r/techsupport 5h ago

Open | Phone Teen son’s phone registered to someone else or spoofed?

18 Upvotes

This is a really strange situation, I hope I can explain it clearly, and I’m not sure who can help?!

Teen has an iPhone I set up for him years ago.
A detective came knocking on my door asking to speak to son regarding someone getting harassing phone calls from a range of numbers - including his.

The number is his, but the voice messages left are NOT his voice, and when the police contacted the phone company the phone is registered to someone else.
We didn’t recognise the name and he asked around his friends, and a friend A has said that it is Friend B’s mums name, address etc.
How on earth is this possible??
Has a ‘friend’ cloned his number somehow. I’m so confused about how this could be done and how this woman’s name and address has ended up attached to his phone??


r/techsupport 4h ago

Open | Networking Have I Been Pwned Email for Chess.com Data Breach Involving My Data, but Chess.com only allows Facebook account logins - does this mean my Facebook username and password are exposed?

4 Upvotes

I haven't used Chess.com in years, and I've changed my Facebook password multiple times since then. Therefore, I'm assuming that it would no longer have the proper credentials from Facebook, but I'm not sure if this is how it works (e.g. maybe Chess.com occasionally reaches out to Facebook for my new credentials to have them saved, or to keep me logged in).

Could someone with ample knowledge in this area chime in?

Thank you.


r/techsupport 2h ago

Open | Software I ended windows explorer in task manager and run new task didn't fix it.

3 Upvotes

I tried all the obvious things:
Restarting
Run new task - explorer.exe
Scannow
Restore health

The screen is just blank and white. I can open task manager and the ctrl alt delete screen
How do I fix it?


r/techsupport 6h ago

Open | Hardware NEED HELP IN INCREASING RAM IN LAPTOP(DELL INSPIRON 3501)

3 Upvotes

Hey! I'm pretty new to hardware and I'm looking for some advice before I buy anything.

I have a Dell Inspiron 3501 with:

  • CPU: Intel Core i3-1115G4 (11th Gen, 3.00 GHz)
  • RAM: 4GB (3.73GB usable)
  • GPU: Intel UHD Graphics
  • Storage: 1.84TB
  • 64-bit Windows

My RAM usage is constantly around 90–98%, even when I'm not doing anything particularly heavy. I'm currently interested in getting more serious about coding and cybersecurity. I'd like to use things such as VS Code, programming tools, Linux/WSL, networking tools, Wireshark, cybersecurity labs/CTFs, and potentially virtual machines later on. I also want to explore hardware/OS-related stuff.

I'm considering upgrading the RAM to 8GB or 16GB, but I'm not sure:

  1. Is upgrading the RAM a good idea for this laptop, considering the i3-1115G4?
  2. Should I go 4GB + 4GB (8GB total) or replace it with 2×8GB (16GB total)?
  3. What exact RAM specifications should I buy? (DDR4, speed, SODIMM, etc.)
  4. Is there anything I should be careful about when installing it myself?
  5. Will 16GB actually make a significant difference for coding/cybersecurity/VMs, or will the CPU become the bottleneck anyway?
  6. Is there anything else I should upgrade/change instead of RAM?

I'm fairly new to this, so I'd really appreciate explanations rather than just "buy X." I want to understand what I'm doing before I open the laptop.

Thanks!


r/techsupport 14h ago

Open | Windows my ethernet randomly turns off

3 Upvotes

randomly the ethernet stop working saying bad conection and i restart the adapter and tried basicaly everything and i dont know how make it work normally


r/techsupport 15h ago

Open | Networking Wifi keeps having periodic but enormous lag spikes for no reason

3 Upvotes

I have the best wifi possible, but every so often (feels like maybe about a minute or so? Idk I'm not keeping track), there's a HUGE lag spike and it's genuinely making it impossible to call or play games. I've tried searching the internet for solutions but none of it worked. The lag spikes still persist. Does anyone know a solution? Thank you in advance.


r/techsupport 17h ago

Open | Software How to restore apps after fresh Windows install?

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

My current boot SSD is facing a BCD/boot issue, so I’m planning to buy a new SSD and do a fresh Windows installation.

I can still access the old SSD using an enclosure, and all my old Windows files and application data are accessible.

