Took my PC to a shop after months of random crashes/BSODs. They diagnosed my boot SSD (Crucial MX500 500GB) as the cause - health/wear indicator at 81%, so it's worn through ~19% of its write-cycle life. They quoted me ~250 euros (~270 USD) to replace it and migrate everything over.

I can handle the physical install fine, but I've never cloned a full OS drive before. Old drive has occasional CRC errors but SMART is otherwise clean (no reallocated/pending sectors).

Is this realistic to DIY? How risky/difficult is it, and what cloning software would you recommend given the CRC errors?

Hey guys, I'm having a really weird issue with my Logitech G Pro keyboard and I'm honestly running out of ideas ¯_(ツ)_/¯

For some reason, my keyboard suddenly stopped working when I plug it directly into my PC's USB ports. No lights, no Windows connection sound, nothing. It doesn't even work in BIOS.

But here's the weird part: if I plug it into a USB hub and then plug that hub into the exact same USB port on my motherboard, it works perfectly.

The keyboard also works fine on other laptops and other keyboards work normally on my PC.

My specs:

• Gigabyte B550M K Rev 1.0
• Ryzen 7 5700X
• Windows 11 Pro
• Logitech G Pro wired keyboard
• RX 9070 16GB

I've already tried pretty much everything I could think of:

• Different USB ports and cables
• Updating the BIOS (F7 to F8c)
• Updating AMD chipset drivers
• Reinstalling USB drivers
• Disabling USB power saving
• Checking for Logitech firmware updates
• Resetting the PC's power by unplugging it
• DISM and SFC repairs

Nothing worked.

The keyboard shows up normally in Device Manager when connected through the hub, but when I connect it directly Windows doesn't even detect that something was plugged in.

I'm starting to think there's some weird USB compatibility or power issue between the keyboard and motherboard, but idk, it was warking normal for the last 5 months, it stopped when I turned the PC on this morning

Has anyone experienced something similar? Is there anything else I could try before just giving up and using the USB hub forever? ಠ_ಠ

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!!!

I'm not sure if this is hardware or software sorry!

For context, I'm not somebody who closes my tabs and i have been letting my computer sleep without fully shutting it off once in a while. Then one day it was restarting for a long period of time. I thought it would be smart to turn the outlet off and then on again to maybe speed things up. bad idea. because now my computer has been in an automatic repair.. which i could've searched up how to do it back then because this was in July. it is currently October.

i had originally reached the blue screen but i didn't think to mess around with it. i then eventually gave up. a month ago in September i decided i wanted to try the other PC boxes in my family's home to see if they work and the only one that works is from probably before the 2000s due to the format.

i have a blue tooth keyboard btw. i ended up unplugging that which leads to my problem. i'm not able to connect it back to the original PC box. I've tried using other keyboards and there is this one that lights up when i plug it in but no key combinations are working. turning it off and on 4 times doesn't get me the blue screen either. if there is a tech person that'd be willing to help me solve my problem i would greatly appreciate it!

ill do my best to provide info if needed!

Hi, so recently I was working on my university notes for an upcoming exam, and I was just about finishing up the first draft. Unfortunately I had not saved the document yet and while I was working on the notes doing this I decided to create a second new Word file for something else. When I do this on Windows it’s fine it’ll just have two unsaved documents, Document1 and Document2. However, for some reason when I did this on my iMac it closed Document1 and just opened a new Document2, so now I am desperately trying to recover my Document1.

I’ve managed to locate an ‘AutoRecovery save of Document1’ file, but I am unable to open it with Word it seems. Does anyone know how I can successfully recover this file?

Thank you!

Hi all. As the title says I'm connected to my home network on my phone (Android, Pixel 7 Pro) via WIFI, and can access the internet fine. However, if I try to access any local IP addresses - my router, Pihole, or my NAS - the page doesn't load and I get an "unable to connect" error on Firefox or "this site can't be reached" on chrome. I can, however, access my Home Assistant and Plex setups through their respective apps on the phone. On my hardwired PC, and on my iPad Pro on WiFi, everything loads instantly.

