Categories
Windows

[SOVLED] Valorant TPM 2.0 error: Fix VAN9001 secure boot on Windows 11

Running into the error message: “This build of Vanguard requires TPM version 2.0 and secure boot to be enabled in order to play”? If you’re going to run Valorant on your Windows 11 computers, you may get this error message. But don’t worry, this is not a critical error, and you should be able to resolve this problem on your own after following some simple steps!

What is Valorant TPM 2.0 error


According to @AntiCheatPD, Valorant has started to enforce both TPM and Secure boot if users are playing on Windows 11 to ensure a trusted platform when playing Valorant. If either of the features do not work, you’ll get the VAN9001 error message and Riot Vanguard, Riot Games’ custom game security software, will prevent Valorant from running on your Windows 11 computer.

How to fix Valorant TPM 2.0 error

To fix Valorant TPM 2.0 error, you just need to ensure both Secure Boot and TMP 2.0 are enabled on your Windows 11 computer. If you’re not sure if these two features are enabled or not, simply follow the steps below to check and enable it.

Check if Secure Boot is enabled

Secure Boot is a security standard developed by PC industry members to help ensure that a device boots using only software trusted by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). If Secure Boot is disabled on your Windows 11 PC, you’ll run into the TPM 2.0 error in Valorant.

Just follow the steps below to check if Secure Boot is disabled on your computer:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run command box. Type msinfo32 and press Enter.
    run msinfo32
  2. In the System Information window, locate Secure Boot State in the System Summary section.
    check Secure Boot State

If the Secure Boot state is Off, you’ll need to enable Secure Boot from the PC BIOS menu (UEFI Firmware Settings).

Check if TPM 2.0 is enabled

TPM 2.0, or Trusted Platform Module version 2.0, is an important building block for security-related features like Windows Hello for identify protection and BitLocker for data protection. TPM 2.0 is required to run Windows 11, and most PCs that have shipped in the last 5 years are capable of running TPM 2.0.

You can follow the steps below to check if TPM 2.0 is enabled on your computer:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run command box.
  2. Type tpm.msc and press Enter to open Trusted Platform Module Management window.
    • If you see a message saying “The TPM is ready to use”, and its specification version is 2.0, it suggests that your computer has TPM 2.0.
      Check TPM State
    • If you see a message saying “a compatible TPM cannot be found”, your computer may not have a TPM, or your PC may have a TPM that is disabled.

Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 settings are managed via the UEFI BIOS (PC firmware) and vary based on your device.

Enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0

There are generally two ways to enter the UEFI Firmware Settings. You can either restart your PC and press a certain key (usually F1, F2, F10, etc.) when you see your computer manufacturer logo screen or just follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I to open Windows Settings. Then go to Windows Update > Advanced options > Recovery > Advanced startup. Click the Restart now button to restart.
  2. You’ll see the Choose an option screen. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings. Click the Restart button to restart to change UEFI Firmware settings.
  3. Once your computer restarted to UEFI Firmware settings, you need to find the Secure Boot option and enable it. The Secure Boot option is usually found in the Boot tab.
  4. The TPM 2.0 setting is often contained in a sub-menu in the UEFI BIOS labeled Advanced, Security, or Trusted Computing. The option to enable the TPM 2.0 may be labeled Security Device, TPM state, Security Device Support, AMD fTPM switch, AMD PSP fTPM, Intel PTT, or Intel Platform Trust Technology.

After you’ve enabled Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, the Valorant TPM 2.0 error should be resolved. If this error persists after you enabled both settings, you may need to downgrade your computer to Windows 10 to avoid the Valorant TPM 2.0 error.

If you have any thoughts or questions on this issue, feel free to drop a line in the comment area below.

Categories
Windows

How to sideload Android apps on Windows 11

On October 20, 2021, Microsoft announced the first preview of their Android apps experience into the Windows Insider Program. For Dev, Beta and Release Preview Channel users in the United States on eligible devices running Intel, AMD and Qualcomm platforms, they can install Amazon Appstore to download and run Android apps. However, lots of Android apps are not available on Amazon Appstore. The good news is that Windows 11 allows you to sideload Android apps, so you can still enjoy apps and games not available through Amazon Appstore. After reading this article, you’ll learn how to sideload Android apps on Windows 11.

Before starting

Before you dive right into sideloading Android apps, you’ll need to:

  • Enable virtualization
  • Enable Hyper-V
  • Join Windows Insider Program

Note: If you already have Amazon Appstore up and running on your Windows 11 computer, you can skip this part, because your machine has enabled virtualization and Hyper-V.

To enable virtualization

If you’re not sure whether you’ve enabled virtualization on your Windows 11 PC, just follow the instructions below to check:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc and the same time to open Task Manager.
  2. Navigate to the Performance tab. In the CPU section, you’ll see the virtualization status on your machine.
    Virtualization is enabled on Windows 11

If you haven’t enabled virtualization yet, you’ll need to enable it from the UEFI firmware (BIOS) settings. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Shut down your machine from the Start Menu, then wait a few seconds and turn it back on.
  2. When you see the boot screen, follow the on-screen instruction to press the correct key on your keyboard to enter the BIOS menu. (depending on your computer manufacturer, you may need to press F2, F10 or F12 key to enter the BIOS menu)
    Enter BIOS
  3. Once you’ve entered the BIOS setup, find the Virtualization field and change the value to enabled, or check the box next to Virtualization to enable it.
    Intel visual BIOS virtualization enabled

To enable Hyper-V

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s hardware virtualization product that allows you to create and run a virtual machine on your computer. To sideload Android apps on Windows 11, you need to have Windows Subsystem for Android installed, which requires Hyper-V to be enabled.

Note: Hyper-V is built into Windows as an optional feature — there is no Hyper-V download.

Hyper-V requirements

  • Windows 11 Enterprise, Pro, or Education.
  • 64-bit Processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT).
  • Minimum of 4 GB memory.

Follow the steps below to enable Hyper-V on your Windows 11 computer:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run command box. Enter optionalfeatures and press Enter to open the Windows Features window.
    run optionalfeatures
  2. Check the boxes next to all the Hyper-V related features. Then click OK.
    Enable Hyper-V
  3. Restart Windows 11 and Hyper-V will be enabled.

Install Windows Subsystem for Android

Next, you need to install Windows Subsystem for Android on your Windows 11 computer. If you’ve installed Windows Subsystem for Android, just skip step 1-2.