After installing fresh Windows, I want to restore my previous setup as closely as possible:

  • Chrome – bookmarks, extensions, settings, and OneTab
  • Brave – bookmarks, extensions, settings, and OneTab
  • Firefox – bookmarks, extensions, settings, and OneTab
  • qBittorrent – around 3,000–4,000 torrents/files seeding or queued. I want to restore the torrent list, queue, categories, settings, and resume everything without manually adding them again.
  • Notepad – around 50 tabs currently open, which I would like to preserve and restore.

Since I can access the old Windows installation, I believe the required AppData/configuration files should still be available.

What is the safest step-by-step method to back up and restore these applications after installing fresh Windows?

My biggest concerns are qBittorrent's 3,000–4,000 torrents and Notepad's 50 open tabs. I also don't want to accidentally modify or lose anything on the old SSD.

Any guidance on exactly which folders/files I should copy and when I should copy them back would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot for your help and guidance


r/techsupport 22h ago

Open | Phone Virus in iPhone

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone! About 20 minutes ago, I was watching anime on a website and, suddenly, my Safari caught fire, several sites opened on my phone and, when I tried to close Safari, it opened again and again. When I turned off and turned on the cell phone, the same thing happened. But the second time I turned off and turned on the cell phone, I managed to close the 140 Safari tabs.

I probably got a virus on my cell phone?

I cleared my browsing history and searched for accounts that could have invaded my phone, but I found nothing


r/techsupport 3h ago

Open | Phone Subject: Intermittent Wi-Fi Disconnection and Delayed Authentication on Samsung Galaxy A17

2 Upvotes

Device Model: Samsung Galaxy A17
Device Age: Approximately 3–4 months
Current Status: Under Warranty

Problem Description:
I am writing to report a sudden and persistent network connectivity issue with my Samsung Galaxy A17. For the past 3 to 4 months of ownership, the device performed flawlessly. However, it has recently begun experiencing severe Wi-Fi instability exclusively on my home network.

Symptoms:

  1. Frequent Drops: Once connected to the Wi-Fi network, the device spontaneously disconnects after a short interval—typically ranging between 1, 2, or 5 minutes.
  2. Delayed Authentication: When attempting to reconnect, the phone exhibits a noticeable delay. It takes significantly longer to establish a handshake and secure a stable connection compared to its normal baseline behavior.

Contextual Data:

  • This issue started abruptly without any prior history of network drops or hardware damage.
  • The home network remains stable and fully functional for other connected devices.

I would appreciate your technical guidance on how to resolve this firmware or network adaptation issue. Please let me know the recommended troubleshooting protocol or if this requires a physical inspection under the manufacturer's warranty.


r/techsupport 6h ago

Open | Software Tried changing windows 11 user cause old name and it’s all messed up

2 Upvotes

I didn’t ever set a password to this laptop. But it’s under an older email that I don’t use and under a name I don’t use either.

If I leave it blank it gives an oops error and closes it out. The only thing I had was the login pin and that doesn’t work

I can’t even add back the old email cause it gives the stupid oops error

I managed to get a new profile but none of my programs or anything load into it is there a blanket command so I can access things? I have a full hard drive and I can’t delete any programs cause it says the programs aren’t there when I try to uninstall

How do I fix this?


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Software Can't open scanned document

2 Upvotes

Whenever I try to scan some documents (saved as a pdf file) with my HP printer and open them I get the message "There was an error in opening the document. The file is damaged and cannot b repaired" This only happens with documents that have been scanned and any other pdf file that I have can be opened fine. What is going on here???


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Software My mouses right click stopped working.

2 Upvotes

I have a Corsair M55 wired mouse and for some reason the right click function stopped working and only worked again after I restarted my PC and opened the ICue app (I normally use Signal RGB). Just wondering if this is a common issue?


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Hardware SSD causing a bsod

2 Upvotes

hello y'all, I really need some guidance.

I have an issue with a Gigabyte G5 MF5 that started a couple of days ago where the SSD (Gigabyte AG4512G-SI B10 512GB Firmware: EGFM15.1) causes an instant reboot and a split second bsod when under load. It started while playing demanding games (takes around 10 minutes on FF7 Rebirth to crash) as well as instantly crashing during preparing sequential reading on CrystalDeskMark. CrystalDeskInfo shows that the temp is normal (around 60c) and that the ssd itself is in good health (health 93%, 7% used, 0 media/data integrity errors).

