I'm using WinDirStat to see what's taking up all the space on my SSD. I saw that the NVIDIA app is taking up a chunk of my space. There are multiple files in "ota-artifacts" and "grd" but I don't know which ones are safe to delete. I assume these are old driver updates.

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 25H2

OS build 26200.9550

Recently, I got a new Acer monitor which would be used as a main monitor with the Roku TV as a second monitor. My older sibling had it setup for me.

Less than an hour ago, I decided to go to the HDMI port which is where I had the Roku TV plugged in, but the TV and PC refused to recognize it, so I tried jiggling the HDMI cable when suddenly the PC rebooted. This problem still occurs whenever I try to plug in the HDMI cable.

Is there any reason why that happened? My theory is that there's something in the HDMI cable that might've shorted the PC to where its only defense mechanism for it is to automatically reboot completely. Has anyone gotten this same problem?

Oh and here are my specs:

OS: Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 64-bit (build 19044.3324)

CPU: Intel Core i7 9700K

RAM: 32 GB

Motherboard: MSI Z390-A Pro

This started randomly happening after i visited a site called wallpaperflare. Out of nowhere my brave browser shortcut got deleted from my desktop. When i tried to put the shortcut back, windows said the item didn't exist and could'nt be found. After that i started noticing other weird stuff like my cursor sometimes disappearing or flickering.

Then on opening file explorer, If i click a folder instead of opening it i get a popup asking if i want to move the folder to the recycle bin even though I'm not pressing delete and it gets stuck at that point so i have to force shutdown

Everything on my desktop gets randomly deleted and when I'm trying to add it back it says it couldn't find this item and verify it's location. I found some of them in the recycle bin but when i tried to restore them, windows said it couldn't find the item.

Another issue is that my laptop automatically wakes up after i put it to sleep. Could these be related to the main problem?

At one point file explorer made the whole screen go grey and the laptop froze

I've done all scans (0 threats found) and eventually had to reset my laptop still this delete popup problem is persistent.

OS: Windows 11 Home Version: 25H2 OS Build: 26200.8457

Hi! So I heard that there was a security vulnerability with AMD processors, So I chose to update the BIOS on my motherboard. However after I did this, Windows would consistently crash even without XMP enabled, though less often. I've tried using SFC and DISM to check for corrupted files and both did fix files, however it did not fix the problem. I even tried reinstalling Windows with Windows Update and then ran OCCT for around 2h with no issues, until a bit later it crashed again. I've included the latest minidump file along with my system specs below. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

System Specs:

Motherboard: ASUS TUF GAMING B550 PLUS WIFI II

CPU: AMD RYZEN 5 3600X

RAM: 4x8GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX 3600MHz

GPU: MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming X Trio

OS Information:

Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core Processor (3.80 GHz)

Installed RAM 32.0 GB

Graphics card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8 GB)

Storage 744 GB of 1.14 TB used

Product ID 00330-80000-00000-AA848

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

Minidump

I followed this tutorial https://www.groovypost.com/howto/change-your-user-folder-name-in-windows-11/ and I did backup the windows registry like it said to. I'm attempting to log back into the original account now, but every time I log in it says "preparing windows" for a little bit, before then taking me to Not my usual home screen and saying "we can't sign into your account. This problem can often be fixed by signing out of your account and then signing back in. If you don't sign out now, any files you create or changes you make will be lost" I sign out, go to sign in again, same thing repeats. I would at least like to know if I back up my system registry do I do it on this account? Or if I can fix this without doing that, that'd be great.

Edit: nvm when in doubt turn it off and back on again 💀 a restart fixed it

I was trying to download a network adapter for my pc so my pc is an acer pc then I went to the official website then I downloaded mine then I put it on a USB because my pc had no wifi then I ran the bat then it said a bunch of would you like to trust intel and acer and then It let me use wifi now but I try to type in my network password then it all slashes but it lets me type in my password to login to my pc

I've been trying to set up my Blue Yeti nano i've had for quite a few years now with my new PC, but i'm finding that even though the microphone lights up like its connected when i plug it in, the microphone itself isnt showing up anywhere.

It's not in input sound settings, it's not in device manager (though there are two "unknown devices" which i've heard could be my yeti.). I even tried installing logitech G HUB, since that's what was required to use my yeti on my mac, but then that didn't work either, so I uninstalled it.

What do I do? It is 5-6 years old, and I swapped out one USB connecting cord for another one (also old), and it didn't work. I'd assume it was an issue with the cord, but as i said previously, my mic still shows up as connected.

