But managing disk space can be a quite a challenge, as WSL uses virtual hard disks that do not automatically free up unused space.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of manually compacting your WSL virtual hard disks. We’ll automate this task using a PowerShell script, ensuring that your WSL environment remains efficient and clutter-free.

Reclaim Your Space

WSL uses a virtualization platform to install Linux distributions on your Windows system. Each distribution you add gets its own Virtual Hard Disk (VHD), which uses the ext4 file system (common in Linux). It’s saved on your Windows drive as an ext4.vhdx file.

Key issues here:

• Inefficient storage: by default, VHD files do not reclaim unused space. This means that when you delete a file in WSL, the associated disk space isn’t immediately freed up.

• Disk space consumption: due to that inefficient storage, the VHD files can grow large thanks to that accumulated data, especially if you’re a WSL heavy user.

• Need for maintenance: you may not know that you need to compact your VHD files in order to reclaim disk space.

If you notice that your free disk space is shrinking even after deleting files and apps, WSL might be the reason. This tutorial will help you keep your WSL and Windows environment running smoothly.

Table of Contents

• Part 1: How to Manually Compact Your Virtual Hard Disk

  • Prerequisites

  • Step 1: Verify your WSL version and status

  • Step 2: List all installed distributions verbosely

  • Step 3: Locate your linux Virtual Hard Drive (VHDX) path

  • Step 4: Shut down all WSL instances

  • Step 5: Compact the Linux virtual hard drive using DiskPart

  • Step 6: Restart WSL and verify

• Part 2: How to Make Your Life Easier with Automation

  • Prerequisites

  • Step 1: Find out installed WSL2 distributions

  • Step 2: Select a distro to compact

  • Step 3: Locate the ext4.vhdx File

  • Step 4: The confirmation prompt

  • Step 5: Shut Down WSL and compact

  • Step 6: Run a DiskPart script

Part 1: How to Manually Compact Your Virtual Hard Disk

Let's start by going through the process manually. This section will guide you through checking your WSL version and associated Linux distributions, finding VHD files, shutting down WSL, and compacting the virtual disk.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 (20H1/2004+) or Windows 11 with WSL2 installed

• The PowerShell or Command Prompt running as Administrator (from the Windows menu, right click the icon and choose run as Administrator).

Step 1: Verify your WSL version and status

First, make sure you’re running on WSL version 2 (commonly referred as WSL2). The first version is outdated and WSL2 provides significant improvements. Open PowerShell (as Admin) or Command Prompt (as Admin) and run:

wsl -v

wsl --status

These commands display the WSL client version and whether your default distro is using WSL 2. Here’s the output of the wsl -v command:

And here’s the output of the wsl --status command.

Step 2: List all installed distributions verbosely

To see a detailed list of your WSL distributions (including which version each uses), run:

wsl.exe --list --verbose

Above you can see the output of the WSL --list --verbose command.

Look for your distro name (for example, “Ubuntu”) and note its WSL version. If it shows “Version 2”, you can proceed with compaction.

Step 3: Locate your linux Virtual Hard Drive (VHDX) path

Each WSL distro’s files live in a VHDX file on your Windows drive. To find the path for any Linux distribution, use this PowerShell snippet:

(Get-ChildItem `

-Path HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss `

| Where-Object { $_.GetValue("DistributionName") -eq 'YOUR_DISTRO_NAME' }

).GetValue("BasePath") + "\ext4.vhdx"

Where you replace YOUR_DISTRO_NAME with yours (Ubuntu, Debian, Kali-linux..). Here’s the output of the command shown above in PowerShell (the filepath has been anonymized):

This command reads the registry key for your linux distribution, then appends “\ext4.vhdx” to build the full file path.

Make sure you copy the whole line. We will need it in later stages.

Step 4: Shut down all WSL instances

Before you can compact any virtual drive, make sure WSL is completely shut down. In PowerShell or Command Prompt (still as Administrator), run:

wsl.exe --shutdown

Step 5: Compact the Linux virtual hard drive using DiskPart

You successfully gathered all the needed information (about your system, the available distros, and their VHDX filepath) to proceed with the main task. In this step, you actually proceed with the compaction.

1. Launch DiskPart in the same elevated (admin) shell:

diskpart

DiskPart will open in a new window. It's a Windows command-line tool for managing disk partitions. Be cautious when using it, as incorrect actions can cause serious data loss.

1. In the DiskPart prompt, select the VHDX file you found earlier. Replace the path as displayed below with your actual path (the line you copied before):

select vdisk file="C:\Users\username\AppData\path\to\ext4.vhdx"

The above is the output of the select vdisk command (some data has been anonymized).

1. Attach the virtual drive in read-only mode:

Compaction only needs to scan the empty blocks in the file, not write to the Linux filesystem inside. Read-only mode guarantees that DiskPart only inspect the blocks for zero‐trimming without any chance of damaging or altering your Linux filesystem.

attach vdisk readonly

You can see in the screenshot above that the virtual hard drive has been successfully attached.

1. Compact the disk:

This frees up the disk space by shrinking the physical size of the .vhdx file to match the actual used data inside.

compact vdisk

This operation might take a while. When you see the “DiskPart successfully compacted the virtual disk file” message, proceed with the next step. In the image below, the virtual hard drive has been successfully compacted.

1. Detach the virtual drive:

detach vdisk

There you go – the virtual hard drive has been successfully detached.

This command releases any locks on the virtual drive and effectively dismounts it. If you don't use this command, the file remains "in use," preventing WSL (or you) from accessing it until you reboot or manually force it closed.

6. Exit DiskPart:

exit

Step 6: Restart WSL and verify

Back in PowerShell or Command Prompt, you can relaunch your distro:

wsl -d YOUR_DISTRO_NAME

You can even try the Unix df -h command in your WSL prompt to check your new available disk spaces.

Congrats, you just achieved a maintenance task that can free up lots of gigabytes of storage over time. Now, it’s time to automate.

Part 2: How to Make Your Life Easier with Automation

Since it's often hard to remember exactly where your WSL distro is located and you probably won't use it very often, this PowerShell script will automate the entire process we covered in part 1. Here's a preview of the steps you'll follow:

• Detect installed WSL distributions.

• Select one (and handle the cases there are more than one).

• Locate the corresponding ext4.vhdx file.

• Shut down WSL and use DiskPart to compact the virtual disk.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 (20H1/2004+) or Windows 11 with WSL 2 enabled.

• PowerShell or Command Prompt (as Administrator).

You’ll also need a code editor. The Windows notepad is enough for completing this task. You can also use an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) like VS Code or an ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment) like PowerShell ISE (included with Windows).

To test the script, download it from GitHub. Open an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt and navigate to the script’s folder. With just the command below, you will be able to run it and free up some disk space:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\wsl_compactor.ps1

Step 1: Find out installed WSL2 distributions

One of the main challenges is to find the Linux distributions available on the host system. Let’s check the first block and see what’s it about:

$lxssKey = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss'
\(distros = Get-ChildItem \)lxssKey | ForEach-Object {
    \(p = Get-ItemProperty \)_.PSPath
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        Name     = $p.DistributionName
        BasePath = $p.BasePath
    }
}

WSL records each distribution under this windows registry key:

HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lxss

Each subkey has two important values:

• DistributionName (for example, Ubuntu)

• BasePath (This is where the distribution files are stored. It’s the directory that contains the ext4.vhdx file.)

The script uses Get-ChildItem and Get-ItemProperty to enumerate these subkeys and build a list of available Linux distributions.

if ($distros.Count -eq 0) {
Throw-And-Exit "No WSL distros found in the registry."
}

If no distributions are found, the script terminates and prints this error message on the terminal: "No WSL distros found in the registry.”

Step 2: Select a distro to compact

Here, the process has two steps:

• If multiple distros are found, it displays all the distros with a numbered menu and prompts you to choose one:

if ($distros.Count -gt 1) {
    Write-Host "Multiple distros detected. Please choose one:`n"

    for (\(i = 0; \)i -lt \(distros.Count; \)i++) {
        Write-Host "[\((\)i+1)] \((\)distros[$i].Name)"
    }
    \(selected = \)distros[[int]$choice - 1]
}

The computed menu will look like this:

Multiple distros detected. Please choose one:

[1] Ubuntu 20.04

[2] Debian

[3] Alpine

• If only one distribution is found on the host system, the script selects it automatically:

else {
\(selected = \)distros[0]
}

When setting up a distribution, whether chosen manually by the user or selected automatically, the important information is the path to each distribution's virtual hard disk. This path is saved in two main variables: 'distro' (which identifies the specific distribution) and 'basePath' (which shows where its virtual disk is located).

