Receiving a screen of death is not a pleasant experience at all and most users would agree that they would very much like not to face one during their work with the computer. Sadly PC is not a perfect machine and it is not working in a perfect environment so errors happen. The most famous and well-known death screen is blue which is also the most common one, my bet would be that there is not a user which has not been faced with this blue error screen. There is no simple explanation why these stop errors occur as several factors can be involved. However, it is known that the malfunctioning of hardware drivers or drivers that are installed by third-party software drive this unwanted change. But did you know that there is more colors for infamous death screens and not just blue one? Microsoft has coded different errors to different colors in the goal for the technical team to be aware right away of what type and kind of error they are dealing with. Color for screen errors are: Blue, Black, Pink, Brown, Yellow, Red, Orange, Green and White If you are interested in what color represents what keep reading.

BLUE

A stop error or exception error commonly called the blue screen of death (BSoD) or blue screen, is an error screen displayed on Windows computers following a fatal system error. It indicates a system crash, in which the operating system has reached a condition where it can no longer operate safely. This is caused by many different problems, such as a general hardware failure or a crucial process terminating unexpectedly.

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BLACK

On Windows 10 systems, a Black Screen of Death can be caused by an unfinished Windows Update. To resolve this problem, simply hold the power button down on your PC or laptop to switch off the computer. A cold start should result in the system booting properly.

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PINK

It is a diagnostic screen with a white type on a pink background. Pink Screen is mainly seen when the VMkernel of an ESX/ESXi host experiences a critical error, becomes inoperative, and terminates any virtual machines that are running. It is not fatal and generally considered more of a developer testing issue. When encountered, it can be fixed quickly by following the simple action of pressing and holding your computer’s power button to shut down the device.

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BROWN

The Microsoft Windows 10 Operating System Brown Screen of Death is an on-screen fatal error notification with bug check codes which is seen when a computer crashes due to graphics hardware or software-related problems (failing graphics drivers).

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YELLOW

It affects the functioning of a browser, particularly Mozilla Firefox. The Yellow Screen of Death makes the appearance with a weird buzzing sound in the background when the XML parser refuses to process an XML document causing a parsing error and a weird buzzing sound. The issue persists unless the computer is manually rebooted.

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RED

Commonly the Windows 10 red screen is caused due to the hardware error, particularly if you overclock your Windows PC/laptop. Despite this, sometimes the red screen of death is also caused by outdated or incompatible drivers or due to BIOS issues.

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ORANGE

The Orange Screen of Death on Windows occurs due to fatal hardware errors. Multiple reasons have been reported for the Orange Screen of Death. Some had this issue when watching a YouTube video, some were not able to boot into Windows. It can even occur when waking up from Sleep.

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GREEN

The green screen of death only appears when you're running an Insider Preview version of Windows 10. It's the same as the blue screen of death, and it will show the same error messages. ... If you see a green screen of death (GSOD) on your PC, that's a sign you're using an Insider Preview build of Windows 10.

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WHITE

The White Screen on Windows is also an error where the screen of the computer just turns white and freezes. There can be several things that can cause the white screen to appear on the Windows laptop monitor. But the main issue could be because of malfunctioning of the graphics hardware.

FLoC is Google’s alternative to third-party cookies and is based on machine learning. This will allow the browser, any browser, to anonymously study how users are browsing and then group them into ‘cohorts’. Following this, you will be served ads based on your cohort and not on your individual data. So, you are still going to be targeted with ads but in a more anonymous manner. Google claims that this will improve user privacy since this “federated learning” happens on the user’s device and artificial intelligence-based learning involves sharing lesser users than what happens with third-party cookies. If something like this gets widely adopted by ad companies and services, it should “protect users” from tracking methods that are more intrusive than third-party cookies, like browser fingerprinting.

Who is against it?

