Category: Windows 8

After reading this post you will learn a few ways to troubleshoot the frequent “not responding” problem with your Windows computer. This post applies to fixing those Windows PCs which often show the not responding message for the opened Windows or programs. If it’s a rare problem, I am sure you don’t need to read any further. Your PC is just fine & does not need any fixing. On the other hand, if you are facing this issue quiet often you should follow the steps mentioned herein:

Check Your Hard Drive

• Make sure you have enough space available on your hard disk, to do this :

• Go to Computer
• Right Click your root drive ( C: or any partition where you have installed Windows )
• Click on Properties
• Check the used & free space

 

• Check your Drive for errors

• Go to command prompt by typing command in your start menu search box ( right Click –> run as administrator )
• Navigate to your system partition by typing the drive letter of your system partition ( example : C:\ )
• type CHKDSK /f
• type CHKDSK /r
• You might get a message that disk check will be scheduled on next reboot

 

• Also, make sure that your hard disk drive is defragmented

• Type defragment in start menu search box
• Run disk defragmenter
• If it’s a desktop computer

• Try changing the hard disk data cable

• NOTE: If you don’t know how to change the HDD cable, get it done by a computer hardware professional.

 

Check your RAM ( Memory )

• If you have a demanding usage of system resources & you like to multitask

• make sure that you have adequate RAM installed.

 

• Check your system RAM for errors

• Go to start menu
• type Windows Memory diagnostics (in the start menu search box)
• Run the program
• This will restart your computer
• Check your RAM for errors & display a report after you login the next time.

 

Windows Update

• Make sure your Windows is up to date

• Go to start menu
• In the start menu search box type Windows Update
• Click on Check for updates
• Select recommended updates
• also select any driver updates from Optional updates section

 

Drivers & BIOS

NOTE: Please perform any BIOS update operation at your OWN risk, BIOS update, if not done properly, or for any other reason, it fails, can crash your computer system & damage your hardware. Troubleshootwindows.com or I, the author of this post will not be responsible for any damage whatsoever.

• SATA/AHCI drivers

• Go to your motherboard / system manufacturer’s support website
• Locate the support page for your computer /motherboard model
• Download and Install the SATA / AHCI / IDE ( STORAGE drivers )
• & also install the latest chipset & Display drivers from that support site.

 

• BIOS updates

• You can check the support site, if any new BIOS updates for your system has been released.
• Read the documentation associated with the BIOS release to make sure that it addresses any problems that your might be facing.

After reading this post you will be able to fix some issues that you might be facing while trying to connect to a wireless network in Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or XP. There are quite a few issues that might restrict you from using a wireless network properly. Most of the times it’s bad drivers installed for your device, misconfiguration or just a simple software interrupting with your Wi-Fi connection in windows.

Follow the steps mentioned herein one by one:

Method 1

Press of a button

• If you are using a laptop to connect to a Wi-fi / wireless connection. Your wireless was working just fine & now without a cause it has stopped working.
• The first thing to check is small wireless on / off button on most laptops
• It can be a dedicated on/off type switch on the side of your laptop
• or
• i could be a key amongst your Function keys on top.
• There would be a wireless sign imprinted on that particular key ( refer screenshot )

• Your key sign might look like the ones above or it might be anything that would suggest a wireless connection
• Try pressing that key or if it’s a switch, try turning it on.
• The wireless key / wireless sign might be in a different colour suggesting that it can be used by pressing a FN key located mostly on the left hand side of your keyboard near CTRL , ALT buttons.

Check if the problem is solved

• On your taskbar right hand side
• locate this icon
• Click on it to see this menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• If you see available networks here, you have successfully solved the problem.

 

 

Method 2

Checking the Drivers

• It’s always a good idea to update your drivers at a good interval
• To make sure you have updated / proper drivers installed for your hardware device, you can choose:
  • Run Windows Update
  • Select your driver updates from optional updates section
• OR
• Go to your computer manufacturer’s support website
• navigate to downloads section
• locate the drivers for your particular hardware
• download & install
• It’s also a good idea to, first uninstall the previously installed drivers
  • to do that: Go to Control panel
  • Programs & Features
  • Locate your Wireless Lan drivers
  • Uninstall

Method 3

Check your router

• Make sure that your router is broadcasting your network’s SSID.
• To check that :
  • Connect your router directly to your computer using a LAN cable
  • Check the documentation provided with your router to get the login IP address
  • for example we take 192.168.1.1 as a router’s login IP
  • Go to your browser and type this IP in the address bar:

• Type in the username & password for logging into the router’s panel

• refer the screenshot above
• make sure your SSID broadcast is enabled.

Method 4

Connecting to a hidden network

Click here for the guide on connecting to a hidden network in Windows

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 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 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.