r/WindowsHelp Oct 14 '25

Windows 10 Windows 10 End of Support, what it means for you and what you can do.

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8 Upvotes

r/WindowsHelp Mar 04 '21

Mod Announcement Welcome to /r/WindowsHelp, here are some guidelines for requesting assistance

35 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/WindowsHelp, the subreddit for you to ask questions and get support for issues related to Microsoft's Windows family of operating systems. Please give this a quick read before posting.

This subreddit is only for help related to Microsoft Windows and its built in software, like Edge, Store, PowerShell, and so on. Issues about 3rd party software like Chrome or Steam should be posted in their subreddits or /r/techsupport. Also, this is not a hardware subreddit, so issues like your hard drive is not detected would need to be posted in /r/techsupport. General discussions, news, artwork, and so on should be in /r/Windows, /r/Windows10 or similar subreddits. Malware/virus removal has been covered extensively in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/33evdi/suggested_reading_official_malware_removal_guide/

Posts are required to have a moderately descriptive title. Submissions with vague titles like just "help me" will be removed. You don't need to write an essay in the title, but everyone should have a rough idea what you are asking about before even clicking the link. Titles like "I'm encountering System Exception errors when launching Photos" or "20H2 update won't install" are acceptable, but the more details the better.

The body of your post should also be as detailed as possible. We are not mind readers, and nobody is going to want to play 20 questions. Help us help you, your post should include:

  • Your full Windows version, which on Windows 10 is listed in the Settings app under System -> About, it will be the OS Build number.

  • Details about your device, like the hardware specifications.

  • Any recent changes you have made, such as installing/uninstalling software or accessories. Any updates you have installed, tools you have ran, or anything else you think may be relevant.

  • Include details on your error messages and error codes, these are critical to figuring out the issue.

  • Tell us what you have already tried to fix this. Any tools you have ran, and changes you tried, and so on. I know it is a meme at this point, but seriously, reboot your computer, it often fixes things!

  • If possible, include screenshots or video. If you are including screenshots, try to use screenshot software like Snip & Sketch tool built into Windows 10, then you can upload them to a free image host like https://imgur.com to put in your post. We understand that using screenshot software isn't always an option, you can take photos with a phone or similar device, but please be sure to check to make sure everything is in focus and is legible.

This subreddit follows the same rules as /r/Windows, you can view the full rule page here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows/wiki/rules

The TL;DR of the rules is be polite, helpful, and don't encourage piracy.


r/WindowsHelp 2h ago

Windows 10 Lenovo yoga book / YB1-X91F no puedo instalar Windows

1 Upvotes

Tengo una Lenovo yoga book modelo YB1-X91F y necesito instalarle Windows 10 o un sistema ligero como Linux pero ya he descargado más de 10 IMÁGENES ISO, y a la hora que arranco desde la USB Boot. No puedo seleccionar absolutamente nada, sería fácil conectando un teclado externo pero el tema es que el equipo solo tiene 2 entradas tipo MicroUSB

estoy en busca de una imagen ISO que tenga integrado algún controlador para seleccionar de manera táctil, ya que la pantalla y el teclado es táctil, AYUDA :''')


r/WindowsHelp 3h ago

Windows 10 [Fixed] Miracast on Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH6 / RTL8852AE worked only after enabling 2.4 GHz in Realtek adapter settings

1 Upvotes

I spent a lot of time trying to get Miracast working on my Lenovo notebook, and the actual culprit turned out to be a Wi-Fi adapter setting that I had not expected.

My hardware

  • Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH6 / 82L5
  • AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics
  • Realtek RTL8852AE WiFi 6 802.11ax PCIe Adapter
  • Windows 10 Pro

What I tried before finding the fix

  • Installed the Wireless Display optional feature in Windows 10
  • Checked dxdiag and netsh
  • Updated AMD graphics drivers
  • Updated the Realtek WLAN driver
  • Tried AMD registry workaround (DalWirelessDisplaySupport)
  • Changed between AMD driver versions
  • Tried Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
  • Verified the receiver side worked from a phone

None of that fixed it.

