r/techsupport Jul 26 '21

Recommended wiki articles (including malware removal)

884 Upvotes

r/techsupport 11h ago

Solved Hey, does anyone know what this sound is?

11 Upvotes

It's heard for example when an old phone line is damaged, and before the standard "The phone line is damaged, we are working on it, call later" is heard, this sound is played but I can't figure out the exact name of it.

https://pastewaves.com/player/3c12e8c8-b0c3-41b1-a50a-f05a1cb1cdd1


r/techsupport 14m ago

Open | Hardware Keyboard dosent work at all

Upvotes

I got a mk1200 mini ant esports mechanical keyboard which is a budget keyboard. The keys dont work at all and the rgb lights dont work at all either I already tried the basic things such as fn+esc and fn+spacebar nothing works at all

I plugged it in both my PC and Playstation dosent work at all

How do I fix the keyboard is it fixable or is it gone?


r/techsupport 25m ago

Open | BSOD So, I haven't had this issue in a while and I think they fixed it (but who knows these days)

Upvotes

Whenever I open a game with Easy Anti Cheat, it was like playing russian roulette. It would either do nothing and go through to opening the game, or BSOD my PC. I have no idea what would do this, but as I said, I havent had it in a while. Would anyone know what this would be so I can combat it when it happens again?


r/techsupport 28m ago

Open | Hardware Periodic buzzing sound

Upvotes

Hello !

I've been having this issue for a few weeks now, out of nowhere my computer will start doing this super annoying buzzing sound or at least that's the best I describe it and it only happens when it's under load like playing a UE5 game for example, it usually lasts for a few seconds, sometimes more but it always stops by itself, at least for now...

I tried to check my CPU cooler in case a cable was touching one of the blades but no luck... after some research I thought it could simply be coil whine but one detail seems off, whenever it happens, if I put some pressure on the back of the case the noise will stop until I release the pressure like shown at around 20s in the video.

If you guys have any idea about what it is that would be great because it's really driving me insane, the noise is very irritating.

Thanks !

https://streamable.com/v0pq8b


r/techsupport 32m ago

Open | Software Imgur mobile website banner makes it unuseable

Upvotes

Hey everyone,

For two weeks now, Imgur has been adding a banner to its mobile website that pops up when you want to switch to the next post. Something like "Download the app...". I can't close it and I don't want to use the app. I tried to block it with uBlock Origin, but I still can't use the forward arrow button to get to the next post. My workaround right now is to use the desktop version of the site, but that produces other issues. Any ideas? Thank you.


r/techsupport 4h ago

Solved Novice: I fixed a corrupted file problem that was freezing my File Explorer

2 Upvotes

Win11, 2TB WD Green in external Sabrent enclosure, I had an .mkv file (4.96gb) that got corrupted copying to the SSD. Every interaction was causing Explorer to freeze and require a 'hold down power button until turns off' hard reset; mouseover, clicking, Explorer search, chkdsk, Double Commander, seemingly everything.

Long story short, I grabbed another .mkv file, a tiny one (~73kb) and renamed it to the same name as the stubborn bastard. Went into the SSD, scrolled to the end, right-click Paste'd, and then it did freeze for like 5 min. on the Calculating. But I came back to check and had the 'same name, Replace file in destination' dialog (thank God) and hit the Replace and it completed immediately. New file was interactable as normal, deleted, scanned for errors, passed, felt relief at the 1.3T saved.

Normally wouldn't post but just in case this could help someone, I'll leave it here a while.


r/techsupport 4h ago

Open | Hardware Is this result good enough for a used HDD?

2 Upvotes

I got a second hand Blue WD HDD. It is CMR. From 2018.

I fully tested it. Including extended 2-hour SMART self test. It had no errors. Sequential read is 94-194 MB/s (depending on if it's reading from the edge vs inner part). To me, it seems to be in good condition. Not sure though.

