How do I record my screen on Windows 11 with sound
I've recently upgraded to Windows 11 and I'm encountering some difficulties with a task that I think many of you might have experience with. Specifically, I'm trying to figure out how to record my screen on Windows 11 with sound. While I've found the built-in screen recording tool in Windows 11 to be quite straightforward for capturing video, I'm struggling to include audio in my recordings. I've done some basic troubleshooting like checking my microphone and system sound settings, but I haven't had much luck so far. It's crucial for my work to create high-quality screen recordings that include both the screen activity and the accompanying audio, so any advice, tips, or recommendations from this community would be greatly appreciated.
Why Does Windows 11 Keep Hiding My System Tray Icons? (Taskbar Icons Missing)
Has anyone figured out why Windows 11 keeps hiding system tray icons? My taskbar icons go missing constantly, and I can’t get certain apps to stay visible. Sometimes they show up under the taskbar overflow menu, sometimes they completely disappear from the notification area, and sometimes they only show up after a restart. I’ve searched everywhere for answers like: “Windows 11 taskbar icons missing” “system tray icons keep disappearing” “hidden notification area icons” “apps not showing in system tray Windows 11” “Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/Volume icon missing” “Windows 11 keeps auto-hiding tray icons” It seems like this issue happens after Windows updates or changes in the settings menu. I’ve already checked Select which icons appear on the taskbar, but Windows still hides them. Restarting Explorer sometimes fixes it, but the icons eventually vanish again. I’ve also seen mentions of registry keys like IconStreams and PastIconsStream, but I’m not sure if editing those is safe. Is there a reliable fix to stop Windows 11 from auto-hiding system tray icons? Why do my notification area icons randomly disappear, refuse to stay pinned, or only show when clicked? Any solutions or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated.
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.
Windows 11: Auto-hide taskbar animation is laggy / low FPS (very noticeable on OLED displays)
I’m seeing a persistent UX issue with the “Automatically hide the taskbar” feature in Windows 11. Issue: When auto-hide is enabled, the show/hide animation looks laggy and low FPS and feels “wonky” compared to the rest of the UI, which is smooth. The taskbar technically works (it hides and shows), but the animation itself looks choppy. Why it matters: I’m using an OLED display, and many OLED users are encouraged to use auto-hide to reduce burn-in from a bright, static taskbar. Because of that, this animation quality directly affects day-to-day usability for a lot of people. Steps to reproduce: Right-click taskbar → Taskbar settings Enable “Automatically hide the taskbar” Move the mouse to the bottom edge to show the taskbar; move it away to hide Repeat several times and compare the smoothness to other Windows 11 UI animations Expected behavior: – Auto-hide animation should be smooth and high FPS, roughly matching the monitor refresh rate – Feels responsive and fluid, consistent with other Windows 11 animations Actual behavior: – Animation looks stuttery / low FPS / delayed – Very noticeable on high-refresh displays and OLED panels What I’ve already done: – Submitted detailed feedback via Feedback Hub – Tried suggested steps (e.g., checking animation settings). The feature works; the issue is specifically animation rendering quality, not that auto-hide is broken. I’d really appreciate it if this could be treated as a UI/UX performance issue and not just a generic support problem. Smoother auto-hide animations would greatly improve the experience for Windows 11 + OLED users who rely on this feature to reduce burn-in. Thanks in advance to anyone from the Windows team or community who can confirm this, share workarounds, or comment on whether this is already known internally.Linux VS Windows (Windows 11, Cachy OS, Zorin OS, Mint OS)
Hello to community! Here are some results from the tests I did between the two OSes. System Specs CPU : Ryzen 5 1600 GPU : XFX RX 580 8 GB (Mesa 25.2.6 / Adrenalin 25.8.1) RAM : 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz (Corsair Vengeance, 2×8 Dual Channel) SSD : Patriot P310 NVMe 512 GB (PCIe 3.0) Linux Distros : Cachy OS, Zorin OS, Mint OS Linux Kernels : CachyOs (6.17.7-5), Zorin OS (6.14.0-34), Mint OS (6.17.7) Runner : Proton GE 10-25 Windows : Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Monitoring : Tools | MangoHUD (Linux) / MSI Afterburner (Windows) Resolution : 1920×1080 All game graphics settings are shown right before each benchmark segment. In the video link at the end of this post. !! ATTENTION !! All games were tested on both OSes WITHOUT any special tweaks or extra commands, because I wanted to keep the comparison fair between them.Win_11_25H2 Taskbar QuickSettings
Hello! I was messing around in the Registry in an attempt to "hide" the Battery icon and I guess I screwed up Quick Settings and now left-clicking doesn't work. Everything else is fine, left-clicking on Date and Time, right-clicking for Task Manager, even right-clicking on the Network and Sound icons works. I'm not a computer administrator and I don't remember how I managed to change "something" without Quick Settings working. I wanted to get more space on the Task Bar because I'm using 768p resolution. I've had this since version 23H2, after updating to 25H2, I thought it would be fixed but the same error remained. I tried this: Get-AppxPackage *windows.immersivecontrolpanel* | Reset-AppxPackage but it didn't help. There's nothing with "Hide" inside this: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Also, not in this section: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ExplorerHow can the conversion speed be accelerated on Windows 11?
I am currently working on a tutorial for this transformation as a video and a document. It made some of my own tools for it like the Network Flyout as well due to limitations in win11 but they are ofc still WIP and need a lot of work , so probably will get posted as updates to the transformation, perhaps i can make a pack that automatically does the work needed, but that will take a lot of time.Where to find cheap windows 11 key?
Hey people, I finally finished my new setup and for some reason my old PC never asked me for activation, it was already active when I bought it. Now on this fresh install Windows 11 is asking for a key. I used a USB to install Windows 11 Home, but I dont have any product key for it. Any idea or recommendation where to get a cheap windows 11 key that actually works and activates normal through Microsoft? Not looking for anything shady, just something affordable. Thanks in advance.
