence of a few new titles were gaining support for it, including Gears of War, The Sims 4, Roblox, Sea of Thieves, and Surviving Mars. Minecraft has had support since 2017 due to the high volume of requests for the feature.
Absolver is finally available to play on the Xbox One beginning today. The game is an online multiplayer action title with a heavy focus on fighting style variety and flow in battle. Absolver is also an Xbox One X Enhanced video game and will play in 4K resolution when played on Microsoft’s Xbox One X console.
Here’s the official game description and trailer:
Absolver is an online multiplayer combat experience where players are placed behind the mask of a Prospect by the ever-present Guides, the new rulers of the fallen Adal Empire that will determine your worth in joining their elite corps of enforcers. Prospects will wander forsaken lands, encountering others to learn new combat skills, acquire weapons and armor, and engage in solo duels and intense three-on-three battles.
Players will define their Prospect’s approach by picking a combat style, a weapon of choice, and arranging attacks in their Combat Deck to design their unique and personal attack flow. Through battle with opponents, sparing with friends, and even taking on a mentor players will expand their knowledge and mastery of combat with new moves, weapons, and armor on their journey to Absolution. Gameplay modes include solo play, online cooperative modes, and online versus modes.
In addition to launching on Xbox One consoles for general sale today, Absolver is also available to play for free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s Netflix-like monthly video game subscription service.
Despite Lenovo’s chief association being the enterprise solutions and utility company, the PC manufacturer continues to exert itself in the PC gaming community with industry-competitive software, laptops, desktops, and accessories.
Alongside its Yoga and ThinkPad lines, Lenovo is also unveiling its 2019 edition of Legion gaming hardware that includes a new 17-inch, 144hz laptop with NVIDIA G-SYNC support and Super-wide 43.4-inch borderless gaming monitor, among other offerings.
Lenovo Legion Y740
Starting at 15″ $1749.99 – 17″ $1979.99 Available: February 2019
In 2019, the Lenovo Legion Y7 series is getting updated with 8th generation Intel Core CPUs, a yet unannounced NVIDIA GeForce GPU, brighter 500 nits custom Dolby Vision HDR panels, improved 144hz refresh rate displays, and narrower 6.7mm bezels among other improvements.
Lenovo Legion Y540
Starting at $929.99 Available: May 2019
For the gamer on a slightly reduced budget, Lenovo is updating its Y5 series with similar NVIDIA GeForce GPU support, Intel Core processors, narrower 6.7mm bezels but also including Harman Speakers with Dolby Atmos Audio, improved Legion Coldfront Cooling System and an improved aluminum display hinge for more panel stability.
Lenovo Legion Y44w Monitor
Price: $1199.99 Available: April 2019
Lenovo is also rolling out a bundle of new gaming-focused display monitors and chief among them is the new Legion Y44w monitor.
The Y44w is a Super-wide 43.4 borderless display with a similar 144Hz refresh rate as the laptop offerings but also has a minimal 4ms response time for reduced streaking and ghosting.
Other features include support for AMD FreeSync technology, USB Type-C supported port option, Picture-by-picture management, and an optional detachable Harmon Kardon speaker.
Lenovo Legion Y27gq Monitor
Starting at $999.99 Available: April 2019
Offers similar gaming features as Lenovo’s 2019 flagship display but at a reduced price tag. For $999.99, gamers can grab the Legion Y27gq Monitor with detachable Harmon Kardon speaker, borderless 27″ QHD display with anti-glare finish and latest NVIDIA G-Sync and R3 technology.
While gamers might lose out on the 144Hz refresh rate that the Y44 monitor offers, the Y27gq does provide a 90% DCI-P3 color gamut and audio combo jack for those necessary isolationist gaming moments.
Legion H500 7.1 Pro Gaming Headset
Price: $99.99 Available April 2019
With gaming headsets inching toward the $200.00 marker, it’s nice to see Lenovo offering a lightweight pair of over-the-ear headphones with 20 Hz – 20 kHz earphone frequency range and 100Hz – 10kHz microphone frequencies as well as driverless 7.1 surround sound and passive noise canceling retractable microphone.
The H500 7.1 also offers both USB and 3.5mm connections and rotatable ear cups with cushioned PU leather for comfort.
Lenovo Legion H30 Gaming Headset
Price $59.99 Available: April 2019
The Legion H30’s offer passive noise canceling retractable microphones, in-line analog audio controls, rotatable ear cups and Lenovo’s soft cushioned PU leather casing all for under $60.00.
Lenovo Legion K500 RGB Mechanical Keyboard
Price: $99.99 Available: April 2019
Just as vital as the PC, Lenovo is paying customer service to its keyboard offerings with a new minimalist RGB mechanical keyboard. The K500 includes dedicated media keys, detachable textured palm rest and 104 keys anti-ghosting keyboard with the support of 16.8M colors on a 3 zone customizable RGB board.
The keyboard does weigh a hefty 2.45lbs despite its slimmer footprint.
Lenovo Legion M500 RGB Gaming Mouse
Price: $59.99 Available: April 2019
Alongside the keyboard, Lenovo is providing a customizable gaming mouse with advance Pixart 16,000 DPI resolution sensor, Omron mechanical switches and colorful 3 zone RGB lighting.
Other features include an adjustable weight cartridge, easy on-the-fly DPI switch and 7 customizable programmable buttons, all for $59.99.
While not as high profile as the PlayStation or Xbox brands, Lenovo’s Legion hardware is very well known quantity in the gaming community and 2019’s lineup looks to only expand the manufactures cache in th industry.
Outlook is one of the best email client programs, especially for businesses, and has been one of the most important utilities of Microsoft’s popular Office suite. However, Outlook Meeting with some users reporting that it is not sending meeting updates.
Its meetings feature helps you organize and manage important meetings easily by automating tasks like sending invitations and issuing reminders.
As a result, Outlook’s Meeting component is immensely popular and closely rivals its emailing feature. But it is not without its faults, some of which can frustrate your efforts to get the best from the application.
How can I fix the Outlook meeting issues?
1. Outlook meeting not sending invites
According to Microsoft, this issue of Outlook meetings not sending invites has already been solved in the most recent versions of Outlook.
Those still using older Outlook programs are also in luck since several fixes work. Here they are (For Outlook 2007 and other legacy Outlook versions):
1.1. Create Meetings Directly
Creating a meeting directly from the program will send invitations to your intended contacts promptly.
Similarly, the easiest way to invite new guests is by adding them (their addresses) as recipients of the meeting notifications rather than by clicking invite/forward.
1.2. Update the Meetings Tool
Updating your Microsoft Outlook program can also help to permanently get rid of this problem.
Steps (office 2010):
Open Outlook.
Click File.
Select Help.
Click Check for updates/Install updates
Confirm the installation to complete the process.
For Outlook 2013 (and above):
Open Outlook.
Click File then Office Account.
Log in (if you have logged out) and look for the Update Options button under the prominent Product Information area.
Click Apply updates under the Update Options button. Wait for the system to complete updating.
Enabling Microsoft’s automatic updates to include Microsoft Outlook makes your work easier as the program will be continuously updating without your intervention.
Here is how:
Open Settings.
Select Update & Security.
Click Change Settings.
Select the option Give me the updates for other Microsoft’s products when updating Windows.
1.3. Recreate The Meeting
If you are yet to succeed, you can attempt to recreate the meeting using the normal steps on the calendar.
You will need to modify the way Outlook displays the meeting features if outlook meetings feature fail to show on the calendar after creating a meeting. Here is how:
2.1.Select the Calendars Category (Outlook 2010 Going up)
First, the scheduled meetings only show if the calendar’s category has been selected on the program’s left side.
Then, you may have to choose the correct view (Day/work week/month) depending on the schedule of meetings that you want to view.
2.2. Reset The Calendar View (Outlook 2010 Going up)
A custom view can also hide your meetings after setup so you should try to restore the factory view for the calendars folder:
Open Outlook.
Click the Calendar tab (on the left bottom side).
Open the View tab.
Click the view settings option.
Now click Reset Current View.
Press ok and check to see if the previously missing Outlook meetings now show.
3. Outlook Meeting won’t open/cancel/delete invites
3.1. Log Into Your Account Using OWA (Outlook Web Access)/Office 365 portal
For some reason, the option to cancel a meeting works when you are logged into your account using your Outlook Web Access/Office 365 portal details.
Log in there by going to the link you usually use.
Go to the calendar.
Locate the meeting event from the screen.
Right-click and press cancel.
Users are only able to cancel meetings in which they are registered as organizers so ensure you’re the meeting organizer.
3.2. Log Out Of Outlook Then Login
Sometimes the error is because of lingering Outlook performance/Sync issues. In this case, you should log out of your current Microsoft Outlook session then login again.
This refreshes your Outlook session and could allow you to cancel a meeting.
3.3. Disable All Adds-in
The issue of This meeting may be a result of a conflict with any of the installed Outlook add-ins. Try to disable all add-ins as explained below to see if you will succeed.
Launch outlook.
Go to the File.
Click Options.
Then click Adds-in.
Under COM Add-Ins click go.
Uncheck the box against the add-in you are no longer using.
Click OK.
Restart Outlook.
4. Outlook Meeting attachment won’t open
In certain instances, your Outlook account may refuse to open attachments from a phone (Android and Apple) or PCs despite being correctly set up.
Now, this problem could have several root causes and has even sucked in Microsoft in an attempt to get a permanent resolution. We suggest you try these ideas.
Follow the instructions to automatically download and update your Outlook version. For instance, for Windows 7, Click install office updates as highlighted.
Then, those using older Outlook releases such as MS Outlook 2013 will need to further modify the registry for attachments made in the latest Outlook versions such as Outlook 2016 to open. Here is how:
Back up the registry first
Close all Microsoft Office programs.
Press the Windows key + R, type regedit, and click OK.
Navigate to the other below in the left pane: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar
Point to New On the registry Edit menu and then choose DWORD Value.
Type AllowHTMLCalendarContent then press Enter.
Now right-click the AllowHTMLCalendarContent key and select Modify.
In the provided Value data box, enter 1 then select OK.
Close the Registry Editor and try to open the meeting attachment.
5. Updating the Outlook app on Android/iOS
5.1. Update the app
Head over to the Google Play store from the phone.
Download the latest Microsoft Outlook or click update.
