Audio Issues after Windows 10 Update - Red X on Audio in system tray

 I'm going to work backwards

This is the link to the fix   This here this is the link

If like me you are reading anything and everything (including this small business Blog) all you really want, at this point, is the answer!  But do come back and read my whole saga on the problems I had with this Audio Issue !! What caused it and how I eventually found the right answer.  (By complete chance!!)

This is part 2 of 2

 

A Day or so after I updated the Anti-Virus I noticed that there was a red X, like the one above on the audio in the system tray.  I assumed that it was a Driver issue and looked in device manager.  There was a yellow exclamation mark on both the audio devices showing that there was a problem.

First I tried the Windows 10 trouble shooter.  It does often happen that a device gets put out of whack by updates or significant application changes additions etc. 

This did not work

I tried updating the drivers, both letting Windows do its thing and by trying the manual options.  Find on My PC and Have Disk and so on.

This did not work

I tried going to the source for the drivers, Realtek and Intel and installing them from the correct sources.  Ie Realtek site and Intel site.

This did not work.

I asked my trusted assistant (Google) and read many, many long and drawn out threads, about the problem, which had occurred it seems as early as 2018 due to updates.  All sounds reasonable.

Many pages and many different and weird and some not so wonderful fixes later I’m still looking at the same Audio not working icon

And it still was not working.

After many days…..

And Many many fruitless searches I hit on a solution to my problem.

I have since cleaned my browser and unless the planets align the same way as they were yesterday afternoon and I comb my hair into exactly the same messy exasperation I may never be able to find that page again…

It involves the registry key: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96c-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

And its entry on the UpperFilter

The value should be ksthunk and in my key was someother jumble of letters apparently relating to the now defunct Kaspersky.

I deleted the random letters after ksthunk rebooted and Eureka, gawd bless me Mary Poppins and By George it worked.

Trigger restarted, wriggled about a bit on start up and suddenly the red x was no more.

As always, I wish I could find the source, as regular readers will know, I like to give credit where credit is due and it definitely is in this case.  It was a forum post as there was discussion on the letters included in the value and I’m sure they said that the KSTHUNK came back on reboot after being deleted and it was the random letters that was the issue.  

This is the Microsoft Answers site that gave the fix that helped me.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/audio-driver-not-working-after-windows-10-update/edbdd93f-e614-449e-b3bf-52663add6462

Worked for me

The fixes I read, all went through describing the obvious, drivers, troubleshoot, reinstall, check windows updates,  who are very useful to the standard user but not necessarily for the more technical who try all those methods as standard and have read pages and pages and pages of the same.   But as it turns out, for me it was a Microsoft Answers thread that gave me my solution.

This is actually Part 1 of 2

This installment is where the story really starts!

Its been a while since I reported anything of note on the Blog or indeed anything at all, but I’m still here, even if I’m mostly unable to get out and about to do any real work for the time being.

I have been exploring the creative side of life with a bit of Cooking, Bread, sour dough and cakes and stuff and a bit of sewing, masks and bags and other stuff.  Obviously along with the new normal of some home-schooling the junior Lamas and getting out for exercise with Lamas Dog.

Every year about this time I have to update the Anti-Virus for Lamas Design, which includes Lamas Junior Laptops, a couple of desktops, Triggers-broom, and the network Managers devices.

This year both the Juniors were at home for this.  An inset day.  The rare few days they have been at school this year and they still have inset days, (shrugs and shakes head).  I gave them instructions, fully update their laptops, do the housekeeping required, (disk clean, restart, etc) uninstall the existing security, disk clean, restart.  Install the new one.

Despite my attempts to make them a bit aware of the housekeeping required for a laptop, it does not get done on a timely basis.  So the task that should have taken a couple of hours at most took the pair of them all day!  Trigger was done and dusted in an hour.  So was the other desktop PC.

The Network Managers PC took a while and then would not restart, but that’s another story. Its working now!

But…But…But.. I hear your say, are you not a Kaspersky Internet Security user?   Well yes I was, but this year the price of BitDefender was cheaper than Kaspersky and my reservations were always to do with the parental control of BitDefender.  Junior Lamas are not 6 anymore!! They are teenagers and have all sorts of other issues, but computer security is something I can now discuss with them and they can make sensible choices.

Lamas Dog
 finds this statement mildly amusing!

I

It eventually got finished by both of them.  They still complain about the slowness of their laptops, despite me suggesting various options, the amount of apps starting with the system for instance.

The point of this blog post was to share my Eureka moment.

But I don’t want to put the fix at the end here because someone looking for the answer like I was, is not going to want to read the rambling Ronnie Corbett anecdote above, and it may only be one of the fixes that they try and for them it is unsuccessful.  And I know how that feels.

