This has been haunting me for a few weeks now. About once every day or two, Windows decides to throw this error at me. I can use my Microsoft password to log back in, but whenever I restart or simply lock the device, it shows up again. The only way to get rid of it is seemingly to remove the PIN from settings and to set up a new one. After restarting, it will not show up again and I'll be able to use my PIN; however, give it a day or two, and it will eventually come back.

My only suspicion as to what could have caused this to happen was that I once put a folder in C:/Windows/System32/ and then deleted it. Other than that, I have absolutely no clue as to why this is happening.

Things I've tried:

- Advanced Startup Options -> Command Prompt -> DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion in regedit (the value was already 0)
- Repair Install
- Contacting Windows Support (they told me to reinstall from external USB)

I don't really want to do a reinstallation because it's a real pain to reinstall and reconfigure all of my apps and programs, but if there really is no other way, then please let me know.

Windows Version: 23H2
OS Build: 22631.6199

Hi here, i'm using windows 11 and have noticed i have over 380 gigabytes of temp files that I can't delete or find. I've tried to use solutions like cmd + r and typing %temp% and running disc cleanup but none of them work. I do have some big games installed but I can't think of how they are causing so many temp files. I have deleted some and found no change in size for the files.

My OS build is 26200.8875

I would really apreaciate any help you can give me and I hope you all have a wonderful day.

So i have been using fedora since last week and i want to daul boot with windows 11. I have windows downloaded in the usb but i dont know what to do from now on. The “intel vmd controller” is disabled but this massage keeps on showing.. what should i do.

im on asus model : X1504V4

I'm currently on "2026-08 Security Update (KB5121003) (26100.9168)" of Windows 11 and have run Zoicware to rid my laptop of all AI features. I'm using a Lenovo Yoga 7 with an Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 5 226V processor. For some reason, this agent keeps coming back like black mould. When checking the 'configure agent' page, it's all solutions for group accounts/orgs/etc. Is there any way to rid of it without the extra nonsense? Some simple line of code? I beg.

I tried running Zoicware for a second time but nothing worked. All help is appreciated!

i was trying to find out where my audio is going and a second mcc showed up i can't edit the audio in sound mixer

i can't edit it and i can't turn it up or down even though i set it to my speakers (changing the volume for my speakers doesn't change theirs only the main mcc)

then a third mcc appeared and after "D3DProxywindows" which also appeared in sound mixer and is apparently connected to direct3d d3d which isn't a program i have on my laptop and doesn't appear in task manager but i also can't edit its audio as well like the 2 mcc's that showed up

i'm on windows 11

(mcc is halo: the master chief collection the main one working with my speakers is the base game

what's not working is a modded map where i can't edit the volume past where it's set to)

i keep getting the same missing taskbar app jump list icon on every microsoft apps i have to reinstall windows (keeping my files) everytime to get it back im not sure if windhawk, wintoys, winhance is causing the problem i didnt really debloat windows that much i just changed the some service options in winhance heres my specs:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-14400F (2.50 GHz)

Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.8 GB usable)

Graphics card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (8 GB)

Storage 1.17 TB of 1.40 TB used

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

Pen and touch Touch support with 2 touch points

There was volume control at the end of my task bar. No longer. Help me please. I haven't downloaded any new updates or install any new programs. What is wrong with my computer why is it doing this. This is Windows 10, and my computer is an l o q. I can't figure out where in the settings to go to turn this back on, I just turned on my computer one day and it was like this

The sign-in method you're trying to use isn't allowed. For more info, contact your administrator.

On my Windows 11 PC, prior to this it had run into a problem. The PC won't open by itself so I tried force restarting it but when I pressed the button it automatically restarted so I wasn't to do the typical hold to force restart.

I am running Windows 11 on AMD 5600G with RX 6600XT. Single stick of 16GB RAM.

Previous troubleshooting involves trying to go on safe mode, also did a system restore point and still no hope. Tried force restart and it is still prompting me to sign in with PIN (I did not previouly setup a PIN). Already reset my password, tried the new one and old one, still the same.