  1. Launch Microsoft Store and search for Amazon Appstore. Click the Install button to install Amazon Appstore.
    Amazon Appstore in Microsoft Store
  2. To get the Amazon Appstore work on your Windows 11 machine, you’ll be required to download the Windows Subsystem for Android from Microsoft. Click Download to start downloading.
    Download the Windows Subsystem for Android
  3. Once downloaded, click Open Amazon Appstore to launch Windows Subsystem for Android.
    Launch Windows Subsystem for Android
  4. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key, and type android to search for Windows Subsystem for Android. Click on the best match result to open the Windows Subsystem for Android settings.
    Search for Windows Subsystem for Android
  5. Set the Subsystem resources to Continuous, then turn on Developer mode. Note the IP address displayed on the Developer mode tile.
    Windows Subsystem for Android

Download Android Platform Tools

After you enabled virtualization and installed Windows Subsystem for Android on your computer, you need to download the Android SDK Platform tools to sideload Android apps on your Windows 11 machine.

Just follow the steps below to download the Android SDK Platform tools:

  1. Go to the official Android Studio SDK Platform tool page.
  2. Click on Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows.
    Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows
  3. Check the box next to I have read and agree with the above terms and conditions, then click Download Android SDK Platform-Tools for Windows to start downloading.
    Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows
  4. Once downloaded, locate the downloaded .zip file. Right-click on it and select Extract all… to extract the .zip file.
    Extract the downloaded zip file
  5. Download the Android app installation package and save it to the platform-tools folder. If you don’t know where to download the .APK file, you can go to apkpure.com.
    Download apk file to the platform-tools folder1

Sideload Android apps on Windows 11 PC

Now, you can start sideloading Android apps on your Windows 11 machine. Here’s how:

  1. Right-click on the platform-tools folder and select Open in Windows Terminal.
    Open the platform-tools folder in Windows Terminal
  2. Execute the command below to connect with Android Debug Bridge (ADB):
    .\adb connect <IP address>
    Note: you need to replace the <IP address> placeholder with the IP address displayed on the Developer mode tile in the Windows Subsystem for Android settings.
    Connect to ADB
  3. After you see “already connected to <IP address>“, execute the command below to install / sideload the Android app:
    .\adb install "your app.apk"
    Note: you need to replace your app.apk to the file name of the .apk file you downloaded.
    Sideload the apk file on windows 11

    Wait a few seconds, and the .apk file will be successfully installed on your Windows 11 computer.
  4. To launch the Android app you just installed, simply press the Windows logo key, and click on its icon.
    launch the android app on windows 11

    launch the android app on windows 11

That’s it! Now you’ve successfully sideloaded Android apps on your Windows 11 computer. Feel free to drop a line in the comment area below if you have any questions or suggestions on this topic. Thanks for reading!

Categories
Windows

[Ultimate Guide] Windows 11 Run Commands List

The Windows Run command box is a easy way to access Windows settings, tools and apps. It’s a built-in feature in Windows OS since Windows 95. Through the Windows Run command box, you can easily open any Windows settings, tools or apps in just 2 steps. Once you’re familiar with these Run commands, you’ll be more productive when working on a Windows 11 computer.

This post collects a complete list of Run commands that you can use in Windows 11. Most of them can also be used on Windows 10, 8.1 and even Windows 7.

TOC

How to access the Run command box

There are more than one way to access the Run command box. Here I’ll introduce three different methods to access it:

1. Use the keyboard combination

The easiest way to open the Run command box is use the keyboard combination. Simply press the Windows logo key and R at the same time on your keyboard, the Run command box will pop up.

The Windows logo key + R

2. Right-click on the Start menu

You can also access the Run command box via the Start menu. Just right-click on the Start menu, then select Run.

Start menu - Run

3. Search for Run

You can also simply press the Windows logo key on your keyboard and type run. Then select the top result to open the Run command box.

search for run

Most-used Run commands for Windows 11

Below is the list of most frequently used Run commands that can help you access the most popular apps and settings in Windows 11 in just 2 steps.

ActionRun command
Open Command Promptcmd
Open Control Panelcontrol
Open Registry Editorregedit
Open File Explorerexplorer
Open Services utilityservices.msc
Open Local Group Policy Editorgpedit.msc
Open the System Configuration dialog boxmsconfig
Open the Temporary files folder%temp% or temp
Open Device Managerdevmgmt.msc or hdwwiz.cpl
Shuts down your computershutdown
Manage Windows Power optionspowercfg.cpl
Open the DirectX Diagnostic Tooldxdiag
Open Resource Monitorresmon
Open Performance Monitorperfmon.msc
Open Computer Management consolecompmgmt.msc or compmgmtlauncher
Access Network Connectionsncpa.cpl or control netconnection
Open the current user profile directory.
Open the Users folder..
Open Remote Desktop Connectionmstsc
Access File Explorer Optionscontrol folders
Turn Windows Features On/Offoptionalfeatures
Check Windows Versionwinver
Open Disk Partition Managerdiskpart
Open Disk Defragmenter utilitydfrgui
Open Windows Mobility Center (available only on laptops)mblctr
Access Mouse Propertiesmain.cpl or control mouse
Access Windows Defender Firewallfirewall.cpl
Open System Properties windowsysdm.cpl
Open any websiteEnter Website URL
Open Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Toolmrt

Control Panel Run commands

Here is the list of Run commands that can help you access different part of Control Panel or control applets directly:

ActionRun command
Access Sound propertiesmmsys.cpl
Access Devices and Printers propertiescontrol printers
Open Add a Device Wizarddevicepairingwizard
Open Time and Date propertiesTimedate.cpl
Open Region properties – Language, Date/Time format, keyboard localeintl.cpl
Open Fonts Control Panel folderFonts
Open Internet PropertiesInetcpl.cpl
Open Keyboard Propertiesmain.cpl keyboard
Open Mouse Propertiescontrol mouse
Open Administrative Tools (Windows Tools) folder in Control Panelcontrol admintools
Access Security and Maintenance Control Panelwscui.cpl
Control Display settings (in Windows Settings)desk.cpl
Control Personalization settings (in Windows Settings)Control desktop
Manage current user accountcontrol userpasswords or control.exe /name Microsoft.UserAccounts
Open User Accounts dialog boxcontrol userpasswords2
Create a System Repair Discrecdisc
Create A Shared Folder Wizardshrpubw
Open Shared Folders windowfsmgmt.msc
Create a System Repair Discrecdisc
Open Task SchedulerControl schedtasks or taskschd.msc
Access Windows Firewall with Advanced Securitywf.msc
Open Data Execution Prevention (DEP) featuresystempropertiesdataexecutionprevention
Access System Restore featurerstrui
Access Performance Optionssystempropertiesperformance
Access Pen and Touch optionstabletpc.cpl
Control Display Color Calibrationdccw
Adjust User Account Control (UAC) SettingsUserAccountControlSettings
Open Microsoft Sync Centermobsync
Access Backup and Restore control panelsdclt
View and Change Windows Activation settingsslui
Open Windows Fax and Scan utilitywfs
Open Ease of Access Centercontrol access.cpl
Install a program from the networkcontrol appwiz.cpl,,1

Windows 11 Settings Run commands

In this part, you’ll find a complete list of Run command that helps you access the settings in the Windows 11 Settings app.