So the story of TriggersBroom and its Audio issues is really the beginning of this blog post.

Blue Keep Bluekeep what is it?

Patch early and Patch often!

Microsoft is continually sending out patches and security updates. These should be applied as soon as possible to your system in ANY version of the operating system whether it is 7 or 8 or 8.1 or 10.

I keep reading that :

Unpatched Windows 7 is vulnerable to the Bluekeep exploit.

Which means if you have not installed all your windows updates you may be at risk of an unknown person or persons gaining access to your system via the remote desktop service in other words, there is a way for someone using a specially crafted command to get into your system and cause you problems.

Turn off the Remote access services. There is a how to here in another page of the Blog. If you really need it in the future you will be given a prompt to allow access to it again, giving an extra "Pause for breath and realitiy check" if someone asks you to allow access.

Windows 7 may be coming to the end of support but if you are still using it, make sure its updated and up to date and start thinking about what steps you need to take to before the end of January 2020.

Have a great weekend.

Comments!

Comments on this blog are always appreciated.

However, any comments that contain external links will be deleted.

The links I put up myself I know are real and are not malware links.

If you see a deleted comment on this blog it will be because it contained links. 

Windows 10 - May 2019 update - remove USBs

So the Laptop...

I tried several times to update to 1903 and every time i had the same result.  

I tried updating from Windows Update.  Didn't work.

I tried updating from a USB Stick.  Didn't  work.

I tried updating from a directory on the HDD.  Didn't work.

At some point in all this I uninstalled my Antivirus.

Tried the other usual tricks like swearing at it, giving it a really hard stare and as a last resort clicking the mouse over and over again.  Didn't work either, surprisingly!

I read a few articles about the update and what had and had not worked for others.  Removal of USBs seemed to be high on the list for troubleshooting.  I use a wireless mouse which has a USB.  I have never been a fan of track pads, I'm old school and like a proper mouse.  

I unplugged it and turned the trackpad on to start again.  

I ran Windows Update and walked away.  Then I left it overnight to get on with it.

The next day I checked it.  It had worked.  

It was showing 1903 in Settings --> System --> About.

I had thought that removing USBs referred to just memory sticks and connections to other devices, but no, it meant everything. 

So my recommendation for updating to the newest version of windows 10 on your laptop is remove EVERYTHING that is connected by USB.  USB sticks - remove! Mobile phones - Remove! Wireless Mice - REMOVE! Wireless Keyboard - Remove! Printers, WiFi Dongles, Bluetooth dongles - remove remove remove. 

I did not have this with my desktop, but the motherboard is newer.  However if you have issues with updates on a desktop try the same thing.

Windows 10 - May 2019 update 1903

With the new round of Windows 10 updates happening soon, Lamas Design is waiting.

Waiting for the update!  Waiting for the clients to call and say : "It started to update and then it came up with a picture of Grumpy Cat/dancing unicorns/Blue Screen/Automatic repair/crazy frog/(Insert problem here)..

I know which one I would prefer.

RIP Grumpy Cat 😢

I don't often get comments on this blog.  In fact, I think it is only read by one or two people as an alternative to sleeping tablets and the occasional desperate person looking on page 22 of a google search for a solution when they have tried everything else!

Imagine my surprise today when I received a comment telling me how much they enjoyed the blog.  They also included a bunch of links which led to scam websites.  No thanks - deleted.  I have email accounts to collect spam I don't need it here as well!!

The first PC has been updated, TriggersBroom, my workhorse that has recently been upgraded to a board with the Z270 chipset.  Downloaded and installed within a couple of hours without much assistance or interference from me.  That is obviously the way i like it to happen.  

My laptop however, is a slightly different kettle of fish. I did an extra special clean up on it yesterday. Including, disk cleanup, virus check, malware removal, although most of this is done on a very regular basis anyway.  It still took hours to download, install and then, subsequently, fail.  

It gave me various different error codes and in the end I have given up for the time being. The error codes as usual mean very little and do not give a clear indication of what the problem may be.

Watch this space for further updates.





   

Penalty Charge Notification and Cyber Crime Agency!

I always look in my Spam folder because there is always something interesting and amusing.

This week I received a Penalty Charge notification dated on my birthday in a place I was at least 400 miles away from!  None of the vehicles are connected to an email account at the DVLA so how did they get my email and which vehicle did it relate to and and and..

The other one was from some kind of Cyber Crime agency that was going to reward me compensation because I had recently been scammed!  The compensation was some astronomical amount which I would receive once they had my processing fee of 450, I cant remember whether it was US$, GPB or Euros.  It matters not!  It was a scam!  The upfront charges are a dead give away.