What I have tried:

• Confirmed for sure I haven't made a typo in the IP addresses - copied the gateway IP address directly from the WiFi connection page.
• Using multiple browsers (Firefox and Chrome)
• Power cycling the router
• Removing custom DNS settings from the WiFi connection on the phone
• Forgetting and readding the WiFi network on the phone
• Tried to connect through Tailscale - the same issue

Any ideas?

’m trying to figure out whether I need a paid antivirus like McAfee or if Windows Security is enough for my setup. I mainly use my PC for browsing, streaming, online shopping, and logging into personal accounts. I don’t do anything particularly technical, but I still want to avoid malware and phishing sites. My main concerns are whether McAfee offers meaningful extra protection, how much it affects system performance, and whether the extra features are worth paying for. For those familiar with Windows security, is there a good reason to install a third-party antivirus for this kind of usage? Would you stick with Windows Security or consider something like McAfee?

the wifi is suddenly very very slow (0.38Mbps download speed) i have tried everything and it still doesn't work. it's only slow on my pc, when connecting to the same wifi on my phone it's fine. It's also only slow on 5ghz when connecting to the same wifi but the 2.4g version it's fine. I use a vention ac600 usb dongle. I can't connect to a ethernet because i am in an apartment, I can also not open the router settings nor restart the modem as the outlet is on the ceiling and i cant reach it

edit: the room beside me also has the same problem so I don't think my hardware is the problem

edit2: managed to fix it by restarting the modem, thanks everyone!!

I am building a basement bar and want to have 7 TVs and a way to control all of them to play individual content on all or have some mirror each other. I figured the best way would be to run hdmi from each oneto a windows pc and use that as the controller. What type of hardware/software would I need to achieve something like that with a somewhat smooth interface for choosing what is playing on each display?

So basically I downloaded a series and moved it to the WDB 1TB (D:) location as I had run out of space on my regular downloads. It didn't end up playing the series so I'm going to delete it and now its saying I need administrator privileges, which I already have. Under my account name it says administrator but its not letting me delete the file. Sorry if its confusing, I'm not really a tech person so I don't know how to word it.

Good evening

I bought a new laptop today. I wanted it for light gaming and for viewing content. I bought a Acer Swift Go 16 AI. 16gbs of RAM, 512gbs of storage, intel core ultra 5 series 3, and I am having issues with this unit.

The first thing I did after the initial setup is I reinstalled windows to get rid of all the bloatware. I noticed that my laptop was very laggy even doing the most simplest task like opening web pages, it would constantly freeze a lot, sometimes my screen would just turn off but my laptop is still on. I can’t even play simple games without it crashing. Even when I browsed the web for drivers my laptop couldn’t handle it.

Could this be a hardware problem? I’ve reinstalled windows on other machines before and never had any issues this is the first time it does this for me.

Any help would be appreciated.

I did update the bios as well

Around September, I started playing Dota and 30-60 seconds after I close the game I'd get the "Your Device Ran Into a Problem and Needs to Restart. Hypervisor Error 0x200001". Not every time, could be a few times in a row, than missing for a few days and etc. I tried some diagnosing myself, but I don't know much about this, as far as I figured it out GoogleHaxm (something that was connected with Google Play Games that I installed) was the culprit. I deleted Google Play Games, made sure that GoogleHaxm was no longer on the laptop and it was fine for about a month. On October 15th I saw Windows Update and did it, after the it restarted it immediately gave that error again, now not connected to Dota at all. And on yesterday (October 22) I had the same BSOD again after closing Dota, I started diagnosing again (turned out there was another one on October 19 that I didn't notice probably because I left after closing the game?) but this time to no use. I have some files saved if those would help.

Let me know if anyone has knowledge about this issue, I can provide any information I have (I tried putting the Google Drive links here but turns out they're not allowed). I'm just extremely worried right now because it's a really expensive laptop. Please help

I do a lot of dictating at my Desktop. Been using Windows 11 Voice to text with offline mode (local processing). It sucks.