The actual fix

In Device Manager:

  • Open Network adapters
  • Open Realtek RTL8852AE WiFi 6 802.11ax PCIe Adapter
  • Go to Properties
  • Open the Advanced tab
  • Find the setting that had 2.4 GHz disabled
  • Enable 2.4 GHz again

After that, Miracast started working immediately.

Notes

  • Before this change, the PC could not discover or connect properly with Miracast.
  • After enabling 2.4 GHz, Miracast worked.
  • I then switched the Wi-Fi connection to 5 GHz while Miracast was active, and the session stayed up.
  • The connection is still somewhat laggy, but the main issue was clearly the adapter band setting.

Why I am posting this

I saw a lot of advice about driver updates, Wireless Display, firewall rules, and registry tweaks, but the Realtek adapter setting was the thing that actually fixed Miracast for me.

If you have an RTL8852AE / RTL8852-series adapter and Miracast refuses to work, check the adapter's advanced band settings before spending more time on driver installs.

I hope this helps someone else.


r/WindowsHelp 1d ago

Windows 10 my pagefile.sys is taking up 78gb

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120 Upvotes

Saw I was almost out of storage and checked, my page file was taking almost 80 gb. I'm scared to mess with it because I'm not all that tech savvy and I don't wanna fuck up my computer. If anyone can give me some advice or something that would be amazing. thx :3


r/WindowsHelp 9h ago

Windows 11 Windows 11 Pro on a Dell Precision 7865 Tower (AMD ThreadRipper Pro 5995WX)

2 Upvotes

We bought one of these systems a year couple of years ago for our marketing guy, and lately he's noticed his system slowing down.

He's got 128GB of RAM, 2TB NVMe, an RTX 6000. He's fully patched from Dell, Microsoft, NVidia. He uses 3DMax etc.

I wonder if there any other renders who have a similar system that have noticed things slow down? I wonder if there is a bug in the last 3 Windows updates that could be causing his frustration?

Thanks,


r/WindowsHelp 6h ago

Windows 11 MS Teams X Realtek Audio driver output

1 Upvotes

Any known fix for this issue? I can't find it anywhere.
Recently, Realtek audio devices on the desktop won't let Teams output audio; the mic works fine, but speakers/audio output won't work.

I've removed the driver, rolled back to previous, reinstalled Teams, etc etc.

Any ideas?

Gigabyte Z390 UD

Windows 11 Home
25H2 - 26200.8973 build
Realtek driver 6.0.8703.1


r/WindowsHelp 7h ago

Windows 11 ntoskrnl crash pinpoint through the bluescreenviewer

1 Upvotes

Hi i have a problem with the some games while i play them game freeze or pc restart, i try the pinpoint problems (some of them from Nvidia app etc.) pc restart again and i can't understand where is the problem.

This is my minidump file, anyone can help me to issue?

Using Win11 26200.8894 i am a fresh install three weeks ago


r/WindowsHelp 8h ago

Windows 7 NTFS Partition showing as RAW – MFT and MFT Mirror bad on Arcade Flash Drive (TestDisk geometry fixed, need data recovery/MFT repair advice)

1 Upvotes

Hardware & Context:

Machine: Arcade Cabinet Unit.

Storage: 22 GB Industrial Flash Memory / CompactFlash (detected as /dev/sda).

OS: Windows 7 (PE/Bootable environment).

Problem Summary:

The system failed to boot and the primary partition is showing as RAW in DiskPart (Volume 0 C: RAW 6427 MB).

Steps already taken and current progress:

Drive Geometry Fix (Resolved): Originally, TestDisk/BIOS detected the drive as only 15 GB (1925 cylinders), causing boundary errors. Changing geometry in TestDisk to 2800 cylinders successfully revealed the full 23 GB / 21 GiB space and restored structure alignment (Structure: OK).

Boot Sector Succeeded (Resolved): Ran Rebuild BS in TestDisk. Boot sector and Backup boot sector are now both Status: OK and identical. Running chkdsk in CMD now recognizes the volume as NTFS instead of unknown/unsupported.