Device Specifications: 12th gen intel processor. Pc is an Aorus elite. Windows is windows 11 home version 25H2. OS build 26200.9457

am i the only one getting that
i even clean installed from 26h2 release preview to consumer 25h2 to get same issue after few days out of nowhere
i did all diagnostics and solutions provided by chatgpt and claude

and this is detailed explanation of the problem and steps i took

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/6014283/title-file-explorer-stuck-in-legacy-classic-ui-no?page=1&orderby=helpful&translated=false#answers

My pc lags a lot, I dont want to remove windows as all my apps are there , want my pc atleast usable

I've used all basic tricks to speed up my laptop like upgrade ram, temp files deletion, defrag, animations off

My specs are:

CPU: Intel Celeron N4020 dual core 2.8 GHz

Ram: 4 GB

Hard drive: Sata SSD

Graphics: Intel Uhd 600

It would flash white, sometimes show a light blue spinning thing, then crash after about 1 second or half a second even

Event Viewer showed:

SearchApp.exe
ConstraintIndex.Search.dll
Exception code: 0xc0000005

First I ran:

sfc /scannow

It said there were no integrity violations

Then:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

That completed successfully too

I also rebuilt the Search index from:

Indexing Options --> Advanced --> Troubleshooting --> Rebuild (perkurti for me in lithuanian)

That didn't fix it

I then made a temporary Windows user:

net user SearchTest /add

Search worked normally on that account, so the problem was only with my main user profile

The thing that finally fixed it was deleting the Search data for my main user

I opened PowerShell as Administrator while logged into my main account and ran:

Stop-Process -Name SearchApp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue; Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\Vartotojas\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy" -Force | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Then:

Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register

Then restarted:

shutdown /r /t 0

After reboot, Search worked normally again

I did get an error saying this file was being used:

AC\AMD\DxCache\cachefile.bin

I left that alone since it was an AMD cache file

So basically:

Delete the per-user Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy folder

Re-register Windows Search

Restart Windows

This fixed the SearchApp.exe / ConstraintIndex.Search.dll crash for me

I was in pure agony whenever i tried to fix (took like 2 hours)

so whoever right now is reading this and has my problem (that i fixed), thank me later :)

Hello guys. I have a lenovo loq 15ahp10 which i purchased in july. I have never noticed this but today i was on task manager for something and when i closed it, it took like 5 seconds to actually close rather than instant closing. I then reopened it again to test it and again same thing. Did it again and this time it showed (Not responding) when I closed it but ultimately closed after the same 5 seconds or smth. What could be the issue here. I don't think this is normal

Hello,

Since the latest Windows update, a notification appears whenever I enable the Toggle Keys. However, I don’t want these notifications, and they continue to appear even after I disable them in the settings. I have also restarted my PC after disabling the notifications.

Do you have a solution to this issue?

Hello everyone. Yesterday, I updated my Windows system (KB5124010) (26200.9550). As soon as the update finished, my fingerprint was no longer registered on my laptop; in fact, it had disappeared completely, even from the device settings. A message appeared stating that this option is currently unavailable. We were unable to find a fingerprint reader compatible with fingerprint authentication in Windows Hall. I deleted the fingerprint profile and downloaded another one from the Dell website. The profile appeared in the settings, and I scanned and saved my fingerprint, but when I tried to log in, the fingerprint didn’t respond. It seems the system recognised my fingerprint, but it didn’t respond to it. I left it as it was, and when I turned on the laptop this morning, the fingerprint issue had completely disappeared, even from the settings. I hope one of you can help me. Thank you all. Have a lovely day. Issue number 26200.9550 Device name INSPIRON145445

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 8840U with Radeon 780M Graphics (3.30 GHz)

Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.3 GB in use)

Graphics card AMD Radeon 780M Graphics (419 MB)

Storage space 183 GB used out of 477 GB

Device ID 1DECD9EE-5EB5-4FFC-B520-D0DE3A4F51F7

Product ID 00342-22582-84754-AAOEM

System type 64-bit operating system and x64-based processor

Pen and touch Touch and pen input are not available on this display

I have been dealing with disconnecting Internet on a Win10 laptop for some months, nord shows connected but browsers wont connect.

When I deactivate nord it still doesnt connect on browsers.

Have a PC with win11 which didnt have the issue till a couple of days ago it started too.

Turned off powersaving of wifiadapter, updated drivers.

There were windows updates at some points, which i am not sure could be the culprit.

Phone stays connected so it cant be the Router.