\(distro = \)selected.Name
\(basePath = \)selected.BasePath

Write-Host "`nSelected distro: $distro" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
Write-Host "BasePath: $basePath"

The lines above display an output that looks like this:

Selected distro: Ubuntu (or any other distro)
BasePath: C:\Users\<User_name>\AppData\Local\Packages\…

Like for all other steps, it’s important to consider the case of something going wrong, by throwing an error and exiting the program:

if (-not (Test-Path $basePath)) {
Throw-And-Exit "BasePath '$basePath' does not exist on disk."
}

Step 3: Locate the ext4.vhdx File

In the first step, we collected the information we need about the available distributions and where they are stored on the Windows system. By choosing an entry (either manually or automatically), we can find the correct file. Sometimes, the ext4 file is located between the base path and a LocalState folder. This script manages both situations. It builds the usual locations where the file can be found.

They look like this:

• $BasePath\ext4.vhdx

• $BasePath\LocalState\ext4.vhdx

This can translate into something like this on your system (option 1):

C:\Users\Alice\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu20.04onWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc\ext4.vhdx

or like this (option 2):

C:\Users\Alice\AppData\Local\Packages\CanonicalGroupLimited.Ubuntu20.04onWindows_79rhkp1fndgsc\LocalState\ext4.vhdx

(You might find out that your WSL2 distro is located in some other directory than “Packages” – but don’t worry, your BasePath will match the correct folders).

The idea is to build the two possible path options:

$possible = @(
Join-Path $basePath 'ext4.vhdx'
Join-Path $basePath 'LocalState\ext4.vhdx'
)

And pick the first one that actually contains the file:

\(vhdx = \)possible | Where-Object { Test-Path $_ } | Select-Object -First 1

Again, we throw an error message if no suitable file is found:

if (-not $vhdx) {
Throw-And-Exit "No ext4.vhdx found under '$basePath'."
}

Step 4: The confirmation prompt

Disk management tools require caution and you need to understand the potential consequences of your actions. A confirmation prompt is always a good safeguard to prevent accidental data loss or unwanted system changes.

Before proceeding, the script shows you:

• a Distro name

• its BasePath

• the VHDX file path

Write-Host "`nAbout to compact this WSL distro:" -ForegroundColor Magenta
Write-Host " Distro : $distro"
Write-Host " BasePath : $basePath"
Write-Host " VHDX file: $vhdx`n"

It then prompts “Are you sure you want to proceed? (Y/N)”:

Write-Host "Are you sure you want to proceed? (Y/N) " -ForegroundColor DarkCyan -NoNewline

# Then read the response
$answer = Read-Host

You’re then prompted to Type Y (case-insensitive) to continue or anything else to cancel.

if ($answer.ToUpper() -ne 'Y') {
    Write-Warning "Operation canceled"
    exit
}

For the two steps above, I had to use a trick to print the question in color but a simple option (without colors) could be:

if ((Read-Host 'Are you sure you want to proceed? (Y/N)').ToUpper() -ne 'Y') { 
    Write-Warning 'Operation canceled'
    exit 
}

Step 5: Shut down WSL and compact

Before proceeding to the DiskPart utility, it’s important to stop all running WSL instances. Pass the shutdown command directly in PowerShell.

Write-Host "Shutting down WSL…" -ForegroundColor Cyan
wsl.exe –shutdown

A common mistake is to forget to launch PowerShell or the Command Prompt with Administrator rights. You can prevent this case with a message:

if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
     Throw-And-Exit "Failed to shut down WSL (exit code $LASTEXITCODE). Are you running as Administrator?"
}

Step 6: Run a DiskPart script

Building the script:

The process is the same as in the manual part, but this time, we ‘inject’ the ready-to-go DiskPart commands into the script.

$dpScript = @"
select vdisk file="$vhdx"
attach vdisk readonly
compact vdisk
detach vdisk
exit
"@

Before launching, there are two steps you need to take:

1. The PowerShell script writes the lines above to a temporary file:

$tempFile = [IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
Set-Content -LiteralPath \(tempFile -Value \)dpScript -Encoding ASCII

This is the equivalent to the commands passed in the manual part:

select vdisk file="C:\…\ext4.vhdx" # full path to the vdisk file

attach vdisk readonly

compact vdisk

detach vdisk

exit

1. Compacting can take a while, especially if you’ve never de-cluttered your virtual drive before. It’s wise to show a warning before proceeding:

Write-Host "Running DiskPart to compact the VHDX. Be patient, this might take a while..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

Invoke DiskPart:

# Run DiskPart with the script saved to the temporary file and process each output line as it arrives
diskpart /s $tempFile | ForEach-Object {
    # Grab any "NN percent" type message from the line
    if ($_ -match '(\d+)\s+percent') {
        # Only print when the percentage actually changes
        Write-Host "\((\)Matches[1])% completed"
    }
    else {
        # Just echo all over line-types, verbatim
        Write-Host $_
    }
}

Several points to note here:

• It runs diskpart /s $tempFile: DiskPart reads and executes commands from the temporary file into the PowerShell loop for on-the-fly processing.

• For a better user-experience: the snippet below does the trick of filtering out repeated status values by comparing \(pct with the sentinel \)lastPct, and only writing new lines when they differ.

How?

Before entering the loop, we initialize:

$lastPct with -1
$lastPct = -1 # We initiate a sentinel value

We are having a guaranteed “first” value that no real percent (0–100) will equal. That way, as soon as you see the first 0 percent, 10 percent, or whatever, it differs from -1.

Then:

if ($_ -match '(\d+)\s+percent') {
    # Print only when the percentage changes
    Write-Host "\((\)Matches[1])% completed"
}

This guarantees that on the very first percentage update (say “0 percent” or “10 percent”), \(pct –ne \)lastPct will be true, so it emits the first line. Afterwards, $lastPct holds the last real percentage, and it only prints again when a new, different progress percentage comes in.

The output looks more clean:

10% completed
20% completed
…

Otherwise, it’ll flood the screen with dozens of identical “20 percent completed” (for example) updates.

Of course we handle the case of other values (non percent lines) normally:

else {
    # non-percent lines: print verbatim
    if ($_ -match '\S') {
        Write-Host $_
    }
}

Once the process is done, don’t forget to clean up the tempfile.

Remove-Item $tempFile -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

By the end of the process, you should see something like this

Leaving DiskPart...

Okay, that’s it for the scripting! If you collected all the snippets so far, just save them with a .ps1 file extension, or download the full example from this GitHub repository.

Usage:

You now have a complete understanding of what's happening. Ready to get started? In Windows, open the Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

• Navigate to the directory containing your .ps1 script.

• Execute the script with the following command, replacing <File_name_here> with your actual file name:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\<File_name_here>.ps1

The -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass parameters launch PowerShell in a clean, unrestricted environment that ignores user-specific settings and allows script execution without security restrictions. Don’t worry, in this case, it’s okay to do that.

Wait…wait…wait...

Well bravo! You’ve just reclaimed all that unused space inside your WSL2 (almost) hands free!

Now, you can take it a step further by modifying this script to run completely automatically, without the confirmation prompt (step 4). You can also schedule it as a regular maintenance task using a task scheduler:

schtasks /create /tn "Schedule_name" /tr "powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File C:\path\to\script.ps1" /sc monthly /d 15 /st 09:00

This is an example for a monthly execution where /d 15 means 15th of each month and /st 09:00 is a start time set at 9 am.

That's it! Remember, regular maintenance, whether you do it manually or automatically, is essential to prevent unnecessary disk space usage and ensure a smooth experience with WSL.

Thanks for reading!

You can find a list of my current projects on GitHub.

But it was very frustrating for my poor Mom when her laptop would not recognise the USB device (the flash drive containing the Australian family pictures).

I have the privilege of being the goto family member when anything goes wrong with something computer related, because I am a computer programmer. This means I must know everything about USB ports, printers, scanners, basically all things computer related….right?

Well, at the time, I must confess I didn’t have a clue why Windows 10 could not recognise the flash drive. So I did a bit of research. In this particular case the external device (the flash drive) was the offending party.

It turns out, however, that this “Device Descriptor Request Failed“ issue can occur for many different reasons, some hardware related and others software related.

In this article I'll cover the possible hardware-related issues first, and then we'll get into the possible software-related issues. With each cause of the “Device Descriptor Request Failed“ error, I’ll take you through the steps you'll need to follow to resolve the issue.

Possible Causes and Fixes for "Device Descriptor Request Failed" Error

The following seven headings list out what may have caused the “Device Descriptor Request Failed“ issue. In the subsequent sections of this article, I'll give you details on how you might be able to resolve the issue.

• USB Hardware Fault
• Run Hardware and Device Troubleshooter
• Update USB Device Driver
• Disable Fast Startup
• Disable the USB Selective Suspend Setting
• Remove USB Device and Scan for Hardware Changes
• Update Windows 10

USB Hardware Fault

The “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue may have been caused by a hardware issue. We can easily test that the issue stems from a hardware issue and not an operating system related issue by performing the following checks:

First, plug the relevant device into a different USB port on the same computer. For good measure try a few USB ports. If the relevant device is working when plugged into another USB port, this means that the source of the issue is likely the USB port used when the issue arrises.

In this case you can simply mark the USB port causing the issue as faulty, and use the USB port that works. You also may wish to replace the offending USB port at some stage.