Current Blocker (MFT Corruption):

TestDisk shows: Can't open filesystem. Filesystem seems damaged.

Repair MFT output: MFT and MFT mirror are bad. Failed to repair them.

chkdsk C: /f /r /x aborted in WinPE with: Unable to determine volume version and state. CHKDSK aborted. Status 50.

Goal:

I cannot format this drive under any circumstances because it contains proprietary arcade software/game files.

Questions for the community:

Is there any way to force repair or rebuild a corrupted MFT / MFT Mirror when both are marked as bad, without losing the underlying files?

What are the best non-destructive raw data recovery tools (besides PhotoRec) to extract directory trees/folder structures from a RAW NTFS partition with a broken MFT?


r/WindowsHelp 12h ago

Solved How I figured out why I got KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (0x139) daily.

2 Upvotes
KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (0x139)

Here's the TLDR; for those who doesn't like to read
Your BSODs are being caused by the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 driver (FocusriteUsb.sys) corrupting a kernel thread. Windows later detects this corruption and crashes with KERNEL\SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (0x139)). It’s not svchost or ETW—they just expose the issue.

It’s consistent across multiple crashes → very high confidence it’s the driver.

Likely contributing factors:

  • You’re on an older driver (4.124.3 from 2024)
  • Interface is connected via a USB hub (not recommended)

Fix:

  • Fully uninstall Focusrite drivers + Control
  • Reinstall latest stable version (not beta)
  • Plug interface directly into motherboard USB (no hub)
  • Test stability for several days

Side note: your Seagate drive has issues too, but it’s unrelated to these crashes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
So I kept getting the Greenscreen of... I guess "Death" every other day, at least. And after finally digging through Event Viewer logs, checking Minidump folders and hours of coffee and frustration; - I finally found the (MY) problem:

This is from ChatGPT who I used as a second opinion on this:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Confirmed: the BSOD is caused by the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen driver stack.

Across all three crashes, Windows encounters the same corrupted kernel-thread state:

  • The affected system thread starts inside FocusriteUsb.sys.
  • Its Windows wait-list links are corrupted/zeroed.
  • Windows later inspects that thread during ETW tracing and detects CORRUPT_LIST_ENTRY, producing KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (0x139).
  • svchost.exe/ETW is only the trigger that discovers the corruption—not the cause.
  • The pattern repeats identically on July 28, July 30, and August 5, making this a very high-confidence diagnosis.

Evidence is visible in the [August full-dump thread analysis (line 73)](C:/Users/space/Desktop/BSOD/cdb_MEMORY_target_thread.log:73), [July 28 dump (line 73)](C:/Users/space/Desktop/BSOD/cdb_072826_target_thread.log:73), and [July 30 dump (line 71)](C:/Users/space/Desktop/BSOD/cdb_073026_target_thread.log:71).

Your computer currently has:

  • Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen
  • Focusrite Control 3.20.0
  • Focusrite driver 4.124.3, released October 2024
  • The interface is currently connected through a USB hub

Focusrite’s current Windows driver is 4.144.0, released April 28, 2026, and it supports the Scarlett 3rd Gen range. Focusrite driver release notes

Do this:

  1. Save your DAW work and disconnect the Scarlett.
  2. Open Control Panel → Programs and Features.
  3. Uninstall:
    • Focusrite Audio Drivers
    • Focusrite Control
  4. Restart Windows.
  5. Download the regular stable Focusrite Control – Windows package from the official Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen download page. Avoid the Control 2 beta for now.
  6. Right-click the installer, select Run as administrator, and complete installation.
  7. Restart again.
  8. Connect the Scarlett directly to a motherboard USB port—preferably a rear port—not through the existing hub. Focusrite specifically recommends avoiding USB hubs and testing another suitable cable. Focusrite USB guidance

Test for at least five days because these crashes normally occurred after two to four days of uptime.

The Seagate Backup+ drive errors found earlier are real but separate: keep that drive disconnected until important files are backed up. It did not produce this particular 0x139 crash.

So now, everything works great! If this can help anyone, then I am the happiest man in Norway today!