I did not get the other email, the one that had video of me and proved it by supplying an out of date password.  (My webcam on the laptop is covered when I'm not actively using it and my desktop does not have one!!) Still, I felt a bit left out!

Ask the simple questions when you receive these kind of emails: is what they are suggesting really a possibility.  

No!  

Just laugh at them, delete them and move on!

Housekeeping!

Look at your computer in the same way you look at your home. 

You like your home to be clean and tidy and everything is where it should be, household running smoothly, everyone has a clean shirt etc.

Keep your home this way takes a bit of regular housework, dusting, vacuuming or sweeping, washing, cleaning and so on.

If you want your PC to run well you will need to do similar tasks.  

• Regular Antivirus scans with up to date software.
• Malware and spyware removal with up to date software
• Disk defragmentation
• Disk cleanup
• Driver updates. 
• Make sure system restore is running

Most of these things can be automated.  Most of these things can be done with free software.  Sometimes you can find software that is both!

One of the most important things is (Here it comes, you've been expecting this one) is a back up!

And yes - I heard the collective groan.  

The times I've heard Will I loose all my pictures? or some version of that. 

Back up of data is imperative.  Disks are not infallible, but unlikely to all go down at the same time.  But you know all of this, you have been told this time and again.

What is also as important is a system image.  Windows can do this without additional software.

You spend ages installing all your software, putting all the serial numbers away in that safe place (I always think of the room of requirement when he hides the Potions book, because "Safe Place" I can never remember exactly where it is!!)

And then Microsoft gets involved and gives you updates, some minor, some major, and that is when it starts becoming a problem.  Minimise the problem by performing the housekeeping.

If you have a system image there is a very good chance that your system can be restored to its former glory with little fuss if a system has a backup.  

I hate it when I have to return a system to a client with just a bare copy of Windows 10 and their data.  Obviously I put AVs and stuff on as well, but it does not look the same as it did and nothing is where they left it.

If you would like some help or recommendations please contact me.  My advice costs nothing, a system rebuild is so much more expensive in many ways.

Have a good weekend all. 

Kaspersky Internet Security

Kaspersky Internet Security - I have this to cover the Lamas Equipment and the Lamas Junior Devices.

I have been spammed over the weekend by Kaspersky asking me to renew as my subscription is about to expire.

Its true it is about to expire.

In the email they were offering me 70% off the price.  Not unrealistic, the price of a new licence on Amazon is only a pound or so more.

I first tried this renewal on Friday when I got the first email.  It would not go to the correct page and on closer inspection it had an incorrect date.  I received a further email on Sunday and again on Monday morning.  Each time the deadline date was incorrect and it would not work on my PC.  I was just getting the Aww Snap page. 

Now as an additional thing, there was a notification on my PC that it was time to renew.

With Mondays email I thought will this now work they are back in the office, perhaps if this was an error they have fixed it.  

It worked on my phone.  I was about to enter PayPal details and I thought, wait a minute, try the PC again to be certain that this is what it should be and not some elaborate and clever scam to get all the information off my phone and drain my account!

On the PC it did not work and I know that scams are not usually elaborate or clever.

I even tried calling the number on the website, but that was not really Kaspersky, that was for Digital River acting on their behalf.  So they could not help me.  He kindly offered 50% off my renewal today, when I explained the situation, but I declined.  My reason ? I needed a moment to gather my thoughts and decide what I should do.  Obviously the Network Manager was consulted (quizzed extensively about what he thought was happening and whether he thought it was a scam and and and….)

There were several red flags up to this point.

The cost for the renewal was £59.99 less 70% so approximately  £16.50.  I can pick up a licence on Amazon for just a couple of quid more.  So its not even in the Too Good To Be True Category.

I honestly can’t say whether these emails were real or a scam.  But I do not want to take the chance.  I will wander round Amazon later today and purchase another licence and to heck with their spammy emails and renewal.  For a couple of quid it is just not worth it.

Turn off Remote Access

As a follow up to recent posts about phone scammers, here is a proactive way to protect yourself. 

If the scammers can’t get on to your pc in the first place then they can’t do the damage. It is highly unlikely that anyone legitimate will ask for remote access.

So for Windows 10 in the bottom left search box 

type “Remote Assistance” by the time you get to the A, it will be showing “Allow Remote Access to your computer”  It is important to get as far as the A, because it shows Remote Desktop and that is not what you are after.

Select the Remote Assistance option.

This shows the System Properties Window from a Windows 10 Home system

This shows the System Properties from a Windows 10 Pro system

Uncheck the tick box beside "Allow Remote Assistance Connections to this computer" and click Apply at the bottom of the windown and you are Done.