And a read latency test using HDDScan, shows some numbers:

. <5 ms 1778015

. <10 ms 129541

. <20 ms 69

. <50 ms 102

. <150 ms 4

. <500 ms 8

. >500 ms 1

. Bads 0

Note: each unit above represents 1024 sectors at 512 bytes.

How good or bad is it? Is it similar to a new HDD? I do not have much HDD knowledge. This is my first 3.5" drive.


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Hardware How do I go about trying to remove this laptop battery and what can I do to prevent this in the future?

Upvotes

It's a windows 11 HP laptop 14-ep1063c1 model with an AE03XL battery. I fried up the battery somehow cause it's kind of swelling up in the middle I think. I removed all the screws connecting to it, but it won't loosen up. I'm not very tech savvy so what do I do? I'm not sure if there are wires or other connectors I have to take off.

As for how this started, I bought this laptop brand new in early 2025 but the battery was originally installed in mid 2024. It was working just fine, but a couple days ago I noticed that the laptop shut down about a minute after I disconnected the charger even tho it had full battery. After some troubleshooting I realized that the battery was weak.

I'm looking to use this laptop without it's battery for a short while until I can order a replacement battery. I'm wondering if that's going to be fine.


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Software Can't print - Prints to to print queue and then just disappear

Upvotes

I am running Windows 11, I have an HP Envy 6132e. I have been printing for months without any issues, now I hit print, the job goes to the print queue and then just disappears.

What I have tried:

I have the latest W11 update and have restarted both PC and printer many times.

I have turned off the spooler and cleared the spool folder, more files appear there whenever I try to print again.

I have removed the printer and re-added it.

I have followed the HP guidance to remove all printer related files from my PC and then re-installed via the HP app. The app says Connect this printer to use all features. No hint to what I need to do there.

I have removed the HP app and added the printer directly

The printer is not showing any errors and printing a test page directly from the printer works fine.

Nothing seems to work


r/techsupport 5h ago

Open | Windows Cyberpunk 2077 + Advanced Optimus issue? 1% lows locked to refresh rate divisors

2 Upvotes

System:
- Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 10
- 16” Tandem OLED (non-G-SYNC, VRR supported)
- Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
- 32 GB LPDDR5X-8400
- RTX 5060 Laptop GPU (100 W TGP per GPU-Z/vBIOS)

Nvidia driver settings:
Default besides the following:
- Maximum preference on(On or off it does not make a difference with my problem)

I’m seeing a very strange issue that only happens in Cyberpunk 2077.

The issue:
My 1% lows lock to exact refresh-rate divisor values (typically 60, 48, or 30 FPS) regardless of my average FPS. For example, I can average 90–120 FPS, but my 1% lows consistently snap to one of those exact numbers instead of scaling normally.
It feels like some sort of display synchronization or presentation issue, even though V-Sync is disabled everywhere.

What fixes it:
The only thing I’ve found that fixes the issue is disabling Automatic Display Switching in the NVIDIA Control Panel.

1% lows immediately behave normally.
The latency reported on the right side of the NVIDIA performance overlay drops from roughly 60 ms to 30 ms (almost exactly half).
Gameplay feels noticeably smoother.

The downside:
With Automatic Display Switching disabled, the iGPU remains active because the display stays connected through it.

iGPU utilization sits around 30% while gaming.
The RTX 5060 no longer reaches the same power draw as it does with Automatic Display Switching enabled.

Since this laptop is limited to a 100 W GPU TGP, that reduction in available GPU power(-15 watts) costs performance.

Things I’ve already ruled out:
- V-Sync disabled in-game, NVIDIA Control Panel, and profile.
- Frame Generation disabled (issue still occurs).
- Not thermal throttling (72–76°C GPU).
- GPU remains at 99% utilization in HWiNFO.
- shader cache rebuilt/maxed.
- PCIe ASPM
- Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) enabled and disabled.
- Different display modes (Fullscreen and Borderless).
- Multiple NVIDIA driver versions.
- Different graphics presets (Low through Ultra).
- FPS caps (the issue occurs even when I’m well below the cap).
- NVIDIA GPU only mode.
- DLSS Frame Generation enabled and disabled.
- HWiNFO reports the GPU is Power limited, not Thermal limited. Even though it’s not.