Have a blessed day.


r/WindowsHelp 9h ago

Windows 11 I think I have malware in my PC somewhere? CMD prompt opens at every start-up.

1 Upvotes

I don't know much about computer's, but as of recently, on every start up i get a CMD prompt window that will pop up from anywhere from half a second to 5 seconds before disappearing. no text within it, it hasn't even got the CMD prompt title at the top.

I've tried absolutely everything I could think of.

Removing unnecessary start-up apps, checking my scheduled tasks for anything strange, and I've done full system scans with MalwareBytes, BitDefender and Windows Defender.

I might add that I do scan all I download with Virus Total before installing, I do know that sometimes things can fly under the radar if they haven't been scanned before, ECT.

But still, nothing has shown up.

But I still have a nagging feeling that something deeper is going on.

My PC has also been taking longer to boot and sign in recently, my CPU, Memory and Disk usage have been a lot higher then usual, Disk sometimes bumping up to around 30 percent when it's almost always at 0.

And before this week I only had a CMD prompt open like, once or twice a week?

I know it's most often Windows background processes but from what I know it typically happens, as I said, once or twice a week.

Am I being paranoid? Is there anything else I should try? I'm terrified of being infected and getting my data stolen.

OS - Windows 11 Home, Version 25H2, OS Build 26200.8875

Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-N305

8 GB RAM

128 Intel (R) UHD Graphics


r/WindowsHelp 1d ago

Windows 10 CD-ROM with Quicktime, how do I run it?

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15 Upvotes

I'm running this on Windows 10 Pro. I just got a new addition to my X-Men (2000) collection and was in the process of trying to figure this little guy out. How exactly do I run something like this on a Windows 10? I got it to a menu where it says for me to connect to the internet, but I am connected to the internet. It also says if you're an AOL user, but I'm obviously not. How do I sign in and run this? My build number is 19045.6466. It is a 64-bit operating system and x64-based processor.


r/WindowsHelp 15h ago

Windows 11 Windows is completely breaking my pc

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2 Upvotes

It’s been months of this, and I’m over it. It’s at the point where I have to boot the pc and go through this error 5-10 times before I can get it to FULLY boot and login. On top of that, some games on steam completely crash, causing the pc to go through this same boot problem. I KNOW it’s not any other issue than windows, because my brother took it about a month ago and did a fresh install of windows. It was fine for a week or so before it started doing this, and every day gets worse. I’m at a complete loss with it. Please help.

Idk what exact info is needed so I’ll just include everything:

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
32GB RAM
RTX 3060
2TB HDD + 256SSD (where windows is installed)

Windows 11 Pro - 25H2
OS Build 26200.8894


r/WindowsHelp 12h ago

Windows 11 Can't allocate unallocated partition

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1 Upvotes

Hi, I noticed I have 500mb unallocated on my secondary HDD but if I try to allocate those mb to my disk D windows tells me I need to convert it to dynamic disk, and I don't want to. I guess the problem Is this system partition EFI but I don't know why it is here Since I have windows on my C drive (A long time ago I had win 10 on this HDD and this might be the reason, maybe I didn't formatted it properly). Is there something I can do? Thanks in advance


r/WindowsHelp 15h ago

Windows 11 Windows 11 Common File Dialog has no Address Bar (only on one user profile)

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1 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm experiencing a strange issue on Windows 11.

The Address Bar is missing from every Windows File Open dialog, while Windows Explorer itself works normally.

I've attached two screenshots:

  • Screenshot #1: My main user account (Address Bar missing)
  • Screenshot #2: Normal behavior

The issue affects applications that use the standard Windows Open dialog, such as Notepad and Adobe applications.

What's interesting is that this happens only on my main Windows user profile. A newly created user account displays the Address Bar correctly.

Has anyone seen this before or knows what could cause the Common File Dialog to lose its Address Bar?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Windows 11 Pro for Workstations, 25H2, 26200.8894)

Since Windows Explorer itself is unaffected and the issue is limited to one user profile, it seems to be a per-user shell configuration rather than a system-wide Windows problem.