Windows 11 Settings – System

ActionRun command
Open Settings app home pagems-settings:
Open Display settingsdpiscaling or ms-settings:display
Open Sound settingsms-settings:sound
Manage Sound Devices(Input/Output Devices)ms-settings:sound-devices
Open Sound Mixer settingsms-settings:apps-volume
Open Sound Mixer dialog boxsndvol
Adjust Sound Mixer settingsms-settings:apps-volume
Open Notifications settingsms-settings:notifications
Open Focus assist settingsms-settings:quiethours
Change Power & Battery settingsms-settings:batterysaver-settings or ms-settings:powersleep
Open Storage Settingsms-settings:storagesense
Configure Storage Sensems-settings:storagepolicies
Open Nearby Sharing optionsms-settings:crossdevice
Configure Multitaskingms-settings:multitasking
Open Windows Activation settingsms-settings:activation
Open Windows Troubleshoot Settingscontrol.exe /name Microsoft.Troubleshooting or ms-settings:troubleshoot
Open Recovery settingsms-settings:recovery
Open Projecting to this PC settingsms-settings:project
Open Remote Desktop settingsms-settings:remotedesktop
Open Clipboard settingsms-settings:clipboard
Open About settings pagems-settings:about
Adjust Graphics preference settingsms-settings:display-advancedgraphics
Change the Night light settingsms-settings:nightlight
Change where new content is savedms-settings:savelocations

Windows 11 Settings – Bluetooth & devices

ActionRun command
Open Devices settingsms-settings:connecteddevices or ms-settings:bluetooth
Open Printers & Scanner settingsms-settings:printers
Open Touchpad settingsms-settings:devices-touchpad
Open AutoPlay settingsms-settings:autoplay
Open Cameras Settingsms-settings:camera
Open Pen and Windows Ink settingsms-settings:pen
Open Your Phone settingsms-settings:mobile-devices
Open USB settingsms-settings:usb
Open Mouse settingsms-settings:mousetouchpad

Windows 11 Settings – Network & internet

ActionRun command
Open Network & Internet settings panelms-settings:network
Connect and manage WiFi settingsms-settings:network-wifi
Manage known Wi-Fi networksms-settings:network-wifisettings
Manage Ethernet Network settingsms-settings:network-ethernet
Add, connect, and Manage VPNms-settings:network-vpn
Open Mobile Hotspot settingsms-settings:network-mobilehotspot
Set up a dial-up internet connectionms-settings:network-dialup
Open Proxy settingsms-settings:network-proxy
View Network Statusms-settings:network-status
Open Airplane mode (Wireless/Bluetooth) settingsms-settings:network-airplanemode or ms-settings:proximity
View data usagems-settings:datausage

Windows 11 Settings – Personalization

ActionRun command
Open all Personalization settingsms-settings:personalization
Customize Background settingsms-settings:personalization-background
Customize Color settingsms-settings:personalization-colors or ms-settings:colors
Customize Start Menums-settings:personalization-start
Choose which folders appear on Start next to the Power buttonms-settings:personalization-start-places
Customize Lock Screenms-settings:lockscreen
Add or change Fontsms-settings:fonts
Open Taskbar settingsms-settings:taskbar
Change Themesms-settings:themes
Open Device Usage settingsms-settings:deviceusage

Windows 11 Settings – Apps

ActionRun command
Open Apps and Features settingsms-settings:appsfeatures
Open Default apps settingsms-settings:defaultapps or
computerdefaults
Open Offline maps settingsms-settings:maps
Configure Optional featuresms-settings:optionalfeatures
Open Apps for websites settings pagems-settings:appsforwebsites
Download Offline mapsms-settings:maps-downloadmaps
Open Video playback settingsms-settings:videoplayback
Configure Startup Appsms-settings:startupapps

Windows 11 Settings – Accounts

ActionRun command
View all Accounts settingsms-settings:accounts
View Your Accounts Infoms-settings:yourinfo
Access Email & app accounts settingsms-settings:emailandaccounts
Open Family & other users account settingsms-settings:family-group or ms-settings:otherusers
Set up a kioskms-settings:assignedaccess
Open Windows Sign-in Optionsms-settings:signinoptions
Access Work or School accountsms-settings:workplace
Open Windows backup (Sync) settingsms-settings:sync or ms-settings:backup
Open Dynamic lock settingsms-settings:signinoptions-dynamiclock
Open Windows Hello setupms-settings:signinoptions-launchfaceenrollment
Open Windows Hello Fingerprint setupms-settings:signinoptions-launchfingerprintenrollment
Open Windows Hello Security Key setupms-settings:signinoptions-launchsecuritykeyenrollment

Windows 11 Settings – Time & language

ActionRun command
Open Date & Time settingsms-settings:dateandtime
Open Language and Region settingsms-settings:regionformatting
Open Typing and keyboard settingsms-settings:typing
Open Speech settings (Speech language, Microphone, Voices)ms-settings:speech

Windows 11 Settings – Accessibility

ActionRun command
Open Accessibility settingsutilman
Open Text size settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-display
Change Text Cursor settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-cursor
Open Visual Effects settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-visualeffects
Open Mouse Pointer and Touch settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-mousepointer
Open Magnifier settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-magnifier
Open Color Filters settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-colorfilter
Change Contrast settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-highcontrast
Open Narrator settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-narrator
Start Narrator after/before sign-inms-settings:easeofaccess-narrator-isautostartenabled
Open Accessibility Audio settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-audio
Access Closed Captioning optionsms-settings:easeofaccess-closedcaptioning
Open Keyboard settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-keyboard
Open Mouse settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-mouse
Change Speech recognition settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-speechrecognition
Open Eye Control settingsms-settings:easeofaccess-eyecontrol