Privacy-focused browsers DuckDuckGo, Brave, and Vivaldi have all warned users against FLoC and have said that they are going to block it on their end. Brave says that Google FLoC has a design that does not respect the customer’s privacy and consent. It has been designed to provide browsing behavior and interest data with any website that users may interact with, and this process does not involve fully informed consent. Vivaldi, another popular Chromium-based web browser, has also made its stance clear regarding the status of FLoC. The company said in a Reddit thread that the FLoC experiment does not work in Vivaldi. It happens because for FLoC to work, some features need to be enabled under the hood, but Vivaldi does not provide those options. The company also added that it plans to stop the entire FLoC component from being a part of the browser, regardless of how Google may implement it. Considering that Brave and Vivaldi have been privacy-focused browsers since their beginnings, the decision to stay away from FLoC is not surprising.

KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED – What is it?

Some users installing or upgrading to Windows 10 experienced the theKMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED Blue Screen of Death (or commonly known as BSOD) error. This error can be due to different types of things, ranging from software to driver issues. When you experience this BSOD error while trying to install Windows 10, it will prompt you to restart your computer every single time you experience it. In most cases, you will also not be able to proceed with the Windows 10 set-up.

Solution

Error Causes

The “KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED” error is normally caused by:

• Hardware incompatibility
• A faulty device driver or system service

Further Information and Manual Repair

You won’t be able to successfully upgrade or set up Windows 10 if you continue to encounter this BSOD error. Note that this error will always prompt your computer to restart every time it happens, preventing you from completing the Windows 10 set-up.

If you’re not tech-savvy or not capable of debugging this issue, it’s highly advisable to proceed with the basic troubleshooting techniques available in this link.

After troubleshooting, below you’ll find a few solutions to rectify the issue.

Method 1 – Check The Cause of The BSOD Error

Two common causes of the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED issue are hardware incompatibility and faulty device driver or system service.

If you experience this error, check first if any of your newly installed hardware is compatible with Windows 10. You can find the required hardware for Windows 10 from this link. 

If all your hardware is compatible with Windows 10, you might need to check the device driver or system service. Review the bug check message. If any of the drivers you have is listed in the message, either disable or uninstall them before upgrading or setting up Windows 10.

You might also find it useful to check the System Log available in the Event Viewer for other error messages that can help you figure out the driver or device that’s causing the error. Running hardware diagnostics can also be useful.

Method 2 – Disable (or preferably uninstall) Software Before Upgrading

If you’re upgrading Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you might need to disable or uninstall the software first. First, try uninstalling your Antivirus utility before starting the upgrade. Restart a few times before starting the Windows 10 installation. If you’re upgrading using the Windows 10 update, make sure that you disconnect from your Wi-Fi or Internet LAN (Ethernet) connection as soon as the download reaches 100% before attempting to start the set-up. Other users also reported that the cause of the KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED issue is BitDefender. If this is what happened in your case, it will show in the error message such as KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (bdselfpr.sys). Users reported that a common solution for this is renaming the file. In the case of BitDefender, try renaming it to bdselfpr.s__. However, make sure to do this cautiously. Sometimes, renaming a file will even do more damage than good.

Method 3 – Disable/Disconnect From Hardware

If you’re connected to any general USB devices (such a smart card reader), disable it. If your computer is connected to other external devices, disconnect all of them. Examples of this include gaming controllers, printers, external hard disk, USB keys, and other non-essential devices).

Method 4 – Other Troubleshooting Steps

Other troubleshooting steps include:

• Upgrade using an .ISO file, instead of directly upgrading from Windows Update. When you do this, make sure you’re disconnected from the Internet during installation. If the process started and you forgot to disconnected, it’s best to restart the installation.
• If you’re connected to a domain while trying to set up Windows 10, disconnect and use a local account.
• If you’re using a SCSI hard disk, connect a thumb drive with the drivers for your storage device. While Windows 10 is setting up, click on the Custom Advanced Option. Using the thumb drive, use the Load Driver command to load the SCSI drive.
• Another possible cause of this error is due to BIOS incompatibility. BIOS issues can be solved by upgrading your version of your system BIOS. If you don’t know how to do this, refer to your BIOS manufacturer’s website.

