How do I completely wipe an SD card and make it unrecoverable?
I heard that a simple format of an SD card doesn't actually erase the data and that files could be recovered. Currently, I am working on a data disposition project and require authoritative guidance on secure SD card sanitization. Could you elaborate on the distinction between software-based overwriting methodologies and hardware-based cryptographic sanitization via the ATA Secure Erase command? What are the specific tool recommendations and procedural considerations for dealing with wear-leveling and reserved sectors on modern flash media? I need to clear or completely wipe an SD card and make the SD card unrecoverable. Your detailed technical insight will be instrumental in establishing a compliant and verifiable data destruction workflow. Thank you for your contribution to this critical operational security matter.AVG Prevented HP Smart Installing - Windows 11
Neighbour was tearing his hair out trying to get a new HP printer (yes, I know…) connected and the HP Smart app systematically crashed during install. No indications from AVG that it was doing anything, but watching Task Manager, I saw AVG CPU use spike just as HP Smart crashed. Uninstalled the various AVG elements and restarted. HP Smart app installed normally and new printed set up correctly. Neighbour already had the hump with the recently installed AVG as it “kept trying to sell him add-ons”, so he wasn’t fussed about it being removed.Slowness and saturated Ram following transition to Win 11
I have a Dell G5 15 5587 (2019) laptop - (16go Ram - SSD 256 + DD 1To - Intel 6c/12t CPU - GPU 1060 6go) Since switching to Win 11 last November (voluntary automatic migration), I have had major problems with slowness. The RAM is quickly saturated at more than 85%, everything reacts very slowly, after an hour I have to restart the PC to regain some flexibility). Documents take a good minute to open, with more than 5 PDFs the reader crashes, etc. It's a real hassle. The CPU is never used much (I don't play on it anymore), but it takes crazy hits which can last 30sc where it gets carried away before returning to a normal office level. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Supporthub Bug
If you click on supporthub of your sound settings, windows 11 will start a "open app" roulette! It open´s about 30 tabs of them, all of them blink and it looks like a roulette. It want´s to open an app to open a link to the SupportHub. But it never find´s the App (the app is required to open the link somehow) and lead you to the microsoft store, but in the strore there´s no app!
New AZERTY "NG" French Standard Keymap NF Z71-300
Pleasantly surprised to see this addition in 24H2. I'm just curious if anyone has seen any vendors selling keyboards with this layout? ( I checked all the mainstream laptop makers, including Microsoft surface. ) There is one seller on Amazon selling retrofit stickers; Bépo, conversely, seems to have traction. Until then, I guess one can practice typing in the blind.Windows 11 23H2 → 25H2 in-place upgrade fails in SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA
I'm trying to in-place upgrade a Windows 11 23H2 system to 25H2 and consistently get a rollback in the SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA phase with 0x8007042B – 0x2000D. After a lot of analysis (Panther logs, SetupDiag, DISM, etc.), the failure always points to migration problems around Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI (CCSIAgent) and, secondarily, Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client (adammigrate.dll). I'd like to confirm whether this is a known 25H2 migration issue (especially on Education) and if there is any supported workaround short of a clean install. --- ENVIRONMENT - OS: Windows 11 Education 23H2, Build 22631.6276 - Edition: Education (confirmed via winver and Settings → System → About) - Target: Windows 11 25H2 (26200.6584, "2025 Update") - Upgrade method tried: - Windows Update feature enablement - Windows 11 Installation Assistant - Official 25H2 ISO (26200.6584.250915-1905.25h2_ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENT_CONSUMER_x64FRE_en-us.iso) mounted locally → setup.exe - Hardware: - Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AORUS PRO (BIOS F31) - SSD: WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe (firmware 731130WD, WD Dashboard reports "Healthy", no errors) - TPM 2.0: Intel PTT (firmware TPM) enabled - Secure Boot: Enabled - BitLocker on C: OFF (fully decrypted) --- SYMPTOM Every full in-place upgrade attempt (23H2 → 25H2) behaves as follows: 1. Setup runs, copies files, reboots to SAFE_OS phase. 2. During MIGRATE_DATA, setup fails and rolls back to 23H2. 