Save the date: Windows Office Hours – September 17, 2026
The next Windows Office Hours is coming up on September 17 from 8:00–9:00 AM PT. Spend an hour connecting directly with Microsoft experts across Windows, Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Windows 365, Windows Autopilot, security, public sector, FastTrack, and more. Whether you're looking for guidance, troubleshooting help, or best practices, this live discussion is an opportunity to get your questions answered. This is a live, chat-based event with no video and no meeting link. Simply join the discussion, ask your questions, and participate in conversations with Microsoft engineers and specialists. Can't make it? Add your questions to the event page ahead of time and we'll cover them during the session.
File copy speed drops to zero and stays there mid-transfer
Whenever I copy large files between drives, the speed starts off fine—then randomly drops to 0 MB/s and just sits there. Sometimes it resumes after a minute, sometimes it never does and I have to cancel and restart. I've already checked the drive health with built-in tools, tried different USB ports and cables, and disabled antivirus temporarily. Nothing changed. It's an SSD and an external HDD, both showing no errors. Anyone run into this or know what's causing it?White Icons on Windows 11 – IconCache.db Rebuild Did Not Help
Hello everyone, I would need your help regarding an icon display issue on Windows 11. For the past few months, most of the icons on our Windows 11 devices have been appearing as white/blank icons. The issue is also present on the server. For example, the icons for File Explorer and Command Prompt (CMD) are also affected. I have already tried rebuilding the IconCache.db file, but unfortunately, this did not resolve the issue. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this problem or any solution I could try? Thank you in advance for your help.
Favourites heart button in microsoft photos have dissappeared after the latest updates
Favourites heart button in microsoft photos have dissappeared after the latest updates. Did reach out to support, tried repair, reset, reinstallation, complete format and reinstallation by theri team as well, still did not work
New Windows 11 installations always fail
I’ve been trying to install Windows on my new computer, but the installation process fails every time at exactly 58%. I’ve tried both third-party software and the official Media Creation Tool, but the result is always the same. There are no error codes or helpful prompts—it just stops and gives up. I’ve tried different USB ports, different flash drives, and downloaded the ISO file multiple times. But it’s still stuck at 58%. I’m not sure if this is a hardware issue or if I’ve overlooked something in the BIOS settings. I’m a complete beginner, so I don’t know what else to check.
How do I completely uninstall Microsoft Office 365 from my Windows 11 PC?
I have Microsoft Office 365 installed on my Windows 11 PC, but I no longer need it and want to remove it thoroughly, including any leftover files, settings, services, and components. I would like to know the safest way to completely uninstall Microsoft Office 365 from PC without accidentally affecting my personal documents or other applications. The standard uninstall process may leave some components behind, so I want to make sure everything related to Office is removed properly. What steps can I follow to completely delete Microsoft Office from my PC whi
Second-hand laptop stuck in previous owner's Windows Autopilot tenant – how to reach human support?
Hi, I'm trying to find the correct human Microsoft support team for Windows Autopilot deregistration. I own a second-hand Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 which I purchased on eBay on August 6, 2023. I used Linux on it for the last few years, so I only discovered the problem now after installing Windows 11 Pro. During OOBE, the laptop downloads an Autopilot profile belonging to a previous organization and forces organizational enrollment. Autopilot diagnostics confirm: CloudAssignedForcedEnrollment = 1 IsForcedEnrollmentEnabled = 1 DeploymentProfileName = CSE Autopilot Pilot I have no relationship with the previous organization and no access to its tenant. The eBay seller is no longer active. I contacted regular Microsoft Windows Support. I provided: eBay purchase/order confirmation signed bank transaction device serial number screenshots Autopilot.cab diagnostics Support acknowledged that I own the device and that I cannot remove the registration myself. However, instead of escalating the case, they repeatedly directed me to Autopilot deployment documentation, Feedback Hub and Tech Community. Microsoft's documentation says that a device permanently leaving an organization should be deregistered from Windows Autopilot. I have also found Microsoft Q&A cases suggesting that Commercial/Intune Support can review inaccessible-tenant deregistration cases after proof of ownership has been verified. My question is simply: how can a private end user actually reach a human Microsoft Intune/Autopilot support engineer who can review and escalate this? I do not have an Intune tenant or access to the previous organization's tenant, so I cannot open a support request from their Intune Admin Center. I am not asking for a way to bypass Autopilot. I am asking for the legitimate device ownership to be reviewed and the stale Autopilot registration to be removed from Microsoft's service. If anyone from Microsoft can provide the correct support route or escalate this internally, I would greatly appreciate it.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.
Help! Laptop freezing and stuttering
Hello, I have an Omen HP gaming laptop I got in 2024, it's got Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-14700HX (2.10 GHz) processor, 32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable) ram, and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (8 GB)Intel(R) UHD Graphics (128 MB) graphics card, and a 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor. It usually sits at about 50-60 degrees and goes up to 70-80 when gaming. Just recently, like within the last month, it's been stuttering and freezing like crazy, and it's driving me nuts. I've tried optimizing the settings, all my drivers say they're up to date, I've restarted my laptop SO many times and turned off fast startup, none have fixed it. When playing a game my latency is consistently super high, and I get tons of rubber-banding and freezing, and if I walk forward in a game for a few seconds, then move my mouse, the screen freezes for a second before catching up. Even if I'm just in windows watching youtube or something, I encounter stuttering. If I scroll down, it freezes and takes a second to catch up, typing will sometimes freeze for a second, and opening a new tab takes about 10 seconds to fully load everything. If I let my laptop sit for a second and then try to do something, i.e. type, open a new tab, or even just move my mouse, it freezes for a second. No viruses are detected through every scan I've done, everything is up to date, I'm not sure what else to do.
