Category: Windows 7

After reading this post you will be able fix an issue, where your antivirus / antispyware / antimalware software notifies you that it is out of date or not updated. This problem still persists even after updating the software program, your antivirus will still reflect that it has not been updated.

To Fix :

Check Date & Time

• Go to Control Panel
• Locate Date & Time settings
• Open Date & Time settings

• Make sure that your time zone has been selected properly
• Also make sure that your time and date is set correctly.

Note: You will need administrator privileges to change date and time.

Running Windows Update before updating

• Go to start
• Start typing Windows update
• Open the Windows Update program as it appears in the search results.
• Click on Check for updates
• Select from recommended & optional updates.

Running the Antivirus program as Administrator

• Make sure you are logged in as Administrator before updating the AV program
• If nor,
• Make a Administrator Account on your Computer or ask your administrator to update your AV program.

After reading this post you will be fix a problem where you cannot use the drag & drop functionality with your Windows based computer. Drag & Drop is a essential feature associated with the file explorer in Windows. This feature helps you move files with ease without having to go through multiple steps to cut & paste files & folders.

General Fix

• Use Windows Update to Download & install all necessary updates & recent driver updates for your system
• If the functionality was working before & it suddenly stopped, you can try using system restore

Windows XP

• Go to start menu
• click on run
• Insert the Windows XP CD
• Type SFC /SCANNOW

Windows 7/Vista

• Go to Control Panel
• on the right hand- top side
• Click on view & click on small icons
• locate programs & features
• Find Keyboard /Mouse drivers, if any
• Click on Uninstall
• Restart your computer & let windows install the drivers
• Alternatively
• Go to Device Manager in Control Panel
• Expand Keyboard
• Click On uninstall
• Expand Mice & other pointing devices
• Right Click your mouse name
• Click on Uninstall
• Restart your computer

Fix by Microsoft Answers Forum

• Left /Right Click any file or folder
• Press Esc key
• Press Ctrl key
• Release the mouse button

After reading this you will be able solve a problem where Windows might not detect one or multiple of your hardware devices. These devices might be running properly on other computers, but does not work or get detect on a specific Windows computer. This type of problem might occur for a number of reasons. Some of the causes of this type of problem are mentioned below:

• System File corruption
• Out of date or corrupted drivers
• Malware/ Spyware / Virus infections
• Hardware issues

The very first step ( For Windows 7 & earlier editions )

Microsoft FixIt

If Microsoft Fixit does not solve your issue follow the steps below :-

• uninstall any of the previous drivers you have for this device. To do this :-

• Go to Device Manager ( in Control Panel )
• Right Click the hardware if listed there & click on uninstall
• OR
• Go to Add/Remove Programs ( in Windows XP) Programs & Features ( Windows Vista & later)
• Remove any software & drivers linked to your hardware device
• Restart your computer
• Plug in your hardware, if not already plugged in.
• If it’s a USB device or PCI device, try changing the slot
• Download & Install latest drivers from the hardware manufacturer’s website.
• Also make sure, that your motherboard ( chipset & other ) essential drivers are up to date.
• You can also try running SFC /SCANNOW ( type the command in run ) ( This will check your system files & repair them if necessary.)
• If your hardware was working properly & now suddenly it’s malfunctioning, you can always use system restore to roll back your settings to a time where everything was working perfectly. ( Guide to system restore )
• Try plugging your device into another computer system to make sure that your hardware device is not at fault.
• Scan your computer system with a good Anti virus/ Anti malware software.

After reading this post you will be able to solve a problem where you cannot use the hotkeys on your keyboard to adjust brightness controls, volume controls etc. These hotkeys mostly located on your functions keys & are activated by a key marked as Fn on your keyboard. These keys are colour coded for user’s reference. Many time due to a software glitch these keys stop working & with that otherwise functionality that these hotkeys render is left unusable. Follow the steps below to fix the above said problem:

• Only sleep & no shutdown

• sometimes when we just let our computer sleep when we don’t use it & we do not use shutdown for a long time, this type of problem might occur due to data corruption. a simple restart should solve your problem right here.