I’ll try online mode w/ cloud processing.

What software/provider do you guys recommend?

Thanks!

Mods — please leave this up as I think it’s relevant for users. Or, recommend a better place to ask. Thanks!

Hello, i've had my pc for about two and a half years now and very recently (for about a week) my pc has been stuttering occassionally and has been freezing for 1-4 seconds and sometimes it happens every few seconds and sometimes it happens every few minutes.

the games i play run my gpu at average utilization but when my pc/applications freeze task manager says im at 0% utilization and it spikes down to 0 in the graph.

my gpu temps are average and im not overclocking or anything utilization is average for the respective game and my cpu isnt on fire or anything i average cool temps.

i can tell when it happens because im usually on call with people and my discord icon stops lighting up when i talk and their screenshares freeze along with my game.

sometimes its really bad and my pc screen goes black for a second and then eventually comes back.

CPU: r5 5600x
GPU: Powercolor RX6600
RAM: 16gb ddr4

Hi everyone,

My Samsung TV model number UN43TU7000GXZD, bought/made in 2020-2022 (i don't recall when specically it was), has developed a problem. When I turned it on, the whole picture was covered in colorful vertical stripes. And i've noticed some ants crawling from a gap in the bottom of the tv.

Details:
- The stripes cover the whole screen but it takes some seconds to appear after turning it on, also, it gets better or worse depending on the colour pattern of what is on the screen (idk why but on piece is almost zero screen issue lol) so the stripes pattern changes.
- The menu and sound still works perfectly.
- The stripes are constant, i've already tried unplugging it for one whole day and plugging it back in.

My questions:
1. Could the ants have caused this (short circuit, dirt on the boards or connections), or is it probably a coincidence?
2. Is this more likely a T-con board / ribbon cable issue, or a panel failure?
3. Is it worth trying to repair, or should I consider replacing the TV? I'm not very experienced with electronics, so I'd appreciate any advice on safe things to check or whether I should take it to a technician.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, giving some background but I went to Microcenter and purchased a new rig at the start of 2026 (receipt on 12/31/25). Please see the following specs:

• ASUS ROG Strix X870e-E WIFI 7
• G SKILL 16x2 D5 6000 C36
• AMD Ryzen 9800X3D
• ASUS Prime RTX5070
• Samsung 990 NVMe 2TB
• ASUS ROG Strix 850W Gold PSU

I use this computer for gaming and streaming. Didn't have any issues at first but at some point in June, the computer randomly black screen'd and wouldn't turn off. I had to force shut off the computer and after attempting to reboot, I was consistently met with a black screen. I checked with some of the components and when examining the CPU, it had burn damage without an overclock.

I RMA'd the 9800X3D and was delivered a new CPU- I installed the new CPU and hoped to turn the pc on without any further issues. The computer would now POST but after roughly 30mins, it would become unstable and go to a black screen. Without any further breadboarding I assumed it was the GPU and tried the integrated graphics which ended up POSTing the PC and remained stable using the HDMI cable.

Since I really don't want to RMA my GPU, I came to my old rig to test the GPU and after leaving it on for 2 hours, it seems to be stable. This being the case, has anyone had an issue with similar Motherboard/GPU/Power Supply combos?

Update: Shortly after writing this post, the 5070 installed in the old rig cut to a black screen. I now know I'm going to have to send this GPU in, but does anyone know how the CPU/GPU would have been damaged?

I am not really familiar with the brand "vention" and I just recently bought a wifi adapter from them (online) as temporary solution from having to connect an ethernet cable on my pc.

Is the brand trustable enough to use? Is there like any privacy issues surrounding the brand about its wifi adapters and such? Please do let me know, I appreciate any info about them.

I have also read in the manual that it requires me to install a wifi driver and a cd is included. I dont know if its necessary or anything, just wanted to mention it.

TL:DR
I bought a Vention usb wifi adapter, is it safe to use or not?

When booting, the process gets stuck on the black screen with an underscore for 10-15 seconds before getting to the bios screen.

Cant attach an image here but looking up 'underscore while booting' brings up the exact screen.