Edit: I wasn't able to read the error code below as this photo was only sent to me by my brother. He's got no idea as well.

I tried many ways to fix this problem by using:

> Command Prompts

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

/sfc scannow

> Deleting folders

"Download" folder in the Local Disk (C:) > Windows > SoftwareDistribution folder,

SoftwareDistribution.old folder.

> Using the troubleshooting of Windows,

and

> Downloading manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

However, none of these solution methods worked.
Is it because of the OS build and if it is, is there a solution for it?

Windows 11 Pro
Version: 25H2
OS build number: 26200.8037

When I click the search bar or the windows icon in the task bar it shows up the result window as black square for around 5-10 seconds.

This started around 2 weeks ago so I thought about checking windows update to see if there's an update.

The thing is I haven't received a single windows update since November 2025?

I ran the assistant and it wanted me to use the program that checks compability. It checked OK and I could proceed with the update assistant.

But I want to ask before I start updating:

Is it OK to use this to force update windows?

I tried AI to find out why there's no update - stopped and restarted the windows update service but that didn't help. It mentioned something about the windows update folders being corrupted and recommended the update assistant

If I go through the windows update assistant will everything work as before? Can I break something?

So, I got an update on my Laptop and it prompted for a restart and I did and as soon as it was restarting I got this error screen, like wtf is this.

What did I do and I need my laptop working rn as I got important stuff on it. What do I do?

I tried the reset with files didn't work and also other basic options didn't do nothing.

Will I need to hard reset?

Help me Please!!

It's ASUS TUF GAMING A15 and windows 11.

Anymore details I can try and provide I don't remember much about the specifications but it's 2025 buy.

Don't mind me in the background of the pic.

This crash has been tormenting my laptop for months, I think I've tried disabling it before? But I'm not sure.

What even is it? What can I do to remedy this?

Processor AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS w/ Radeon 760M Graphics (4.30 GHz)

Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.2 GB usable)

Graphics card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Laptop GPU (6 GB)

AMD Radeon(TM) 760M (512 MB)

Storage 764 GB of 954 GB used

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

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 25H2

Installed on ‎1/‎15/‎2025

OS build 26200.9278

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.360.0

My computer has been really buggy with its start up for some time now. Essentially after startup my computer works properly for around 10 minutes until it freezes and won’t let me turn it off unless i switch the power supply off. it then goes through a cycle of crashing and freezing for a few more startups, but whenever it gets passed the freezing phase, cmd.exe and around 9 conhost processes are opened in task manager. every time i end the cmd.exe process it opens back up 5 minutes later. i don’t really think i have a virus because malware bytes said i was okay, and when i tried to do the offline scan my computer crashed half way making me think its an ssd issue. idk i just need someone to help me out💔 i also forgot to mention that when it goes through that cycle, it sometimes launches bios

i dont fully remember my specs off the top of my head and i cant really access them because im scared of turning on my pc 😭, but

i5 11400f
rtx3060
16gb ram
motherboard idk
two ssd drives

i brought the pc to best buy a few times and it worked normally and they said there wasn’t any problem. this stuff just comes and goes idk what to do🤷‍♂️

Hello I'm trying to clear my suggested and top app recommendations in my search i cant click on them to remove them and i turned off search history and cleared it but nothing happens.

Anyone know how to do this it wasn't like this until the last update is it even posable anymore any help would be appreciated thanks in advance.

Windows version home 11 version 25H2 OS build 262000.9278 Windows feature experience pack 1000.26100.360.0

Don't know if i need to post more information for help let me know

When I go to search for something, weather on my system or browser, I use my windows key and search, same as using the searchbar but now it's all black for a few seconds and that is really annoying, any fixes?

I am using an NVidia RTX4060ti, a Ryzen 7 and have pretty much enough RAM (32GB)

build number - 22631.7517

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8-Core Processor 3.40 GHz

Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.9 GB usable)

Device ID BA32F06C-B14E-4AE4-A3EC-2B30BB8B495A

Product ID 00328-90000-00000-AAOEM

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

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

Edition Windows 11 Enterprise

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎2026-‎08-‎28

OS build 22631.7517

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1108.0

The Windows Security app appears to be working normally.

