ONE-STOP FIXIT TOOL
Looking for a tool
that provides access
to dozens of fixes for
common Windows
problems? Go to http://www.
tweaking.com and
download the free
version of Windows
Repair Tool.
WRT runs best in Safe
mode—the quickest
way to get there is to
press Win + R, type
msconfig then hit Enter,
then switch to the Boot
tab, tick ‘Safe boot’, and
select Network. Click
OK followed by Restart,
and Windows will reboot
into Safe mode (you’ll
need to log in with your
full password, not a PIN
number or other form
of ID). Once logged in,
launch the Windows
Repair Tool.After the program has
performed its start-up
check, click ‘I Agree’ to
go to the main screen.
Work your way through
various health checks,
a power reset, plus
scans of your Windows
package files, system
reparse points, and
environment variables
(you can ignore issues
with reparse points, so
skip the repair option).
There are also
options to run full disk
checks and a system
file check—both are
recommended. Reboot
whenever prompted and
you’ll come back to Safe
mode to carry on where
you left off.
Once the basic tests
are complete, select
Backup Tools and takeboth a Registry backup
and a System Restore
point. Now select the
‘Repairs—Main’ tab to
view the choices. Five
presets exist to perform
specific repairs. Click
any option and you’ll be
shown a list of repairs
with descriptive names
like ‘repair icons’ or
‘reset file permissions’.
Use the Repair Info to
find out more about
individual repairs.
Select ones you think
are applicable, then
click Start Repairs. After
you’ve (hopefully) fixed
your problems, open
msconfig again, and
untick ‘Safe boot’ under
the Boot tab to allow you
to reboot into Windows
proper to verify things
are working correctly.TROUBLESHOOT
INDIVIDUAL UPDATES
Often, the problem isn’t with
Windows Update itself, but a
specific update that refuses to install. You
may get an advanced warning, such as a
message during reboot that Windows is
reversing a failed update, or your PC may
keep attempting to install updates after
every reboot. If the problem persists, it’s
time to take further action.
Check the status of updates via the
Windows Update tool. Simply click ‘View
update history’, where you’ll see a list of
previously installed updates and whether
they were successful or not. If multiple
updates are failing, then it’s likely only one
of them is the culprit.
Start by trying to download and install
the troublesome update manually. Go to
http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com and
search for the update number (including
KB). You’ll be given a list of matches
based on Windows version, plus system
architecture—x64 is for 64-bit versions of
Windows, x86 for 32-bit. Download the file
to your hard drive, then double-click it and
follow the instructions to install it.
If this doesn’t work, you’ll need to dig
deeper. Make a careful note of the error
code and the updated KB number. Google
the code, try it with “Windows Update”,
your version of Windows, the KB number,
or just on its own to see what you find.
Ignore ads and focus on genuine websites,
including reputable sources such as
https://answers.microsoft.com. Focus
on newer results first, particularly if they
correspond to your specific KB number.
With a bit of luck, you’ll stumble on a
solution found by others. Often, there’s
no rhyme or reason to certain updates
failing, but if all of the troubleshooting
techniques we have described here,
including the Windows Repair tool, fail to
yield a solution, don’t panic. Simply ping
the Doctor an email and he’ll see if he can
steer you towards the solution.FILE EXPLORER
GLITCHES
Problems with File Explorer,
particularly where it stops
responding or takes an age to open certain
folders (or indeed any folder), could mean
any number of things. Start your focus on
the health of your hard drives, use a tool
such as HDDScan (https://hddscan.com/)
to give them the once over physically,
then schedule disk checks from an
administrative command prompt:
chkdsk c: /f/r
When checking your system drive,
you’ll be prompted to schedule the check
after the next reboot. Do so, reboot and If automatic updates are an issue, you can try downloading troublesome ones manually.FEB 2022 MAXIMU MPC 45
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