5.2. Log Out Of Outlook
An easier fix is to log out of the current Outlook session and then come back in.
On the same note, sometimes restarting Outlook helps so attempt this if you are not yet successful.
5.3. Change Microsoft Trust Center Settings
For some Outlook editions including Outlook 2016, the fault is with the wrong trust center settings.
You thus need to edit the Trust center settings for all Microsoft products you typically use to open your Outlook meeting attachments including Microsoft Word and Excel:
Open Outlook.
Go to File.
Click Options.
Select Trust Center.
Now click the Trust Center Settings tab.
Locate the Protected View option and do the following:
Uncheck the option Enabled Protected View for files originating from the internet
Check the option Enabled Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations
Uncheck the option Enabled Protected View for Outlook attachments
5.4. Ensure the relevant opening programs have been installed
The applicable attachment opening application needs to be available on your computer to access any attached files. For example, a PDF attachment won’t open if a relevant PDF reader is not installed.
Users thus need to confirm that the required file opening programs exist on their PCs.
We have reached the end of this guide on Outlook not sending meeting updates issues and other meeting-related problems. If Outlook Scheduling Assistant is not showing on your PC, check our detailed guide to fix it.
Over the past 48 hours, companies such as HP, Asus, Acer, LG, Samsung, and Dell have unloaded their laundry list of wares on to the Consumer Electronics Showcase floor that includes everything from portable Surface Pro-like gaming rigs to 75-inch bezel-less wall-mounted displays.
Not to be outdone by the competition, Lenovo is now set to unveil its slew of products to help improve the average and niche workspaces.
ThinkPad X1 Carbon
Starting at: $1709.00 Available: June 2019
Once again, Lenovo is rolling out its ThinkPad X1 Carbon device but with specs for the 2019 customer. This year, customers are being treated to a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7th Gen) starting at around $1709.00 in the US. For the relatively hefty price tag, buyers have gifted a laptop with a new woven carbon fiber finish option in addition to the slate black, thinner (14.95mm) hardware footprint with Intel’s latest 8th Gen processors and new RGB & IR camera with the increasingly popular ThinkShutter switch.
ThinkPad X1 Yoga
Price: $1929.00 Available: June 2019
A new 4th generation ThinkPad Yoga is also making a debut and bringing a device with a 17% smaller footprint than last year, new CNC aluminum chassis covered in Iron Grey, 11% slimmer bezels around the screen and up to 500 nits of brightness across a 4K panel.
The X1 Yoga also comes with industry standard 8th Gen Intel processor, Dolby Atmos support, RBG color calibration and backlit keyboard.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (6th Gen)
Starting at $1929.00 Available: June 2018
Technically introduced last June, Lenovo is reannouncing its ThinkPad X1 Yoga 6th, Gen, on the 2019 CES floor. Not much has changed from its initial unveiling that included a 14″ FHD IPS Touch panel, up to 16GB LP DDR3 RAM, up 2 TB PCIe SSD, Dolby Atmos Sound System, and Fingerprint and IR Camera biometric authentication options.
ThinkVision P44W
Price $1299.00 Available: April
Connecting to Lenovo’s new breed of laptops and tower PCs is the dual screen ThinkVision P44W that offers an immersive 32:10 aspect ratio with HDR400 certification, smooth 144Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time as well as support for the latest AMD FreeSync technology.
Other P44W features include USB Type-C connectivity, dual video input management, detachable Harmon Kardon certified speakers and a hidden USB Hub called ‘Push n Push.’ The P44W will also offer up to 99% sRGB, BT.709, and DCI-P3 color accuracies.
Lenovo VoIP 360 Camera Speaker
Price: $249.99 Available: March 2019
Shift just a bit away from more traditional desktop offerings, Lenovo is rolling out a new portable 360-degree camera and speaker device for cleaner on-the-go video conferencing.
The new VoIP 360 Camera Speaker looks like a desktop speaker but packs noise cancellation (AEC) and noise suppression (ENS) technologies as well Plug and Play connectivity with support for USB-C. In addition to the obvious Skype support, Lenovo’s little conference speaker and camera also support Jabber, Webex, Google Hangouts and QQ out of the box. Standing only 3.5 inches tall, the new speaker packs a lot of convenience into this speaker-looking accessories.
Lenovo 700 Ultra-portable Bluetooth Speaker
Price: $249.99 Available: April 2019
Lenovo is offering an actual Bluetooth speaker to accompany the faux-speaker looking VoIP camera. The Lenovo 700 comes with a rechargeable battery that Lenovo claims up 8hrs of continuous playback.
Perhaps, more important than the length of the playback is support for the new Bluetooth 5.0 technology as well as USB-C. The Lenovo 700 also houses quick charge technology and can fully charge the speaker in as little as 2 hours and comes with IPX2 splash-proof water resistance.
Lenovo Powered USB-C Travel Hub
Price: $79.99 Available: January 2019
As the tech industry continues to move towards a USB Type C powered future, Lenovo is aiming to help its customers with the transition by providing a new USB-C travel hub (dongle).
The new dongle comes with six port connections that include: HDMI, VGA, RJ45 Network, Two USB-A, and an additional USB-C connector. At only 1/4 of a pound and ‘hideaway’ wrap cable, the Travel Hub becomes the perfect travel accessory for anyone who needs the functionality of their docking station but doesn’t have the room in their bag.
Lenovo is set to unveil even more on the CES show floor but for businesses, these new laptops and accessories are big news and should be gracing desktops, travel bags and conference rooms in the near future.
Our friend Michael Gillett, who created WallpaperHub.app, a repository for Microsoft-centric wallpapers in a variety of themes and sizes, has just introduced a fun new addition, one he calls Bliss at Night. As you can see in the Featured Image above, the wallpaper is a riff on the classic “Bliss” wallpaper from back in the glory days of Windows XP.
We had a quick chat on Twitter with Michael (who as you may know created our Office 365-inspired social media icons), and he had this to say:
(N)ow that there’s going to be a light and dark theme throughout Windows I think there should be versions of the default wallpapers to match (maybe like the new macOS feature)
If you’re a classic Windows enthusiast as well as a dark theme type, head over to Wallpaperhub.app and download your favorite size, and while you’re at it, check out Michael’s great collection of Windows wallpapers, including favorites from Bing, some great Surface wallpapers, and some original images sure to capture your imagination.
The partnership between Microsoft and Walmart is designed to help move Walmart’s digital communications and operations onto Microsoft’s Azure platform and services while offering Microsoft the opportunity to test the scalability of its cloud platform.
The Walmart and Microsoft partnership arguably also signifies the need of Microsoft’s modernization tools for two to keep pace with the rapidly evolving retail changes put forth by Amazon and Google.
As of January 7, 2019, Microsoft will once again be testing the elasticity of its Azure cloud as it partners with Kroger, America’s largest grocery retailer and global technology company on two new pilot connected experiences.
Transformative customer experiences
By using Microsoft Azure to store and process the data generated in stores, near the smart shelves and on Kroger’s app, the digital stores will introduce never-before-seen shopping experiences, including the latest generation of EDGE™ Shelf (Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment), a shelving system that uses digital displays, instead of traditional paper tags, to indicate everything from prices and promotions to nutritional and dietary information. Using Microsoft Azure AI, EDGE Shelf will connect with Kroger’s Scan, Bag, Go®, creating a unique guided shopping experience for customers.
Greater employee insight and productivity
For store associates, a pick-to-light productivity solution can reduce the time it takes to fulfill curbside pickup orders by using visual cues to help them quickly find items. Additionally, solutions like Microsoft Azure-powered video analytics will help store associates identify and address out-of-stocks to ensure customers can locate products on their shopping list.
Similar to its Walmart partnership, Microsoft is aiming to help Kroger redefine the shopping experience by providing the company with transformative big data analysis as well as marketable product for other retail businesses called Retail as a Service.
RaaS is a commercial product that was created through this partnership with Kroger and powered by Microsoft Azure, which intends to provide a suite of capabilities that focus and support specific business KPIs, collection of customer insights, hyper-personalization, employee productivity and improve out of stocks, all with the intention to provide a better customer experience.
Microsoft and Kroger are pitching the new RaaS as “enablement software built by a retailer for retailers,” and the two have plans to expand the current offering to someday include: Scan, Bag, Go, Virtual Store Manager, sensor network, point of Sale, and inventory management systems.
The first RaaS service on the market today is Edge Shelf which allowed Kroger to generate additional revenue through digital advertising to consumers on packaged goods (CPG) brands. Specifically, with the use of video analytics Kroger was able to produce personalized offers and ads to specific customer demographics.
Edge Shelf is being offered as a pilot program to select retail business with expansion plans throughout “2019 and beyond.”
Similar to a Chromebook, Microsoft’s Windows on ARM platform consist mostly of a browser-based workflow.
While Microsoft, its chipset manufacturers, and its PC partners are promising similar 3rd party application workflows to current Intel-based devices, the reality is that development on the ARM64 architecture has been anemic at best, leaving the experience 2nd rate to Google’s offering, and a distant third option to regular Intel-powered Windows 10 devices.
With that being said, it’s becoming more vital that Microsoft expedites its Chromium-based internet browser replacement development, but in the meantime, Mozilla is stepping up to the plate with its new made for ARM64 Firefox browser.
Please note that these builds are even nightlier than our normal nightlies on other platforms: they have *not* gone through our usual automated testing process, bugs are almost certain to crop up, etc. That being said, I have been using builds off automation (manually updating them) for several weeks now and have had a pleasant experience.
There are still a few areas that we know need work: the Gecko profiler is not functional but should be by the end of the week. The crashreporter does not work. Our top-tier JS JIT (IonMonkey) is not turned on. WebRTC is not turned on. EME (Netflix, etc.) does not work yet. And so forth…Did I mention that these are nightlies?
The ARM64 version of Firefox’s Nightly release is finally up for download and install on their website now despite the company offering ARM64 support in previous public builds for the past month.
For anyone with a Window 10 S Mode device looking to try another ARM64 browser to keep battery consumption low, remember that this Firefox Nightly release is still a .exe and will require a switch out of S Mode.
Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!