Second, you can plug the relevant device into a USB port on a different computer. If the device doesn’t work on a different computer, this points to the device itself being the issue. Your only solution in this case may be to repair or replace the device itself.

Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Windows provides us with a very convenient facility that you can use for performing troubleshooting. You are able to use this facility to trouble shoot possible hardware issues.

Follow these steps to use the Troubleshooter facility:

• Firstly invoke the “Run” box. You can do this by pressing Windows key + R.
• Enter the following command into the “Run” box: msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic

• Press the OK button.
• Select Advanced – and make sure that the “Apply repairs automatically” checkbox is checked. Press the “Next” button and follow the instructions to preform the troubleshooting task.

Uninstall and Update USB Device Driver

To uninstall the USB device driver we can use the Device Manager facility provided by windows. To run Device Manager, follow these steps:

• First, invoke the “Run” box. One way to do this is to press Windows key + R.
• Enter the following command into the “Run” box: devmgmt.msc. Then press the OK button.
• Within the tree structure presented in the Device Manager dialog box, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers node.
• From the expanded list of nodes, select the node marked “Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)”
• Right click this node and select Uninstall device from the context menu presented to you.

• Once the uninstall operation has completed, reboot your computer. This will result in the driver being reinstalled which may also result in your issue being fixed.

Disable Fast Startup

One possible cause of the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue could be from a feature in Windows designed to speed up the boot process of your computer. Sometimes, this “Fast Startup" feature can keep your Operating System from detecting USB devices.

Luckily we have the ability to turn this feature off. The “Fast Startup” feature is a “nice to have” feature and is it is recommended to have this feather turned on, but it is not an essential feature.

So to turn off the feature, follow these steps:

• Press Windows Key + R to invoke the “Run” box.
• In the “Run” box type “control” and click the “OK” button to open Control Panel
• In the search box of your Control Panel type “Power options” and then click “Change what the power buttons do”
• Under the heading, “Define power buttons and turn on password protection”, click the link labelled, “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
• Make sure that the “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” checkbox is unchecked. Click the “Save changes” button

• Restart your computer and see if this possible solution has fixed your USB device issue.

Disable the USB Selective Suspend Setting

Sometimes the USB port is put into low-power mode when the “USB selective suspend” setting is enabled. This can cause abnormal behaviour when connecting a device to a USB port, which can result in the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue occurring.

We are able to safely disable this feature, and by doing so potentially solve the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue.

To disable the “USB selective suspend” setting, follow these steps.

• Press Windows Key + R to invoke the “Run” box.
• In the “Run” box, type “control” and click the “OK” button to open Control Panel
• In your Control Panel find and click “Power Options”
• Click the “Change plan settings” link
• Click the “Change advanced power settings” link
• Find and expand the “USB settings” node in the tree structure found on the "Advanced settings" tab.
• Expand the “USB selective suspend setting” child node.
• Make sure that “Disabled” is selected in the relevant dropdown list for both ”On battery” and “Plugged in”.

• Click the “Ok” button
• Reboot your computer
• Once your computer has been rebooted, test to see if the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue has been resolved.

Remove USB Device and Scan for Hardware Changes

• Launch Device Manager by pressing Windows Key + R to launch the “Run” box, then type devmgmt.msc in the "Run" box and press the “OK” button.
• Unplug the problematic device from the relevant USB port.
• From within the Device Manager dialog, click the “Scan for hardware changes” button on the toolbar. You can identify the relevant button by hovering your mouse pointer over the button whereby its tooltip text will display the text “Scan for hardware changes”.

• When the system recognises hardware changes, plug in the relevant USB device and test whether the problem has been fixed

Update Windows

Installing the latest update for Windows may fix the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue. To install the latest windows update you can follow these steps:

• Open the Settings App by pressing Windows key + I
• Click the "Update & Security" option
• Select the “Windows Update” option
• Click the “Check for updates” button

• Restart Computer and test to see if the “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue still occurs (change)

Conclusion

The “Device Descriptor Request Failed” issue can cause a lot of frustration and even heart ache in my poor mother's case where it prevented her from viewing family photos.

Don’t despair – hopefully this article provides you with an effective remedy for the issue.

So being denied access to the internet when you are trying to mine nuggets of valuable information from your go-to web sites can be quite an ordeal. Especially when you are under pressure to complete a piece of urgently required work.

One particularly unwelcome cause of being denied access to the internet is the “DNS Server Not Responding” error. It’s like that old fable where a troll sits under a bridge and says “You shall not pass!”, or something about gobbling up those that wish to cross the bridge.

I’m happy to tell you that you should be able to defeat the troll and cross the bridge to internet access joy by following the simple trouble shooting steps discussed in this article.

What is the "DNS Server Not Responding" Error?

The “DNS Server Not Responding” error is a fairly common issue and is generally easy to fix. There are many reasons why this issue may occur. But fundamentally it is caused because the DNS server that is contacted during the processes of loading a web page is unable to find the site that contains the web page that you have requested.

This article explores what may have triggered this issue to occur and how you may go about fixing the issue.

Firstly, I think it is a good idea to gain at least a basic understanding of the “DNS Server Not Responding” error. To do this, let’s first understand DNS.

DNS stands for Domain Name System. A simple explanation of DNS is that it is a decentralised storage of human readable internet addresses, like the ones with which you will almost certainly be familiar (for example www.amazon.com or www.netlix.com).

The DNS maps these human readable URLs to their appropriate IP (Internet Protocol) addresses.

IP addresses are much less human readable, but are essential for the inner workings of the internet. IP addresses uniquely identify computers on the internet. The IP address associated with the URL, www.netflix.com, might for example, look like this, 69.53.224.255.

It is clearly easier for you to remember “www.netflix.com", rather than a string of numbers delimited by full stops, when you wish to access your favourite content on Netflix. So the DNS facilitates this for you, so that you don’t have to remember or manually lookup unfriendly strings of numeric data every time you wish to access a web site.

The common analogy to explain DSN is a telephone directory. Basically, as you would look up a telephone number using the name of the person you wish to call in a telephone directory, a similar look up is performed when you type in the URL (like www.amazon.com) of the web site you wish to view within your browser.

Thankfully you don’t have to manually look up the corresponding IP address for www.amazon.com, as this is performed behind the scenes for you automatically.

So the appropriate IP address is retrieved automatically every time you type in a URL into your browser. This IP address is then used to contact the appropriate server that hosts the relevant web site associated with the URL you have entered into your browser.

When the “DNS Server Not Responding” error occurs, this means that the decentralised naming systems responsible for automatically looking up the appropriate IP address based on the relevant hostname that you entered into you browser fails to respond.

There are many reasons why this error occurs, but fortunately there are also many solutions available to you to fix the issue.

An easy solution may be to simply change the web browser you are using or even simpler still, simply restart your computer. Yup, simply turning it off and then turning it on again could fix the issue.

However, if you are not so lucky and the problem still persists, don’t despair – there are many steps that you can take to find out the cause of the issue and subsequently fix it.

In this article you will learn a number of possible solutions to the “DNS Server Not Responding” error.

How to Fix "DNS Serger Not Responding"

Below, I've listed out the ways that you can try using to fix the “DNS Server Not Responding” error. The subsequent sections of this article provide details on each of these methods:

• Use a Different Web Browser
• Try Accessing a Web Site with a Different Device
• Restart your Router
• Investigate Possible Network Issues
• Manually Set your DNS Server
• Clear the DNS Cache
• Disable Internet Protocol Version 6
• Temporarily Deactivate your Firewall and Disable your Antivirus Software
• Reset your DNS Settings
• Update the Network Adapter Driver
• Disable all Network Connections Except the Connection you are Using to Access the Internet
• Restart your Computer in Safe Mode

Use a Different Web Browser

A potential solution to the “DNS Server not Responding” issue that's really simple is to try accessing the relevant website using a different browser.

If, for example, you are using Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox as your browser at the time that the issue occurs, try using a different browser like Google Chrome to access the relevant website.

If using a different browser solves the problem, then make the browser that works your default browser. But if the issue still persists, then we at least know that the browser you have been using is not the source of the issue and our investigation into finding a solution to the DNS Server not Responding” issue must continue…

Try Accessing a Website With a Different Device

Try to use a different device connected to your home network to access the website you were trying to access when you received the error.

For example, use Wi-Fi from your mobile phone to access the relevant web site. If the issue persists, you know that the issue isn’t just with your primary device and the problem may have something to do with your router.

Restart Your Router

The “DNS Server not Responding” issue may occur simply due to data traffic. It may be that simply restarting your router can fix this issue.

You can restart your router by pressing the power button on your router. You can then unplug your router's power cable. Wait for about 30 seconds then plug your router into the power outlet again and press the power button to restart it.

Investigate Possible Network Issues

Running network diagnostics may point to network issues as the root cause of the issue.