3. Message on screen: "0x8007042B – 0x2000D The installation failed in the SAFE_OS phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation" In C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Panther\setuperr.log / setupact.log, the failure is always in SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA and includes: V2VArbitrate: Source migration unit <System>\Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI (CCSIAgent) is not supported on the destination machine and it will not be restored V2VArbitrate: Source migration unit is critical, arbitration will fail V2V Arbitration failed. Last error: 0x00000032 pSPExecuteApply: Apply operation failed. Error: 0x0000002C Apply (machine-independent apply, offline phase): Migration phase failed. Result: 44 ExecuteOperations: Failed execution phase Safe OS. Error: 0x8007042B On some runs, just before the TPM arbitration failure, there are also errors related to DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client: Failure while calling IPostApply->ApplySuccess for Plugin="Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client\adammigrate.dll"… Error: 0x80070002 Error READ, 0x00000002 while gathering/applying object: apply-success, Action,CMXEXmlPlugin, C:\$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\ReplacementManifests, Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client\adammigrate.dll… However, the ADAM plugin errors are logged as "ignore" in some traces, while the actual rollback is always tied to the critical TPM-Driver-WMI migration unit. --- WHAT I HAVE ALREADY TRIED I've tried to rule out all the usual suspects and a bit more: 1. Health checks & storage - sfc /scannow → no integrity violations - DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth / CheckHealth / RestoreHealth → clean - chkdsk C: /scan → no file system / bad sector issues - WD Dashboard extended test → drive healthy, no SMART warnings 2. Drivers, TPM, AV, services - TPM: - Device: "Trusted Platform Module 2.0" (ACPI\MSFT0101\1) - Driver provider: Microsoft (inbox TPM driver), no OEM TPM drivers - pnputil /enum-drivers | findstr /i tpm shows only Microsoft TPM entries; any OEM/TMP-related oem*.inf were removed. - Legacy / problematic drivers: - Removed old Intel CougarPoint USB driver (oem25.inf) via pnputil /delete-driver oem25.inf /uninstall /force. - Antivirus / security: - McAfee WebAdvisor fully uninstalled. - Kaspersky products uninstalled via standard uninstallers and then cleaned with Kaspersky's kavremover in Safe Mode. - No Kaspersky services, drivers, files, or uninstall entries remain. - Currently only Microsoft Defender is active. - Telemetry: - Connected User Experiences and Telemetry (DiagTrack) service set to Manual and Running to avoid telemetry-related cancellation (0x800704C7). 3. Upgrade artefacts / component cleanup - Deleted: - C:\$WINDOWS.~BT - C:\$GetCurrent - C:\$WINDOWS.~WS - C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download - Ran: - DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase - Then again DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and sfc /scannow 4. ISO & media verification - 23H2 ISO: Win11_23H2_English_x64.iso (official multi-edition ISO, SHA-256 verified). - 25H2 ISO: 26200.6584.250915-1905.25h2_ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENT_CONSUMER_x64FRE_en-us.iso (official 25H2 ISO, SHA-256 verified). - Both mounted locally; upgrade run via setup.exe from the ISO (no third-party media tools). - Tried with Dynamic Update enabled and disabled (/DynamicUpdate Disable). 5. Compatibility scan vs full upgrade behavior - Running from 25H2 ISO: setup.exe /Compat ScanOnly /DynamicUpdate Disable → completes WITHOUT logging the earlier TPM-Driver-WMI / MIGRATE_DATA critical failures. - However, when running a FULL in-place upgrade (same ISO, same environment, DynamicUpdate disabled, "Keep personal files and apps"), the upgrade still fails in SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA with the same TPM-Driver-WMI critical arbitration error and rollback. So, compatibility scan looks clean, but the real SAFE_OS/MIGRATE_DATA phase still hits the TPM-Driver-WMI migration problem. 6. ADAM / DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client state - DISM shows DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client feature as Disabled. - The ADAM migration plugin (adammigrate.dll) logs 0x80070002 during IPostApply->ApplySuccess on some runs. - As suggested in other cases, I have tried: - dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client /norestart → reboot - dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:DirectoryServices-ADAM-Client /norestart → reboot - The ADAM error sometimes disappears or is logged as "ignored", but the TPM-Driver-WMI critical arbitration error persists and still causes rollback. 7. Attempt to repair TPM-Driver-WMI as a package (failed) Following the idea that TPM-Driver-WMI might be a partially removed servicing package, I: - Ran: DISM /Online /Get-Packages | findstr /i "TPM-Driver-WMI" → NO ENTRIES. There is no Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI-Package~… installed as a standalone package. - Mounted Win11_23H2_English_x64.iso as G: and searched for *TPM-Driver-WMI*.cab: → No such cab found anywhere in the ISO. - Mounted install.wim (index 4, Education) read-only and inspected Windows\servicing\Packages, and ran offline DISM /Image:... /Get-Packages | findstr TPM: → No Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI package or mum/cab. Only the component payload exists in WinSxS (amd64_microsoft-windows-tpm-driver-wmi_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.22621.1...), but there is no installable package to feed into DISM /Add-Package. So there is NO STANDALONE TPM-Driver-WMI package that I can re-add or repair via DISM; it appears baked into the base image. --- CURRENT SITUATION - TPM driver: Microsoft inbox, no OEM TPM drivers. - AV: only Defender. - Component store: DISM /RestoreHealth and sfc /scannow are clean. - Storage: healthy. - Telemetry service: running. - ADAM client: "enable → disable" cycle tried. - 25H2 compatibility scan: now passes without TPM