Windows 11 Settings – Privacy & security

ActionRun command
Open Privacy settingsms-settings:privacy
Open Windows Security settingsms-settings:windowsdefender
Mange Activity history across devices and accountsms-settings:privacy-activityhistory
Open Find My Device optionsms-settings:findmydevice
Open developers optionsms-settings:developers
Access General Windows permissionsms-settings:privacy-general
Open Online Speech recognition settingsms-settings:privacy-speech
Open Feedback & diagnostics settingsms-settings:privacy-feedback
Open Inking & Typing personalization settingsms-settings:privacy-speechtyping
Open Search Permissions settingsms-settings:search-permissions
Open Windows Searching settingsms-settings:cortana-windowssearch
Open Automatic online file downloads permissions settingms-settings:privacy-automaticfiledownloads
Open File System access settingsms-settings:privacy-broadfilesystemaccess
Open Calendar access settingsms-settings:privacy-calendar
Open Phone Call access settingsms-settings:privacy-phonecalls
Open Call history access settingsms-settings:privacy-callhistory
Open Contacts access settingsms-settings:privacy-contacts
Open Unpaired devices access settingsms-settings:privacy-customdevices
Open Documents Library access settingsms-settings:privacy-documents
Open Email access settingsms-settings:privacy-email
Open App Diagnostics access settingsms-settings:privacy-appdiagnostics
Open Location access settingsms-settings:privacy-location
Open Messaging access settingsms-settings:privacy-messaging
Open Microphone access settingsms-settings:privacy-microphone
Open Notifications access settingsms-settings:privacy-notifications
Configure Account info access for appsms-settings:privacy-accountinfo
Open Pictures library access settingsms-settings:privacy-pictures
Open Radio control access settingsms-settings:privacy-radios
Open tasks access settingsms-settings:privacy-tasks
Open Videos library access settingsms-settings:privacy-videos
Open Voice Activation access settingsms-settings:privacy-voiceactivation
Open Camera Access settingsms-settings:privacy-webcam
Open Music Library access settingsms-settings:privacy-musiclibrary

Windows 11 Settings – Windows Update

ActionRun command
Open Windows Update settingsms-settings:windowsupdate or ms-settings:windowsupdate-action or control update
Open Windows Update Advanced optionsms-settings:windowsupdate-options
View Windows Update Historyms-settings:windowsupdate-history
View Optional updatesms-settings:windowsupdate-optionalupdates
Schedule the restartms-settings:windowsupdate-restartoptions
Open Delivery Optimization settingsms-settings:delivery-optimization
Join the Windows Insider Programms-settings:windowsinsider

Run commands for folder locations

The Run commands below can help you quickly visit various Windows folders:

ActionRun command
Open Recent files Folderrecent
Open Documents Folderdocuments
Open Downloads Folderdownloads
Open Favorites Folderfavorites
Open Pictures Folderpictures
Open Videos foldervideos
Open Specific drive or Folder locationType Drive name followed by a colon (e.g. D:)
or Folder path (e.g. E:\Bin\Books)
Open OneDrive folderonedrive
Open all Apps foldershell:AppsFolder
Open Windows Address Bookwab
Open App Data folder%AppData%
Access Debug Folderdebug
Open current user directoryexplorer.exe .
Open Windows Root Drive%systemdrive%

IP config commands

ACTIONRUN COMMAND
Display information about IP configuration and the address of every adapter.ipconfig/all
Release all local IP addresses and loose connections.ipconfig/release
Renew all local IP addresses and reconnect to the internet and network.ipconfig/renew
View your DNS cache contents.ipconfig/displaydns
Delete DNS Cache contentsipconfig/flushdns
Refresh DHCP and Re-register your DNS Names and IP Addressesipconfig/registerdns
Display DHCP Class IDipconfig/showclassid
Modify DHCP Class IDipconfig/setclassid

Other useful Run commands

ActionRun command
Update Group Policy Settingsgpupdate
Switch Projector displaydisplayswitch
Open Gaming mode settingsms-settings:gaming-gamemode
Access Presentation Settingspresentationsettings
Control Windows Script Host Settingswscript
Connect to a wireless displayms-settings-connectabledevices:devicediscovery
Open Event Viewereventvwr.msc
Open Certificate Managercertmgr.msc
Launch Driver Verifier Utilityverifier
Open Local Security Policy Editorsecpol.msc
Configure Game Controllersjoy.cpl
Open File Signature Verification Toolsigverif
Backup and restore user names and passwordscredwiz
Open System Properties (Advanced Tab)systempropertiesadvanced
Open System Properties (Computer Name Tab)systempropertiescomputername
Open System Properties (Hardware Tab)systempropertieshardware
Open System Properties (Remote Tab)systempropertiesremote
Open System Properties (System Protection Tab)systempropertiesprotection
Open Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Management tooltpm.msc

That’s it! The Run box remembers all the commands you executed. So, the next time you want to use the Run command, you only need to type the first letter to select the command.


Abstract vector created by vectorjuice – www.freepik.com

Categories
Windows

How to manually download Windows 11 updates

If you failed to download or install a certain Windows 11 update via Windows Settings, don’t worry. You can still download the official standalone update package from the Microsoft Update Catalog site and manually install it on your computer.

Microsoft Update Catalog, what is it?

The Microsoft Update Catalog is a service from Microsoft. It’s a website that offers updates for Windows computers running Windows 2000 SP3 and later operating systems including Windows 11. It’s a one-stop location for finding Microsoft software updates, drivers, and hotfixes.

Is it safe to download from Microsoft Update Catalog?

It’s safe to download from Microsoft Update Catalog, because the Microsoft Update Catalog site uses secure HTTPS links:

It's safe to download from Microsoft Update Catalog

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) an internet communication protocol that protects the integrity and confidentiality of data between the user’s computer and the site.

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/security/https

How to manually download and install Windows 11 updates from Microsoft Update Catalog

It’s quite easy to download and install Windows 11 updates from Microsoft Update Catalog.

Before visiting the Microsoft Update Catalog site, you need to find the KB number of the Windows update that you need to download manually.