Running Network Diagnostic is very simple on a Windows 10 OS. You can do this by following these steps:

• Open Control Panel. One way to do this is press the Windows Key + R to activate the “Run” box, then type “control” in the text box presented in the “Run” box and hit the enter key.

• Select the Network and Internet option presented within the Control Panel window.
• Click the Network and Sharing Center option from within the “Network and Internet” window.
• Click the Troubleshoot problems option presented under the "Change your network settings” heading within the “Network and Sharing Center” window.
• Click Additional troubleshooters -> Internet Connections -> Run the troubleshooter

The next step is to wait for the troubleshooter task to finish. If you are presented with any error messages, simply follow the steps on how to fix the relevant network issue.

Manually Set Your DNS Server

The source of your issue may be that your DNS server is down. In this case you’ll be pleased to know that you are able to manually change your DNS server.

You can change your DNS server to, for example, Googles Public DNS or CloudFlare’s public DNS. To change your DNS server, follow these steps:

• Invoke your Control Panel. One way to invoke your Control Panel is to activate your Start Menu and search for the Control Panel.
• In the Control Panel window click the Network and Internet option.
• In the Network and Internet window, click the Network and Sharing Center option.
• On the Network and Sharing Center window click on your active connection. For example, click the “ethernet” option if this is the connection currently being used or click the “Wi-Fi” option if it is clear that this is your active connection.
• In the dialog box that is presented to you, click the “Properties” button.
• In the dialog presented to you, you’ll see a list is presented under the “The connection uses the following items” heading.
• In this list, select the list item labelled “Internet protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” then click the “Properties” button.

• You will be presented with another dialog box where you’ll see two fields. One will be labelled “Preferred DNS Server”, and the other which is directly under this field will be labelled “Alternate DNS Server”.
• First click the Use the following DNS server addresses radio button.
• To use Googles Public DNS server, enter 8.8.8.8 in the field labelled “Preferred DNS Server” and enter 8.8.4.4 into the field labelled “Alternate DNS Server”.

• You are also able to use CloudFlare’s DNS server for the same purpose. CloudFlare’s DNS address is simply 1.1.1.1
• Once you have entered your desired DNS server settings, ensure that the “Validate settings upon exit” checkbox is checked.
• Click the “OK” button to save your new DNS server settings.
• Restart your computer.

Clear the DNS Cache

You are able to flush the DNS cache which may resolve the “DNS Server not Responding” issue. This action will clear IP addresses and other DNS related data from your cache.

You can clear the DNS cache by running a command using your command prompt.

One way to invoke the command prompt is to press Window Key + R to invoke the “Run” box. Type “cmd” within the “Run” box and press shift+ctrl+enter to run the command prompt as an administrator.

At the command prompt, type in the following command: “ipconfig /flushdns” and them press the enter key. If the command has executed successfully, you'll see the appropriate message in the command window.

Disable Internet Protocol Version 6

At the time of writing this article, Internet Protocol Version 6 is the latest version of the internet protocol. Disabling the Internet Protocol Version 6 will not have detrimental effects on your computer’s operations, but it's been known to fix the “DNS Server not Responding” issue.

To disable the Internet Protocol version 6 on a Windows 10 operating system, just follow these steps:

• Go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center
• Click on the relevant connection, for example “Wi-Fi”
• Click the “Properties” button on the dialog that is presented to you.
• In the list presented under the “This connection uses the following items” heading, uncheck the item labelled “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)”.

• Press the “OK button”

Temporarily Deactivate your Firewall and Disable Antivirus

If your firewall is Defender, you can follow these steps to disable it:

• To open control panel, press Windows Key + R to activate the “Run” box, then type “control” in the text box presented in the “Run” box and hit the enter key.
• In the top right hand text box, type in “win”

• An option labelled "Windows Defender Firewall” should appear in the search results. Click the “Windows Defender Firewall” option.
• Click the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall” option.

• Click the “Change settings” button.

• From the list presented to you within the dialog box that has just been invoked, find the browser that you are using, for example Google Chrome. Then make sure that both the private and public checkboxes next to the relevant item are checked.

• Once you've done this, try to access the relevant website using the relevant browser and see if the issue has been fixed.

There is a chance that your firewall was preventing you from accessing external data through your browser.

Note that it is not recommended to leave your operating system unprotected by reliable antivirus software indefinitely. Disabling your antivirus software in this instance is only recommended for testing if the relevant antivirus software is the cause of the “DNS Server not Responding” issue.

To temporarily turn off Microsoft Defender antivirus protection, follow these steps:

• Select Start and then type in "Windows Security” in order to search for the relevant application.
• Select Windows Security App from the search results.
• Go to Virus & Threat Protection.
• Under Virus & threat protection settings select Manage settings.
• Switch Real-time protection off.

Attempt to access the relevant website through the relevant browser to test if the “DNS Server not Responding” issue still occurs.

Reset DNS Settings

To reset your DNS Settings, follow these steps:

• Run the command prompt as an administrator. To do this activate the “Run” box by pressing Windows key + R.
• In the run box type “cmd” and press shift + ctrl + enter
• Type the following commands in the command prompt. After entering each command press the enter key, so that each command is run individually.

ipconfig /registerdns

ipconfig /release

Ipconfig /renew

netsh winsock reset

Once you have run these commands, close the command prompt and restart your computer.

Update the Network Adapter Driver

You can manually update your network adapter driver, but it is much easier to automate this task.

You can automate this through the use of free software like “Driver Easy” (https://www.drivereasy.com/download-free-version/). Simply download the free version of this software.

Make sure that before you run the free version of the Driver Easy software that you create a system restore point. This provides you with insurance, so in the unlikely event that you encounter a nasty surprise that adversely effects your computer, that you are able to return your Windows OS back to the state that it was in before you ran the Driver Easy software and encountered an unexpected issue.

To use the Driver Easy software, follow these steps:

• Run the software
• Click the “Scan Now” button
• Press the “Update” button next to any outdated drivers.

Disable all Network Connections Except for the Connection that you are Using

Disabling the additional network connections you may have setup on your computer (other than, for example, the Wi-Fi connection that you are using to access the internet) might fix the “DNS Server not Responding” issue.

To disable the relevant network connection, follow these steps:

• Firstly you must access your Network Connections. To access your Network Connections, press Windows Key + R to invoke the “Run” box
• In the “Run” box type in “ncpa.cpl” and press enter.
• Right click the relevant network connection and select “Disable” from the relevant context menu. Repeat this action until all connections except for the Wi-Fi connection you are using are disabled.

Restart your Computer in Safe Mode

When you start your computer in Safe Mode, this means the Windows operating system loads with a limited set of drivers and files. This can help you diagnose what is causing your “DNS Server not Responding” issue through a process of illumination (as it were).

So to start your PC in Safe Mode, follow these steps:

• Press the Windows Key + I to open Settings.
• Select Update & Security -> Recovery
• Under Advanced startup, select Restart Now
• Once your PC has startup to the “Choose an option” screen, select Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Settings -> Restart
• Once your PC has restarted you’ll see a list of options
• Select 5 or press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

Try to access the web site that resulted in you getting the “DNS Server not Responding” issue. If the problem does not occur in safe mode this means that additional software may be the cause of the issue.

You can uninstall any additional software from your PC, one by one, and then test to see if the issue still occurs. If the issue does not occur after uninstalling particular software, this means that it is likely that this software was interfering with your internet access.

Conclusion

The “DNS Server not Responding” issue is relatively common and thankfully it is also relatively easy to fix.

It can be incredibly inconvenient to be denied access to the internet but hopefully the potential solutions outlined in this article will help you to once again have access to your favorite web sites.

On many occasions, this problem is caused by a faulty generic PNP monitor driver.

Apart from driver issues, the monitor might not be working due to an improper connection associated with cables. IT could also happen because the monitor is faulty.

In response to this error, most monitors would show “No signal” or “Check connection cable”. That gives you a clue as to the first thing you should do – check the connection cables.

How to Fix Generic PNP Monitor Issues on Windows 10

Make sure all cables are properly connected

First, make sure all cables are connected properly. If you’re using a VGA or HDMI, or display port cable, look at the connection ports for the cables on both the monitor and computer and make sure they are not loose.

If you are sure the cables are connected the right way and the monitor still shows nothing, then you might need to switch cables.

If you were using HDMI at first, switch to VGA or display port. And if you were using a display port but the monitor still won’t show anything, then switch to VGA or HDMI.

How to Fix Generic PNP Monitor by Updating Drivers

If your monitor is not working, then you should update your display adapter drivers and monitor drivers.

How to Update the Display Adapter Driver

To update the display adapter driver, head over to the device manager by right-clicking on Start and selecting device manager.

Expand Display adapters, right-click on the device you see (mostly “Intel(R) HD Graphics…”), and select “Update driver”.

Select “Search automatically for drivers” so your computer can check the internet for the latest driver.

If the driver is really not up to date, your computer will download an updated version of the driver and prompt you to install it.

How to Update the Generic PnP Monitor Driver

Head over to Device driver again and expand Monitors. Right-click on Generic PnP Monitor” and select Update driver.

