How to Extract Specific Files from Windows 10 or 11 ISO

extract specific windows image from multi-edition iso

There are situations where you need a specific Windows system file from the install.wim image present in a Windows 10/11 setup disk or ISO. In the case of missing system files, the DISM & SFC procedure will automatically restore them. Alternatively, you can restore missing Windows system files (of any version) from the WinBindex.Read more

Error 0x800706D9 Installing or Updating Store Apps

You may be unable to download new apps or update existing apps using the Microsoft Store due to error 0x800706D9Something unexpected happened. Error code 0x800706D9 translates to “There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper”, which doesn’t make much sense for the end-user.

Also, the same error is shown when you install or update apps using PowerShell.

store apps error 0x800706D9

The error message is:

Add-AppxPackage: Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CF6, Package could not be registered.

error 0x800706D9: While processing the request, the system failed to register the windows.firewall extension due to the following error: There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper.

This post tells you how to fix Microsoft Store 0x800706D9 in Windows 10 and 11.Read more

Windows Defender “HostsFileHijack” alert appears if Telemetry is blocked

defender hostsfilehijack

Since July last week, Windows Defender started issuing Win32/HostsFileHijack “potentially unwanted behavior” alerts if you had blocked Microsoft’s Telemetry servers using the HOSTS file.

defender hostsfilehijack

Out of the SettingsModifier:Win32/HostsFileHijack cases reported online, the earliest one was reported at the Microsoft Answers forums where the user stated:

I’m getting a serious “potentially unwanted” message. I have the current Windows 10 2004 (1904.388) and only Defender as permanent protection.
How is that to evaluate, since nothing has changed at my hosts, I know that. Or is this a false positive message? A second check with AdwCleaner or Malwarebytes or SUPERAntiSpyware shows no infection.

“HostsFileHijack” alert if Telemetry is blocked

After inspecting the HOSTS file from that system, it was observed that the user had added Microsoft Telemetry servers to the HOSTS file and routed it to 0.0.0.0 (known as “null-routing”) to block those addresses. Here is the list of telemetry addresses null-routed by that user.Read more

How to Open .hlp Files in Windows 10/11 Using WinHlp32.exe

restore winhlp32 .hlp viewer in windows 10

A long time back, most of the software used to ship with .hlp (WinHelp help format) help files. Since Windows Vista, the legacy .hlp format has been deprecated. To view 32-bit Help files with the .hlp file extension in Windows Vista (and higher — through Windows 8.1), you will need to download and install WinHlp32.exe (KB917607 package) from the Microsoft Download Center.

However, this update isn’t available for Windows 10/11. Installing one of the KB917607 installers on Windows 10 or 11 would cause the following error:

Windows Update Standalone Installer
The update is not applicable to your computer.

This article tells you how to restore the missing WinHelp (.hlp) viewer on Windows 10 or 11.

Read more

How to Download Missing System files from Microsoft

download windows system files dll exe sys from microsoft server

If a Windows system file is missing, the first thing that comes to our mind is the System File Checker (Sfc.exe). The sfc.exe /scannow command-line restores missing or corrupted system files by fetching a good copy from the WinSxS folder. If that fails, you usually run the DISM .. RestoreHealth command-line to fix the WinSxS repository. In some cases, DISM requires a slipstreamed Windows setup disk from which the install.wim file is used.

Here is another way to download any version of a Windows system file (.exe, .dll, or .sys) directly from Microsoft’s server.Read more

Fix Error 0xc1900223 When Installing Windows 10 Updates

windows update error 0xc1900223 in windows 10

The error 0xc1900223 may appear when you attempt to update your Windows 10 installation, especially when installing a feature update like v1903 or v1909. There is no actionable advice from Microsoft, regarding this error.

windows update error 0xc1900223 in windows 10

However, the error continues to occur even when attempting to install the update every time.

The SetupDiag utility (download) would log this error:

Error: SetupDiag reports abrupt down-level failure.
Last Operation: Finalize
Error: 0xC1900223 - 0x20009
LogEntry: Error MOUPG CSetupManager :: ExecutePreDownloadMode (8491): Result = 0xC1900223

The usual Windows Update troubleshooting methods may not fix this error. This post tells you how to prevent the error 0xc1900223 in Windows 10.Read more

How to Free Up Gigabytes of Disk Space in Windows

free up disk space in windows 10

Windows 10 updates, especially the feature updates, consume enormous disk space as Windows stores the older copies in case you want to roll back to the previous version. Hard disk drives have become cheaper and affordable nowadays. A 1 TB SATA HDD costs less than $50. But, if you’re using an old, low-capacity hard drive from an old computer and want to free up disk space, this article tells you how to do that.

After installing a feature update, Windows 10 automatically cleans up the previous Windows installation files (Windows.old) after ten days. However, there are some other ways with which you can free up disk space in Windows. Let’s see some of the options.Read more

How to Install Office Picture Manager in Windows 10

Microsoft Office Picture Manager is a graphics viewer and editor introduced in Microsoft Office 2003 and included up to Office 2010. Many people prefer the good old Microsoft Office Picture Manager, perhaps for it’s UI or UX, and want to install it on Windows 10.

However, Microsoft has discontinued the Picture Manager with the release of Office 2013. The equivalent functionality is now provided in the Windows 10’s Photos app, which has the image crop, resize, red-eye removal, video trimming, and other features. Alternatively, you can also enable the classic Windows Photo Viewer using the registry, or install the Windows Live Photo Gallery (which is now unsupported by Microsoft).

If you desperately need the Office Picture Viewer, the good news is that you can still install it on Windows 10. The SharePoint Designer 2010 installer includes the Office Picture Manager as an optional component that can be installed as a standalone application.

This article tells you how to install Office Picture Manager on Windows 10 and earlier, regardless of the version of Office — e.g., Office 2013, Office 2016, Office 365 — installed on the computer. Office Picture Manager is super-fast (like the Windows Photo Viewer) especially if you’re going to use it as an image previewer.Read more