For example, if you need to download the 2021-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11, then you can google it’s KB number first (which should be KB5007262).

Once you got the KB number of the specific Windows update, you can follow the steps below to download and install the Windows update:

  1. Go to the Microsoft Update Catalog site.
  2. Enter the KB number of the Windows Update you want to download into the search box. Then Click the Search button.
    Search the KB number in Microsoft Update Catalog
  3. In the search result page, you may find more than one Windows update available. You need to select the one that suits your system type and click the Download button.
    Microsoft Update Catalog search results page 1
  4. In the download window that pops up, right-click the Windows Update package and to start downloading.
    Right-click the Windows Update package to start downloading
  5. When the download is completed, locate the downloaded Windows Update package, then double-click on it to start installing it manually.

Note: If you’re using Chrome to download the Windows Update package from the Microsoft Update Catalog site, you may find that Chrome would block the download. The block may be triggered by the Safe Browsing with Enhanced Protection feature in Chrome. But don’t worry. The Windows Update package provided in the Microsoft Update Catalog is virus-free.


That’s it! Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ve learned how to manually download Windows 11 Update. If you have any questions or suggestion on this topic, you’re more than welcome to leave us a comment below. Thanks for reading!


Technology illustrations by Storyset

Categories
Windows

[SOLVED] Windows 11 Update Error Code 0x8007007f

Running into Error code 0x8007007f when trying to upgrade to Windows 11 with Windows 11 Installation Assistant? If so, you’ve landed on the right page. Although it’s quite annoying, you should be able to fix this issue easily after reading this article!

What is Error Code 0x8007007f

Windows 11 Installation Assistant Error code 0x8007007f

According to many Windows 10 users, the Error code 0x8007007f would appear while they’re using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant tool to manually upgrade to Windows 11.

During the upgrading process, the Windows 11 Installation Assistant app would through out a message, which reads: “Something went wrong. Select Try again, and if that doesn’t work, contact Microsoft support for help. Error code 0x8007007f”.

This error code seems to appear exclusively among the users who were trying to use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant.

Possible causes of the Error code 0x800700f

At the time of writing, Microsoft has not revealed the exact cause of the Error code 0x8007007f appeared in the Windows 11 Installation Assistant. It’s believed that insufficient administrator permission, corrupted system files or outdated drivers are the possible causes of this error.

How to fix Windows 11 Update Error Code 0x8007007f

If this issue persists after you selected Try again, here are more fixes for you to try. You may not have to try them all; just work your way down through the list until you find the one that works for you.

  1. Run Windows 11 Installation Assistant as administrator
  2. Disable third-party antivirus
  3. Update your graphics driver
  4. Perform SFC scan
  5. Upgrade to Windows 11 with the ISO file from Microsoft

Run Windows 11 Installation Assistant as administrator

Before trying any other fixes, running Windows 11 Installation Assistant as administrator first. To do so:

  1. Right-click on the file Windows11InstallationAssistant.exe and select Run as administrator.
    Run Windows 11 Installation Assistant as administrator
  2. Select Yes in the UAC prompt to allow Windows 11 Installation Assistant to run with Administrator privilege.
    User Account Control Windows Installation Assistant
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to start installing Windows Windows 11.

See if this issue persists. If this fix doesn’t work, try the next one, below.

Disable third-party antivirus

The built-in Windows Defender is good enough to protect your computer. If you have any third-party antivirus installed on your PC, it’s best to disable or uninstall the third-party antivirus software before you launch the Windows 11 Installation Assistant, as many third-party antivirus may interfere with the installation assistant.

To uninstall your antivirus software, follow the steps below:

  1. Close the antivirus software if it’s running on your PC.
  2. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog, then type control and press Enter to open Control Panel.
    Run control
  3. On the Control Panel window, select Uninstall a program under the Programs section. It will open the Programs and Features window.
    Control Panel Uninstall a program in Windows 10
  4. Find your third-party antivirus software among the program list. Right-click on it and click Uninstall/Change. Then follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall it.
    Uninstall program in Control Panel

Launch Windows 11 Installation Assistant and see if this issue reappears. If you still running into this error, try the next fix, below.

Update your graphics driver

Many Windows 10 users reported that outdated or incompatible graphics driver was the root cause of this issue. Graphics card manufacturers like Nvidia, AMD and Intel have already released their Windows 11-compatible graphics drivers before Windows 11 was officially rolled out.

If you haven’t updated your graphics card driver for a long time, you should update your graphics driver.

To update graphics driver on your computer, go to your graphics card manufacturer site:

Note: remember to download the correct graphics driver corresponding to your graphics model and your Windows OS.

Once you downloaded the graphics driver on your computer, double-click on the driver file to install the graphics driver update.

Launch the Assistant and see if this error persists after you updated your graphics driver. If you still see the error message, try the next fix, below.

Perform SFC scan

This issue may occur when there are some important system files corrupted. If you are not sure whether there is any system file corruption or not, you just need to run System File Checker (SFC). By Running SFC, you can fix any system file corruption from the the resident component store.

To run SFC, follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time. Type cmd and press Shift, Ctrl and Enter at the same time to invoke an elevated CMD.
  2. In the CMD window, execute the following command:
    sfc /scannow
    Note: this command doesn’t require Internet access.
    Windows 11 Run System File Checker

Check if the Windows search issues persists after the SFC command is executed.

If this doesn’t help, you may need to use DISM command tool to repair the Windows Component Store itself. To do so, just follow the steps below:

  1. In an elevated CMD, execute the following commands one by one (note: this command require Internet access):
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
    Windows 11 Run DISM command tool
  2. Restart Windows 10 after all the commands are executed and see if this issue get fixed.

Normally this should resolve all issues. If the issue reappears, you can run SFC again to fix potential system file corruption and verify that the DISM command tool was successful in repairing the errors.

Upgrade to Windows 11 with the ISO file from Microsoft

If you’re still unable to upgrade to Windows 11 using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant, you may need to consider using Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) file to upgrade to Windows 11.

To download the Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft, go to the Download Windows 11 page.

In the Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) section, select Windows 11 and click the Download button below to start downloading.

download windows 11 iso file

Once downloaded, you can use the ISO file to install Windows 11 on your computer.


That’s it! If you have any questions or suggestions on this topic, feel free to drop a line in the comment area below.