PnP means Plug and Play. It’s the driver your computer installs for a monitor it doesn’t recognize.

Select “Search automatically for drivers”.

Your computer will prompt you to install the updated driver once it’s downloaded.

If you update the necessary drivers and the monitor fails to work, then it’s an issue with your cable connections. This time around, you might need to get an external adapter or external converter.

Use an External Adapter or Converter with your Connection Cables

If you try every possible cable and the monitor still doesn’t show anything, then it might mean your monitor won’t work unless you connect a display adapter to the part of the cable attached to your laptop or system unit.

In that case, there are several adapters you can use:

• VGA to HDMI
• USB to HDMI
• VGA to display port

You can get the adapters from any tech store in your area or online.

On most occasions, VGA to HDMI or VGA to display port works. When I had the same issue, VGA to HDMI adapter was what worked for me.

Final Thoughts

I hope this article helps you fix any issue you have with your monitor.

Bear in mind that once you update the necessary drivers (Monitor driver and Display adapter driver) and the monitor still fails to display, then it's likely an issue with your connection cables.

Thank you for reading.

That’s just my perspective as a software engineer, but let’s face it – using a computer these days is absolutely essential for most professionals.

The point is the blue screen of death is about as welcome as a pigeon on a chessboard at a world champion chess tournament under almost any circumstances.

What You'll Learn

In this article, we are going to look at one particularly pernicious cause of the BDOS, the dreaded "Kernel Security Check Failure" issue. We'll also see how you can fix this, should you be faced with this abominable issue.

Common Causes for the BSOD

Common reasons you might get the "Kernel Security Check Failure" issue are corrupted system files, faulty hardware, or outdated drivers.

Corrupted system files

Malware is the most likely cause of corrupted system files. The nomenclature of ‘Malware’ is a contraction of the term ‘Malicious Software’. This is software deliberately designed to be intrusive and cause disruption when you're working on your computer.

You have probably heard of terms like virus, trojan horse virus, worms, spyware, ransom ware, and so on. These are all examples of malicious software, Malware.

Faulty hardware

Faulty RAM (memory) or a corrupted or damaged hard disk drive could be the cause of the issue.

Outdated drivers

Out of all the possible causes of this "Kernel Security Check Failure" issue, the most likely cause is outdated drivers.

The outdated drivers issue may have arisen from upgrading from an older version of Windows to Windows 10. The relevant driver may have worked perfectly on the older version of Windows but may be incompatible with Windows 10.

What is the Blue Screen of Death?

Typically you become aware of the "Kernel Security Check Failure" issue during Windows startup. This is where Windows performs a check process. If, during this process, Windows detects corruption in any critical data structures, the Kernel_Security_check_failure error is thrown.

As you can see by the screenshot below there is very little detail about the error. Thankfully, the message does include a stop code (highlighted in yellow) to help identify why you're presented with the dreaded BSOD.

How to Fix the Kernel Security Check Failure Error

Fortunately there are many potential fixes available to resolve the "Kernel Security Check Failure" issue.

To solve the issue, you can go through an investigation process in order to pinpoint the cause of the issue. Once you have learned the cause of the issue, you'll know which of the fixes to apply.

But a quick fix which is the first item in the list of possible fixes provided in this article might be as simple as updating your system to the latest version of Windows 10.

You can see below a list of fixes discussed in this article. The subsequent sections contain step by step instructions for each potential fix in the list.

• Update to the Latest Released Version of Windows 10
• Update Drivers that Need to be Updated
• Check for Viruses
• Investigate Possible Corrupted Windows File System
• Test to see if Disabling Antivirus Software Fixes the Issue
• Investigate Possible Issues with RAM
• Investigate Possible Hard Disk Drive Issues
• Test to see if Disabling Antivirus Software Fixes the Issue
• Start PC in Safe Mode

Update to the Latest Released Version of Windows 10

This maybe the easiest way to fix the issue. To update Windows 10 to the latest version of Windows, you can take the following steps:

• Click Windows key + I to invoke the Settings App.
• Click the “Update & Security” tile.
• Click the “Check for Updates” button (status information will be presented on the screen regarding the download and installation progress)

• After the update is complete, check to see if the BSOD still occurs.

Update Drivers that Need to be Updated

One easy way to check for drivers with issues is by using Device Manager.

To invoke Device Manager, press the Windows key + X. In the dialog that will be presented to you, a tree structure is displayed.

If you expand all of the nodes in the tree structure it should be apparent as to which drivers need to be updated – you'll see an exclamation mark with a yellow background colour next to the nodes that represent the drivers that need to be updated.

To update a driver, simply right click on the node that represents the relevant driver (that needs to be updated) and click the “Update driver” context menu item.

You'll then see two options: you can either select the option whereby Windows 10 will search for the driver automatically, or you can choose the manual option and search your computer for the relevant new driver file that may already exist on your computer.

The next step is to allow the driver installation update to complete.

You can then continue to check for other problematic drivers by inspecting Device Manager for nodes that contain exclamation marks with yellow backgrounds. If you find any more, you can update those drivers until all the problematic drivers have been appropriately updated.

Then you just need to restart your computer so that the changes created by the new drivers are completed. Hopefully this eliminates your BSOD issue.

If the issue still occurs, your investigation must continue…

Check for Viruses

You must ensure that you have installed the latest Windows updates on your PC and use the antivirus software to check for viruses.

If one or more viruses are found, take the necessary action to remove the virus or viruses from your computer.

Investigate Possible Corrupted Windows File System

You can use the System File checker (SFC) tool to fix corrupt system files. Below are the steps that you can follow in order to run the System File checker tool.

• From the desktop, use the Windows + R key to open the “Run” box
• In the the “Run” box, type in “cmd” then press ctrl+shift+enter to launch the command prompt with administrative privileges.
• Click the "Yes" button on the "User Account Control"ss (UAC) prompt
• Type “SFC /scannow” in the command prompt window and press “Enter”.

The System file checker utility will check the integrity of Windows system files and will perform appropriate repair operations if required.

Reboot your computer after the process is completed.

Test to see if Disabling Antivirus Software Fixes the Issue

Antivirus software, even though well-intentioned, can inadvertently block non-harmful services and apps from running correctly.

This method will tell you (as it were) that your antivirus software may be the cause of your issue – but please be aware that it is not recommended that you run your computer without the protection of appropriate antivirus software.

To temporarily disable your antivirus software, you can simply invoke the task manager window. You can do this by pressing ctrl+shift+escape on your keyboard.

If task manager loads in compact mode, click the “More details” option. Then select the "Startup" tab at the top of the "Task Manager" Window.

Find the name representing your antivirus application and click the relevant list item.

Then click the disable button that will be present in the right hand corner of the Task Manager window.

Finally, restart computer and see if the BSOD still appears.

Again, remember that even if this fixes the issue, you shouldn't run your computer without antivirus software. So you'll likely need to look into alternatives for protection.

Investigate Possible Issues with RAM

To identify RAM (memory) issues you can invoke the built-in Windows 10 scanner. To do this click on the search magnifying glass icon in the taskbar or press the Windows Key + S.

Type "Memory Diagnostics" in the search text box and run the first option presented in the search results.

In the popup dialog box that is presented, select “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)” option to kick off the diagnostic process.

During the boot process the memory diagnostic process will attempt to identify possible errors and issues regarding RAM. If issues are found, they will be reported to you.

Investigate Possible Hard Disk Drive Issues

You can scan your hard disks for any inconsistencies and errors using the check disk tool.

To run the check disk tool, make sure that you are logged onto windows with an administrator account. Then follow these steps:

• At the desktop, click Windows Key + R to launch the “Run” box.
• In the "Run" box, type in “cmd” then press ctrl+shift+enter to run the command prompt as administrator.
• Click the "Yes" button on the "User Account Control" (UAC) prompt.
• Type in “chkdsk c: /f” and press enter

The “/f” option will attempt to fix any found errors

You could also include the “/r” option and the “/x” option with this command. The “/r” option will locate bad sectors and recover any readable information, while the “/x” option forces the disk drive (about to be checked) to dismount before the utility begins a scan.

Start PC in Safe Mode

You can start your PCs in safe mode so that Windows 10 is booted with minimal files and drivers. To boot up Windows 10 in safe mode, you can follow these steps:

• Press Windows Key + I to invoke the Settings App.
• Under the "Update & Security" heading, select the "Recovery" tab.
• Under the "Advanced Startup" heading in the right pane, press the "Restart Now" button.

• After the PC restarts to the “Choose an option” screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

After the PC restarts, you are presented with a list of options. Select “4” or press “F4” to start PC in Safe Mode. Or if you need to use the internet, you can select “5” or press “F5” for Safe Mode with Networking.

If the issue does not occur in safe mode, this means that the default settings and basic device drivers aren't causing the issue.

Assuming the problem does not occur in safe mode, you now know that the issue must be caused by an additional driver or application that runs in normal mode.