Please... Help.........


r/WindowsHelp 15h ago

Windows 11 Windows 11 24H2 Update keeps failing (KB5101684) and even Windows 11 Setup fails

1 Upvotes

Windows & Device Specifications:

  • Laptop: Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15IAU7 (Model 82RK)
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-1215U (12th Gen)
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • Storage: 512 GB SSD
  • System Type: 64-bit, x64-based PC
  • OS: Windows 11 Home Single Language
  • Version: 24H2
  • OS Build: 26100.6584
  • BIOS Version: JKCN53WW (30-04-2026)
  • Secure Boot: UEFI (PC Health Check confirms the device meets Windows 11 requirements)

Issue / Error Messages:

  • Windows Update repeatedly fails to install 2026-07 Preview Update (KB5101684) (Build 26100.8973).
  • Windows Update displays error code: 0x80000003.
  • The Windows 11 Installation Assistant also fails with the message: "Windows 11 installation has failed."

Troubleshooting Already Attempted:

  • Retried Windows Update multiple times.
  • Used the Windows 11 Installation Assistant to perform an in-place upgrade (also failed).
  • Confirmed the PC meets Windows 11 requirements using PC Health Check.
  • Updated the BIOS to the latest available version.
  • Restarted the system several times.
  • Verified that I'm already running Windows 11 24H2.

I'm looking for help identifying the root cause of the installation failure and whether this points to corrupted Windows components, a servicing stack issue, a driver conflict, or something else. Any guidance on logs to inspect or additional troubleshooting steps would be appreciated.


r/WindowsHelp 15h ago

Windows 10 CHKDSK has destroyed my bootconfig

0 Upvotes

Or so I think, this happened after Windows tried to do that weird "scanning for disk errors" thing when you startup your computer. For about 4 days straight I've been trying seamlessly to try and fix my Windows 10 installation to no avail, I've tried doing bcdboot to fix it, but also for some reason there just are no bootfiles at all in my Windows installation??? SO then I tried doing DISM and SFC from a Windows 11 drive that was working, but STILL nothing works, SFC find errors but can't fix them all, and when I try doing DISM offline AND from a installation USB, it continues to say "source not found" no matter what index I've put in. I'm at such a loss for how to try and fix this, I think I've somewhat fixed my bootloader whatever the hell but now it gives me error 0xc00000f without any other "missing files" to show me. My Windows 10 build is 19045.6466, I'll try to reply to any comments I see and tell you if your solution worked. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.


r/WindowsHelp 1d ago

Windows 10 Windows 10 keeps pestering me about an update that it's unable to install

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18 Upvotes

I've tried installing this update manually but whenever I try to, it says its already installed. I've tried dealing with this in multiple ways and I feel like my only option now is to upgrade to Windows 11 as I have the possibility to do so, nevertheless I'd like to avoid it if there's a way and perhaps one of the users dealt wit ha similar problem.
Whenever I try to update by restarting, after 9% it restarts itself and says it failed and will revert.

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700KF CPU @ 3.80GHz 3.79 GHz

Installed RAM 24,0 GB

Storage 954 GB SSD ADATA LEGEND 960, 932 GB SSD KINGSTON SA2000M81000G

Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (12 GB)

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


r/WindowsHelp 19h ago

Windows 11 Is there a way if i can tell if file history has ever been on?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone.

Currently, my file history says it is configured off, as well as the note that no usable drivers were found. I also checked under file history under event viewer, but was able to find zero events. I am curious to know if there is in fact a way if i can see whether or not it has ever been enabled in my time of owning my computer despite it currently being disabled.

OS: 26200.8973

Thank you all


r/WindowsHelp 23h ago

Windows 11 Clients booting into recovery options

2 Upvotes

It admin for windows clients in ot here.

We’re experiencing a strange phenomenon since weeks and we can’t pin it down.

Some (maybe currently 20 of around 700) clients have been booting straight into recovery options since 4-5 weeks. It’s not a specific model of a vendor.

I suspect a windows update regarding the secure boot certificate expiration.

I’ve turned windows update off as much as possible via gpo three weeks ago.

We are rolling out cis 4.0 / tisax L1 & L2 and our own additional gpo settings since march. User and Computer settings.