Online illustrations by Storyset

Categories
Windows

How to disable Microsoft Edge in Windows 11

If you want to completely disable Microsoft Edge from opening any webpages, URLs in Windows 11, the whole process will be much more cumbersome than Windows 10. But don’t worry. You’ve landed on the right page! In this article, we’ll guide you through this lengthy process.

Why does Microsoft make it much harder to change your default browser

Microsoft justifies these changes as allowing Windows 11 users to have more control over default apps, and they are implementing customer feedback to customize and control defaults at a more granular level.

After the release of Windows 11 build 22483 and 22494, Microsoft makes it more and more difficult to change the default browser in Windows 11. Now, you can no longer use applications like EdgeDeflector to bypass Microsoft Edge. If you need to process the microsoft-edge:// protocol in Windows 11, you have no choice but to use Microsoft Edge.

What’s worse, Windows 11 doesn’t allow you to uninstall Microsoft Edge from Control Panel, and if you force uninstall it, Windows will open a new UWP window displaying an error message, instead of letting you use other third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox.

How to completely disable Microsoft Edge in Windows 11

To completely disable Microsoft Edge in Windows 11, you’ll have to manually assign each file type to work with the desired browser first, then run two command in CMD to uninstall it. It can take a minute or two to complete the whole process, and here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Change default file types and link types

This option won’t disable Microsoft Edge, but it will change all the file associations and prevent Microsoft Edge from opening these files and links.

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time to open Windows 11 Settings.
  2. Select Apps on the left panel, then go to Default apps > Microsoft Edge.
    Windows 11 settings change default apps
  3. For the following file types or link types, click to select a browser of your choice form the overlay window.

    File types:
    .htm, .html, .pdf, .shtml, .svg, .webp, .xht, .xhtml
    Link types:
    FTP, HTTP, HTTPS
    Windows 11 settings change default apps 1

Step 2: Uninstall Microsoft Edge using Command Prompt

Just as mentioned above, in Windows 11 you cannot uninstall Microsoft Edge in Control Panel. You have to uninstall it in Command Prompt, and here’s how to do it:

  1. Launch Microsoft Edge and go to Microsoft Edge Settings > About Microsoft Edge.
  2. In the Edge about page, highlight the version number (just the number) and press CTRL + C to copy its version number into your clipboard. Then you can paste it into a notepad document for safe keeping.
    Microsoft Edge version number
  3. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type cmd and press CTRL, Shift and Enter and the same time to launch Command Prompt as administrator.
    run cmd
  4. In Command Prompt, execute the following command:

    cd %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Microsoft\Edge\Application\[VERSION]\Installer
    command prompt 1
    Note: you need to replace [VERSION] with the actual Microsoft Edge version number. (in my case, it is 96.0.1054.34)
  5. Execute the following command to uninstall Microsoft Edge:

    setup --uninstall --force-uninstall --system-level
    command prompt uninstall Microsoft Edge

Wait a second and Microsoft Edge will be uninstalled from your Windows 11 computer.

If you need to reinstall Microsoft Edge in the future, just search for Microsoft Edge in Microsoft Store to download and install it on your computer.

Microsoft Edge in Microsoft Store

That’s it! Hopefully after reading this article, you’ve learned how to disable Microsoft Edge on your computer. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or questions on this topic, feel free to leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Categories
Windows

How to find Wi-Fi password on Windows 11

If you happen to forget your Wi-Fi password, don’t worry. You can easily find the Wi-Fi password of any saved network on your Windows 11 computer. After reading this article, you’ll learn how to find your Wi-Fi password on Windows 11 quickly and easily!

View Wi-Fi password in Control Panel

Note: This only works when your computer has already connected to your Wi-Fi network. If your computer doesn’t connect to the Wi-Fi network, you need to try finding Wi-Fi password via Command Prompt / PowerShell. If you haven’t changed the default password or just reset your router, simply look at the back of your modem to get the default password.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog. Type ncpa.cpl and press Enter to open the Network Connections window in Control Panel.
    Run ncpa.cpl
  2. Double-click on the Wi-Fi network your computer has connected to to view its status.
    You can find Wi-Fi passwords in Network Connections window in Control Panel
  3. Click Wireless Properties to continue.
    View Wireless Properties
  4. In the Wireless Network Properties window, navigate to the Security tab. Check the box next to Show characters to view the Wi-Fi password.
    View Wireless Password

Find Wi-Fi password via Command Prompt / PowerShell

You can also view Wi-Fi password using Command Prompt or PowerShell. This method allows you to find the password of any Wi-Fi network you connected to previous.

Note: this method won’t work if you have clicked the Forget option to forget the network you connected to previously.

To view Wi-Fi password via Command Prompt, follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog. Type cmd and press Enter to open Command Prompt.
  2. In Command Prompt, type the command below and press Enter to get a list of all the wireless network profile saved on your computer:

    netsh wlan show profiles

    run netsh wlan show profiles
  3. Now run the command below to get the Wi-Fi password for a specific Wi-Fi SSID:

    netsh wlan show profile name=“NETGEAR_5G” key=clear | find /I "Key Content"

    Note: you need to replace NETGEAR_5G in the command above with the Wi-Fi SSID you wan to view the saved password for.
    run command to view saved wi-fi password in cmd

You’ll see the Wi-Fi password next to the Key Content field in Command Prompt.

If you prefer to use PowerShell, follow the steps below to find all the Wi-Fi passwords saved on your Windows 11 computer:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type powershell. Press Enter to open Windows PowerShell.
  2. Copy and paste the command below and press Enter to run the command.

    (netsh wlan show profiles) | Select-String "\:(.+)$" | %{$name=$_.Matches.Groups[1].Value.Trim(); $_} | %{(netsh wlan show profile name="$name" key=clear)} | Select-String "Key Content\W+\:(.+)$" | %{$pass=$_.Matches.Groups[1].Value.Trim(); $_} | %{[PSCustomObject]@{ PROFILE_NAME=$name;PASSWORD=$pass }} | Format-Table -AutoSize

    run command to view saved wi-fi password in powershell

That’s it! Hopefully, this article helped you find the Wi-Fi password on your Windows 11 computer. Feel free to drop a line if you have any questions or suggestions on this topic. Thanks for reading!

Vectors created by freepik – www.freepik.com

Categories
Windows

[SOLVED] Windows 11 File Explorer is Not Responding

Recently, we’ve seen many Windows 11 users complaining that File Explorer starts crashing randomly, or becomes unresponsive. If you happen to run into the exact same issue, don’t worry! You’ve come to the right place. This article lists the latest fixes that will definitely help you resolve this issue.