Xbox One controllers could be getting new features according to new patents
New patents filed by Microsoft for Xbox One controllers show that the company has been looking into enhancing the vibration feedback. Currently, Xbox One controllers use precision vibration, allowing users to accurately feel the vibration of weapons in a game, but it appears Microsoft wants to take this further by allowing games to independently control the vibration of the triggers, and more.
Minecraft: The Movie finds its visual effects supervisor after significant delays
Following significant delays in finding a visual effects supervisor, progress looks to have been made on Minecraft: The Movie, as Jim Berney joins the team as visual effects supervisor, having previously worked on films such as Aquaman, The Polar Express, amongst others.
Visual Effects Supervisor Jim Berney (‘Aquaman’, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’) has joined the crew for ‘MINECRAFT: THE MOVIE’. (EXCLUSIVE) pic.twitter.com/UcxWNas6vx
Microsoft Visual Studio is an essential suite for developers. Both for professionals and home users, as Microsoft is trying to encourage the development for their platform. However, some users have had a strange problem with product activation. Namely, some of them who purchased Visual Studio hasn’t been able to activate it with a functioning product key.
They were met with the “This product key cannot be used to extend the use of this product” error. If you’re in the group of affected users, check the steps below.
Visual Studio can’t be activated with your product key? Here’s what to do
Solution 1 – Change Visual Studio serial number with the Master Product key
Firstly, we suggest signing in with your official account you used to purchase the software. This seemingly fixed it for some. If that doesn’t help, check additional steps.
Now, this isn’t exactly legal to do, but it will work for some iterations of Visual Studio. Microsoft provides users with the 90-days-long free trial. In addition, there seems to be a master product key which should allow you to activate the product.
Of course, you’ll still need your purchased product key later on, but this will at least allow you to go over the product key error.
Follow these steps to try it out:
In the Windows Search bar, type Control and open Control Panel.
Choose Uninstall a program.
Right-click on Visual Studio and choose Uninstall/Change.
Try with your own product key. If the error appears, use the master key (YCFHQ-9DWCY-*****-*****-*****) which can be found online.
Click Activate and you’re good to go.
Even though this isn’t legal, as you already have the right key and have issues with it, this is a somewhat reasonable step to follow in order to activate the license.
Solution 2 – Integrate the product key into the setup.sdp file
Alternatively, instead of going for a product activation through the user interface, you can tweak the setup.sdp file and insert the master product key there. This should allow you to enter your personal product key later on and fix the issue in a seamless manner.
Here’s how to insert the master product key in the installation setup file:
Use an archiver to extract the Visual Studio ISO file.
Open the Setup.sdp file with any supported text editor.
Under the Product key heading, enter the aforementioned master product key (they differ depending on what version of the software you use).
Save changes, navigate to Control Panel > Uninstall a program, and choose to repair the application.
Solution 3 – Reinstall Visual Studio
Finally, if the master key workaround doesn’t work for you, we can only advise backing up everything and reinstalling Visual Studio. In addition, make sure to remove all previous versions of Visual Studio from the system, as their presence might cause activation issues.
With that said, we can conclude this article. In case you have any alternative solutions or questions, feel free to tell us in the comments section below. Furthermore, contacting Microsoft support is a good idea, as they usually should be able to deal with the product activation issues on their respective software suits.
Edge is one browser that includes a dark theme. That transforms Edge’s UI into a dark alternative. More and more publishers are adding similar dark modes to their software. A Chrome engineer has now effectively confirmed that Google plans to add dark mode support to its flagship browser for Windows 10.
The Chrome engineer Mr. Kasting confirmed on Reddit that Google plans to add a dark mode to Chrome. In a Reddit post, Mr. Kasting states, “For desktop, native dark mode support is in progress; in the meantime, we generally suggest people use a dark theme.”
That is not an official announcement, but Mr. Kasting has nevertheless confirmed that dark mode support for Chrome is in the pipeline.
Canary, an experimental version of Chrome, already includes a command flag that enables users to activate a dark theme for the browser. Users can activate the dark theme by entering a ‘–force-dark-mode’ command flag in the Target text box on the Canary Properties window. However, Chrome stable does not include any kind of dark mode flag.
Nevertheless, Chrome users can still add a dark mode to the browser with new themes. Morpheon Dark is one dark theme for the browser. Click the Add to Chrome button on the theme’s page to add Morpheon Dark to the browser.
That applies a dark style to Chrome’s tabs, URL toolbar and New Tab page as shown in the snapshot directly below.
To extend the dark theme, users can also add Dark Reader to Google Chrome. That extension adds a dark background to webpages open in the browser. Press the Add to Chrome button on the extension’s page to install Dark Reader.
When exactly Google will update Chrome to include a dark theme is somewhat unclear. Dark mode for macOS Chrome is expected to arrive in early 2019. However, it will probably take a little longer for Google to add dark mode to Windows Chrome.
The encoding issues with the likes of Chinese, Japanese, or Cyrillic are quite common. Some users were able to open text files containing Chinese characters without issues, but they seemingly got corrupted.
To avoid seeing a string of incoherent text, they had to perform some changes. We provided you with the steps on how to fix corrupt Chinese characters, below.
Solutions to fix corrupted email Chinese characters
There are two ways to resolve this. Firstly, we recommend changing the encoding to UTF-8 instead of whatever is the default setting. The alternative is to copy the content of the and place it into an HTML file. After that, open the file in the browser and change the encoding to get the proper version of the text.
In addition, you can use a third-party web service called Mandarine Tools to ‘decipher the corrupted characters into a Mandarin text. This tool can be found, here. The encoding is most likely the problem, as some services will provide you with alternative encoding while the only thing you need is the UTF-8.
With it enabled, you should have a simple time decoding Chinese characters without any problems. If you’re commonly using Chinese, in email clients or different applications, it’s recommended to change the encoding to the Universal UTF-8 in order to avoid further issues.
With that said, we can conclude this article. In case you have any questions or suggestions, do us a favor and post them in the comments section below.
Mozilla’s Thunderbird email client is expected to get support for notifications natively in Windows 10, meaning that they will be logged into the Action Center for later viewing should they appear while the user is away. This also gives the user greater control over these notifications as well, as native support in Windows 10 also means they can be disabled automatically when Focus Assist is turned on.
Notifications in Windows 10 from the Access Center, accessible from the notification icon on the far right of the taskbar.
Thunderbird is Mozilla’s email client. It can serve as a great alternative to the Mail application pre-installed on Windows 10 devices, especially as it uses Mozilla’s reputable Gecko layout engine, which renders emails much better than what Word does in Mail.
Mozilla hasn’t given an timeline of when support for the Action Center be available, but the organization is also working on other ways to improve the email client, such as enhancing support for Gmail, overhauling UI elements such the application settings, and improving email encryption. Perhaps with enough improvement, Thunderbird could potentially regain the attention it once had before Google popularized webmail.
A lot of users are just unplugging the USB without disabling it first. Others will use this option to prevent possible USB drive or external HDD issues. However, some reported that Windows is unable to stop the device prompt appeared.
The error message states that the device is still in use and users should terminate programs that might be employing the USB. But this is easier said than done! Identifying the program and terminating it takes a great deal of effort.
So, we made sure to provide you with some solutions to the problem at hand.
What to do if Windows is unable to stop the device?
1. Check the background applications
When the error appears, close the dialog box.
In the Windows Search bar, type System Event, and open View event logs.
Under Summary of Administrative Events, expand Errors and Warnings, respectively, and check for EventID 225.
There you should find what exact application is using the USB Mass Storage and kill its process in the Task Manager.
As the Windows is unable to stop the device prompt itself points out, there seems to be a background process using the USB Mass Storage as you try to eject it.
Now, even though you’re quite sure that there are no background processes preventing ejection, it’s still advised to double-check in the Task Manager. Some applications will work in the background, even if they are seemingly closed.
In addition, if you’re a Windows 10 user, you can easily determine which process is using the USB Mass Storage with the System Event Log. System Event Log keeps track of all errors and prompts and provides a user with in-detail reports about errors.
2. Restart Explorer.exe
Right-click on the Taskbar and open Task Manager from the context menu.
In the Processes tab, scroll to the bottom, and you’ll find Windows Explorer.
Select it and then click on Restart.
If the issue is persistent even after you’ve killed the process, the problem might lie in the Explorer. Explorer.exe tends to prevent the USB Mass Storage from ejecting, as well.
3. Check for storage errors
Open either File Explorer or This PC.
Right-click on the affected USB Mass Storage drive and select Properties.
Go to Tools.
Under Error checking, click Check. The scanning process might take some time, based on the data size.
Another thing worth checking in order to avoid future issues is disc corruption. The system should offer you repairs the moment you plug the USB Mass Storage into a USB port.
If you’ve ignored it until now, we suggest using it to get rid of the Windows is unable to stop the device error. On the other hand, even if the system doesn’t recognize drive errors, you can scan for errors on your own or even use a disk repair tool.
In the Windows Search bar, type msconfig and openSystem Configuration.
Under the Services tab, check the Hide all Microsoft services box, and click Disable all to prevent all active third-party services from running.
Click OK to save the changes and try safely removing the USB Mass Media drive.
With the System Event Log, you should be able to identify the exact application which is using the USB Mass Storage. However, the easiest way (although a bit too restrictive for some) to resolve inflictions of background applications is by the Clean Boot sequence.
This procedure kills off all non-system services and it should resolve the Windows is unable to stop the device error so you can unplug your USB Mass Storage.
5. Format USB Mass Storage and start from a scratch
Finally, if you’re unable to resolve this issue with any of the previous steps, we suggest using a reliable backup tool to save the data and formatting your USB Mass Storage.
This might be a drag, especially if you have a ton of data to back up. However, this is the safest way to avoid further issues with that particular drive.
Despite the fact that digital assistants like Cortana and Alexa are more ubiquitous than ever, there are certain situations when talking to a machine can feel weird. This is especially true in public spaces, when you just want to fit in and avoid having strangers hear any personal information.
We’re now seeing connected speakers and PCs with far-field microphones that can catch your voice in very noisy environments, but these mics still don’t allow you to use voice commands without being noticed. Microsoft is apparently aware of this, a new patent spotted by Windows Central describes a “silent voice input” apparatus that could push voice recognition technology to the next level.
According to the patent description, the silent voice input module could be integrated into a cellphone or any other type of electronic device, including wearables. It would require users to put the module very close to the mouse before issuing voice commands, and Microsoft explains that users would also need to utter words with ingressive airflow instead of whispering.