Method 5 – Use A Trusted Automated Tool

If you still experience the error after doing the methods above, you might want to try a powerful and trusted automated tool to fix the job.

As you know, the Windows Firewall is designed not just to protect your computer from viruses and malware, and other security threats but it’s also designed to block any program from accessing the internet. Users are given the option to block both inbound and outbound traffic for any apps on their computers. However, this kind of option can often lead to not being able to access the internet. In such cases, when you try to run the Windows Firewall Troubleshooter or the Windows Network Diagnostic troubleshooter, it will throw an error message that says, “Windows Firewall is preventing connections to your computer. The Windows Firewall rule HSS DNS Leak Rule may be blocking your connection”. If you are in this kind of scenario, then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you on how exactly you can fix this error. When you encounter this kind of error, there are several options you can check out to fix it. You can try to allow an app or feature through the Windows Firewall or uncheck the HSS DNS leak rule in both private and public. For more details, refer to the suggestions provided below.

Option 1 – Try to allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall

The first thing you can do to get rid of the error is to allow a feature or app through the Windows Firewall. To do this, follow these steps:

• Open the Windows Defender Security Center.
• From there, select the Firewall and Network Protection option.
• Next, click on the “Allow an app through firewall” option and then click on the “Change Settings” button and make sure that you have administrative privileges.
• After that, select the app or feature you want to allow through the Firewall from the menu. You also have the option to manually add the app by using the “Add an App” option.
• Then select the between the type of network an app can access such as:
  • Private Network will allow the app to connect to the internet only at home or work.
  • Public Network will allow the app to connect to the internet from anywhere, including Public WiFi hotspots.

• Once done, restart your computer and see if it fixed the error or not.

Option 2 – Try to uncheck the HSS DNS leak rule in both private and public

The next thing you can do to fix the error is to uncheck the HSS DNS leak rule in both private and public. You can do this by following these steps:

• Open the Windows Defender Security Center.
• From there, select the Firewall and Network Protection option.
• After that, click on the “Allow an app through firewall” option and then click on the “Change Settings” button and make sure that you have administrative privileges.
• Next, scroll down until you see the HSS DNS leak rule in both private and public option and then uncheck it.
• Now restart your computer and check if the error is now gone.

Microsoft is trying to make Windows into a personalized OS, more and more features and parts can be customized to user liking. From larger things to smaller ones nowadays you can almost personalize every detail of Windows itself. In this article, we will tackle how to bring back the names of running applications on the taskbar. Placing names beside icons on the taskbar is a pretty simple and straightforward task easily done. First, right-click the Taskbar and select Taskbar settings. In Taskbar settings, click the menu labeled Combine taskbar buttons. Select Never. That's it, now all of your running applications have a name beside them. If you change your mind, you can always undo it by selecting Always hide labels in the Combine taskbar buttons menu.

Special folders like music, pictures, download, videos, etc, can be placed as shortcuts in the start menu inside Windows 11 for easy access. Shortcuts will appear in the start menu on the bottom as simple glyphs. They are not present in the start menu by default so it needs to be turned ON first. If you want to place these icons in your Star menu follow this step-by-step guide and you will have them in no time.

1. Open Windows settings
2. In settings go to Personalization > Start
3. In Start click on Folders
4. On the given list of Settings, File Explorer, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Network, and Personal folder click on the switch beside them if you want them as shortcuts in the Start menu. You can choose whichever you want.
5. Close settings

You can revisit the settings menu to add more icons or remove some of them later if you wish so.