Again, tell your Nan or better yet do it for her.

Show your Mum and Dad and share it with everyone you know.

The remote access option is turned on by default in a new windows installation and that is what is making it easy for these scammers to carry out this despicable fraud that targets anyone. Let's at least try to make it harder for this scum to succeed.

The more people I speak to about this, the more I find have been caught out in some way. They dont care who you are, just what they can get out of you. 

Your Router has been compromised - SCAM

I posted this on social media today, but thought it worth repeating. 

I posted about this very thing on 11th May. 

I know I bang on about it but I’m just not getting through.
Scammers calling on the Phone.

A Client called me recently and had been caught with the “Your Router has been compromised” scam. He was caught for a large sum, straight from his bank account. And is currently in contact with The Fraud Squad.

Please remember, BT, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Microsoft, Sky and other providers

Will NEVER call you.

If you get a phone call from someone saying they are from your phone or broadband provider, even a recorded message saying something there is something wrong with your PC, router or any related equipment put the phone down and don’t engage with them.

If you have any concerns call the number on your providers “contact us” page or call an expert you do trust to help you.

Tell your friends, tell your Nan, tell your parents, tell your Avon lady and your dog sitter!
Don’t let these scummy scammers get away with this.

Please share this - no, not copy and paste in some kind of tricky "see more than 25 of you friends" way. 

That's all for today.  I'm rebuilding a laptop.

Just a Moment... Blue Screen Windows 10 1803 installation

In this case, the answer was to use an older installation (1511) version of Windows 10.  If like me you have read extensively and rambling articles not all relevant to this issue I know how you feel and are just looking for the answer.  That was mine.

If you are interested here is the full story ....

There has been a pc in Lamas HQ this week, Core i7, 4th Generation with a Nvidia 980 Graphics card.  Not a spanking new system but old enough to be settled in.

Failed HDD.

So, I ordered a new HDD.  The existing one was a bit of a strange one.  3T Western Digital Green in a Gaming PC.  I asked if it had been upgraded but no it was the same HDD that was in there when they bought it.

I went to Amazon for a 3T WD blue, but ended up getting a 4T as the price difference was about £5!

My apprentice helped me to dismantle and install the new drive and then put he put the usb in to install Windows.

It all seemed to be installing correctly until it came to setting up the users. It did not ask for user names, it just said

Just a moment ...

With a Blue Screen, Sometimes the window filled the screen; sometimes it was just a windows in the centre of the screen or occasionally it had Network in the top centre.

If I did alt and tab, there was a Microsoft account window which was inaccessible but just "there".

I tried many different fixes, which didn't work.  I googled for more and they did not work either.

I'm not going to list all the things I tried because I would be here all day!

I was able to get a command prompt using Shift F10, but nothing I was able to do in the command line was able to help

Sometimes, it went to this as well...

This problem seems to have been around for a few years, but there are no answers to it and no explanation of the cause of it in any version that I could find.

Microsoft suggest a reset or a reinstallation (or something that needs a working windows environment), but never a "ooh this is what is wrong and here's how you fix it"   Reset or resinstallation are never going to work if you cannot install the operating software in the first place!

Everything about this problem was weird.

I had used the install USB to rescue and reinstall another laptop only a few days beforehand.  So there was apparently nothing wrong with the installation USB.

I had used a Linux mint installation running from USB to check that the other components were working.  I installed the full version to the HDD and got a working copy of Linux Mint booting from the disk not the USB.

What did this mean thou?

I attached the new HDD to a working system and, using the same windows 10 USB I was able to install Windows 10.

So I proved it was possible and that there was nothing wrong with the install USB and the new HDD was working and ok.

By this time the client PC was reduced to running Motherboard, processor, one stick of RAM and onboard, DVI graphics plus a Lamas USB mouse and USB keyboard, both which were nothing special, generic & taking no additional effort!

Well done if you have made it this far!

Windows can create its own installation media as long as the the PC creating the installation media has a valid licence. So recently, in a fit of  something like efficiency, I created a new install USB Windows 10 for 1803 to stop the need for all the updates!

This new version of installation media had worked on other systems but not on this one.

In a desperate effort, I decided to try older installation media.

1511 to be precise.

The installation worked fully right to the desktop and asked me to create not only a user but a password as well.

I was able to get to updates and updated to the most recent version (1803) of Windows so it was fully updated. Put back all the removed components of the PC.

Install anti virus

Update drivers

Install chrome

Finally return it to the client working.

Whilst, I have repaired the PC and got it back working, I'm still wondering why the more recent version didn't work and what was causing the error.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has the same problem and how they were able to fix it.


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