Implementations of the subject matter described herein provide a silent voice input solution without being noticed by surroundings. Compared with conventional voice input solutions which are based on normal speech or whispering that use egressive (breathing-out) airflow while speaking, the proposed “silent” voice input method is performed by using opposite (ingressive or breathing-in) airflow while speaking. By placing the apparatus (e.g. microphone) of the apparatus very close to the user’s mouth with an small gap formed between the mouth and the apparatus, the proposed silent voice input solution can capture stable utterance signal with a very small voice leakage, and thereby allowing the user to use ultra-low volume speech input in public and mobile situations, without disturbing surrounding people. Besides of air flow direction (ingressive and egressive), all other utterance manners are same as our whispering, so that proposed method can be used without special practice.
It’s not clear is this “silent voice input” technology could really change how we interact with digital assistants, but as with most patents, it may not end in an actual product anytime soon. In the meantime, most users will probably continue to behave in public and continue to do things the old-school way. And as of today, it still often faster to use touch input than voice commands that don’t always get understood properly.
Deleted files in the Recycle Bin tend to pile up fast, especially if you’re not emptying it frequently. Restoring deleted files to their original location is rather simple, but what happens if you accidentally restore hundreds of files?
Can you undo restored files and delete them in batch or you’ll need to do it by hand, one-by-one? We answer below.
How to undo Restore All in Recycle Bin
Let’s say you want your files to stick in the Recycle Bin for some time in case you’ll need to keep them. And, when the need arises, you would want to restore deleted (or archived) files from the Recycle Bin. However, if you have tons of deleted files in the Recycle Bin, the last thing you want to do is restore them all.
And no, you won’t be able to undo the Restore All action and the only way to delete files again is one-by-one. Which is a ludicrous concept if you have hundreds or even thousands of files to deal with.
That’s the deal with this feature, it just doesn’t allow you to undo your error. Relying on system restore or File History won’t do you any favor, as the files restoration won’t be undone that way. This, sadly, means that you better start deleting those files manually as there’s no an easy way around it.
After you’ve done that, make sure to be more attentive next time you’re meddling with the Recycle Bin. Deleting files regularly (on weekly basis) would help you a lot next time this happens.
To learn more about this feature, we have a whole guide dedicated to Recycle Bin on Windows 10, so feel free to check it out.
We hope this was an informative read and make sure to leave your feedback in the comments section below.
HDD or SSD encryption is of utmost importance, especially for enterprises and professional users. Most people will go for the software solutions as they allow a better insight and additional layers of control over encrypted data and used protocols.
However, some users don’t deem it necessary and decided to use their SSD with built-in encryption. We explain how to do it below.
How to utilize built-in SSD encryption on PC
Some SSD drives come with the built-in hardware AES-256 encryption. Now, this built-in feature has a variety of software counterparts and, due to a few advantages, a lot of people will prioritize it over hardware encryption.
The problem is, although a lot of SSDs come with it, the fact that it’s not as simple to utilize it on an older motherboard. That in addition to lack of some features will push users to software-based solutions.
Now, even though hardware-based full-disk encryption (commonly referred to as FDE) is limiting in some regards, you still can take its full potential. And that’s full-disk AES-256 encryption. To activate this built-in function, you’ll only need to have a supported SSD ( OCZ, SanDisk, Samsung, Micron or Integral Memory) and a supported motherboard.
The procedure can also differ. Some devices will utilize software while others require for you to set up a BIOS password. Just boot into BIOS/UEFI and set a password. This will automatically trigger the hardware encryption.
HP users have had a hard time using the hardware encryption on Windows 10. Allegedly, the HP Client Security client doesn’t support Windows 10. If that’s the case with you, we’re afraid you’ll either need to use BitLocker or third-party encryption software in order to encrypt your SSD.
With that said, we can conclude this article. Make sure to tell us whether this was a helpful read in the comments section below. We look forward to your feedback.
Corrupt Default Domain Policy is something no one wants to see on the Windows Server. And most people are not stressed about it as they have made timely backups. But, if that’s not the case and you’re in dire need of a solution, we can recommend following the steps we listed below. Using this guide, you should be able to fix the corrupt Default Domain Policy.
How to repair corrupt Default Domain Policy
There are so many variables which might or might not invoke the corruption of the default Domain Policies. Most of the time, users change default policies directly instead of creating new ones.
This might lead to issues and the only two reliable ways we can suggest are either to restore a backup of the GPO or, in the absence of backups, use the Dcgpofix tool.
This tool should restore all settings to their default values, so make sure to inspect them and change them based on your needs later on. That’s of utmost importance, as this is the last-resort tool and it’s to be used in the disaster scenarios where you’re unable to fix the GPO. So, don’t forget to back up even the corrupt GPO as there’s always a chance something will go wrong.
If you’re not sure how to run this tool, here’s the step-by-step explanation you need to follow:
Open Command Prompt.
Run the following command and press Enter:
Dcgpofix /target:domain
Confirm selection and run the tool.
That should do it. In case you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to tell us in the comments section below.
Crystal Reports is a widely-acknowledged business intelligence application which uses data analysis to create in-depth reports. After that, users are able to access those files and compare them in order to improve productivity and efficiency.
However, some users were having a hard time accessing RPT files (Crystal Reportsextension) for various reasons. The most common reason is the corruption of Crystal Reports files. If you’re not sure how to fix corrupt Crystal Reports file, check out the solutions listed below.
Solutions to fix corrupted Crystal Reports files
Instead of wasting your time in trying to restore the rpt file, we rather suggest re-creating it again. There are, indeed, a few things you can try. Firstly, make sure that you have the current or newer Crystal Reports version based on the version you’ve used to create the RPT file.
Also, if you have used a third-party backup tool or the built-in File History tool, chances are you’ll be able to restore the original file without corruption.
Some users even suggest trying with an older version, if the report file is quite old. We can’t say with certainty whether this can fix a corrupt Crystal Reports RPT file, but it’s worth giving it a try. At least, if you can get your hands on an older iteration of the program. Furthermore, some users suggested reinstalling all associated software, which seemingly addressed the problem for some of them.
We can’t say with certainty whether this is the case or not, but it’s worth a try. Finally, you can also send an inquiry to the official support team and ask for a better insight. There are so many things which may lead to the file corruption, and it’s hard to determine what’s exactly the issue-starter.
Either way, don’t forget to try some of these instructions and tell us whether they helped you in the comments section below.
Happy New Year everyone! Hope all of you are enjoying all that the new year brings. For us here at OnMSFT.com, that’s quite a bit, as it turns out.
First, a bit of backstory: WinBeta.org, our predecessor until we changed our name some two years ago, for most of its tenure, and most of OnMSFT’s, was run by our Editor Emeritus Ron, who was passionate about both Microsoft and this site. In the past year or so, though, his available time to devote to OnMSFT diminished, and a few months ago he turned the reins over to me. In that time, though, the site didn’t get the attention it needed, and market forces have changed the landscape for consumer-centric Microsoft blogs.
So for the past month or so I’ve been preparing a cleanup of the site, including the WordPress code it runs on, the database that runs everything, and the services we use to get the results of our Microsoft enthusiasm out to you. Last night, I flipped the switch and moved our site from Rackspace, a premium host provider that was maybe a bit too rich for our needs, to a Virtual Machine running on Azure. As it turns out, the Azure VM boasts about the same specs as our old host, for about half the cost. I’ll be writing some more about Azure and the little guy as we move forward, but for now, it’s enough to say that we’re eating the dogfood.
Our next project will be to complete a new WordPress theme, as you may notice there are a few immediate changes, but most of the work was done on the back end to fix some problems, clean up some code, and make a new theme possible. You can think of this as a placeholder for now: we’ve stripped down the car, cut out the rust, sanded things down, and applied a coat of primer. A shiny new paint job is in the works, but all that prep work had to be done first, and here we are.
Luckily, we were able to accomplish this over the holiday break, when Redmond becomes a ghost town, and our readers spend more time setting up their new Surface or their new Xbox than they do reading about what’s coming next. But as soon as next week with CES, the news cycle is going to be ramping up again, and we can’t wait! It is going to be a big year for Microsoft, and by this time next year we’ll know a lot more about HoloLens, about Surface, about Windows and Cortana and Edge and, yes, about Azure.
Thanks for reading OnMSFT.com. Please be patient over the next couple of days as I work through some known issues, but feel free to leave a comment below on what you see, and especially what you’d like to see.
There has been some speculation that Microsoft is planning to launch a HoloLens 2 in 2019. That would be a successor to the current HoloLens mixed realityheadset. The Windows tipster WalkingCat has now spotted references in a HologramCompositor.dll DLL that highlights the next Windows 10 build version (19H1 update) will support HoloLens 2.
WalkingCat posted what he has spotted in HologramCompositor.dlls on his Twitter page. There WalkingCat states: “Now this in HologramCompositor.dll in 19H1: Output: Dummy, Output: Indirect, Output: Hololens and Output: Sydney.” Thus, that DLL contains a reference to Sydney, which is reputedly the codename for the upcoming HoloLens 2.
When is HoloLens 2 coming out?
Microsoft HoloLens 2 is slated for release in April 2019. So that might mean Windows 10 build version 1903 will support HoloLens 2 after Microsoft rolls out the 19H1 update. The Windows 10 19H1 Update will roll out sometime in spring 2019. April is the usual starting month for Microsoft’s springtime build updates.
Microsoft launched the original HoloLens headset in 2016. In April 2018, Microsoft stated that the headset had shifted about 50,000 units. That may not sound a lot, but the HoloLens was more of an experimental device for a niche VR market. Microsoft more recently received a $480 million contract from the Department of Defence for HoloLens headsets.
The software giant reaffirmed its commitment to mixed reality by stating: “Mixed reality is the future of computing, and Microsoft HoloLens is the future and present of mixed reality. Our commitment requires no roadmap.”
Now Microsoft is expected to release a HoloLens 2 in 2019. The rumor mill suggests that the HoloLens 2 might be based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. In addition, Microsoft’s next mixed realityheadset could incorporate an enhanced Kinect depth camera and holographic display. Although it will be the second HoloLens released, it is reputedly a third version of the headset as Microsoft skipped the release for version two.