We’ve already covered disabling Security Questions If you want to disable Security Questions on your Windows 10 computer then you’ve come to the right place as this post will guide you in doing exactly that. In this post, you will be disabling Security Questions using a PowerShell script. This PowerShell script is called “Update-AllUsersQA”. It is designed to remove or disable the security questions and answers for local users on a Windows 10 computer. It lets administrators take control of the security questions in the environment and at the same time minimizes the risk that comes with them. If a user has a Microsoft account that’s configured to sign in to Windows 10 then he will not probably notice the Password Recovery questions. On the other hand, if he has a chosen local account for installing Windows, he will e prompted to create three security questions that can be used to reset the password and log into the Windows 10 account in case there is any misfortune. However, if you do not have much use for these Security Questions, then you can definitely have them disabled using a simple PowerShell script which you can download from GitHub. For more details on how to disable security questions in a Windows 10 machine, refer to the steps provided below. Step 1: You need to first download the .ps1 file from the GitHub repository. Step 2: Once you’ve downloaded the file, open the PowerShell window with admin privileges. Step 3: After that, navigate to the folder where you had saved the .ps1 file. Then copy the address of the folder location. Step 4: Next, change the directory by using the following command:

cd "folder location address"

Step 5: After that, enter the following script to disable the security questions:

Update-AllUsersQA

Once you’ve completed the steps above, the Security Questions should be disabled and you will be notified with a message stating that the feature has been disabled. On the other hand, if you have a change of heart and you want to enable the Security Questions back, here are some steps you need to take: Step 1: First, open the PowerShell window as admin. Step 2: Next, run the same script with one more parameter such as:

Update-AllUsersQA -answer SecretAnswer

Step 3: And that’s about it. Do not forget to replace the Secret Answer with your preferred one and once you’re done, it will be set as the answer for all the Security Questions. Step 4: Now all that’s left to do is go to the Settings app to change the answer to the questions and you should be good to go.

Besides Star Trek, Star Wars was one of my favorite movie franchises, as a kid, it was the first movie I have seen in Theatre and over the years I have rewatched and reached each entry in the franchise. It has significantly grown over the years, sometimes for worse, sometimes for better but what it always did is explored and expanded lore, characters and brought stories interesting and original enough. The Series has always been original and innovative enough with interesting characters and locations and it managed to capture the imagination of many viewers around the globe. If you or someone else is watching the franchise for the first time it is recommended actually to watch everything how it was released because of some information that is spoiled in prequels that could spoil some interesting revelations later. But if you have already watched everything and would like to follow the story from the beginning to end we are presenting you with the list of all TV series and movies in tar Wars canon in their chronological order so you can enjoy some good character developments and see the whole story unfold how it was meant to be. In the following list, as told, we are including TV series (both released and currently in production) in the Star Wars canon.

Chronological order of Star Wars franchise:

Star Wars: The Acolyte Acolyte is upcoming TV series exploring times in the old republic and the rise of the dark side within Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace The first movie entry in the franchise introducing some key characters who will go through various adventures yet to come Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Continuation of story and deepening of the plot laid out in the previous movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated TV series exploring war in more detail, set in the period between episodes 2 and 3, before series there is clone wars full length animated movie titles simply as Star wars clone wars serving as a pilot to series. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Last movie in so-called prequel trilogy finishing some stories and finalizing some character arcs Star Wars: The Bad Batch Upcoming animated series Bad batch will focus on few troopers find their way in changing the galaxy Solo: A Star Wars Story Story of everyone loved Han Solo character, this origin story will introduce you to some key characters in the later entry of series Obi-Wan Kenobi Upcoming series that will focus on everyone's favorite JEDI master Obi-Wan Star Wars Rebels Animated series exploring first sparks of forming rebel alliance against dreaded empire Andor Upcoming series set five years before the events of Rogue One, the series follows rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion. Star Wars Rogue One Full feature movie setting up events for episode 4 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope First Star Wars movie, little outdated today with special effects but with a strong story and introducing some new characters which will become main icons of franchise Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Arguably the best movie in the whole series, leaning more to serious note and darker than previous entries. Besides Episode 3 this is the most serious and dark movie of the series. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Last movie entry in the so-called original trilogy, finishing some stories and wrapping up one era. Star Wars The Mandalorian Set after episode 6 show focuses on a Mandalorian bounty hunter character following his adventures in the galaxy. The Book of Boba Fett Upcoming Mandalorian spin-off TV series focusing on Bobba Fet, one of most loved bounty hunter characters in the Star Wars universe Ahsoka Star Wars: Ahsoka is an upcoming live-action television limited series exploring the character of Ashoka Tano first seen in Clone Wars Rangers of the New Republic Set within the timeline of The Mandalorian, Rangers of the New Republic is a new upcoming live-action series. Star Wars: Resistance Animated series exploring resistance against first-order setting up events to be followed in the newest trilogy of movies. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens First full feature movie set in the post-empire era introducing new characters and bringing back some fan favorites. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi The second movie in the last order trilogy, continuing stories of previously establishes characters Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Last entry in new order trilogy of movies, finishing some open stories and concluding arcs for characters previously introduced in Force Awakens. That's it, chronological order of canon TV shows and movies of the Star Wars franchise. We are sure there will be more movies and shows in the future and someday we will revisit this list to include them as well. Until then, may the force be with you. If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.