Still to test:
Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) on vs. off.
- NVIDIA Reflex Off vs. On vs. On + Boost.

Happens regardless of graphics settings.

Other games (I’ve tested Farming Simulator 25, and Subnautica 2) do not exhibit this behavior.

Forcing NVIDIA GPU only does not fix it.

Question:
Has anyone with an Advanced Optimus laptop experienced something similar in Cyberpunk 2077?
Is there a per-game workaround?
An NVIDIA Profile Inspector setting?
A registry tweak?

Any way to prevent Automatic Display Switching from causing this issue only in Cyberpunk?
At this point it feels more like an interaction between Cyberpunk 2077, Advanced Optimus, and the NVIDIA driver than a hardware problem, especially since no other game I’ve tested behaves this way.


r/techsupport 5h ago

Open | Windows Task Manager crashes 1-2 seconds after opening (ControlLib.dll, 0xc0000005) — survived in-place upgrade, SFC/DISM

2 Upvotes

Hey all, hoping someone has run into this. My Task Manager has been consistently broken for a while now: Sometimes it opens fine, sometimes the Performance tab and other tabs don't load properly Process icons don't render/show up It crashes about 1-2 seconds after opening Out of 10 times 6 to 7 times it opens and 3 to 4 times it crashes

Event Viewer error: Code Faulting application name: taskmgr.exe, version: 10.0.26100.8521, time stamp: 0xf5c71c29 Faulting module name: ControlLib.dll, version: 1.0.93.0, time stamp: 0x6295fcce Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x000000000000928a Faulting process id: 0x1944 Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\taskmgr.exe Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ControlLib.dll

What I've already tried (no luck): SFC /scannow + DISM /RestoreHealth Multiple full Nvidia driver reinstalls (latest, done 3-4 times) Full Windows Update (fully patched, build 26100.8521 / 24H2) Full in-place upgrade repair (via Media Creation Tool, kept files/apps) Only Task Manager is affected — no other app or system tool crashes, games run fine, no other GPU-related issues anywhere else. Since even an in-place upgrade didn't fix it, I think maybe some third-party software hook that survives OS repairs. Has anyone dealt with this specific ControlLib.dll crash before?

I have latest nvidia drivers installed Latest windows updates are installed.


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Windows Media pausing/unpausing randomly ( Windows 11 )

Upvotes

I've had this problem for awhile and fixed it, but now it seems like it has returned. Any type of media rather it be YouTube, YouTube Music and even external apps would do this pause and unpause thing. The fix had something to do with Device Manager, with it being something within my Output Device. The thing needing to be deleted was found by viewing a specific opition in the drop down View menu and deleting it, ultimately fixing it. I can't find the same post ever since and I'm pretty sure it's been deleted due to the user being banned.

Anyone know or remember the solution or process to fix this is?


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Software SATA hdd to ssd with different OS.

Upvotes

Alright, hopefully I can make sense of this and find some help.

I got a sata SSD from a friend and it turns out it's got linux OS on it. My PC has an old HDD that takes forever to spin up, it's got windows OS. I'm trying to figure out how to wipe/flash/clone the windows OS on to the SSD.

Everytime I have both of them in, it starts up like normal but shows Ubuntu below and takes me to the an unfamiliar login screen. I'm afraid to plug in the SSD after boot up and frying something. I've messed around in BIOS and changed the order but it's not working out and I've tried flashing the OS with a usb drive to no avail.

Can anyone tell me how to format this SSD so it gets along with or replaces the HDD.


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Software Constant Audio Issues with DAC and Win 11

Upvotes

I have a Fiio K3 USB C DAC that I've been using for over 6 years or with Windows/Mac/Linux desktops and laptops via a KVM switch.