If Windows 10 version 1903 does indeed support HoloLens 2 as the HologramCompositor.dll highlights, Microsoft might release its next mixed reality headset in quarter one of 2019. As such, the software giant could unveil the HoloLens 2 at its Build conference in May 2019.
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Snapdragon 1000 to power HoloLens v2 and Surface Phone
As 2018 is coming to a close, today is the perfect time to look back at everything Microsoft achieved and missed over the past 12 months. This year has been a very good one for Microsoft, and as of this writing the company remains the most valuable US company ahead of Apple. And even though Steve Ballmer’s Microsoft allowed Apple and Google to dominate the mobile market, Satya Nadella’s Microsoft is a completely different beast that managed to find a lot of other sources of growth.
Despite great financial results quarter after quarter, there has been some less shiny areas this year. I’ll do my best to highlight the good, the bad and the ugly for Microsoft in 2018.
If Office 365 remains a very important business for Microsoft, the company has continued to heavily promote its “Microsoft 365” offering this year. Microsoft 365 is a complete enterprise package that includes Windows 10, Office 365, and Enterprise Mobility + Security, and we should continue to hear a lot about it in 2019.
Microsoft Teams, the company’s Slack competitor, also reached new milestones this year. 329,000 organizations are now using Teams worldwide, including 87 of the Fortune 100 companies. According to a recent study from SpiceWorks, Microsoft Teams is expected to experience the biggest growth collaborative chat apps over the next two years.
Surface
Microsoft released several new Surface models this year including the affordable Surface Go, the Surface Pro 6 and the Surface Laptop 2. Since its launch back in August, the 10-inch Surface has already become the fourth most popular Surface device according to AdDuplex, right ahead of the Surface Pro 6.
Surface is now a billion dollar business for Microsoft, and the company also became one of the top five manufacturers of PCs in the US market this year. With the launch of new accessories like the Surface Headphones, Surface is slowly but surely becoming a lifestyle brand with premium products that can easily rival with Apple’s. When you remember that the first Surface device was launched only six years ago, that’s quite a big achievement.
Even though there is a lot to like about Surface devices, they also received criticism for being hard to repair, and the lack of USB-C ports on the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 is really hard to justify in 2018. Hopefully, this is something that Microsoft will finally address with the next generation.
Some great mobile apps
Windows Phone is still dead in 2018, but that’s not really a problem since Microsoft is now fully supporting iOS and Android devices. Android has obviously become Microsoft’s mobile OS of choice these days, and the company managed to create great synergies between Windows 10 PCs and Android phones thanks to apps like Your Phone and the Microsoft Launcher.
Microsoft Edge is another app that gets frequent updates on iOS and Android, and it has become a key part of the Microsoft ecosystem thanks to new features like Timeline integration. We’ll have more on Microsoft Edge below, but if you have yet to try Microsoft’s web browser on iOS and Android, you really should.
There are more and more synergies between Windows 10 PCs and Android phones.
Xbox
It will likely take years for Microsoft to fix the Xbox’s exclusive games problem, but the company proved this year that they’re finally ready to address this issue. The Redmond giant acquired several game studios this year including Playground Games (Forza Horizon 4), Undead Labs (State of Decay 2), Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice) and Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas). Let’s not forget about The Initiative, a brand new studio led by former Tomb Raider boss Darrell Gallagher who has been hiring top talent this year.
A lot of new exclusive games are hopefully in the pipeline, but in the meantime Xbox continues to lead on the services front. All first-party Microsoft Studios games are now available on day one on Xbox Game Pass, and the subscription service has also welcomed many great games from Bethesda, Square Enix, Capcom and more this year.
Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just joined, thanks for playing with us this year. Find your next favorite game in January! pic.twitter.com/Rm6kZRvFYM
Microsoft also pushed hard to make gaming more inclusive in 2018, starting with the Xbox Adaptive controller. Inspired by an internal hackathon, the accessible controller has been ranked one of the top inventions of 2018, and we hope that the video games industry will follow Microsoft’s lead in the near future
The botched releases of the Windows 10 April 2018 and October 2018 updates will definitely leave a mark. Microsoft having to pause the release of the October 2018 Update due to a file deletion bug was a quite PR disaster for the company, and hopefully a learning moment as well.
Despite having millions of beta testers in the Windows Insider program, there’s an ongoing feeling that the quality of major Windows 10 updates has been decreasing over the years. This has forced Microsoft to be more cautious during the rollout of the October 2018 Update, which as of this month may be running on less than 10% of Windows 10 PCs according to AdDuplex.
Microsoft Edge was supposed to be the company’s modern, lightweight browser that can finally replace Internet Explorer, but so far Windows 10 users have continued to prefer Google Chrome, Firefox, and other alternatives. The slow pace of updates has always been a big issue, but websites not being optimized for the EdgeHTML engine was an even bigger problem. Well, Microsoft has finally given up on EdgeHTML, and the company plans to launch a Chromium-based version of Edge next year that will also run on macOS and older versions of Windows.
This should be good news for Edge users, who will get a better browser that is compatible with all Chrome extensions, but it’s definitely not great news for the web. It was pretty bad when all websites were optimized for Internet Explorer, and we could soon end up in the same situation where Chromium and Google Chrome become the de-facto standard. Microsoft’s decision will leave Mozilla and its Quantum engine remain the last alternative to Chromium-based browsers and Apple’s Webkit-based Safari, and that’s not a great look for the web in general.
Always connected PCs
We’ve seen Microsoft’s OEM partners launch the first Windows 10 on ARM PCs this year, and the first generation has been quite disappointing. All these Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-powered (a smartphone chip) have been overpriced, offering disappointing performance when running emulated Win32 apps.
Things got slightly better with the second generation devices using the more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, but Windows 10 on ARM PCs still don’t offer a good enough price/performance ratio for most consumers. Things should change once developers start to compile their apps for the ARM64 architecture, and hopefully we’ll see Google Chrome and other browsers run natively on Windows 10 on ARM next year. In the meantime, you should probably keep your money and wait for new models powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming 8cx chip.
Microsoft let its OEM partners lead the charge this year, but we’re waiting to see the company launch its first Windows 10 on ARM Surface device. Intel reportedly blocked an ARM-based Surface Go this year, but it’s probably a good thing that Microsoft avoided another Surface RT situation with a compromised product.
The first generation Windows 10 on ARM PCs have been a real disappointment.
The ugly
The Microsoft Store and UWP/PWA Apps
After all these years, the Microsoft Store is still in pretty bad shape. Quality apps and games are still hard to find, and the overall experience hasn’t really improved since 2015. As of today, the Microsoft Store app often struggles to download big apps and games, and like many other UWP apps, it can feel pretty slow to use.
With app developers neglecting Microsoft’s UWP platform, the company was expected to fill the app gap on the Microsoft Store by automatically adding Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) using the Bing crawler. However, this didn’t really happen this year: So far, Twitter seems to be the only developer that cares about PWAs, though the Twitter PWA probably isn’t as good as other third-party clients.
Ironically, the best apps you can find on the Microsoft Store today are bridged desktop apps like iTunes, Spotify or Microsoft’s own Office desktop apps. Earlier this year, the company announced that it was halting work on its Office Mobile UWP apps, which probably tells a lot about the general disinterest for the UWP platform.
Cortana
At this point, Cortana has pretty become the new Windows Phone. The digital assistant still has its fans, but it’s being ignored by most consumers, developers, and Microsoft. Despite launching in 2014, Cortana is currently only available in 13 regions worldwide, and the Cortana mobile app is still pretty much a US/UK affair. This is a big missed opportunity for Microsoft, and it’s almost like the digital assistant has been PC-focused for too long.
While Amazon and Google have released many smart appliances over the years, we’ve only seen Cortana show up on the Harman Kardon Invoke speaker and the GLAS smart thermostat. We doubt that other manufacturers will consider integrating Cortana into their products in the future, and they really don’t have to: Microsoft teamed up with Amazon to integrate Cortana with Alexa, and Amazon’s digital assistant is now available on Windows 10 PCs as well as Xbox One consoles.
Microsoft really accomplished a lot this year overall, even though from a consumer point of view, it can look like Windows 10, Cortana and other products are fading in the background. It’s true that Windows isn’t as important as it was 10 years ago, but the company still cares a lot about software. Because Redmond now makes its own hardware, the company can’t afford to stop innovating on the software front.
2019 should be an even more interesting year for Microsoft fans thanks to new Surface and Xbox hardware, a new Hololens headset, and maybe a Windows-based foldable mobile device. There’s also Project xCloud, the company’s new game streaming service that will work on all devices, including phones and tablets. Last but not least, after the company acquired LinkedIn and GitHub, we can’t wait to see what will be Microsoft’s next big acquisition. See you in 2019 for even more Microsoft news!
Corrupted user profiles are quite an issue for all IT administrators. Citrix profile corruption issues require advanced troubleshooting skills. And all system servers come with so many variables it’s hard to find a universal solution for every affected user.
We noted below some excerpts from the official support forum in order to help you. Albeit, the best way to find your way around the constant corruption of Citrix profiles is to send your logs to a support.
How to fix corrupt Citrix profile
A corrupted profile is never a good news for a digital workspace administrator. And not that common even, considering Citrix is quite a reliable service. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a possibility.
If that happens, we suggest inspecting the group policy and the netuser.dat file. The most prominent reason for issues like these is a corruption of the said file, especially occurring if the user’s PC shuts down before the DAT file is written.
If the file is only partially written over UPM, the profile will get corrupted and issues will emerge. The problem mostly appears to bother users with UPM (Universal Password Manager). When that happens, whether you’re using XenDesktop or VM, you’ll need to look into logs to find out what’s causing the problem at hand.
The problem is seemingly also connected to a Windows version discrepancy when using roaming and UPM profiles. In all regards, we suggest obtaining logs and sharing them with the support officials. This might require some advanced knowledge in order to determine why some profiles work fine while others get corruption on daily basis.
In case you’re unable to fix the issue, deleting the profile and re-establishing it again might resolve all issues. With that said, we can conclude this article.
Hopefully, we shed some light to this. The problem consists of so many variables that there’s no such thing as a universal solution.
Bitdefender has always been a top service for when it comes to protection against the various threats that surface online, but offline as well. As we advance and technology gets a more center stage role in our lives, so do the methods through which we can be attacked increase in potency.