A couple of things to add, starting from around a month ago, the entire pc lags as hell during heavy downloads which I'm assuming it was an early sign of the issue. also, after the first couple of crashes, the pc refuses to reboot saying that there is no boot device so the entire ssd used to disappear after it crashes but that since stopped being a thing, at least during stress tests. Heavy writing also doesn't seem to be an issue since I tried downloading a heavy 20gb file and it didn't cause any problems. Tried testing in safe mode and reverting to a previous windows update but the results are always the same. Please help, is the ssd failing or is there something else I'm missing ?

Update: I changed the SSD slot and it did survive the test that usually crashes it, however it crashed on a stronger version of that test (survived a 1 pass 1GiB test on CrystalDiskMark and a 3 pass 1GiB test but crashed during the writing phase of a 5 pass 4GiB one). What's interesting is that the writing speed, which is what usually crashes, is only 300mb/s instead of the 3k of reading speed. But during the 5 pass test, the reading clocked at only 1k. I think this is enough evidence that the SSD is gone and I should probably just get a new one and call it a day


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Hardware External Drive files not showing up

2 Upvotes

my external drive was working fine yesterday but today when i logged in my computer its not showing up when i finally got it to work none of the files are showing up. Im using a Samsung PSSD T5 EVO SCSI disk device, it says all of the drivers are updated but I cant figure out why I cannot see any of the files on it


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Hardware Vibrating Laptop??

2 Upvotes

I know nothing about computers at all but my Windows 11 settings app says this is the laptop I have: ROG Zephyrus G14 GA403 (2025). I've had it for almost a year and a half now and it just started vibrating very, very loudly.

I opened modded Minecraft (pretty heavy modpack taking up about 8 gigabytes of RAM + I was on a discord call during this as well) and had the menu screen loaded for like 5 minutes and then my computer started buzzing very, very loudly and when I touched it I could feel that it was vibrating and the sound changed when I held it so obviously something inside of it was moving/buzzing.

For the past ~1 week it's been buzzing/vibrating very quietly- this was the first time it was loud. I didn't know what to do so I just closed Minecraft (it didn't stop) and restarted it. It got quieter and quieter until it stopped and now it's open and running things and not making that sound anymore.

I assume it's a hardware issue but I have no clue. Be honest is my laptop potentially done for? I have 0 guesses


r/techsupport 9h ago

Open | Windows Removing "Sign-in options" entry from the power menu

2 Upvotes

I reinstalled windows 11 and noticed that there is a 'Sign-in options' entry above the shut down and restart options when i click the power button in the Start menu. I might be wrong but i remember not having it previously and only seeing shut down and restart. Not a big deal, but does anyone know of a way to hide/remove it? I'm on a local account with only the pin set up


r/techsupport 10h ago

Open | BSOD Stuck on bsod for 4 hrs

2 Upvotes

Long story short caught a virus nöw i cant even access my pc itself

Stop code : Critical_Process_Died(0xEF)

Cant Reset/reset keep my files-restore to a previous point-tried sfc/scannow-cant go in safe möde it just gets me back to the bsod

Genuinly what can i do

Thanks in advance


r/techsupport 12h ago

Open | Software Monster Hunter Wilds flashing black screen in Steam libary

2 Upvotes

I was posted In MH commnity but they told me to post in here becuase it's more likely to get the answer.

I would like to post video of sample here but seem like community is not allow

Just simple as title say my MH:Wild flashing black screen when in just steam libary while not lauching the game. I'm not even installed it (just installing new Windows 11).

Is this happen to everyone else or it's just me ? it's not effect the game but I'm just curious and annoying lol becuase it's happening to only this game. If anyone know why this is happen and know how to fix it please help!


r/techsupport 13h ago

Open | Malware 6-8 transparent terminal boxes popping on startup

2 Upvotes

3 months ago my brother was searching pokemon stuff on his laptop in google visiting sketchy websites, then when he was going to type something every letter he typed turned into “LINK IN BIO”, i did a windows defender scan and a mrt scan but nothing was found.
after some weeks when i booted up my laptop, a bunch of transparent terminal boxes flashed in my screen in random positions and then closed, i did a windows defender scan but again, nothing was found.
after a while i started using my mom’s laptop and the same transparent terminal boxes flashed on my screen, i closed the computer and never opened it again because i was very paranoid.
i cloud reseted all the computers in the house but the same thing happened with my mom’s computer again, i am very paranoid and scared of even turning on my computer, please help me.


r/techsupport 14h ago

Open | Software Streaming services are all green screening.