Device drivers are needed in order for the hardware and software to communicate in an operating system. Some of these drivers are digitally signed. These kinds of drivers are drivers that are signed by their issuing authority in a way that the end-user or any third party won’t be able to modify them. And there are times when you encounter an error that says, “Windows requires a digitally signed driver” when you try to install or update device drivers. Driver Signing is the process of associating a digital signature with a driver package. Digital signatures are used in Windows device installations to verify the identity of the vendor providing the driver packages as well as to verify the integrity of the driver packages. All the drivers you usually install on your PC from Windows Update, Original Equipment Manufacturers, or some other third-party driver download software and so on must be verified digitally by Microsoft through the digital signature. A digital signature is an electronic security mark that verifies the publisher for the driver and all the relevant information related to it. That’s why Windows won’t run a driver if it isn’t certified by Microsoft, be it a 32-bit or 64-bit system – this is called the Driver Signature Enforcement. The only Kernel-mode drivers that Windows 10 will load are the ones that are digitally signed by the Dev Portal. However, the changes only affect the new installations of the operating system with Secure Boot on while the non-upgraded fresh installations would require drivers that are signed by Microsoft. The “Windows requires a digitally signed driver” error indicates that the driver you are trying to update or install hasn’t been signed digitally by the issuing authority, preventing you from installing or updating it. To resolve this issue, you can try to update the drivers directly from the manufacturer’s site. You could also disable driver signing via Group Policy Editor.

Option 1 – Update the device drivers directly from the manufacturer’s site

The reason why you’re getting the “Windows requires a digitally signed driver” error in the first place is that you might have downloaded the drivers from external media. It could also be that the drivers didn’t update for some time now and the issuing authority changed its policies. Thus, you can try to update the drivers straight from the manufacturer’s website and install them. If this option didn’t work, then you’ll have to disable the driver signing or its recognition in Windows 10. Keep in mind that doing so is not advisable if you have to use the concerned driver.

Option 2 – Disable driver signing via Group Policy Editor

• Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run utility and type “gpedit.msc” in the field and tap Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
• After that, navigate to this policy setting: User configuration > Administrative templates > System > Driver installation
• Next, double click on the “Code signing for device drivers” entry located on the right pane to open its properties where you’ll see the following description:

“This setting determines how the system responds when a user tries to install device driver files that are not digitally signed. It establishes the least secure response permitted on the systems of users in the group. Users can use the System in Control Panel to select a more secure setting, but when this setting is enabled, the system does not implement any setting less secure than the one the setting established. When you enable this setting, use the drop-down box to specify the desired response. “Ignore” directs the system to proceed with the installation even if it includes unsigned files. “Warn” notifies the user that files are not digitally signed and lets the user decide whether to stop or to proceed with the installation and whether to permit unsigned files to be installed. “Warn” is the default. “Block” directs the system to refuse to install unsigned files. As a result, the installation stops, and none of the files in the driver package are installed. To change driver file security without specifying a setting, use System in Control Panel. Right-click My Computer, click Properties, click the Hardware tab, and then click the Driver Signing button.”

