Troubleshooting Articles

What is a 403 Forbidden Error (and How Can I Fix It)?

A 403 Forbidden Error occurs when a web server forbids you from accessing the page you’re trying to open in your browser. Most of the time, there’s not much you can do. But sometimes, the problem might be on your ...

Yuvraj Wadhwani Jul 5th, 2018

What is PunkBuster, and Can I Uninstall It?

PunkBuster is an anti-cheat program installed by some PC games. It includes two processes—PnkBstrA.exe and PnkBstrB.exe—that run in the background on your computer. PunkBuster monitors your system for evidence of ...

Chris Hoffman Jul 3rd, 2018

What is a 502 Bad Gateway Error (And How Can I Fix It)?

A 502 Bad Gateway Error occurs when you try to visit a web page, but one web server gets an invalid response from another web server. Most of the time, the problem is on the website itself, and there’s not much you can ...

Yuvraj Wadhwani Jul 2nd, 2018

What is “dasd” and Why is it Running on my Mac?

Some process called “dasd” is running on your Mac. Don’t worry: it’s part of macOS. But what is it?

Justin Pot Jun 29th, 2018

How to Disable Screen Auto-Rotation in Windows 10

Windows 10 can automatically rotate your display if you have a convertible PC or tablet—just like your smartphone. You can lock your screen rotation in place, if you like.

Chris Hoffman Jun 27th, 2018

How to Make an Apple Store or Genius Bar Appointment

Maybe you have a cracked iPhone screen or your MacBook Pro isn’t charging properly. Whatever your issue, there’s an app for that! If you need tech support or repairs for your Apple device, it’s easy to set u...

Elizabeth Mills Jun 27th, 2018

How to Rotate Your PC’s Screen (or Fix a Sideways Screen)

Windows can rotate your screen without any extra software. This is especially useful if you have a desktop monitor that rotates. Many PCs have hotkeys that can rotate your screen, too, and these are easy to accidentally press...

Chris Hoffman Jun 25th, 2018

How to Fix a PC Stuck on “Don’t Turn Off” During Windows Updates

The “Getting Windows ready, Don’t turn off your computer” message appears while Windows is installing updates. Windows will normally finish the installation process if you give it time—but, if it&#8217...

How to Use the Ping Command to Test Your Network

The ping command sends packets of data to a specific IP address on a network, and then lets you know how long it took to transmit that data and get a response. It’s a handy tool that you can use to quickly test various ...

Brady Gavin Jun 21st, 2018

How to Fix All of Windows 10’s Annoyances

Windows 10 starts as a very annoying operating system. The Start menu is full of games like Candy Crush, advertisements are all over the place, and useless icons like People litter the taskbar. Here’s how to eliminate a...

How to Fully Restore macOS From a Time Machine Backup in Recovery Mode

If you’re installing a new hard drive, or your Mac is completely messed up, you might think it’s time for a fresh installation of macOS. But if you’ve got a Time Machine backup, that’s not necessary: y...

Justin Pot Jun 19th, 2018

How to Fix High CPU Usage by “Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted)”

On some Windows 10 PCs, the “Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted)” process group in the Task Manager can use a high amount of CPU, disk, and memory resources. Here’s how to fix it....

Chris Hoffman Jun 19th, 2018

What Is storedownloadd and Why Is It Running on My Mac?

Something called storedownloadd is taking up a lot of CPU power, which you noticed while using Activity Monitor. Don’t panic: it’s just the Mac App Store downloading some software for you.

Justin Pot Jun 14th, 2018

Switching to Android? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

If you’re moving to Android from another platform, the switch can be a little daunting. Some things may work in a familiar way, but there are so many other things that are different. Here’s everything you need to ...

Cameron Summerson Jun 14th, 2018

How to Clear an App’s Data and Cache on Android to Solve Common Problems

You open an app, it immediately force closes. You open it again, it does the same thing. There’s clearly a problem here—but simply clearing your app data and cache might prove to be a pretty easy fix....

Cameron Summerson Jun 11th, 2018

What to Do If Your iPhone Is Getting a Bad Signal

There are dozens of factors that can affect your cell service—from your distance to a tower to the weather—but what can you do if, for some reason, your iPhone suddenly isn’t getting a good signal? Let’s find out....

Harry Guinness Jun 11th, 2018

What Are assistant_service and assistantd, and Why Are They Running on my Mac?

You might have noticed assistantd and assistant_service while using Activity Monitor and wondered what they are. Well, don’t panic: these process are both part of macOS, and help make features like Siri and dictation p...

Justin Pot Jun 7th, 2018

How to Fix a 404 Not Found Error

A 404 error occurs when you try to visit a web page that doesn’t exist. Sometimes, the problem is on the website itself, and there’s not much you can do about that. But sometimes, the problem is one you might be a...

Yuvraj Wadhwani Jun 4th, 2018

What to Do If You Replaced Your iPhone Battery and Still Have Issues

If you recently replaced your iPhone’s battery (or had it done by an authorized Apple technician) and you’re still experiencing battery life problems, there are a few fixes you can try that might help....

Craig Lloyd May 31st, 2018

How to Force Reboot Your Oculus Go (When It Stops Working)

The Oculus Go headset is really great, but sometimes it just locks up and stops working. And when that happens, the easiest thing to do is reboot it. But what’s the best way to reboot it? Here’s what you need to k...

Lowell Heddings May 25th, 2018

How to Check Your MacBook’s Battery Health

Computer batteries have a limited lifespan and degrade over time, so they’re often the first thing to go in a Mac laptop. You can replace a battery yourself or pay Apple to do it, but you should check its health. first....

Harry Guinness May 23rd, 2018

How to Find Official Windows Drivers for Any Device

All your computer hardware, from the motherboard to the webcam, needs drivers to function properly. Here’s how to download the official device drivers for your hardware, whether you’re using Windows 10 or 7....

Why Restarting Your Phone Makes it Perform Better and Fixes Common Issues

We’ve all heard it: “have you tried turning it off and back on again?” It’s the first step when troubleshooting any tech problem—it even makes your phone perform better when nothing is wrong. But...

Cameron Summerson May 18th, 2018

How to Remove Viruses and Malware on Your Windows PC

Whether you saw a message saying a virus was detected, or your computer just seems slow and unreliable, you’ll want to scan for malware on your PC and remove any you find. Here’s how to clean your PC of viruses an...

Why is My Amazon Echo Blinking Yellow, Red, or Green?

You just set up your Amazon Echo, and then you noticed that the ring around the top is doing this blinking flashing yellow thing. What’s up with that? Here’s why your Echo might flash yellow, red, green, or blue....

Lowell Heddings May 9th, 2018