 

• Buggy Drivers

• Try updating the following drivers :

• Power manager driver ( if any )
• Chipset drivers ( make sure you are installing the complete package )
• Graphic Drivers
• You can run Windows update or any system update program that came with your computer.
• A better idea is to uninstall the current set of drivers & then download / install fresh / updated drivers from your system / motherboard manufacturer.

• Hotkey management software

• Almost every manufacturer provides a proper hotkey management software that can be download off their support website.
• Make sure to checkout any Microsoft package that might be required by your computer for proper hotkey integration ( refer documentation / support site )

• BIOS Update

• If this is a frequent problem with your system, do check out your system manufacturer’s support site for any BIOS updates.
• Refer the documentation first and/or make sure to read any related support forums for bug check.
• Note : BIOS update might harm your computer & you should perform the BIOS update procedure at your own risk.

 

• Checking Services

• Go to run ( Windows key + R )
• type services.msc
• press ctrl + shift + enter
• Look for hotkey start-up services or HID Human Interface services
• Double click
• set the startup type to automatic
• Restart your computer

After reading this article you will be able to fix some of the problems that stop a user from using their external USB hard disk drives properly & will also help in the situation where your Windows Operating system based computer does not detect your external Hard disk drive.

There are quite a few explanations for this problem & I have compiled this guide to address almost all of the known issues & help a user get rid of these problems for a smoother computing experience.

This guide addresses the most basic & the complex procedures to resolve some problems with your external hard disk drive. Follow the steps below:

Checking USB Connection

• If you External drive is USB powered, make sure that your cable is connected properly and the USB slot is a powered slot.
• Try replacing the USB Cable
• If your external drive is powered through an adapter, make sure your adapter is working fine, replace and check, if necessary.
• Try plugging your drive into another USB port

USB Drivers

• Always make sure that you have the latest USB & Chipset drivers installed in your computer.
• To check, run windows update to update your computer
• or
• Go to your motherboard / system manufacturer’s support website, download & install the latest drivers from there.

Device Management

• If you plug-in your device & it does not show up in my computer. The first thing to check is that whether your device has been detected in your computer or not.

• To check

• Go to start menu & type Device Manager
• 
• Now, there are two things to check here. The first thing is whether your device is listed within disk drives of not. Check the screenshot above to confirm that my Seagate Go Flex USB device is listed there. In a similar way, you external USB device should be listed here.
• Just to make sure click the last button, just under Help menu, to refresh the hardware listed there & to install any newly added device.
• Second, thing to check is your Universal Serial Bus Controllers, list therein ( device manager ) & make sure all USB ports and enabled and are working properly.

Now,

• Go to start menu and type device management or right click the computer icon and click on device management ( you might have to provide administrator password here )

• Double click on storage
• Double Click on Disk Management
• 
• Refer the screenshot above and make sure all of your drives listed here have a drive letter assigned to them,
• if you see a drive that does not has a drive letter assigned to them
• Right Click that drive
• Click on Change Drive letters & paths
• Now, add a drive letter here.

Running Disk Diagnostics

• Sometimes due to a error in file system or on the disk, your hard disk might just fail to detect in your computer system.
• An easy way is to gain access to a diagnostic software that might be available free to you on the hard disk manufacturer’s website.
• Download & install such software.
• Run the software to detect issues with your drive

Using a Live Disk, just to check

• If you have any live disk with you, you can boot from that disk to check if it detects external drive.
• Gparted live CD is a good tool to start with
• If a Live CD detects your drive, it’s time to repair your Windows installation.
• Check your disk for errors before exiting the live CD