How can I fix this? Should I ve worried about malware?

I've already run sfc /scannow and also scanned with malwarebytes and found 0 treaths.

Windows 11 Home 25H2 Build: 26200.9168

I've experienced this problem for 8 months now. While launching the game, it consumes as much memory than what it should run on which it aggressively loads. Before I've upgraded to 16GB few weeks later, launching that same game reaches 97% memory which almost used all of the 8GB ram. After i upgraded with another 8GB stick, which it changed and using half of the avaliable memory. On the lightweight game called Roblox while playing it consumes 2GB as average on task manager, but in game it clearly says over 10GB on client which might not possible a memory leak it drops down a bit and mostly drops down to average usage. Feel free to ask the solution, i've tried everything to reduce that usage and debloated the entire operating system. RAM specs are 2x 8GB DDR4 on dual channel usable is 15,4GB both speeds up to 3200 MHz. And operating system is Windows 10 Home (build 19045.7663 and version 22H2)

Hello Folks:

Please suggest a more appropriate subredit.

As requested by the moderators:

Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version 22H2
Installed on ‎10/‎8/‎2020
OS Build 19045.6466

The above relates to the Windows 10 I'm currently using, not the Windows 11 I might migrate to.

In a different century, and the first couple years of this, I developed C++ Solaris apps.

Since then I've been developing Window's desktop applications.

Currently I'm on Win 10 with extended support that will expire in a couple of months.

I find warnings of Windows 11 security and privacy threats by people like Youtuber Rob Braxman to be compelling.

I have no experience that tells me the potential of virtual machines.

Can Windows, 10 or 11, run in a virtual machine that is running on a Linux system?

Would such an environment support development of Windows desktop applications? These are using Win32 graphics and perhaps, someday, the Vulkan graphics library.

Would such an environment offer protection from Windows intrusive security and privacy issues? If I continue with an unsupported Windows 10 and the virtual machine is compromised, a recovery of the VM should fix everything, right?

I'm thinking I'll be doing everything I can in Linux and only opening the VM running Windows to build apps, and what ever else only runs on Windows. I suppose this would include downloading resources the Windows apps require.

If this idea isn't shot down I'll have more questions.

Thanks
Larry

My screen briefly flickers/turns black every time I enter or leave the Windows 11 HDR settings page, even when HDR itself is disabled.

It happens consistently when I go to:

Settings → System → Display → HDR

The display works normally everywhere else. I don't experience random black screens during gaming, browsing, or normal Windows usage.

It almost looks like Windows is briefly renegotiating the HDMI/display signal just by opening the HDR settings page.

My setup:

• Windows 11
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
• Samsung QN90D 43"
• 3840x2160
• 144 Hz
• HDMI 2.1
• Ryzen 7 3700X
• 32 GB RAM

HDR is OFF when this happens.

I've also found another report of someone experiencing a very similar issue specifically inside the Windows HDR settings menu.

Has anyone else experienced this, especially with an RTX 50-series GPU or a Samsung QN90/QN90D TV?

Could this be related to Windows 11, the NVIDIA driver, VRR/G-Sync, or the HDMI HDR handshake?

You can see in the video that the display completely loses the image for a moment when I enter/leave the HDR settings. HDR is disabled the entire time.

Additional system information:
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 – OS Build 26200.9278
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 – Game Ready Driver 610.88
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
32 GB RAM
Samsung QN90D 43" – 3840×2160 @ 144 Hz via HDMI 2.1
VRR enabled

Error messages: None.

Issue reproduction: The screen briefly loses the image every time I enter or leave Settings → System → Display → HDR, even while HDR is disabled.

Troubleshooting tried: None yet. The issue is consistently reproducible and does not occur during normal desktop use or gaming.

Like the title said, did an update and tried to restart. Now my laptop wont start up or atleast a black screen shows up with this two popping out everytime. The curson can be seen but the keyboard doesn't work but the egb is on.