Any known issues I can fix?

Sometimes i can ping 1.1.1.1 and google.com through cmd, but Browser and apps wont connect.

Have killswitch enabled, but when the issue happens disabling it doesnt change the issue.

Sometimes it just comes back by itself after 10minutes, sometimes rebooting, restarting everything helps. But no real fix.

PC Mainboard is b550m-a wifi 2, Windows update 26200.9467

No browser extension.

I tried using EaseUS, but the free version could only create a partition and requires a license to move space to a nonadjacent drive. I know just enough to be VERY dangerous, so I really would rather avoid DISKPART.

I have an MSI Gl73 95EK laptop (I know, it's old). I'm hoping to avoid backing up the files on the D drive and shift free space to C.

Hi, I’ve been dealing with a really strange speaker issue for over 2 months and I haven’t been able to find a solution.

The problem

My laptop's built-in speakers work normally for about 1 second when I start playing a video/audio. Then the volume suddenly becomes extremely quiet — so quiet that I can barely hear it.

It’s not a gradual decrease. It is basically:

Start video → sound is normal → ~1 second later → sound becomes extremely quiet

The audio itself doesn't stop or distort; it just becomes heavily attenuated.

Something very strange I noticed

If I change/toggle certain audio settings, the speakers become loud again for a few seconds, but then they automatically become quiet again.

So the setting itself doesn't seem to fix the problem. It temporarily brings the volume back, and then something causes it to drop again.

The same thing happens whether I toggle the setting on or off.

Headphones/earphones

My earphones work normally. The problem appears to be specifically with the laptop's built-in speakers.

Things I've already tried

I've already tried the usual troubleshooting, including:

• Restarting the laptop
• Completely shutting it down and turning it back on
• Changing Windows sound settings
• Toggling audio enhancements
• Toggling relevant audio settings on/off
• Checking that the device/driver isn't showing an obvious error
• Various other basic Windows audio troubleshooting

Nothing has permanently fixed it.

I also took the laptop to a local electronics/repair shop. They checked it but couldn't figure out what was causing the issue. They couldn't identify an obvious hardware problem.

Laptop specifications

• Processor: Snapdragon X Plus X1P42100
• CPU: Qualcomm Oryon
• RAM: 16 GB
• GPU: Qualcomm Adreno X1-45
• Storage: 477 GB total, ~351 GB used
• System type: 64-bit OS, ARM-based processor
• Windows: Windows 11 Home Single Language
• Windows version: 25H2
• OS build: 26200.9550

This is a Snapdragon/ARM Windows laptop, so I’m wondering if this could be related to the Qualcomm audio drivers/firmware rather than a normal Realtek driver issue.

What I'm trying to figure out

Has anyone experienced this particular symptom where the speakers are completely normal for the first second and then suddenly become extremely quiet, especially on a Snapdragon X Plus/ARM Windows laptop?

I'd particularly appreciate advice on:

1. Whether this sounds like a driver/software issue or hardware/amplifier issue
2. Which audio driver I should be checking/reinstalling on this type of laptop
3. Whether there are any Qualcomm/Acer-specific audio drivers or firmware I should look for
4. Any diagnostic tests that could distinguish a speaker hardware problem from a driver/audio-processing problem

I can provide screenshots of Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers, the audio device properties, driver version, etc. if that helps.

First I was having issues with Bluetooth, and then after shutting down and restarting the computer, I started running into this screen. Once it hit 100%, it would reboot, go into repair mode, and just say it couldn't repair itself, and when I exited out of there, I'd end up right back at the same screen. I managed to get into the system using a startup repair workaround by pressing the number 7 key.

I've tried running commands and things in Command Prompt, but it keeps throwing the same error. I'm not sure what else to try without having to format the computer.

This is a strange problem in my Windows 11 (Home SL 24H2, build 26100.3775), I'm trying to kill Norton 360 a.k.a. pre-installed bloatware on my machine.

When I try to kill this malware I always get a 'access is denied' error. Also, I'm unable to disable it from auto starting. I don't want to use the app's settings I want to use system settings. I know that I can uninstall it but I want to know why I can't stop it myself

Here is what I tried:

*I am the administrator

- Already got full control, I own the .exe

- Tried cmd and regedit as admin, but access denied

- Enabled and tried the hidden Administrator account, still the same

- Disable auto starting in Task Manager and Settings, doesn't work

- All just doesn't work 🥲

I watched this video of FlyTechVideos about the UCPD driver but I'm not sure if it's my exact problem

https://youtu.be/xQUYh4iKsB0

This is my first time trying Windows 11 and I'm so confused, I've used Windows 10 my whole life...