Using a process of elimination, you can now focus on the relevant additional drivers and applications. You can systematically uninstall each of the relevant applications starting with the most recently installed ones and working your way from most recently installed to the least recently installed.

With each uninstall you can test for the problem. This will hopefully pinpoint the application or program that was the cause of the issue. Then you can uninstall the relevant software to hopefully get rid of the issue.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Kernel Security Check Failure issue can be a huge inconvenience. But hopefully the steps provided in this article will help you fix the issue.

In this article, I will show you how to dual boot Windows 10 and the popular Ubuntu Linux distro. But before that, you have to install Ubuntu on your Windows 10 PC.

Before you go through this process, you must backup your files. That’s because installing an OS is a risky process. Sometimes it can overwrite the existing OS and delete all your files.

N.B.: Most of the processes in this article take time to get done, so you need to be patient.

What We’ll Cover – A step-by-step Guide to Dual-Booting Windows 10 and Linux

• Prerequisites
• How to Partition your Hard Drive for Ubuntu
• How to Optimize your Hard Drive for More Partition Space (Optional)
• How to Download Ubuntu in ISO Image Format
• How to Make an Ubuntu (Linux) Bootable USB Drive
• How to Install Ubuntu Linux Distro along with Windows 10
• Now You Can Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows 10
• Conclusion

Prerequisites

Most importantly, there are some things you must have in place if you want to use (and dual boot) Ubuntu and Windows 10 on the same PC:

• A computer preinstalled with Windows 10
• A partitioned hard drive
• A BIOS in UEFI mode (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
• An empty USB drive of at least 4Gig for creating a bootable disk
• An internet connection to download Ubuntu ISO image (the Linux distro) and Rufus (a bootable drive creation tool)

How to Check If Your PC BIOS is in UEFI Mode

To check if your PC BIOS comes in UEFI mode, search for “system information” and hit ENTER.

Look under BIOS mode to confirm that your PC BIOS mode comes as UEFI.

If your PC BIOS is not in UEFI mode, the two operating systems won’t see each other. You can learn more about the difference between these two modes here.

How to Partition your Hard Drive for Ubuntu

You have to partition your hard drive because you must set aside at least 20Gig for Ubuntu to live in and boot from.

To partition your hard drive, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Right-click on Start and select “Disk Management”.

Step 2: Right-click on your C drive and select shrink volume.

Step 3: Select at least (20000) 20Gig for Ubuntu and click “Shrink”. IT can take some time to complete, so be patient.

Step 4 (optional): You can go ahead and assign a letter to the new volume. Right-click on the unallocated space and select “New Simple Volume”.

Step 5: Follow the wizard and assign a letter to the drive, then follow the rest of it.

After completing the wizard, the drive should be listed on your computer.

Congrats! You’ve successfully partitioned your hard drive.

N.B.: If you have a lot of free space in your hard drive but your PC still didn’t give you up to 20Gig partition space, then you need to optimize your PC’s hard drive. Proceed to the next section of this article to do that.

How to Optimize your Hard Drive for More Partition Space (Optional)

The common purpose of hard disk optimization is to speed up your computer during boot time and make it run smoother.

At the same time, the process will defragment the hard disk and make free space more available for partitioning.

To optimize your hard drive, click Start (Windows logo key), search for “defrag” and select “Defragment and Optimize Drives”.

Make sure your C drive is highlighted, then click “Optimize”.

After you’ve been able to set aside at least 20Gig for Ubuntu by partitioning your hard drive, then it’s time to download Ubuntu and make a bootable USB.

How to Download Ubuntu in ISO Image Format

The next thing is to download Ubuntu in ISO image format so you can install Ubuntu. You can download it from the Ubuntu distro website.

After downloading Ubuntu, don’t do anything with it yet. You need to make a bootable USB and put it in there. That’s how you’ll be able to use it.

The reason you can’t install Ubuntu just like that is that it doesn’t come as an executable. It comes in form of ISO (optical disk image). That means you have to find a disk to put it in before it can work.

The next part of this guide shows how you can put the downloaded Ubuntu ISO on a USB stick.

How to Make an Ubuntu (Linux) Bootable USB Drive

You won’t be able to make a bootable USB drive for Ubuntu by just placing the downloaded ISO image in it. Follow these steps to get it done:

Step 1: You need to download a bootable USB drive creation tool like Rufus. You can download Rufus from their website.

Step 2: Insert the empty USB drive into your Windows 10 PC. Right-click on Rufus and select “Open”.

Step 3: Under “Device”, select your USB drive. And under “Boot selection”, click the “Select” button and select the Ubuntu ISO file you downloaded

Step 4: Leave every other thing as default and click the “START” button to start burning the Ubuntu distro to the drive.

Step 5: Click OK to start the process.

Once the process is done, you should see “READY” on a green background. Click the Close button. Its time to install Ubuntu.

Congrats! Now you have a bootable drive with which you can install Linux.

The next step is to install the Ubuntu distro on your Windows 10 PC. To do this, you have to boot your PC from the bootable USB drive you created.

How to Install Ubuntu Linux Distro along with Windows 10

Step 1: Ensure the bootable drive is inserted into your Windows 10 PC

Step 2: Right-click on Start, hold SHIFT, and select Restart.

Step 2: Select “Use a Device”.

Step 3: On the next screen, you should see several devices you can boot from.

You may see the bootable drive as the name of the USB brand.

It’s possible to see it as “Ubuntu” too. Some other times, you might not see it, so you need to click on “See more devices".

If you still cannot see your bootable drive, head over to your boot menu by getting into BIOS. You will see it there.

N.B.: You should be very careful while making changes in BIOS. Whatever you do there has a lasting effect on your computer. If you are not sure of what you're doing there, you should contact an IT professional.

Step 4: Choose "Install Ubuntu". You can also try it before installing it.

Follow other prompts of the installation wizard and make sure you don’t replace your Windows 10 OS installation with Ubuntu. This is why I suggested you back up all your files.

When you get to the point to select the partition you made, scroll to the partition you made earlier and press ENTER.

Click OK to select all the space in the partition.

This time around, the “Install now” button will not be greyed out anymore.

Follow other prompts until Ubuntu starts installing.

After the installation is done, Ubuntu will prompt you to remove the bootable drive and press ENTER to reboot your Computer.

Now You Can Dual Boot Ubuntu and Windows 10

Immediately after you reboot the computer, you should see a screen that looks as shown below:

Now, you can select which one to boot into between Ubuntu and Windows 10.

To boot into Ubuntu, select Ubuntu. And to boot into Windows 10, select Windows boot manager.

You can also get into your BIOS from the same place by choosing UEFI Firmware Settings.

Conclusion

I hope this article helps you dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 10 on your computer.

The ultimate aim of this article was to show you how to dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 10.

But the article went beyond that to show you how to:

• check if your PC’s BIOS is in UEFI mode
• partition your hard drive
• optimize your hard drive
• make a bootable USB drive
• install Ubuntu Linux Distro along with Windows on your Windows 10 PC.

If you find this article helpful, kindly share it with your friends and family.

Discord has to update often because the Discord team implements new features and bug fixes regularly.

In addition, the app itself must load new messages from chat rooms and DMs. Once the update fails, Discord gets stuck in an update failed loop.

In this guide, I will show you 4 ways you can fix the Discord update failed error on a Windows 10 computer.

What We'll Cover

• Double-check your Internet Connection
• Run Discord as an Administrator
• Rename Discord’s Update.exe File
• Temporarily Disable your Antivirus Program and VPN
• Uninstall and Reinstall Discord
• Conclusion

Solution 1: Double-check your Internet Connection

The first thing I would suggest you do is to check your internet connection.

That’s because Discord needs an internet connection to update, as the update has to be done over the internet. Once there’s no internet connection, the update won’t happen.

Make sure your Windows 10 PC is connected to the internet and the internet connection is strong enough.

Solution 2: Run Discord as an Administrator

A common solution to this issue is to run the Discord app as an admin.

This could fix the issue because any app you want to install needs admin privileges. Discord is not an exception, so granting it admin privileges can make it dig deeper into the issue and resolve it.

To run Discord as administrator, search for Discord and select Run as Administrator on the right:

Solution 3: Rename Discord’s Update.exe File

There’s a separate executable for updating Discord. This is the update.exe file in the Discord folder.

Renaming this file can force Discord to download a fresh one and subsequently fix the issue for you.

Follow these steps to rename Discord’s update.exe file Press WIN (Windows logo key) + R on your keyboard and type in %localappdata%.

Look for the Discord folder and open it.

Right-click on the Update.exe file and select rename. Then rename it to something like “Updater.exe”. You must not change the extension.

Open the app again and see if the problem gets fixed.

Solution 4: Temporarily Disable your Antivirus Program and VPN

Antivirus programs and VPNs are known for interfering with the normal functioning of computers and internet connections. So if you have one or both of them on your PC, it might be stopping Discord from updating.

To disable your antivirus and VPN, open Task Manager, right-click on WIN (Windows logo key) and select Task Manager.