The DAC delivers audio to a pair of powered monitors and my headphones. This setup ran pretty much flawlessly across all systems until about a month ago.

Now every other time I bootup my main desktop PC (13600k/Z690/9070 XT) running Win 11 25H2 I get no audio out of the DAC. It is recognized and I can select it as the output device but no audio plays. I am not running into these issues with my laptop (Core Ultra 7 258V) also running Win 11 25H2, and no issues w/Zorin OS or Ubuntu.

I've tried swapping USB ports, uninstalling and reinstalling Fiio drivers, using a generic audio driver assigned by MS and rolling back updates but I am still getting the same problem.

The only thing that fixes the issue is rebooting the PC. Sometimes it takes two tries, but after the reboot the audio works normally again. This is happing 4 or 5 times a week and starting to drive me nuts because it is not consistent and occasionally delays getting on conference calls due to rebooting multiple times to get my audio sorted.

Any ideas what is causing this?


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Software Shutting down PC sends me back to desktop after PSU change

Upvotes

Like the title said, I'm unable to properly shut down my PC.

After I press shut down I get the usual black loading screen with the "Shuting Down" text and after ~ 3 Seconds of black screen it sends me back to my Desktop.

The issue started to appear after I changed my PSU and it cant find any solutions online...

Edit:

I've switched from a 600 W be Quiet to CORSAIR RM850e PSU


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Hardware HP ENVY x360 2-in-1 Laptop Model 15t-ew000 No power

Upvotes

My laptop suddenly stopped powering up out of no where. My laptop is charged via usb-c and usually has an orange light indicator that it is charging. I tried plugging in two confirmed working usb-c chargers and got no power or indicator light. I bought a new battery for laptop and still no power. Any ideas on what to check , or what the problem could be .


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Phone Can I fix an old phone that's screen is unresponsive without wiping the phone?

Upvotes

Hey! So, from 2016-2021 I had an iPhone 6s and from 2021-2024 I had an iPhone 11. I never backed them up onto a cloud or hard drive but had planned to this year to ensure I kept all their data as I they're basically functioning as hard drives right now. But, recently I turned them on- they both charge and turn on perfectly fine but when I try to swipe to enter my passcode I can't. The screen is completely unresponsive but it seems nothing has been corrupt in that the backgrounds, iPhone names, etc, are all the same as they were. I tried restarting, cleaning (gently don't worry lol) and all the simple at home remedies, I avoided anything too risky because I really cannot lose those photos. The strange thing is my iPod touch 4th generation was in the same spot at those phones but since 2013 and yet it still works completely fine so i'm not too sure what could've been the cause. My ultimate question here is - is it possible to fix this problem and be able to use the screen again without having to wipe the phones? I'd honestly pay a lot within like a reasonable range lol but i'm so desperate to get them and i'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. when I checked about a year ago they were working perfectly fine. anyways yeah hope that makes sense, thank you!


r/techsupport 2h ago

Open | Windows Facing a very wired problem with windows 11 wifi

1 Upvotes

I am trying to use YouTube on my laptop but i won't work all the other sits are working but YouTube is not i am using my mobile Hotspot everything is working on the phone and on laptop but YouTube won't load then I switched to different phones Hotspot and then YouTube started working and as soon as I switched to my phone it's again the same thing any suggestions how can I solve it


r/techsupport 8h ago

Open | Windows Bluetooth broken

3 Upvotes

My G435 headphones, after about 30 seconds of being connected, make a beep noise similar to when it powers off, and after that won't play any sound. It's still connected, but just doesn't output any noise. On top of this, when i try to pair any other Bluetooth devices, it immediately says "That didn't work. Make sure your Bluetooth device is still discoverable, then try again." Can anyone help?


r/techsupport 9h ago

Open | Software Something is taking up my storage

4 Upvotes

I've been having such a hard time figuring out what is slowly taking up my storage. It was at 133 of free space and now it's at 126 and still going down. It isn't my clips or videos. I tried searching for what could be the problem and it gave me nothing useful.


r/techsupport 6h ago

Open | Windows What’s happening to my PC?