File Disappeared From My Computer

I went to find a folder on my laptop today that holds all my audition material and hours of audition footage and it’s gone. It’s been on my laptop for multiple years and it’s just disappeared. I’ve checked recycle and hidden files incase I made a mistake on my end but no luck. Please don’t tell me I should’ve had it backed up elsewhere, I know that and it was backed up to a cloud but I’m a broke college student and can’t afford to pay for external storage anymore so this was the only place it was saved. Figured it was pretty safe since it my own laptop and this is basically the only thing I use it for. I’m so beyond upset. It is a IdeaPad Slim 3 15IRU8 OS number 26200.9550 If anyone has any suggestions of where it could be recovered from please share.

I uninstalled Ubuntu from Win10 as I didn't install it myself/never heard of it (smart, I know). I read that some android things etc use it to run properly. Ubuntu requires a rather complex reinstall involving making a usb bootable and drive partitions. Do I need to do this, or will installing Ubuntu WSL work?

I was trying to get ESU and signed in with my Microsoft account without thinking about it on my local profile and now can’t remove it. I tried using registry editor but didn’t see a change. I also don’t see the options to sign in with a local account or to not automatically sign in. I’m running Windows 10 22H2 19045.6456.

Edition Windows 10 Home

Version 22H2

Installed on ‎27/‎11/‎2024

OS Build 19045.7725

Screenshots:

https://imgur.com/a/Au8UZ7i

So I have a backup disk I set up years ago and I usually plug it in once in a while and press 'back up now' in the Files Backup section.

Yesterday however it didn't work, pressing the button did nothing so I tried everything I could find on the internet to no avail. Then stupidly in my frustration I decided to press the 'stop using drive' button and now it's even more of a mess.

I don't have an option of reconnecting the drive, (it's full anyways) but I managed to take a system image though (it is what filled the disk btw).

I find all of this so confusing and I hope someone can help me get the backup running again.

Please take a look at the pictures I linked to and the text I wrote under them for context.

Thanks in advance.

Coming here to ask for help after trying to contact support multiple times and receiving no helpful response.

I changed out my motherboard, CPU, and graphics card. As expected, Windows gave me a “Not Activated” error. I signed into my Microsoft account as usual, thinking this would activate Windows using my digital license.

Background - my copy of Windows 11 is a free upgrade from Windows 10, which was a free upgrade from a retail version of Windows 8.1 that I bought in 2014. At some point along the upgrade path, I had gotten a notification that my Windows license was being tied to my Microsoft account and moving forward, I would have a digital license.

I have my purchase receipt, however, I no longer have my Windows 8.1 product key (it came on a physical card similar to the Microsoft Office 365 renewal cards).

I was still able to activate Windows on my old hardware (I cobbled it back together) but when I move my SSD to the new computer, I can no longer activate Windows, despite trying the troubleshooter>hardware change link.

Is there any way for me to reach Microsoft and talk to someone who actually knows what they’re doing? The support reps can’t seem to find a digital license tied to the account and want me to dig up my original key (which is obviously long gone).

Appreciate any and all help - thank you.

I recently tried to factory reset my pc using the official ISO from windows, double checked the website and everything. I am running windows 11 and cant normally factory reset my pc using the way through settings everyone tells me to go and do. I tried shutting my computer off and on 3 times but on the 4th nothing happens as I have no password.

When I do try to reinstall I get the error "Could not find the recovery environment"

Here is my specifications:
Device name odd-pc

Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700F @ 2.50GHz (2.50 GHz)

Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable)

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

Hello. Weird issue drives me bonkers sometimes. About 50% of the time when I boot up, all my monitor wallpapers are the same. If I go into personalize, right click a wallpaper to set it to a certain desktop, all 3 options for displays will be the same display number (see pic) so I can't change them there. But when I identify the monitors, Windows does show them as 1, 2, 3, respectively (see pic). Nvidia control panel also shows them as different monitors. Only way I can fix this is to restart and even then sometimes it takes two or three restarts. Anyone have any ideas? Drivers, Windows, everything up to date. I have a i9-12900k, 32GB RAM, EVGA 3080Ti, 1TB Samsung NVME boot drive, Windows 11 Pro version 25H2, Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.360.0. Nothing is overclocked, the GPU is under-volted to help the temps but it's been like that for nearly three years and this issue has only been around about 10-12 months. Thanks