What this all means is that hackers and antivirus developers step up their game concomitantly, so it’s always a very sensitive battle. That’s why it’s important to have the newest and most powerful security solution and for Bitdefender fans and users, that’s Bitdefender 2019.
Interested in what the 2019 version has in store for users that want to know why they should upgrade? Let’s take a look and see what’s cooking over at Bitdefender. It sure smells like high-end security.
The top features taking the spotlight in Bitdefender 2019:
Advanced Threat Defense
This feature allows the antivirus to scan your computer but also to keep a watchful eye on any services and processes going on that just seem fishy. If something is suspicious or out of place, Bitdefender will bust that intruder and debunk any scheme that a wishful thinking hacker might have thought up.
Webcam Protection
One of the nastiest ways in which your personal information can leak is through webcams. Wrongdoers have learned how to manipulate unsuspecting victim’s webcams from a distance a long time ago. With the new webcam protection feature, however, your webcam is as safe as ever.
If you’re worried about webcam protection, you can buy the Huawei Matebook X Pro laptop that features a pop-up webcam for extra security.
Safe files (for Mac or Windows)
The feature is available on both Mac and Windows and it allows the user to protect their data. The mode allows data only to be accessed by trusted software. This is great against security threats like ransomware, which is becoming a very concern factor.
Firewall and Parental control
The new Bitdefender is ideal for both keeping threats out and keeping kids from accessing things they shouldn’t. Children are the most vulnerable in the online space, and keeping them safe is a tricky business. That’s why this highly efficient software is needed.
Download BitDefender 2019 for free
If you would like to download BitDefender 2019 for free, you have to be aware that the single way to do this is through a free trial offer. If you like the product, you will keep using it, if now, you’re free to find something else. But since this is considered to be the best antivirus in 2019 that you can get, I doubt that you’ll find something better. So here are the download links:
There’s nothing worse for a Minecraft player than for his long-developed world to have corrupted chunks. This is, luckily, not as common, especially if you stick to the vanilla version.
Though chunk corruption happens more often, and it’s usually followed by game crashing. So, here we are with the ways to find and fix corrupted chunks in Minecraft.
How do I fix a corrupted chunk in Minecraft?
1. Erase the corrupted chunks
If you don’t have any saves, you can erase the corrupted chunks and allow Minecraft to regenerate them. This would be instant in most cases.
Of course, if you’ve built something there, we’re afraid it will be gone afterward. So, you might want to consider the next option in this case.
2. Use a dedicated tool
For users who get a corrupted region chunk in the Minecraft world, the best way to deal with it is by using one of the numerous third-party tools. You can either load the previous backed-up version and fix those affected chunks in no time.
The best tools you can use to fix corrupted chunks in Minecraft are:
Another thing you should consider is disabling mods, as some of them might be the reason for the corruption in the first place. Remember, this helps prevent future corruption of chunks in Minecraft, but won’t fix the current ones.
In addition, if you’re loading a newer world with an outdated client, corruption is almost imminent.
While you can delete the chunk manually by using the correct coordinates, and it just re-explores him later, the most reliable way is to stick with the MCEdit tool. Just run it, and you’ll see all modded blocks causing the chunk corruption.
Working with any file, including the HTML, requires timely backups. Some users got themselves in a tricky position as the files got corrupted for some reason. If the HTML file is corrupted, you must repair it.
If we’re not looking at the encoding error, there’s hardly anything you can do. However, if the encoding made the text all scrambled, we have a quick solution to get things up and running.
How do I fix a corrupt HTML file?
Tip
The chances that your HTML file will get corrupted are pretty low. Still, it’s always suggested to create multiple backups of all your projects and save them in different locations. There’s only a slight chance you’ll be able to recover corrupted HTML files if they’re not properly saved.
Using Notepad
Open the document and cycle through all available encoding schemes until you find the one which fits the current scheme.
If that doesn’t help, you can use (if available) the File History feature. This way, you can restore an older version of the HTML file before the corruption occurs.
When facing the problem, you can utilize some tools within the editing tools (Notepad ++ or Microsoft Word) to try and fix the corruption. Though, we won’t hold our hopes high!
In addition, sometimes the tool won’t be able to decode the character if you’ve copy-pasted special characters or concatenated (linked) two different encoding schemes.
If that doesn’t help, start over, and don’t forget to back up your files timely to avoid data loss in the future and eliminate the need to repair a corrupt HTML file.
Different needs require different approaches. For example, some users fancy using two USBheadphones at the same time instead of sticking with one. However, this isn’t as simple as it sounds.
There’s a way to use a standard 3,5mm jack headphones and a USB, but using two USBheadphones at once on Windows 10 requires some tweaking. We made sure to explain 3 possible ways to achieve that below.
How to set up and use two USB headphones at the same time on PC
This might or might not work depending on a variety of things, but some users managed to replace the input device for a playback device. That way, in theory, you should be able to use two playback devices simultaneously without any issues.
However, have in mind that headphones won’t perfectly sync and you’ll experience a slight delay on the second playback device (headphones in this case).
Here’s how to use system settings to enable two USBheadphones at once on Windows 10:
Right-click on the Sound icon in the notification area and open Sounds.
Choose the Playback tab and select the first headphones as your default playback device.
Now, move to the Recording tab.
Right-click on the empty area and enable “Show disabled devices“.
Right-click on Stereo Mix and enable it. If you can’t find it, just install the latest Realtek sound drivers and codecs.
Double-click on the Stereo Mix to open Properties.
Choose the Listen tab in Properties.
Check the “Listen to this device” box and select your second headphones from the drop-down menu.
Now, open Advanced tab and uncheck the “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” and confirm changes.
There are tons of software tools for both professionals and casual users out there. Some of them allow you a lot of freedom when it comes to tweaking audio output or input on your PC. In addition, they allow you to use multiple output devices, like headphones, and this seemingly worked for many users.
The application we run into the most is Audio VoiceMeeter Banana. This is a free-to-use virtual audio device mixer and it grants users with a myriad of features. Also, it includes an option to create multiple output devices and use, like in this scenario, two USB headphones at the same time on Windows 10.
Finally, if the software leaves a lot to be desired, the hardware should address this. There’s a variety of USB splitter, both for audio jack and USB devices. They are mostly inexpensive and can mean a lot in the right circumstances. We suggest going for the more-affordable solutions if you’re a casual user who just wants some dual-headphone action on their Windows 10 PC.
Of course, if you want to use two USB headsets on PC without a splitter, then use one of the two solutions listed above and skip the third one.
And, on that note, we can conclude this article. In case you have anything to add or take, do tell us in the comments section below. We always look forward to your feedback.
Time to welcome in the New Year and what better way than for a bunch of scambags to try and con us out of our hard-earned Christmas money with a Chromebug. Fortunately, you need not worry… all is not lost.
This is pretty much your run-of-the-mill Chromebug tech support scam; although, as support scams go, it’s a pretty good one.
Here is what happens
If your browser gets infected, here’s what happens. You’ll get a pop-up saying something along the lines of:
—————————————————————–
Confirm Navigation
YOUR ISP HAS BLOCKED YOUR PC
ERROR # 258D3
Call Microsoft immediately at (a big telephone number)
Do not ignore this critical alert.
If you close this page, your PC access will be disabled to
prevent further damage to our network.
—————————————————————-
There is more but you get the gist, I think. It then goes on to say a load of other nonsense about how your credit card details, your ISP account login details, and photos stored on your PC are being stolen.
Your Christmas photos may be at risk
I like that last bit about the photos. I’m guessing that works well on people who have got dodgy pics of horrible Christmas photos of jumpers or hook-ups at the office party. Personally speaking, if anyone was stealing my photos, they’d probably pay me to take them back. But as usual, I am digressing.
Basically, this entire Chromebug works in a loop. This means that every time you close your browser, it immediately opens up again, displaying the same message. While this is happening, the malware uses more of your CPU, giving you the impression that your PC has indeed been hacked.
How to fix this
Of course, this is all rubbish, so before you go spending a fortune on nothing, here are a few steps you can do to fix it.
Press ctrl + alt + delete to bring up the Task Manager. The ‘Processes’ tab should be showing (click on it if it isn’t). Then select Google Chrome and right click your mouse. Click ‘End task’ (or click ‘End task’ in the bottom right-hand corner of the window) and Chrome will close down.
When you open your Chromebrowser again, you may get a notification asking you whether you would like to restore your tabs. Don’t say yes or you will just open the same Chromebug, which means that you will have to go through the whole process again.
How to avoid these types of scams
In case you want to be secure while surfing the internet, you will need to get a full-dedicated tool to secure your network. Install now Cyberghost VPN and secure yourself. It protects your PC from attacks while browsing, masks your IP address and blocks all unwanted access.
For those of you who are wondering how to avoid these kind of scams, the answer is easy. You will never get a pop-up like this from Microsoft (or anyone else) demanding money. If you ever get something like this, just follow the steps above to end the task.
If you are still nervous as to what to do, go on another computer, and search for the information about the attack. Or just head over directly to Windows Report as I am sure we will have written something about it.
Wrapping it all up
At the end of the day, these types of attacks look pretty scary, but they are pretty primitive. A few simple steps usually gets rid of them, and as long as you are running anti-scambag software, the chances that you will have to pay to sort things out are pretty much nil.
Anyone been hit by this particular Chrome bug (or anything else similar)? Let us know what it was in the comment box below, and if it was a stubborn son-of-a-gun to get rid of, what you did. Thanks.
If you are having the issue of CtHelper.exe high CPU on your computer, this article is for you. CtHelper.exe is an executable computer file, installed alongside Creative Sound Blaster (a sound card) which is a product of Creative Technologies, a renowned digital solution company that specializes in the production of computer sound and video boards.
What is CtHelper.exe?
The file is an essential third-party component of computer’s audio system, especially on Mac and a host of Windows versions. It is also an automated process that runs in the background.
Is CtHelper.exe a virus?
CtHelper.exe is often misconceived by many as a virus. However, the file is not a virus; rather, it is an utility file. Nevertheless, various forms of malicious contents are known to attack computers, ranging from malware to trojan to spyware. These files often adopt similar name and file size as CtHelper.exe on your computer system (especially on Windows). As such, it could cause significant damage to your computer, in the guise of being a CtHelper.exe file.