I assumed this was because the PC was attempting to boot through the wrong drives (I have 6 drives), but bios shows my windows install as the first priority boot device.

Not a critical issue as it boots fine after the 10-15 seconds, but annoying.

I've got just about everything I want to keep backed up, but I'm curious if there should be any pre-cautions for my internal SSD.

I want to erase everything on my machine, including what's on my SSD, but should I delete what's on it manually or leave it be ?

I just don't want it messing up or anything and I'm not incredibly tech wise, so if I need to rephrase or there needs to be more info just let me know.

If it matters, the one I have is a Samsung 2TB 870 EVO.

I have an PS4 1TB that has been sitting around for months. I need to have quick cash so I am planning to sell it, but i dont remember or know on what to do or check before listing it for sale. I couldnt signin my PSN (But that doesnt mattter).

Thank you for your help

Hi everyone—
I set a water bottle down on my bed right next to my laptop. Completely forgot the lid to the bottle was broken and a little water got in my case and spilled ln the upper corner of my keyboard. Unfortunately it was the side with the power button. I stepped away for probably 45 seconds to change my clothes and immediately tried to wipe it down. Now my laptop won’t turn on and has a display message “The version of MacOS on the selected disk needs to be to be reinstalled. Use recovery to reinstall macOS or select another startup disk.” I don’t know fuckall about anything tech.
Basically just want to know how fucked I am and/or what this message means and/or how likely it is that I lost everything on my laptop 🫩

so i have hp omen 16 laptop and today i got these issues exactly which was your device ran into a problem and something like memory management in the bottom now i checked reliability monitor using perfmon /rel and it is showing these can anyone help me resolving the issue and what should i do (added images in comments)

I’ve recently changed monitor to a Asus pg32ucdm3 to pair with my 5950x and 3090 but when I turn on the overlay to check my fps/gpu usage/cpu usage it’s stuck on -1%.
Is that a problem?
Games seem to run fine I just don’t want to be doing damage to my system or there is a setting I need to change.

Hello. I have a Iphone 11 that’s currently on no service and I am using an Icloud. Basically I was ringing her from our family group chat and she wasn’t answering, when I told her about it she said she didn’t see it at all. I decided to call her from her contact and she said when she answered the phone someone random picked up and then I guess I rang her again and that’s when my call appeared on her phone again and then she answered my call. I am confused by this situation because in recent calls there is only my contact twice and she apparently says that the men said “you know who this is” when she asked who it was?… Is my icloud hacked?

Hi everyone, I’m dealing with a very frustrating microphone issue and could use some help.

my microphone input volume automatically drops to exactly 4%. If I manually slide it back to 100%, it either immediately drops back down, or it reverts to 4% the next time I start my PC.

How it started: This started a few days ago right after a communication app ("imo desktop") crashed on my PC. I suspect the crash locked some kind of Auto Gain Control (AGC) or exclusive mode setting, but I can't figure out how to clear it.

What I have already tried (none of this worked):

• Completely uninstalled the imo app.
• Deleted all leftover imo files in %appdata% and %localappdata%.
• Disabled "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" in the Windows Sound Control Panel (mmsys.cpl).
• Set the Communications tab in the Sound Control Panel to "Do nothing".
• Uninstalled the microphone via Device Manager and restarted to reinstall clean drivers.
• Checked the "Disable all enhancements" box for the microphone.
• Restarted the Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder services.
• Checked for manufacturer audio software (Realtek, MaxxAudio, etc.) – I don't have any running that would override Windows.
• Confirmed I have zero other startup communication apps (Discord, Steam, Skype, etc.) running that might have AGC enabled.

Does anyone know if there is a specific Registry key I need to delete to reset this, or what hidden background process might still be forcing my volume to 4%? Any help is greatly appreciated!

I purchased this custom built PC years ago and don't know much about it. Even though the PC will not turn on, it appears to have power as there are lights on inside. There is a part that has a glowing red power button and a glowing green reset button. Is that the PSU? And if so , does that mean the psu is okay?