• Now select the radio button for “Enabled” and select Ignore from the drop-down menu under “When Windows detects a driver file without a digital signature”.
• Then click on the Apply and OK buttons to save the changes made. This will get rid of the “Windows requires a digitally signed driver” error but take note that this will also make your system less secure.

Black Screen During Installation - What Is It?

Many are upgrading their OS to Windows 10, however, it’s not always smooth sailing because users have been reportedly experiencing different bugs including Black Screen after a successful update.

One common issue in installing Windows 10 is the appearance of a black screen after installation. This usually occurs when the user restarts the computer. Initially, there will be a black screen only appearing on the monitor. There are also cases where a mouse cursor is present, while some cases have no cursor at all.

Not only that, it seemed that you’ve lost all your desktop icons when experiencing this bug.

Solution

Error Causes

Just like the other bugs experienced by Windows 10 users, booting to a black screen has reasons. Before you even try to look for the solution, you first have to determine the cause of the error, in this case, the error would be black screen when booting.

• Error on external devices such as printer or mouse.
• Having outdated display/video drivers that normally result in black screen when OS is updated.

If error messages are left unsolved, you may encounter other Windows 10 related issues such as error code 0xc0000142. 

Further Information and Manual Repair

Before you even think of upgrading your OS to Windows 10, you need to know that there are specific system requirements and specifications to be able to successfully update your operating system.

• Minimum of 1 gigahertz (GHz) Processor
• Either 1 (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Ram
• You need at least 16 GB of free hard disk space
• A Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or later with WDDM 1.0 driver graphics card
• 800 x 600 display
• A Microsoft account and Internet access.

There are more system requirements in order to use other certain Windows 10 features, but we’ll focus on solving your black screen problem in this article.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While it’s possible that you’ll be able to find the solution for your black screen during Windows 10 update, contacting the service of a professional technician or using an automated tool is advisable if you’re not confident in performing the methods to be discussed.

Method 1: Windows 10 DVD Boot

1. Hit Repair your computer at the Install Now screen.
2. Press Advanced Options
3. When you’re in the Advanced Options find Troubleshoot and click it.
4. Proceed to pressing Startup Repair
5. Simply follow the instructions of the screen and check if that helps solve the black screen problem.

Method 2: Safe Mode from Windows 10 DVD Boot

1. Go to Install Now screen
2. Hit Repair your computer button
3. Go to Advanced Options
4. Click Safe Mode option

There’s a chance that you’ll get an error prompt saying, “installation cannot be completed in safe mode.” If this happens, simply press Shift + F10. This command will redirect you to the Command Prompt. You just open Device Manager by keying in devmgmt.msc then disable the display adapters, now check if you’ll be able to successfully boot in normal mode.

This process will normally allow you to complete the Windows 10 installation, if that’s the case you can just update the display adapter drivers from the manufacturer’s website. Restart your computer and see if this solves the problem.

Method 3: Driver Roll Back

1. Hit Windows Key + X then press the Device Manager
2. Expand the Display Adapters option
3. Right-click the listed Display Adapter and press on properties
4. Find the Driver Tab and click on it, then press Roll Back Driver

Do take note, however, that the Roll Back Driver option is not available if there was no previous version installed.

Method 4: Check External Devices

Since one common cause of black screen during a Windows 10 update is the external devices you use in your computer, you might want to consider these steps as well.

1. Simply unplug all of the external devices you currently use
2. Restart your computer
3. If in case this solved your black screen problem, carefully plug back the devices one at a time to determine which of the device is the culprit.
4. Update the drivers for the outdated hardware using a reliable third party tool.

Method 5: Fast Startup Disabled

Some Windows 10 users had success in solving their black screen problem by disabling the fast startup.

1. Go to the Control Panel, find Power Options and press “Choose what the power button does,” which is located in the left pane of the panel.
2. Hit the “Change settings that are currently unavailable.”
3. Make sure to unmark the checkbox button saying, “Turn on fast startup.”