Try these fixes

  1. Restart Windows Explorer
  2. Check for Windows updates
  3. Run System File Checker and DISM tool
  4. Uninstall a recent update
  5. Adjust File Explorer Options

Restart Windows Explorer

Sometimes, you just need to restart File Explorer to get it back to the normal state. To restart File Explorer, follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc at the same time to open Task Manager.
  2. Under the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer and click Restart.
    restart Windows Explorer

See if File Explorer works again. If this fix didn’t work for you, try the next fix, below.

Check for Windows updates

Microsoft constantly releases Windows updates to fix bugs, add new features and enhance performance. Maybe there is a bug in the current build of Windows 11 that cause File Explorer to stop working, and a Windows update is required to fix this issue.

If restarting File Explorer didn’t fix this issue, you can follow the steps below to check for Windows updates:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time to open the Windows Settings.
  2. Click Windows Update in the left panel, then click Check for updates to see if Microsoft releases new Windows updates.
    Check for Windows Updates

If there are new Windows updates available, let Windows download and install the latest udpates. See if this issue persists after you installed the latest Windows updates.

If Windows tells you that you’re up to date after you clicked the Check for updates button, try the next fix, below.

Run System File Checker and DISM tool

This issue may occur when there are some important system files corrupted. If you are not sure whether there is any system file corruption or not, you just need to run System File Checker (SFC). By Running SFC, you can fix any system file corruption from the the resident component store.

To run SFC, follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time. Type cmd and press Shift, Ctrl and Enter at the same time to invoke an elevated CMD.
  2. In the CMD window, execute the following command:
    sfc /scannow
    Note: this command doesn’t require Internet access.
    Windows 11 Run System File Checker

Check if the Windows search issues persists after the SFC command is executed.

If this doesn’t help, you may need to use DISM command tool to repair the Windows Component Store itself. To do so, just follow the steps below:

  1. In an elevated CMD, execute the following commands one by one (note: this command require Internet access):
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
    Windows 11 Run DISM command tool
  2. Restart Windows 11 after all the commands are executed and see if this issue get fixed.

Normally this should resolve all issues. If the File Explorer still crashes, you can run SFC again to fix potential system file corruption and verify that the DISM command tool was successful in repairing the errors.

Uninstall a recent update

If File Explorer keeps crashing after you installed a recent Windows update, you may also try uninstalling that update to see if this issue get fixed. To uninstall a Windows update, follow the steps below:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type (or copy & paste) the command line control /name Microsoft.WindowsUpdate and press Enter to open the Windows Update window.
    Run dialog
  2. Click Update history and scroll down to the Related settings part. Click Uninstall updates to continue.
    Uninstall updates
  3. In the Installed Updates window that pops up, double-click the most recent update and select Yes to uninstall the update.
    Uninstall Windows updates

See if File Explorer crashes again after you uninstalled the recent Windows updates. If File Explorer works properly, congratulations! You’ve fixed this issue.

Adjust File Explorer Options

Some Windows 11 users resolved the File Explorer crashing issue after they adjusted File Explorer Options. If none of the fixes above works, try adjusting File Explorer Options:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type file explorer options. Select File Explorer Options to open the File Explorer Options window in Control Panel.
    search for file explorer options
  2. Under the General tab, click the drop-down menu to set Open File Explorer to This PC. In the Privacy section, click the Clear button to clear File Explorer history.
    Adjust File Explorer Options
  3. Click OK the apply the changes.

See if this fix works. Normally, after adjusting File Explorer Options, the File Explorer won’t crash again.


Hopefully, one of the fixes above helped you fix the File Explorer not responding / keeps crashing issue. If you have any questions or suggestions on this issue, feel free to drop a line in the comment area below. Thanks for reading!

Categories
Windows

[SOLVED] Windows 11 running slow

Windows 11 is available for Insiders now, and on October 5, 2021, the free upgrade to Windows 11 will begin rolling out to general public who have eligible Windows 10 PCs. Although Windows 11 brings brand new UI design and some improved features, many users are still experiencing performance issues.

If Windows 11 is running slow on your PC, don’t worry. It’s fairly easy to speed up your Windows 11 computer. After reading this article, you should be able to tune your Windows PC for better performance easily!

Try these fixes

There are many things you can try to speed up your Windows PC. Just work your way down through the list and you should be able to speed up your Windows 11 PC easily!

  1. Troubleshoot Windows 11 Performance
  2. Change power settings
  3. Disable transparency effects
  4. Adjust Windows 11 for best performance
  5. Disable startup apps
  6. Close background apps
  7. Clean temporary files
  8. Run Storage Sense
  9. Defrag your hard disk

Troubleshoot Windows 11 performance

Before trying anything more complicated, run Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool first to find and troubleshoot Windows 11 performance issues. Here’s how to to it:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog box. Copy and paste the following command and press Enter to open the System Maintenance window.
    %systemroot%\system32\msdt.exe -id MaintenanceDiagnostic
  2. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the remaining steps.
    System Maintenance Troubleshooter

When this tool completes troubleshooting, it would locate the problems that decrease your PC performance and resolve the problems automatically or provides you a way to fix the problem.

If this tool didn’t find any problems, or your computer is still sluggish, try the next fix, below to change power settings.

Change power plan

A power plan is a collection of hardware and system settings (like display brightness, sleep, etc.) that manages how your computer consumes and conserves power. By default, you can pick from 3 predefined plans: Balanced, Power saver and High performance. Most PCs are using the Balanced power plan by default. You can follow the steps below to change the power settings on your PC:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type powercfg.cpl and press Enter to invoke the Power Options window in Control Panel.
    run powercfg.cpl
  2. If the High performance power plan option is available, Switch your power plan to High performance.

If the High performance option is not available on your PC, you can follow the steps below to change advanced power settings:

  1. On the Power Options window, click Change plan settings next to your current power plan.
    Change plan settings
  2. Click Change advanced power settings.
    Change advanced power settings
  3. Expand Processor power management and set both Minimum processor state and Maximum processor state to 100%.
    Change advanced power settings processor power management
  4. Click OK to save and apply the changes.

See if this fix works. If Windows 11 is still running slow on your computer, try the next fix to disable transparency effects.