Under processes, right-click on Discord and select “End Task”.

Solution 5: Uninstall and Reinstall Discord

If the solutions already discussed fail to work for you, the last resort is to uninstall Discord and reinstall it.

Step 1: Head over to Control Panel and select Uninstall a Program.

Step 2: Look for Discord, right-click on it and select uninstall.

Step 3: To completely remove Discord, press WIN + R on your keyboard, type %localappdata%, and click OK.

Step 4: Right-click on the Discord folder and select Delete.

Step 4: Download Discord again and install it.

Conclusion

I hope the solutions discussed above help you get Discord to update so you can start using it again.

Thank you for reading.

But sometimes, it seems impossible to delete a file for various reasons. These include the file being open in another program, lack of write access, a malware attack, a corrupt or out of space Recycle Bin, the file is a system file, and many others.

In this article, I will show you how to force delete a file with the command prompt so you can get rid of a stubborn, unwanted file.

How to Force Delete a File With the Windows Command Prompt

The following steps will help you force delete a file with the del command.

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt by clicking on Start (or by hitting the Windows logo key on your keyboard), searching for "cmd", then hitting Enter:

Step 2: Head over to the folder containing the file, click on the folder address bar, and copy the address:

Step 3: In the Command Prompt, type del, right-click to the paste in the folder address, and append the filename with its extension (.html, .txt, .py, and so on).

This will look similar to del C:\Users\user\folder-name\filename.extension:

Step 4: Hit ENTER to run the command. Then check the folder again and you shouldn't see the file anymore:

Conclusion

The del command will delete a file even if it's open in another program, with the exception of Office programs like MS Word.

So if you still find it hard to force delete a file, make sure it's not open in another program, especially an Office program.

Thank you for reading.

This is because your operating system, or browser in the case of Google Chrome, cache IP addresses and DNS (Domain Name System) information of any website you visit. The DNS cache contains:

• the website address or hostname, technically called the resource data (rdata)
• the domain name of the website
• record type (IPv4 or IPv6)
• the validity of the cache or TTL (time to live)

When the TTL expires, the cache will be cleared, and the DNS is flushed for you automatically. But there are times when you don't want to wait hours or days for the TTL to expire, and want to flush your DNS manually.

In this article, I'll go over why you should flush your DNS, and how to do that in Windows 10 and Chrome.

So, Why Should You Flush (or Clear) Your DNS?

Flushing your DNS has several advantages, such as:

• hiding your search behavior from data collectors who might show you ads based on your search history
• requesting that an updated version of a website or web app is loaded. This can help resolve 404 issues if a website or web app was migrated to a new domain
• preventing DNS cache poisoning – a security situation in which black hat hackers gain maliciously gain access to your DNS cache and alter them so you get redirected to a website where sensitive information might be collected from you

How to Flush Your DNS on Windows

To flush your DNS records on Windows 10, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click on Start or hit the Windows [logo] key on your keyboard

Step 2: Type "cmd", then select "Run as Administrator" on the right

Step 3: Type in "ipconfig /flushdns" and hit ENTER

You should get a response that the DNS cache has been flushed like the one below:

This means that your cache has been completely cleared, and fresh versions of any website you visit will be loaded.

How to Clear the DNS Cache on Google Chrome

Despite not being an operating system, Chrome keeps a DNS cache of its own to help personalize your browsing experience.

To flush Chrome's DNS, all you need to do is type chrome://net-internals/#dns in the address bar and hit ENTER.

Then click “Clear host cache”:

Conclusion

As you’ve learned in this article, flushing your DNS gives you a lot of advantages that can make your internet experience safer.

Even though the cache gets cleared after the TTL expires, you should flush your DNS as often as possible so you can get these advantages.

Thank you for reading!

How to Fix a Monitor Connection by Checking Hardware Connections

• Check to see if the VGA connector fits in perfectly to its port.
• Make sure your VGA connector is not damaged. If possible, replace the connector.

How to Fix a Monitor Connection by Restarting your PC

Before this step, make sure your PC has not gone into sleep mode or hibernated. If this happens, the monitor may assume the PC is off and will display "No Signal".

• Unplug power cable and VGA connector.
• Wait for a few minutes minutes.
• Plug power cable and VGA connector back in.
• Reboot PC.

How to Fix a Monitor Connection by Updating Drivers

Step 1 - Open Device Manager

• Click on the search box in your taskbar.
• Type "device manager".
• Click on Device Manager from the search results.

Step 2 - Update Display adapter

• Expand the Display adapters option in Device Manager.
• Right click on your display adapter and click on "Update driver"

• You will be asked, "How do you want to search for drivers?" Choose the option that says "Search automatically for drivers".

Wait for the driver to be updated, after which you can go to your display settings and see if the second monitor is being detected.

You may get a response that your drivers are already up to date. You can verify to see if your current version is the one on the driver provider's website. Here's how you can do that:

• Right click on display adapter just like we did before.
• Click on properties.
• Click on the Driver tab.
• Copy the Driver Provider and Driver version values.
• Search for the two values on Google.

After following the steps above, you should find the website of your driver provider where you can install the latest version of the driver if yours isn't already up to date.

Conclusion

In this article, we saw some of the useful steps required to fix a monitor connection in order to get rid of the "No Signal" message.

Thank you for reading!

But sometimes antimalware service executable can impact Windows 10 computers negatively by using too much CPU.

In this guide, I will show you what antimalware service executable is, why it uses so much CPU, and how you can optimize your Windows 10 computer to make sure it doesn't use too much CPU.

What is Antimalware Service Executable?

Antimalware service executable is a Windows Security process that executes real-time protection against malware.

Also known as msmpeng.exe, antimalware service executable runs in the background so it can scan files and programs from time to time.

When an antimalware service executable detects a virus or other malicious attacks, it deletes them or quarantines them.

Why does Antimalware Service Executable use a lot of CPU?

The main reason that antimalware service executable uses too much CPU is that it runs constantly in the background.

While running in the background, it actively scans programs and files and carries out the appropriate actions whenever it detects anything malicious.

In addition, the antimalware service executable uses too much CPU because it scans its own folder - C:\Program Files\Windows Defender.

So, stopping antimalware service executable from scanning its own folder is one of the ways you can make it use less CPU.

How to Stop Antimalware Service Executable from using too Much CPU

The 2 main ways you can stop antimalware service executable from using too much CPU is to reschedule Windows Security scans and prevent it from scanning its own folder.

Rescheduling scans won't make scans happen all the time, and preventing the executable from scanning its own folder will disable real-time protection.

Solution 1: Prevent Antimalware Service Executable from Scanning its Own Folder

Step 1: Press the WIN key on your keyboard and select the gear icon to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Click on “Update and Security” from the menu tiles.

Step 3: Select “Windows Security”, then click on “Virus and threat protection”.

Step 4: The Windows Security app will open up. Under “Virus & threat protection settings”, click on the link that says “Manage Settings”.

Step 5: Scroll down to “Exclusions” and select the “Add or remove exclusions” link.

Step 6: On the next page, click on “Add an exclusion”, then select “Folder”.

Step 7: Paste “C:\Program Files\Windows Defender” into the editor and click on “Select Folder”.

Step 8: Immediately after you click on “Select Folder”, a massive modal will appear – make sure you click “Yes”.

The folder selected will now be added to exclusions and will not be scanned.

Solution 2: Disable Realtime Protection and Reschedule Scans

Step 1: Press WIN + R (Windows key then the letter R) to open the Run Dialogue.

Step 2: Type “taskschd.msc” and click “OK”. This will open up the Task Scheduler app.

Step 3: Expand the “Task Scheduler tab”, “Microsoft”, and “Windows”.

Step 4: Scroll down and select “Windows Defender”.

Step 5: Right-click on “Windows Defender Scheduled Scan” and select “Properties”.

Step 6: Uncheck “Run with highest privileges” in the general tab.

Step 7: Go to the Conditions tab and uncheck everything there.

Step 8: Switch to the Triggers tab and click “New”.

Step 9: Schedule the time you want Windows Defender to run scans. Choose the frequency, date, and time, then click “OK”. Click “OK” again.

Step 10: Restart your computer. With this, the antimalware service executable should not eat up too many CPUs again.

Final Thoughts

The protection offered by the antimalware service executable is undeniably relevant. This protection prevents malware attacks so you can feel safe while using your Windows 10 computer.

If you try to make antimalware service executable consume less CPU with the 2 methods explained in this article and there seems to be no progress, you should try to disable your Windows Security program permanently.

But make sure you get another antivirus program so your computer won't be at the mercy of attacks.

Thank you for reading.

Check for improper connection

Before we do anything technical, make sure you crosscheck your connections first. Make sure that all the cables fit in firmly and are connected in the right order.

Update display adapter

This is probably the best solution at getting your PC to recognize your second monitor. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1 - Open Device Manager

• Click on the search box in your taskbar.
• Type "device manager".
• Click on Device Manager from the search results to launch the app.