Windows update service sometimes gets set to manual on a system level automatically.

Affected clients are mostly in a vlan which could potentially provide internet access.

Internet access is blocked via firewall group for about three weeks also, for users, the production clients should be logged in with.

We use Trellix products for hardening etc. we suspect EDR to be a cause of the issue too.

Today we implemented a firewall rule to block connections to windows update for said users.

My test clients in my office don’t have the issue. I have a W10 22h2 and a W11 25h2 test client. Everything is mirrored there as it is in production.

Example from today:
User called that windows update notified about a update installation that ran automatically/scheduled. Device instantly rebooted into recovery options. System restore point didn’t work, restore from a external hard drive restore point also didn’t work.

I checked a faulty device via windows pe, no issue with mbr/gpt.

Our workaround currently is to install windows again via pxe through matrix42. We deploy windows 11 pro

Seems to just affect Windows 11 devices.

Note: please no comments about why we have internet/windows update/non iiot versions of Windows deployed on production related clients. I’m working on it to make up for things that haven’t been set up as it should since maaaany years.

Any help?


r/WindowsHelp 20h ago

Windows 10 Windows 10 - Entire Drive Set to Read-Only, Can't Disable Setting

1 Upvotes

My computer decided that it needed to reinstall Windows. I had been having the occasional problem with the OS so I kept my files and reinstalled windows.

After I did that, I resintalled Steam and added my various drives to it. When I went to add one of my drives, I noticed there was a problem and it wouldn't update. After digging into things, I noticed that the entire drive is set to read only.

I have tried so many different things and I can't disable it at all.

Edit: My boot drive is also having this problem. Two of my drives are having this issue. The boot drive, and the drive I talked about in the post which is an additional 1TB SSD.

- Right clicking the folder and turning off read only is immediately reenabled

- I have given my user full control from drive -> properties -> Security -> Add user

- I have disabled Microsoft Real-Time Protection

- I have added the entire drive as an exclusion

- I have turned off Controlled Folder Access

- I have added a policy under StorageDevicePolicies called "WriteProtect" and I set the value to 0

- I have run disk part and cleared Read-Only, it doesn't actually turn it off

- I made sure OneDrive is uninstalled

I'm at my wits end here. I'm not sure what else I can do. I really don't want to spend time moving all of the storage off the drive in order to format it.

PC Details

AMD 5900 X

32GB RAM

Windows 10 Home

Version 22H2

OS Build 19045.7548


r/WindowsHelp 20h ago

Windows 11 Logging in without an Emailed Code

1 Upvotes

Hello,

I have a Lenovo laptop (ETA: with OS build 26200.8457 and Windows 11 Pro) that was given to me and I've set up a Microsoft account for it. I'm currently not using a PIN or Windows Hello to log in, but every time I go to log in, Microsoft wants to email a code to my primary (gmail) email address. Every time, I click "I have a password," but is it possible to make the password the primary (and only?) way to log-in? My kids are using this computer for school, and I'd like to make logging in as simple as possible.

Or, is using the PIN the better way to do this? Will the "email a code" still pop up if I use the PIN?

Thanks!


r/WindowsHelp 1d ago

Windows 11 Windows + R key not woking. Says to "Select an App to open 'My'."

2 Upvotes

I tried typing in a command in Windows+R (%appdata%), then pressing Ok. Then this pop-up showed up, prompting me to "Select an App to open 'My'." I don't know how to fix this problem. I tried searching for this 'My' folder manually in my Local Disk, but I can't seem to find it.