Disable transparency effects

Those visual effects in Windows 11 really make the new OS look modern and elegant. However, it also put a lot of burden on old computers and may even cause them to become sluggish. You can follow the steps below to turn off transparency effects and animation effects:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and search for visual effects.
    search for visual effects
  2. Select Visual Effects from the list of search results.
  3. Turn off the toggles next to Transparency effects and Animation effects.
    Turn off transparency effects and animation effects

See if your computer becomes faster after you disabled those visual effects. If this fix didn’t improve much, try the next fix to adjust Windows 11 for best performance.

Adjust Windows 11 for best performance

Windows OS allows you to select the settings you want to use for the appearance and performance of Windows on your computer, and just like Windows 10, you can easily adjust Windows 11 for best performance. Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Copy and paste %windir%\system32\SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe and press Enter to open the Performance Options window.
    Open performance options
  2. Under the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance.
    Adjust for best performance
  3. Click OK to save and apply the changes.

If your PC still runs slowly, continue to the next tip.

Disable startup apps

If there are too many programs loading at startup, it would affect the boot speed of Windows 11 and may even slows the system. We suggest that you keep your startup programs to a minimum and only add the important ones.

It’s quite easy to disable and manage the startup programs on your computer, and here’s how to do it:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc at the same time to open Task Manager.
  2. Navigate to the Startup tab and rank these startup programs by startup impact.
    Task Manager Startup
  3. Select the programs you want to disable from loading at startup and click the Disable button at the bottom.
    Task Manager disable startup

Normally, the boot speed of your computer will improve after you disabled some unnecessary startups.

Close background apps

Background apps may also slow down your computer, especially when the RAM of your PC is insufficient. However, not all the apps require to be running in the background, as they may consume huge resources and make your Windows 11 PC run slowly.

You can follow the steps below to close background apps:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Shift and Esc at the same time to open Task Manager.
  2. Select the background apps you want to close, then click End task to close it.
    Task Manager end task

For the apps from Microsoft Store, you can also set the background apps permission to Never to avoid the app running in background. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Right-click on the Start button (the Windows icon) and select Apps and Features.
    Apps and Features
  2. Right-click on the vertical three dots next to the app and select Advanced options.
    Apps and Features Advanced options
  3. In the Background apps permissions section, click the drop-down menu under Let this app run in background and select Never.
    Never let this app run in background
  4. Repeat the steps above for other apps that you don’t want to consume system resources in background.

Clean temporary files

The temporary files (temp files) are files created to store information temporarily. After a program is closed, the temp files are deleted. However, sometimes those temp files will not be deleted automatically after you uninstall programs from your computer, unless you restart your PC. If you often neglect the restart request, the temp files would accumulate, which will slow down your computer.

To make your Windows 11 run faster, you should get rid of these files. Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type %temp% and press Enter to open the Temp folder.
    open Temp folder via run
  2. Press Ctrl and A on your keyboard to select all the files in the Temp folder, then press Del to delete all of them.
  3. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time to open Windows Settings, then go to System > Storage > Temporary files.
    The Windows Settings Temporary files
  4. Check the box in front of the file type to select the file types you want to remove, then click the Remove files button to delete the files you selected.
    The Windows Settings Temporary files remove files

Note: Please double check whether the file you selected is the one you want to delete.

Run Storage Sense

As a built-in feature in Windows 11, Storage Sense is designed to keep Windows 11 running smoothly by keeping your storage optimized. It’s a silent assistant that works on your behalf with very little setup.

The Storage Sense feature is enabled by default, and you can follow the steps below to check if this feature is turned on:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and I at the same time to open Windows Settings.
  2. Go to System > Storage. In the Storage management section, make sure the toggle next to Storage Sense is turned on. Then click on Storage Sense to view its settings.
    Turn on Storage Sense
  3. In Cleanup of temporary files section, ensure you check the box next to Keep Windows running smoothly by automatically cleaning up temporary system and app files.
  4. Make sure the toggle under Automatic User content cleanup is turned on.
    Storage Sense in Windows Settings
  5. In the Configure cleanup schedules section, you can configure when to run Storage Sense and when to delete files in your recycle bin and your Downloads folder.
  6. In the Locally available cloud content, you can configure when to remove unused cloud-backed content from your device.
    Storage Sense in Windows Settings 1
  7. If you’d like to run Storage Sense immediately, scroll down to the bottom and click the Run Storage Sense now button.

See if your computer becomes faster after running Storage Sense.

Defrag your hard disk

The storage space will get fregmented as you use your hard disk drive. When this happens, it will slow down the Windows 11 OS that installed on the hard disk drive, since it will take more time for the system to find information stored on the hard disk.

By defragging your hard disk, you reorganize the data stored on the hard drive so that the related pieces of data are lined up in a continuous fashion, which helps the drive to find information faster. In short, defragmentation improves your computer performance.

You can follow the steps below to defrag your hard disk:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type defrag. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives. The Optimize Drives window will pop up.
    Type defrag in search bar
  2. Select the drive you want to defrag, then click the Optimize button to start defragging.
    Optimize Drives

Normally, after optimizing the hard disk drive, your computer will run faster. If you want to boost the performance of your computer, it’s recommended to install Windows 11 on a solid-state drive (SSD).

Categories
Windows

[SOLVED] Windows 11 Taskbar not working

Recently, many Windows 11 insiders in both Dev and Beta Channels have been reporting that the Windows 11 Taskbar is not working on their PC. After they restart Windows 11, the Start menu and Taskbar were unresponsive, and the Windows Settings and other areas of Windows 11 OS wouldn’t load. All they see on their screen is a barren desktop. No Start menu, no Taskbar. If you’re running into the exact same issue, don’t worry. You should be able to fix it easily after reading this article.

Official solution from Microsoft

According to Microsoft, you can use the following steps to get back into a working state on your PC:

  1. On your keyboard, press Ctrl, Alt and Del at the same time and choose to open Task Manager.
    Select Task Manager
  2. Click on More details at the bottom of Task Manager to expand Task Manager.
    Windows 11 taskbar more details
  3. Go to File > Run a new task.
    Windows 11 taskbar file run new task
  4. In the Run dialog, type cmd and press Enter to open a CMD window.
    Create a new task cmd
  5. Copy and paste the follow command line to the CMD window:
    reg delete HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\IrisService /f && shutdown -r -t 0
    Run a command in CMD
  6. Press Enter to execute the command. Your PC should reboot.

After rebooting, everything should be back to normal.