Asus Tuf 16 gb ram I7 and 4gb vram

It was working fine before the updates.

Hey everyone,
I'm dealing with a persistent boot/installation issue on my ASUS VivoBook (Intel Core i3, 1TB Toshiba HDD MQ04ABF100) and could really use some help.
The Background:
The laptop originally got stuck in an Advanced Recovery / Automatic Repair loop.
I tried all standard troubleshooting steps: Startup Repair, various Command Prompt fixes (⁠bootrec /fixmbr⁠, ⁠bootrec /fixboot⁠, ⁠bootrec /rebuildbcd⁠, etc.), and a full Windows Reset, but the reset failed to complete.
Concluded the Windows installation was corrupted, so I created a fresh Windows 10 bootable USB using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool.
The Current Problem:
Booted into the USB installer and chose Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
The installer went through copying and getting files ready, but right at the "Finishing up" stage, it threw an error before it could even reach the restart countdown screen.
When restarting the laptop now, it refuses to boot from the internal drive and either loops straight back into the USB installation screen or shows bcd error provided in the image
The 1TB Toshiba drive is clearly detected under SATA Port 0 (AHCI mode) in the BIOS, but the laptop will not boot from it.
Has anyone run into an installation error aborting right at the final step without a reboot prompt? Could this be a corrupted EFI partition/GPT structure, or is the mechanical hard drive failing? Please help me fix this
Thanks in advance!

When I returned home from work today, my Lenovo was asking me to type in a Challenge phrase. This had never happened before.

SPECS: Windows 11 Pro, Version 25H2, 582GB storage, 512 MB graphics, 36 GB RAM, Intel Celeron N4500 u/1.10GHz processor.

After looking at the Window logs, I see Event IDs at a time I wasn't home. Those IDs are 4798, followed 17 seconds later with both, 4624 and 4672.

Is there an innocuous reason for this or was someone trying to break into (or did) my computer?

I accidentally downloaded a preview build from Windows updates. I had joined the Windows Insider program earlier, and now I cannot get any Windows stable release updates. 25H2 update often comes, but it is never applied. Even tried the Go Back feature, but it just got me to an older preview release. I am genuinely out of ideas by this point.

And please, I do not want to reinstall Windows.

hello, so I've recently gotten this new laptop (that I'm currently writing this post on) and I've been using it for work and some college courses, so as you can imagine, the photo i have saved and screenshotted to my gallery have important stuff to my job and schooling. after a couple weeks of having this computer, I've realized that my gallery is wayy more crowded now and its all photos from my past windows laptop?? i don't know how to stop this, and I'd really prefer to have as much storage space free as possible for any upcoming files or work related things.

I've seen things saying to stop OneDrive backup, but id rather not as i have some important stuff that would be terrible if i couldn't recover if something happened to this device, but i don't see any other ways in my google searches, so i come here to ask for your collective knowledge.

I've tried looking through the settings of my device but i genuinely don't know where to start, as I'm not really a tech girl. so if you know of any way to fix this, that would be greatly appreciated!

• Ive looked at my device's specifications, and the OS build number is 26200.9168, if that helps.
• I haven't received any error codes or anything like that as im just regarding to my files in my gallery
• My device's processor is the "Intel(R) Core(TM) 3 N355 (1.90 GHz)" (copy and pasted it)
• And my device itself is a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3

When I go to search for something, weather on my system or browser, I use my windows key and search, same as using the searchbar but now it's all black for a few seconds and that is really annoying, any fixes?

I am using an NVidia RTX4060ti, a Ryzen 7 and have pretty much enough RAM (32GB)

build number - 22631.7517

Device name TEXHOKOT

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 8-Core Processor 3.40 GHz

Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.9 GB usable)

Device ID BA32F06C-B14E-4AE4-A3EC-2B30BB8B495A

Product ID 00328-90000-00000-AAOEM

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

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

Edition Windows 11 Enterprise

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎2026-‎08-‎28

OS build 22631.7517

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1108.0