In light of the foregoing, malicious files can result in the “Cthelper.exe high CPU” issue, by building up irrelevant entries on the file, which use more CPU space.
While CtHelper.exe file is normally harmless, it exposes computer systems to a host of errors and external attacks, ranging from malware attack to the more significant high CPU error, which can affect the overall performance of a computer system.
In this article, we have compiled some solutions, which can be adopted to fix the issue of “CtHelper.exe high CPU” and other related errors on your computer.
Aside the more significant CtHelper.exe high CPU issue, there are other CtHelper.exe errors, which can disrupt the overall performance and functionality of your system. Some of these errors include:
CtHelper.exe failed
CtHelper.exe application error
CtHelper.exe Not found
CtHelper.exe is not running
Cannot find CtHelper.exe
Some of the above outlined errors are caused by corrupt CtHelper.exe Windows affiliate programs, incomplete installation of Sound Blaster, malware or trojan attack and more.
However, as emphasized above, the most notorious of these errors is the CtHelper.exe high CPU issue. You can try the methods listed below to fix it.
How to fix CtHelper.exe high CPU issues
Method 1: Disable CtHelper.exe auto-start function
Cthelper. exe is notorious for dominating a computer’s CPU space. It basically utilizes CPU in excess, and most times, it runs your CPU up to full capacity (100%), thereby inundating your system. To fix this issue and reduce CPU usage, you need to remove the automation capability of the file by disabling it from starting on boot. To do this, follow the steps below:
Boot up your computer system, navigate to the “Start” menu and open it.
Under the menu, select “Run”.
Type in “msconfig” (system configuration utility) in the space provided and click enter.
Navigate to the “Startup” bar and click on it.
Under the options brought forth, locate the CtHelper.exe checkbox.
Clear the checkbox
Press “OK” and exit the utility configuration program.
Restart your system and you are all set.
Upon restart, the CtHelper.exe will not start with your computer and you can rest assure that there will be no unnecessary build up on your CPU.
MalwarebytesAdwcleaner is one of the most reliable malware cleaning tools for Windows. It can be adopted to detect and remove malwares disguising as CtHelper.exe from your system.
Follow the steps outlined below to run the program on your computer system.
Open the program by right-clicking the icon and selecting the “Run as Administrator” option.
Select the “Scan” option to commence the scanning operation.
After the scan, select the “Clean” option
After the clean up, shut down your system and restart it.
The above outlined process should clear any malware on your system, including the one affecting your CtHelper.exe file. Nevertheless, you can try a host of other malware clearing tools like Emsisoft, CCleaner, and others.
Clearing malicious contents on your computer system would normally increase the operability of your system. However, accumulated non-malicious junk files and programs would still be present and this could, in a way or another, result in the CtHelper high CPU issue. Hence, it is recommended you clean up your system.
Method 3: Clean up computer with “cleanmgr” (Disk Cleanup)
Accumulated files and programs could be a pain in the ass. Most of these are usually retained or left over files from web browsers, system or installed apps. If this log of unsolicited files is left to build up, it can disrupt the operability of CtHelper.exe.
With this, the file uses more CPU space than normal, thereby resulting in CtHelper.exe high CPU issue. The in-built tool for cleaning up system log is “Disk Cleanup“.
Follow the steps below to run the Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr) program.
Boot up your Windows device and click on the “Start” button.
Type “cleanmgr” in the displayed box.
On the pop up checkbox options, check the boxes of files you want to clear
If the CtHelper.exe file on your device is occupying excessive CPU space or it encounters other errors, you can easily restore your computer system to an earlier settings.
This will clear recent files and modifications, and restore your system to when everything was working perfectly. This is essentially a Windows function, and you can run it on all Windows devices, ranging from Windows XP to Windows 10.
Follow the steps below to execute the system restore process on your computer system.
Open your computer.
Navigate to the “Start” button and click on it.
Enter “System Restore” in the search box.
Select “System Restore” on the pop up results.
Input your password
Follow the guidelines in the “Wizard”
Select “Restore”
This action will set your system back to an earlier time, and every unwanted latest files would be cleared. This would, no doubt, reduce your computer’s CPU space.
Method 5: Run SFC scan
SFC is a Windows tool, designed to assist you in scanning corrupt files on your system. As such, SFC is able to check for CtHelper.exe errors, including excess CPU usage.
Follow the steps below to run a system file check.
Power up your system and click “Start”.
Input “command” in the provided space. Don’t press enter yet.
Press Ctrl+Shift and Enter, simultaneously
Select “Yes” in the pop up dialog
Type “sfc/scannow” in the open box and click “Enter”.
Wait (the scan often takes a few minutes).
Follow the command prompt after the scan
Restart your system.
The system checker will scan your computer’s CtHelper.exe file and other programs for errors. Any detected error is fixed and automatically restored by the SFC tool.
You can also try the next method, if this one doesn’t work for you.
Windows is regularly updated by Microsoft, and the primary function of these updates is to improve the overall performance of computers. In this case, installing the latest update could be the ultimate solution to the CtHelper.exe high CPU issue and other related errors.
Follow the steps below to check for updates and install them on your Windows computer systems.
Open your computer and locate “Start”.
Click on the “Start” button and locate “Windows Update” or you can simply search for the keyword – Windows Update.
This will reveal to you if there is any available update. If update is available, select “Install Updates” and wait for it (it takes a few minutes).
Your computer would automically restart upon successful installation.
If the above method is unable to fix CtHelper.exe error and reduce the file’s CPU usage, you can then adopt the next (last) solution.
If, after exhausting all available options, you are still battling with the issue of CtHelper.exe high CPU and other related errors, you can try uninstalling & reinstalling the CtHelper.exe-affiliated program.
Note: Procedures for uninstalling programs differ across Windows boards. As such, each Windows version has its specific means of running this operation. For convenience, we’ll stick with Windows 7.
To uninstall the Sound Blaster on Windows 7, follow the steps below.
Open computer and click “Start”
Tap on “Control Panel”
Select “Programs”
Select “Programs and Features”
Locate the CtHelper.exe file proprietary program (Sound Blaster).
Click on the program and select “Uninstall”.
Follow the command prompt to complete installation
Reinstall the program
Conclusion
CtHelper.exe is a utility file, which is an associated function of Sound Blaster; an essential component of a computer’s audio system. The file is known to occupy significant CPU space, which could run up to 100%. This is the basis for the CtHelper.exe high CPU issue.
This post has provided a total of eight solutions, which can be adopted to solve the CtHelper.exe high CPU issue and other related errors on your computer. Depending on your system specs, one or more of the solutions should work for you.
Microsoft hotfixes were meant to provide swift solutions to small but teething issues in various programs to enable users and administrators to restore software’s functionality soonest. As a result, hotfixes have been pretty popular among Microsoft products users.
But now Microsoft has killed this service and users are met by the message “This hotfix is no longer available” when attempting to access any recommended Hotfix.
Now, if you have been left scratching your head looking for a solution, then you are in luck:
There are multiple ways of resolving issues that previously needed a hotfix.
Here I will show you how to overcome the “this hotfix is no longer available” matter and solve any program mishap that traditionally needs a hotfix. Let’s go.
Fix 1: Search for the specific hotfix on the Microsoft Update Catalog
Thankfully, it seems that Microsoft hasn’t removed most of the actual hotfix files from the Microsoft update catalog page. You can thus simply search for the specific hotfix from there and download it.
Here is what I would do it assuming I am looking for the hotfix KB2980746 (for Windows 8.1).
Well, while that’s pretty easy, not all the hotfixes will be available through the update catalog page. But it’s not really a big bother since there are several hacks that are known to help. Here they are.
Fix 2: Upgrade To The Latest Available Updates For Your Microsoft Product
Even though they take a little longer than hotfixes because they are larger, the latest product updates contain almost all the required fixes for the known issues and is an assured way of eliminating common bugs.
Here is how to get the Windows operating system updates:
Windows 7
Click Start then go to the provided search box and type “update”.
Click Windows Update.
Click Check for updates. Microsoft Windows will now look for the latest updates for your Windows. Wait until it finishes.
Click Install updates.
Windows 8/8.1
Move the mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the screen then click Search.
Click Settings.
Look for the search box area and type Windows Update.
Choose the relevant application (Here I choose browsers assuming I wanted an Internet Explorer hotfix).
The current and previous updates will all be shown. Try to locate the updates you are yet to add and proceed to download and install. Click view more to access everything.
It’s a bit cumbersome but it helps.
Fix 3: Upgrade to Windows 10
Windows 10 includes the most up-to-date patches and many other essential features and you can once and for all eliminate the “This hotfix is no longer available” difficulty by upgrading to it. Price starts at $139 for Windows 10 home edition.
Similarly, you may have to upgrade your office suite to a latter office version to get the best experience. The same applies to every other Microsoft product needing a hotfix.
Conclusion
You can circumvent the “this hotfix is no longer available” challenge by either searching for the applicable hotfix from the Microsoft catalog center or by updating the concerned programs.
Of course, the best solution is by ensuring that your Microsoft software are up to date and that you’re working with the latest editions of your favorite apps.
You’ve received a new Surface for Christmas – or you’ve put one on your wish list and want to be ready for the big day – and now you want to get started with Surface Pen. Surface Pen is Microsoft’s digital stylus accessory for the Surface range which provides an extremely accurate digital inking experience using dedicated internal hardware.
With Surface Pen, you can create digital drawings and take notes with a level of fidelity akin to that of a real pen. The latest Surface Pen has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, so the only thing stopping you from reaching a true like-for-like experience is the smooth feel of the glass touchscreen itself. With use, you’ll soon get used to it though – it’s similar to writing on a whiteboard.
Before following this guide, make sure you read our “How to set up your new Surface” tutorial if you’re only just arriving in the Surface ecosystem.
Pairing your pen
First, the basics. You need to get your pen connected to your Surface. Check Bluetooth is turned on by heading to the Settings app (open the Start menu, type Settings, press enter) and opening the “Devices” category from the main menu.
On the first page that appears, toggle the “Bluetooth” switch to “On.” Now, click the “Add Bluetooth or other device” button at the top of the display. On your Surface Pen, press and hold the top button on the end of the pen until the pen’s indicator light starts flashing green.
Back on your Surface, you should see “Surface Pen” appear in the devices list of your open Bluetooth pairing window. Tap its name to complete pairing.