Repairing Windows File System

• If you have a Windows CD / DVD with you or if you have a Windows 7 repair disc, boot from it
• On the first menu press Shift + F10
• This will open up the command prompt
• type diskpart
• type list disk
• If you see your external disk here
• type select disk n ( n being the no. example 0 , 1 ,2 listed besides your disk )
• if everything seems fine here ( size, file system etc. )
• type exit
• type exit again
• Run CHKDSK with the drive letter
• Boot back into Windows
• Go to, Run ( Windows key + R )
• Type, SFC /SCANNOW
• wait for the process to complete

IF this does not solve your problem

• check if you can open up your external enclosure
• Take your drive out and plug it directly into your computer system
• If your drive works, backup your data
• Buy another External enclosure
• Plugin your drive to check if it works
• Make sure you backup your data before doing any of this.
• Format your drive ( repartitioning is also recommended )
• NOTE: Do any of the above said steps at your own risk. Do not open your computer hardware or your HDD external enclosure, if you are not comfortable with it. Hire a professional to do it instead. If any damage or warranty violations occur, the author of this article will not be held responsible for it.

After reading this guide you will be able to fix a problem where Device manager when opened shows no hardware listed or you may call it an empty device manager. This problem has been encountered in Windows XP, Vista & Windows 7. There are a few fixes that can sort this problem. Below is the list of solutions according to your operating system. Some of the solutions mentioned below apply to all Windows Operating system with just a few minor changes.

Universal Fixes

• System Restore ( Follow This Guide )
• Else
• System File Checker ( SFC )

• If you are using Windows XP, Insert the Windows CD / DVD into the drive. For Windows Vista & 7 CD /DVD is not needed.
• Go to run ( Windows Key + R )
• Type SFC /SCANNOW
• This will take sometime to complete.

Windows XP

Note: Before Editing Registry Follow this guide to Backup Your Registry

• Go to Start Menu
• Click on Run
• Type regedit
• Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• Expand SYSTEM
• Expand CurrentControlSet
• Select Enum
• Click on Security , Permission menu
• Click Add
• Add the group Everyone and user SYSTEM
• Select Everyone
• Check Read only
• Select system
• Check Full Control
• Click the Advanced button ( at the bottom)
• Check Reset permissions on all child objects
• Click ok
• Click yes
• Close the Registry Editor

Windows 7 / Vista

• The very first steps should be to follow the universal repair procedure mentioned at the top of the guide.
• Use This guide to try Clean boot in Windows Vista, 7 
• Making a new user account

• Go to Control Panel
• Click User Accounts
• Click on Manage Another Account
• Click on Create a new account
• Select the type as Administrator
• Assign a new name & a password if required
• Log Off
• Login to the new account at the welcome window
• Check Device Manager

After reading this short article, you will be able to properly configure your Solid State Drive ( SSD ) for better performance in Windows Operating system. If you have a new SSD in your hands and you are thinking about Installing Windows on it, make sure that your drive is aligned properly & within your BIOS the controller or SATA type is set to AHCI. While booting from Windows Disk and just before you select the Disk Press Shift + F10 and follow this guide . Below are some tips that you can use to gain some performance boost when using SSD in Windows.

• Make Sure you are using your computer in AHCI mode.
• Turn off Defragment service. ( Start menu –> type Service.msc)
• Turn off indexing service ( SSD drives are fast enough and using indexing service is a waste of time )
• Some online blogs /sites suggest turning off Superfetch. I would suggest not to turn it off. I found performance degradation while the superfetch service was tunred off. ( Though It’s your wish )
• DO Not turn off write caching ( even if it’s not needed )
• Make Sure Trim is working on your Windows system

• To Check TRIM

• Go to Start Menu
• Type CMD
• Right Click CMD
• Run as Administrator
• 
• Now, on the Command Prompt
• Type fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify

• 
• If the result you get says DisableDeleteNotify=0
• Trim is Enabled
• In the end, make sure you drivers & Windows is up to date. Run Windows update to check.