Step 2 - Update Display adapter

• Expand the Display adapters option in Device Manager.
• Right click on your display adapter and click on "Update driver"

• You will be asked, "How do you want to search for drivers?" Choose the option that says "Search automatically for drivers".

Wait for the driver to be updated, after which you can go to your display settings and see if the second monitor is being detected.

If you get a response that your driver is already up to date, then you'll have to do the update manually. You can do this using the steps below:

• Right click on display adapter just like we did before – but this time you have to click on properties.
• Click on the Driver tab.
• Copy the Driver Provider and Driver version values.
• Search for the two values on Google.

After you have done this, you should find the website of your driver provider where you can install the latest version of the driver.

Once you have installed the driver, check to see if your PC recognizes your second monitor.

Conclusion

In this article, we saw some of the steps required to update your display adapter in order to make your second monitor visible. I hope this helps.

Thank you for reading!

Some resources about this topic require you to install different software to accomplish it. But in this tutorial we'll see how to make the taskbar completely transparent without any installations.

How to Make your Windows Taskbar Transparent

Step 1 - Use the Run command to open the Registry Editor program

The Run command allows you to open various programs on your PC by typing their name. The program we will be using is called Registry Editor.

To use the Run command, you can use the shortcut Win + R (Windows button + R) or you can right click on the Windows icon and click on "Run".

Step 2 - Type regedit

After clicking on Run, a window should pop up where you can type in the name of a program you would like to open. Type "regedit" and press OK. This will open the Registry Editor.

After clicking OK, the window below should pop up:

Step 3 - Navigate through folders

The first folder to expand is the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder. Scroll down and expand the SOFTWARE folder.

After that, locate the Microsoft folder and expand it as well. Next, scroll all the way down and expand the Windows folder.

In the Windows folder, expand the CurrentVersion folder followed by expanding the Explorer folder. Lastly, click on the Advanced folder.

If you found the steps above confusing, then you can use this path as a guide:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Pasting the path above and hitting enter should automatically bring you to our current location.

Step 4 - Create a new file

Right click and hover above the "New" option.

Then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value:

After clicking on DWORD (32-bit) Value, you will see a space where you are supposed to type in the new file. Name the file TaskbarAcrylicOpacity. After you have created the file, double click on it and set the value data input to 0 (zero) and click OK.

Step 5 - Enable transparency effects

Go to Desktop and right click. Click on personalize.

Click on the "Colors" tab, and toggle Transparency effects to On:

After this, you should have a transparent taskbar.

If the last step does not work for you, then go on with next steps.

Step 6 - Restart Windows Explorer using Task Manager

Before opening task manager, make sure that your File Explorer is already running. Then follow these steps:

• Right click on taskbar.
• Click on Task Manager.
• Right click on File Explorer under Apps.
• Click on Restart

After completing the last step, you should have a completely transparent taskbar.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we made our taskbar transparent without installing any software in Windows 10. I hope this works for you.

Thank you for reading!

You get this error because Windows 10 is optimized for protection against malware through Windows Defender and User Account Control (UAC).

But at times, this protection is overly sensitive. So, on some occasions, the error occurs even when you're trying to run trusted apps or open trusted files.

Today is hopefully the last day you'll see this error pop up on your Windows 10 PC. Because in this article, I will show you 5 ways to fix it, so you can start using your computer without the fear of the error.

PS: If you're getting this error while running a trusted app or trying to open a trusted file, the solutions provided in this article are for you. If you don't trust the app, use any of the solutions only if you're ready to take a risk.

Table of Contents

• Temporarily Disable Your Antivirus Program
• Disable the Windows Smartscreen Feature
• Unblock the File
• Run the App with the Command Prompt
• Make Changes to the Group Policy
• Conclusion

Solution 1: Temporarily Disable Your Antivirus Program

If you get the "An administrator has blocked you from running this app" error, it could be because of your antivirus app.

So, disabling the antivirus app could provide a solution.

Whether you use the inbuilt Windows Defender or a third-party antivirus program, the steps below will help disable it.

Step 1: Press ALT + SHIFT + ESC on your keyboard to open the Task Manager.

Step 2: Switch to the Startup tab.

Step 3: Locate your Antivirus Program in the list, right-click on it and select "Disable".

PS: If you don't find your antivirus program in the startup tab, then check the Processes tab.

Solution 2: Disable the Windows Smartscreen Feature

The Windows Smartscreen is an anti-malware feature that works with Windows Defender to block malware.

Sometimes, it triggers this error even when you're using a trusted app.

To disable Smartscreen, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Press WIN + S on your keyboard and search for "smartscreen", then click on the "App & Browser Control" search result.

Step 2: Open the "Reputation-based protection settings" link.

Step 3: Turn off the toggle under "Potentially unwanted app blocking".

Solution 3: Unblock the File

If you're getting the error while opening a file, this solution is for you.

Step 1: Right-click on the file and select Properties.

Step 2: In the General tab, check "Unblock" under "Security".

Step 3: Click Apply and then Ok.

Solution 4: Run the App with the Command Prompt

Command prompt allows you to run an app and bypass the administrator check.

So you can avoid getting this error if you run the app triggering the error using the command prompt.

The following steps show you how to run any app with the command prompt:

Step 1: Locate the app triggering the error, right-click on it and select Open file location.

Step 2: Right-click on the file and select properties.

Step 3: In the General tab, copy the texts under location. Don't close the Properties window yet.

Step 4: Click on Start and search for "cmd", then select Run as Administrator on the right.

Step 5: In the command prompt, paste the text you copied in step 3, then minimize the command prompt.

Step 5: Head back to the Properties opened in Step 1 and copy the file name.

Step 6: Maximize the Command Prompt, type "\" (slash) in front of the text you pasted in Step 4, and paste in the file name, as you can see in the screenshot below.

Step 7: Hit ENTER to finally launch the app.

Solution 5: Make Changes to the Group Policy

With the Group Policy, you can make changes you won't easily find anywhere else on your computer.

One of these changes can be made on the User Accounts Control (UAC) to allow apps to escape the administrator check.

To make the changes that will get rid of the error, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Press WIN + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue.

Step 2: In the run dialogue, type in "gpedit.msc" and hit ENTER on your keyboard.

Step 3: Under Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, Security Settings, and Local Policies.

Step 4: Click on Security Options. Don’t attempt to expand it, just click on it.

Step 5: Navigate to the bottom and double-click "User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode".

Step 6: Select Disable, click Apply, and then Ok.

Conclusion

This article showed you 5 different ways you can fix the "An administrator has blocked you from running this app" error.

This error message is only one of the 3 ways the error could come up.

If you're getting it in the form of "Your system administrator has blocked this program Group Policy, GPO, Regedit", then solution 5 is for you.

If you're getting it in the form of "Your system administrator has blocked this program uTorrent, Avast, AVG", then solution 1 is for you.

In short, you'll just need to figure out the source of the error and then choose the solution that's right for your situation.

If you find this article helpful, consider sharing it with your friends and family.

Thank you for reading.

Sometimes, when you're trying to open an app or game, you might get the error “the code execution cannot proceed because msvcp140.dll was not found”.

This error can come in another form, too – "The program can’t start because MSVCP140.dll was not found. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem".

This could happen because the file is really missing, or it's available but corrupt.

You can scan your computer with Windows Defender or a third-party antivirus program, but this doesn’t always fix the error.

If you are getting this error while opening a game or app on your Windows 10 PC, you’ve come to the right place. Because in this article, I’m going to show you 3 ways you can fix the error and start using your app or playing your game once again.

Solution 1: Reinstall the App

As suggested in the error message, reinstalling the program that's triggering the "msvcp140.dll was not found" error can fix the problem for you.

To reinstall an app, do the following:

Step 1: Click on Start and select Settings.

Step 2: Select Apps from the menu tiles.

Step 3: Click on the app causing the error and select Uninstall.

Step 4: Restart your computer, then reinstall the app by downloading it from the vendor’s website or Microsoft store.

Solution 2: Run the SFC Scan

Since the error could be triggered by a corrupt file, the System File Checker scan can help fix it. When you run this program, it checks your computer files for corruption and fixes them.

To run the SFC scan, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click on Start and search for “cmd”. Click on Run as Administrator on the right, because you need to run the scan as an admin.

Step 2: Paste in sfc /scannow and hit ENTER.

Step 3: When the scan is done, close the Command Prompt and restart your PC.

Solution 3: Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable

If any of the solutions above fail to work for you, then installing Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable package will fix it.

This is because msvcp140.dll and another DLL file called vcruntime140.dll are both constituents of the Microsoft Visual C++ package.

The following step by step guide shows you how to install Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable:

Step 1: To download the file, go to the official Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable download page and click Download.

Step 2: On the next page, you will see the option to download the file for a 32-bit operating system and another for a 64-bit operating system. Select the one for your OS and click “Next”.

Step 3: Open the downloaded file and follow the installation Wizard to install it.

If you have the Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 package installed already and you still get this error, you should uninstall and then reinstall the package.

I hope this guide helps you fix the error.

Thank you for reding.