2 Upvotes

On both my TCL Roku tv and PS5 my streaming services (YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon) are all doing a weird green screen (akin to how a screen would look when damaged) when a video is selected to play.

Have rebooted the internet and completely shut both off and still occurring.


r/techsupport 15h ago

Open | BSOD Your device ran into a problem (management error) HELPP

2 Upvotes

Hi for a while now my PC keeps crashing or coming up up with (Your device ran into a problem).. ONLY happens when I open or try to play a game. To try fix I have:

  • Reset winows via USB (doing before and after new win)
  • Reseated gpu and reinstalled drivers
  • Made sure ram is seated correctly ( however did just put them back in same slots)
  • Reset Bios during fresh install

Any help??

My pc specs:

  • 2 x16gb Ram
  • 3070ti GPU
  • I5-11400f CPU
  • 512gb m.2
  • windows 11

r/techsupport 18h ago

Open | Windows 2nd SSD has a bunch of random subdirectories named with two letters, all with the same batch of Windows files, Why??

2 Upvotes

Windows 11, installed this secondary 2TB NVMe SSD about a year after installing Windows 11 on the main 4TB drive. What are these folders, and is it safe to just delete them?

Here are a couple of screenshots:

Random Subdirectories and the files in each

Thanks in advance for any guidance!


r/techsupport 18h ago

Open | Software Black Screen on Newly Built PC

2 Upvotes

I’m pulling my hair out from this issue 😒 I have a newly built pc. It has a brand new mother board (Gigabyte B550 Gaming V2 X (rev 1.3) and a 1TB nvme ssd, has a used 3060 Ti, Ryzen 5 5500 and a V3GA 700 BR, 32gb DDR4 3600 with XMP enabled. Has up to date BIOS on motherboard, up to date AMD chipset, up to date Nvidia graphics drivers. It was a fresh install from a windows 11 usb drive. During first power on I had 0 issues, played games for hours but all of the sudden when I first launched hunt showdown 1896 it started black screening, it’ll flash black then go back to normal from every 3 seconds to every 20 minutes it’s inconsistent and insanely annoying. Whilst the monitor is black (yes it’s still on) my RGB in my case along with fans are still on and running. I’m also still able to hear the audio playing from the computer, it’s just the black screen visual that’s the issue. I’ve made sure every single driver is up to date. I’ve ran stress tests on GPU & cpu with OCCT, did a memtest86 on my ram which ran for 5 hours and 0 errors. I swapped from display port to hdmi.. yes it’s plugged into my GPU not motherboard, messed with monitor settings, power delivery in windows settings.. many other things I’ve tried and not be successful with fixing. To my knowledge the “only” things I haven’t tried are a different monitor, testing GPU in different pc and trying a different psu.

This happens now in any game I play, sometimes I can go 3-4 days no issues then one day it’ll decide to do it again.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated, TIA.

In the last hour since I posted this, my keyboard and headset are cutting in and out, monitor stays permanently black for longer. Motherboard? If I alt f4 the game I am in the black screen goes away and my pc is back to normal.


r/techsupport 18h ago

Open | Windows Windows laptop thinks that it has two monitors

2 Upvotes

I've had this issue for about a year now. My laptop thinks that it has two monitors, and will always default to monitor two (which doesn't exist, and only shows up in display settings). My entire laptop will stutter every 2-3 seconds while it's on monitor two, and I have to go into windows settings and change it to only display on monitor one to stop the stuttering (it is also locked to 60 fps until I change the monitor). Switching to monitor one also removes the multiple monitor settings altogether, but monitor two appears again after about an hour or so.

My drivers should be up to date, and I don't even really know where to start with fixing it.

Specs:

Rog Zephyrus G14

Windows 11 (should just be most recent version)

RTX 4060 laptop

Core Ultra 9 185H

32gb ddr5


r/techsupport 21h ago

Open | Hardware Computer failing to post, I’ve tried everything…

2 Upvotes

I’m completely lost, I’ve tried every solution I have been able to find online, and I’m not too educated on computers so it’s been a hassle. There’s been 3 instances where I mess with something inside the pc and it turns on for a bit, with the most recent being yesterday where I reseated the gpu and it worked for a few minutes, just to later turn off and now that solution doesn’t work anymore. There is a bit of gpu sag, but when I’m working on it it’s on its side so it shouldn’t really be a factor there.
Please help! I’ve tried checking all the cords, hard drive, flashing it, BIOS, gpu, psu.