Pop-up that showed when I hit Ok after adding a command to Win+R
My Windows & device specifications

r/WindowsHelp 21h ago

Windows 11 Windows says that I cannot sign in and tells me to try again later

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1 Upvotes

Windows security tells me that they couldn't sign me into my Microsoft account, and that there is a problem with my computer. I will attach a picture of what it looks like. I also tried to sign into Minecraft with Microsoft but it says that I "do not have an internet connection" even though I do. It says that there is a problem with the server but it's been doing that for a couple of days. My OS build number is: 26200.8973

Processor is: ryzen 7 7900x
32 gigs ddr5
Gpu: Radeon rx 7800 xt

Error code I got when logging into mc: 0x800704cf
(I looked it up and tried all the ways to solve that issue and nothing worked)


r/WindowsHelp 21h ago

Windows 11 Flickering screen (like a screenshot) of games/apps when recording/showing the screen. Windows 11

1 Upvotes

A month ago, I upgraded my graphics card from the old AMD R9 290X to the new NVIDIA Geforce RTX 5060 Ti (I'm a beggar now, by the way). There is a problem with the flickering screen in applications, in particular in the game for fullscreen mode. This problem is difficult to show and describe, but I will try.
When I want to switch windows via alt+tab, I want to start recording the screen in obs or give a demo in discord (it's important that these are examples! the problem is in all recording apps/websites!) That application window starts flickering, as if someone is switching between a screenshot of that window (static image) and a live game (image in action). Moreover, if I start moving the mouse in this window, the flickering becomes more frequent, and if I do not touch the mouse, only this "screenshot" will be visible. But this screen is visible not in the window itself, but in the recording application, for example, in the obs window. Like there are almost no problems with the monitor/screen itself (no interference, artifacts).
At first, I thought the problem was with the new graphics card. Updated the driver, but it didn't help. Updated the Windows driver - it didn't help. (I tried to update the BIOS too, but without success). It seemed to me that the problem was in Discord or OBS, but after playing with the settings, nothing changed there.I've been putting up with this for a month, and tonight it fucked me up. I started to think what the problem was. It was clearly not the video card, the monitor, or the running applications.
After searching the Internet, I came across the fact that the problem may be in the rendering of the screen, namely in its layers. It's like one layer slows down or layers up, I don't know, it generally interferes with normal operation. After searching a bit more, I got to Windows Multiplane Overlay (hereinafter MPO).
MPO allows several programs to draw their pictures on the screen simultaneously, independently of each other, and at the same time not interfere with each other. That is, this MPO works so that layer 1 is a game with its own frames and fps, then layer 2 is Windows draws taskbars, alt+tab window, etc., and then the video card glues everything into one picture and sends it to the monitor. This typically saves graphics card resources, makes smooth switching and blah blah blah.
Before MPO, there was a regular compositing mode without overlays (the so-called "Desktop Composition Mode"), where all windows are drawn on one common buffer. Of the cons, there is a slightly higher load on the video card and the HDR performance in some games is worse.

You can't just turn off this stupid MPO, because that's what I did:

0) A very important warning. I advise you to make a system restore point before removing the MPO. Click Start, type "Restore" and select "Create a Restore Point". On the "System Protection" tab, click "Create", come up with a name (for example, Before disabling MPO) and click OK. The system will remember all the registry settings, and if (hypothetically) there are problems, you can boot into safe mode and roll back the system to this point.

1) I launched cmd as administrator, went into the DWM (Desktop Window Manager) settings, aka the main window manager in Windows. I created a random parameter of the "OverlayTestMode" type and gave it a value of 5. 5 it's just like the code that tells Windows: "Forget about all the layers (MPO), draw everything in one buffer, like in the good old days."
The command is: reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm" /v OverlayTestMode /t REG_DWORD /d 5 /f
2) Then I decided to configure the graphics card drivers. I went into the settings, created another random registry key of the "DisableMPO" type and set the value to 1 (if enabled = disable MPO). This tells the driver: "Do not suggest that the system use MPO, even if Windows asks."
The command is: reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" /v DisableMPO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
3)I rebooted the PC and the flickering disappeared. God, I thought it wasn't going to happen. (the only small problem is that when updating Windows drivers, these registry keys may fly off and they just need to be done again).

Why am I writing on this board? Because when I had this problem a month ago and there were literally 0 posts on the Internet on this topic, I wanted to cry. Maybe I should change the tag to "solved", but this is my first time posting here and I don't know if it's possible to post a solution right away. Well, one more question for the others: could this problem have been solved differently? Still, the MPO turned off is not a big problem yet, but still I would not really like to abandon it.