migration errors. - Full upgrade: still fails in SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA with: - Source migration unit <System>\Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI (CCSIAgent) is not supported on the destination machine and it will not be restored - Source migration unit is critical, arbitration will fail - V2V Arbitration failed. Last error: 0x00000032 - pSPExecuteApply: Apply operation failed. Error: 0x0000002C - ExecuteOperations: Failed execution phase Safe OS. Error: 0x8007042B At this point, the only remaining options I can see are: - In-place repair install of 23H2 using the 23H2 ISO (setup.exe → keep apps & data), to rebuild the whole servicing/migration stack, and then retry 25H2; - Or clean install 25H2 from scratch. Before I go down that path, I'd like to know: --- QUESTIONS 1. Is this a known migration issue in Windows 11 25H2 (especially for Education) involving Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI (CCSIAgent)? In other words, is the "not supported on the destination machine" for this migration unit an expected symptom of a current 25H2 bug or a misconfiguration on my side? 2. Is there any supported way to reset/repair/ignore the TPM-Driver-WMI migration unit on the source side, given that: - there is no standalone Microsoft-Windows-TPM-Driver-WMI-Package~*.cab in the 23H2 ISO, and - DISM /Get-Packages does not list such a package? 3. Is an in-place repair install of 23H2 the recommended next step in this scenario, or is the official guidance to perform a clean install of 25H2 when SAFE_OS / MIGRATE_DATA fails on a critical migration unit like this? 4. Is there any known difference between consumer vs Education/volume 25H2 media that could affect whether the TPM-Driver-WMI migration manifest is present on the target image? Any official guidance or confirmation (e.g., "this is a known issue; wait for an updated 25H2 image or cumulative update" vs "your 23H2 install is irreparably corrupted, clean install recommended") would be very helpful before I commit to a wipe-and-reinstall. Thank you in advance.How to keep a backup of all your programs windows 11
Hello! Could someone kindly point me towards a straightforward way to backup all my installed programs on Windows 11? I'm feeling a bit lost and would really appreciate some friendly advice from the community. I want to ensure my applications are safe without it being overly complex. This is the main reason why I want to keep a backup of all programs windows 11. I'm aware of system restores and file history, but not confident they handle program backups the way I need. If you use a particular application or method that has worked well for you, I'd love to hear about your personal experience with it. Thanks so much for taking the time to help a newcomer out.
How to quickly find and delete large files on windows 11
Hello, There are only 10GB free space left on my Windows 11 PC but I'm unsure how to efficiently locate the largest files scattered across my drives. I know I have some old videos and game installations taking up room, but manually searching folders is too slow. Could someone guide me through the best way to find and delete large files on Windows 11? Any tips on what to avoid deleting would also be greatly appreciated. I heard about features like Storage Sense but I need clear, step-by-step advice suitable for a non-expert. My goal is to clean my main SSD (C: drive) without accidentally harming system files or personal documents. I'll be sure to provide any extra details about my system if needed.How Do I Clean up My PC on Windows 11?
For no reason, my Windows 11 PC has become extremely slow and cluttered over time. This happens frequently after installing the latest 25H2 update. I'm not very technical and feel overwhelmed. I want to get a clear, beginner-friendly guide to safely clean up my PC on Windows 11, such as removing junk files, managing startup programs, and uninstalling bloatware without breaking anything. This PC has 8GB RAM, Intel i5 12th Gen CPU and 512GB SSD.
Windows 11 account issues: lock screen skipped, device not showing in Microsoft account
Hi everyone, I’m facing a few strange issues on Windows 11 that seem to be limited only to my main user profile, and I’m hoping to fix them without creating a new profile and migrating all my data. Settings > Apps > Advanced app settings: I see a sign-in-related issue & an error code 0x80860010. The lock screen is skipped when the PC starts. On power-on or restart, the lock screen flashes for a split second, and then Windows directly goes to the PIN entry screen. This happens only on my main user account. If I create a new local or Microsoft account, the lock screen works perfectly even after a restart or cold boot. My Windows PC does not appear under Devices on my Microsoft account page, even though the PC is signed in with my Microsoft account locally. I’ve already tried restarting, signing out and back into my Microsoft account, checking sign-in options, and testing Fast Startup on and off. Since everything works fine on newly created accounts, I believe my existing user profile or account state may be corrupted. I’m trying to avoid creating a new profile and manually migrating data if possible. Any guidance on repairing the current user profile, re-linking the device to my Microsoft account, or restoring normal lock screen behavior would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help. ~Gourav