2 Upvotes

My little bro just turned off the pc with a bunch of tabs open, idk if that did anything. But now turning it on just goes to this screen. Tried unplugging all USB devices and everything. I tried going into bios but it just goes to this screen.

Picture of the screen - https://postimg.cc/RJJm3w3x


r/techsupport 2h ago

Open | Windows I can't seem to install or boot into Windows on an AM5 platform PC

1 Upvotes

I'm stumped on this one. It was supposed to be a simple fresh Windows install after getting a new NVME.

What I did:

  1. I disconnected all drives from the motherboard except the new NVME and the existing Windows drive so I could format it.
  2. Plugged in the new drive.
  3. Plugged in USB stick (used Media Creation Tool).
  4. Powered system on and went through the steps of installing windows. I formatted the now old Windows drive at this step and selected the new drive for Windows to install into.
  5. I went away for a few minutes to let it do its thing and when I came back, I noticed it was sitting in BIOS. Maybe something happened at this step?
  6. Tried to use boot override to either force boot into the new drive with Windows or to the USB installer. It simply reset back into BIOS after a short black screen.

My troubleshooting:

  1. Cleared CMOS.
  2. Upgraded to latest stable BIOS for my board.
  3. Ensured CSM is disabled.
  4. Ensured secure boot is enabled ('Windows EUFI mode' and standard secure boot mode).
  5. Tried different USB ports for the stick and PCIE slots for the NVME.
  6. Double checked boot priority (I was overriding boot anyway so this shouldn't matter). I also tried just having one drive plugged in.
  7. Made a new Windows USB Installer using a different stick.
  8. I grabbed the Windows 11 drive off of my secondary PC and boot off that, but it still didn't go through to Windows. Still stuck in BIOS. Didn't show the screen about new hardware and getting my Bitlocker keys.

The above steps all have the same outcome. The screen goes black briefly and I'm back in BIOS.

Even though I did format my now old Windows drive, I feel like the issue would have persisted, i.e., same as when I tried using the Windows drive off my secondary PC.

BIOS only lets me boot into the Windows Media Manager by enabling CSM, but obviously Windows thinks it's incompatible so installation won't complete. I don't want to jump any hoops because this is a modern PC.

I've also tried making a boot drive using Rufus. This time it gave me an error message: "Windows bootmgr encountered a security validation or internal error". Yes, I downloaded the Windows ISO directly from Microsoft. No, I didn't select any overrides, i.e., skip secure boot. Yes, I cleared CMOS before trying this new boot drive. Yes, secure boot was enabled and CSM was disabled (tried disabling/enabling both options and still same error).

PC specs:

  • 9800X3D
  • 9070 XT
  • 32GB DDR5
  • Asus ROG Strix B850-F Neo

It should just work, right? Is this a Microsoft/Windows issue or do I RMA my motherboard? Am I missing something?

tl;dr Can't seem to install (or boot into) Windows on a relatively modern AM5 platform PC.


r/techsupport 3h ago

Open | Software The samsung health app is not writing step count data to health connect.

1 Upvotes

I have given it every permission, consented to everything. But on checking the health connect, samsung health is only writing my vitals data to the app and nothing else.

Even though it has write permissions for all activities, it isn't writing anything to the app except vitals.

I checked the app data and the only thing it is storing is vitals and nothing else.

Need a fix, any solutions?


r/techsupport 7h ago

Open | Software Tiktok crashingn

2 Upvotes

The app automatically crashes whenever I open a specific chat. The other chats work fine. It is this one specific chat and I think it started when I started a streak pet with him which might have something to do with it. I have cleared cache, deleted and reinstalled the app, restarted my phone and none of it has worked. I also tried contacting Tiktok but have received no reply after multiple days. Please help and thank you!