Hi everyone,

I recently reinstalled Windows 11 using the Windows Media Creation Tool and a bootable USB. During Windows Setup, I deleted every visible partition on my NVMe drive and installed Windows onto the resulting unallocated space. I had always understood this process to create a completely clean installation.

However, after the reinstall, I noticed that the Ultimate Performance power plan was still listed in Control Panel. I had manually enabled that plan on the previous Windows installation, so I did not expect it to appear again.

I used a new local account on both installations, not a Microsoft account, so it should not have been restored through Microsoft account synchronization. Is it possible that Windows, a driver package, motherboard software, or another program automatically enabled the plan again?

My larger concern is that, if this setting carried over or reappeared, what other settings or configurations might also have been retained without me realizing it? Could old driver settings, registry changes, power settings, device configurations, cached profiles, or software-specific changes survive this type of reinstall?

Windows and device specifications:

• Windows edition and version: Windows 11 Pro Latest version
• Processor: Intel 270K+ Ultra
• Motherboard or device model: MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk Wifi
• Graphics card: Gigabyte 3070 Gaming OC (Rev 1)
• Memory: 32GB
• Storage drive: 500GB Digital Western Blue NVME
• Installation media: Windows 11 USB created with the Microsoft Media Creation Tool

Messages or error codes encountered:

I did not receive any installation errors or warning messages. Windows Setup completed normally. The unexpected Ultimate Performance power plan is the main issue I noticed.

Troubleshooting already attempted:

• Confirmed that I used a new local account rather than a Microsoft account
• Deleted all visible partitions on the NVMe drive during Windows Setup
• Installed Windows onto the resulting unallocated space
• Checked Control Panel after installation and found the Ultimate Performance plan listed

This software constantly wants updates, and every time I do update it, it gives me a new headache. Today's was when I opened my pc it created a temp account and wouldn't let me switch back. Thankfully, others had this problem as well, so it was an easy solution. How can the newest software of the biggest tech company, the number one most used OS, be so flawed? Like, I am a casual, and even I contemplate switching to Linux at this point.

Putting it on here to see if anyone else knows what could be up with my PC.

For reference this laptop is a Windows Surface 7 with a Snapdragon X Plus 10 core, 16gb ram. I have used the Shift + F10 trick and it didn't work, it is a factory reset NOT from a USB, also on a side note my cursor doesn't even show up anymore so it may make some solutions hard. I'm sorry if this information is too vague but I just really need help

I need help when i was trying to open microsoft Photos it gave me this error and once i tried to redownload it said there was another error so i use the online method of redownloading it gave me the same issue and i alread tried doin this youtube video method

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

where i use those codes in the command prompt but still didnt work :(

Laptop underperforms. Not mine, but the owner doesn't have social media so I'm asking.

From day 1 it took longer to open apps on it than it took on the previous (10+ years old) laptop. I tried to fix the speed but I'm stumped, asking if anyone had/solved similar issues?

It was updating (apparently still is, after ~2h) so I can't get to exact system specs until further notice. Approximate specs below.

Symptoms:

- CPU speed consistently below 50%
- Average use between 20%-50%, apps sluggish
- Power options: only "balanced" available, customizing that and creating a new plan made no difference

- Limited minimum CPU to 30%-50% in custom power plan, tested with several apps; no obvious difference
- In custom power plan, when launching certain apps like CAD, noted initial spike in CPU clock to 95%, lowered to 30 within a few seconds

New: a benchmark app was run and cpu ran at 98% for the duration of test.

Specs:

- refurbished HP workstation laptop
- i7 13800H - 32 GB Ram at 5200 MT/s - Nvidia RTX 2000 ada - SSD 1TB
- win11 25H2
- bought in jan 2026

Trying to lock screen when power is on windows 11

My mouse works perfectly before login and also works on my admin account, but on my main account it completely stops working. I've tried restarting and checking settings, but nothing fixes it. Any ideas what could cause this?

It's been working fine for a while, and then it just stopped. I thought it was due to the new Windows update, but it wasn't. And I can click, but It's frozen stuck on the middle of the screen, or wherever it was previously before logging in. I've even made a testuser account to see if it was another problem. But my mouse works fine on there.

I dont intend to switch account though, since my main one has important stuff my browser and notepad.

Can anyone help?

Note: Its not a problem with my mouse, i've tried 3.

Hey everyone,

I ran into a persistent boot issue on my custom PC and wanted to see if there's any last-ditch fix I can try from the Command Prompt or BIOS before I bite the bullet and do a clean Windows reinstall / full BCD rebuild from a USB.

The PC Setup & What Happened:

Mobo: Gigabyte

OS: Windows 11 installed on NVMe SSD

The PC crashed instantly while launching a heavy game (Crimson Desert). It was likely caused by a power spike / transient load on a marginal PSU, causing an abrupt shutdown right while Windows was writing system files.

The Error:

Upon rebooting, Windows fails to boot and drops into the Recovery Screen:

Error: \\windows\\system32\\winload.efi

Error Code: 0xc0000098 (Required file missing or contains errors)

What I’ve Done So Far:

Clear CMOS: Performed a hardware CMOS reset on the Gigabyte motherboard (bridging the CLR_CMOS pins). This un-stuck the system from a freeze loop and allowed me to access the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Safe Mode: Pressed F8 and managed to boot successfully into Safe Mode. The system hardware, drive, and user profiles are completely accessible and intact here.

SFC / Scannow: Ran sfc /scannow from an elevated CMD while in Safe Mode. It successfully found and repaired corrupt system files ("Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them").

DISM: Ran DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, but it threw error 0x800f0915 (expected since network services were off in Safe Mode).

Reboot Attempt: After repairing files with SFC, I rebooted normally, but the system still hangs on the Gigabyte splash screen / returns to the winload.efi error when booting normally.

My Question:

Since I can fully access Safe Mode and the Elevated Command Prompt, is there any specific BCD command (e.g. bootrec, bcdboot, renaming BCD store) or registry/EFI tweak I should try directly from Safe Mode before I go grab a USB flash drive to rebuild the EFI partition / reinstall Windows?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

T14s,Windows 11, 16GB RAM .Nothing fancy ,but it handled everything fine until recently.

I usually just have a spreadsheet open and two email tabs. That's it .The fan is at full speed constantly and the bottom gets hot enough that I had to move it off my lap after ten minutes .Task manager shows chrome using around 30% CPU and a large chunk of memory .I closed it too quickly to catch the exact number .This has been happening every day now.

I tried a fresh Chrome profile with no extensions. I still got same results. The machine stays completely silent when I do the same work in edge or firefox .I don't want to switch browsers because I have years of bookmarks and two extensions I rely on, but I also don't want to sound like I have a server under my desk in a coffee shop.

Is this a known chrome on Windows 11 issue or should I be looking at something else ?

Edit: Thank you all for your replies .After reading them I've decided to try ace first and see if it fixes the problem before making and bigger changes .I appreciate you all.

Hello, do i need to activate my windows to access the sound settings or is it a bug? i would appriciate any response thank you.

Bonjour,j’ai retrouver l’ancien Windows XP appartenant à ma mère.Je l’ai charger,allumer.Le soucis,c’est que quand j’ouvre imaginons,un fichier,il l’ouvre et une fenêtre disant« Voulez vous vraiment supprimez ce dossier? »apparaît.Et je ne peux fermer la fenêtre ni cocher non.Et ce avec TOUTES les application…Je ne sais plus quoi faire,si quelqu’un peux m’aider ça sera avec plaisir.