Get inking
Your pen is now ready to use and you can try it out immediately. Press the button on the end of the pen and you should see Windows Ink Workspace open after a few seconds. This can also be accessed from the icon on the taskbar.
Here, you can select from several built-in experiences. Choose Sketchpad to open a blank canvas where you can immediately start scribbling down your thoughts. If you need to erase anything, just flip the pen and rub out your pen strokes by holding the end button against the display – it’s as natural and seamless as the eraser on the end of a real pencil.
Sketchpad includes the ink toolbar, which is common to all Windows 10 apps using Windows Ink and lets you change the ink colour, pen type and stroke width. Experiment with the options to get familiar with using your pen. Notice how responsive the pen is to different pressure levels and tilt angles.
The other Windows Ink Workspace apps include Snip & Sketch, so you can annotate screenshots, and Sticky Notes. This allows you to scribble virtual sticky notes on your desktop, using your pen. With the recent Sticky Notes 3.0 release, they’ll be available across all your devices.
There are many other inking apps available, including Microsoft’s OneNote for note-taking, and Windows Photos and Maps which both support inking experiences. In the Windows Store, you can find more apps which fully support Windows Ink. Your pen will also work with most industry-standard professional graphics packages which support stylus input.
Finally, the pen will work as a mouse cursor in almost all Windows apps – whenever you see a button, you can click it by tapping the pen against it. Holding the barrel button on the pen while tapping will usually display the right-click menu.
Configure your pen
Once you’ve finished your initial experimentation, head back to the Settings app to configure how your pen works. You can customise what happens when you press the end button, as well as the behaviour for different pen features.
You’ll find the options on the “Pen & Windows Ink” page back in the Devices category. At the top of the page, you’ll first see a dropdown menu that lets you select whether you’re left- or right-handed – this alters how ink flows relative to the direction of the pen.
Next, there’s a series of checkboxes to control the visual experience. You can choose to hide or show visual effects and the pen cursor (we recommend disabling the latter for a more natural experience), as well as whether the pen can act as a mouse in desktop apps. The final checkbox lets you disable the touchscreen when using the pen, but this shouldn’t normally be necessary – the Surface has built-in palm rejection to automatically block touch inputs caused by you leaning on the screen to write.
The next section of the page controls the handwriting experience when you use your pen in regular form fields. Windows 10 now lets you use your pen in any textbox, so you can tap to reveal a handwriting panel you can write in. You can change the panel’s font and choose when it appears – by default, it’s whenever you’re using the Surface without a keyboard, but you can restrict it to only when Tablet Mode is enabled in Windows.
At the bottom of the screen, you can customise what happens when you click, double click or hold the button at the end of your pen. Use the dropdown menus to configure each individual behaviour. The options are launch an app, open the Windows Ink Workspace, open OneNote (Windows Store or 2016) or take a screenshot. Press and hold can also be used to launch Cortana voice assistance.
Advanced pen configuration
You can customise more pen options using the Surface app which should be preinstalled on your device. Open it up from the Start menu and switch to the Pen page from the navigation menu on the left. Here, you can customise the pen sensitivity to change how “light” or “heavy” it feels. Use the slider and test area to adjust the sensitivity to your liking. If you tap the “Advanced” link, you can view a realtime pen pressure graph to visualise how hard you’re pressing against the display.
The Surface app also lets you check the battery level of your pen. Open the “Battery level” page to check its current status and view its serial number. Your battery life will vary depending on how often you use the pen, but you can expect to go months or even a couple of years without recharging.
With that, your Surface Pen should now be ready to use. Keep on experimenting using Sketchpad or your favourite app to get familiar with the pen and how it feels. Microsoft is continuing to work on inking technologies and more apps are adding support, so you can expect the experience to get even better with time.
Windows Fax and Scan is an integrated faxing and scanning application. If you have a computer that has a fax modem, you can send and receive faxes and you can also scan documents. If you don’t have a fax modem, you can email scanned documents and forward faxes as email attachments from your computer.
Windows Fax and Scan is included in Windows Vista Ultimate and as an optional component in Windows Vista Enterprise, as well as in all the versions of Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
Keep in mind that Windows Fax and Scan is not available on Vista Home or Vista Home Premium.
Fatal error when sending faxes on Windows 10
Sometimes Windows users encountered the “fatal error” while trying to use Windows Fax and Scan and they usually describe it like that: Windows Fax and Scan keeps showing “Fatal error” when trying to scan my documents.
For a fax transmission to succeed, there are some conditions: the fax line should not be busy, in order to transmit the fax there should be a dial tone. Moreover, a fax device should answer the call and, of course, a fatal error should not occur during the transmission of the fax.
What to do if Windows 10 Fax and Scan displays fatal errors
If you are also facing this problem and you are searching for a solution to fix this error, here are a few solutions that may help you fix your problem:
Method 1: Review the activity log
You can find further details and potential solutions. Here are the steps to follow in order to access the fax activity log:
Open Windows Explorer and click on the disk that contains the operating system.
Click the View tab to
Click “Show Hidden Files and Folders”
Close the dialog box.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to %systemdrive%ProgramDataMicrosoftWindows NTMSFaxActivityLog
Check the file InboxLog.txt. Each row in InboxLog.txt is an incoming fax job.
In the row for a given failed incoming fax transmission, review the Status and Extended Status fields and you could find information about the failure.
Method 2: Update your drivers
Download and reinstall the latest device driver updates like the modem and the chipset drivers. If you don’t know how to do that, you can find all the information on the manufacturer’s site.
To automatically install the latest drivers on Windows 10, we recommend using a dedicated third-party tool that scans your device and finds the right drivers within seconds. With a simple click, you can set it to install the drivers and bring your OS to optimal condition.
Most of the time, the generic drivers for your PC’s hardware and peripherals are not properly updated by the system. There are key differences between a generic driver and a manufacturer’s driver.
Searching for the right driver version for each of your hardware components can become tedious. That’s why an automated assistant can help you find and update your system with the correct drivers every time, and we strongly recommend Outbyte Driver Updater.
Method 3: Re-enable Windows Fax and Scan from Windows Features
Some users said that disabling and then re-enabling Fax and Scan helped them fix fatal errors. Here are the steps to follow:
Click the Start button, Control Panel, and then Programs
Turn Windows features on or off
To turn Windows Fax and Scan feature off, you need to:
Expand Print and Document Services
Uncheck Windows Fax and Scan
Click OK and restart the computer
To turn Windows Fax and Scan feature on:
Select the check box next to Print and Document Services
Check Windows Fax and Scan
Hit OK and reboot your computer
Method 4: Verify that the fax server is correctly configured
There are two ways of sending a fax using the Windows Fax and Scan feature: you can use a fax device attached locally or use a fax server.
For using a fax server you need to use a computer running Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Server 2008.
To confirm that the fax server is configured correctly and it can send faxes, you need to:
Send a test fax.
Be sure that the server is configured to send. Here are the exact steps to follow:
Open Fax Service Manager > hit Start
Point to Administrative Tools > click Fax Service Manager
In the left pane, right-click Fax > hit Properties
On the General tab, confirm that the Disable transmission of outgoing faxes check box is cleared so that faxes can be sent.
Confirm that the device is correctly configured:
Open Fax Service Manager > click Start
Go to Administrative Tools > Fax Service Manager.
In the left panel, double-click Fax and then ouble-click Devices and Providers > click Devices.
Confirm that there are devices listed under Devices.
In the right pane, right-click the device and then do the following:
Click Properties, and then confirm that the values for Description, Transmitting Subscriber Identification (TSID), and Called Subscriber Identification (CSID) are correct.
Confirm that Send is enabled.
Confirm that outgoing routing is configured correctly:
Open Fax Service Manager > click Start
Navigate to Administrative Tools > Fax Service Manager
In the left pane, double-click Fax > go to Outgoing Routing
In the left pane, click Groups, and then in the right pane, verify the device or devices listed.
In the left pane, click Rules, and then in the right pane, verify that the country/region code and area code are correct, and that the rule is being applied to the correct device or routing group
Confirm that the Fax service is running. You can manage the Fax service using Fax Service Manager or the Services snap-in. To confirm that the Fax service is running using Fax Service Manager you should follow the steps:
Open Fax Service Manager > click Start
Go to Administrative Tools
Click Fax Service Manager
In the right pane, right-click Fax, and then view the menu.
Confirm that Start is grayed out and that Stop is active on the menu.
Remember that you cannot install or configure fax components unless you are a member of the Administrators group or you have been given the authority.
Hopefully, one of the four methods listed in this article helped you solve this annoying problem affecting Windows fax and scanning. Let us know in the comments section below if you managed to solve this fatal error and which of the solutions listed here worked in your case.
As Murphy’s Law suggests, if something might go wrong, it will. And Windows occasionally has a mind of its own, with all those critical errors, BSODs, and crashes. Now, the only reliable way to find out what’s causing those is with the Windows Event Log.
If a critical error strikes, the culprit is to be found in the log files with the EVTX extension. However, there is not a lot use of those if they get corrupted.
How to fix corrupt Windows Event Log (EVTX file)
The Windows Event Log is the primary and only diagnostic tool a knowledgeable user needs to find out about system issues. Inspecting the log thoroughly will lead to determining the culprit for a variety of critical system issues.
However, if your PC shuts down before the logs are written, the Windows Event Log file will get corrupted. And, thus, unusable.
You can always delete the corrupted file and wait again for the error to appear. On the other hand, you can try and repair the corrupted EVTX file or export it as a CSV file, but that can take some expert knowledge. There are a few tools which allow to extract the binary values from the corrupted file and allow you to access it. They require Python, which might be an issue for an uninformed user.
So, the best way to deal with the corrupted files is to just remove them and allow the system to make new logs. These can be manually deleted, so we recommend a batch file (script) to clear all of them. You can also try with the Disk Cleanup built-in utility, but the batch has proven to be a more reliable way.
You can download the batch file, here. Extract the file to your desktop, right-click on it, and run it as an administrator. Once you run it, the script will erase all logs from the Windows Event Log. Next time you run into a problem, the EVTX log file won’t be corrupted.
With that said, we can conclude this article. If you have any questions or alternative ways of retrieving data from corrupted Windows Event Log files, do tell us in the comments section below.
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