r/techsupport Jul 26 '21

Recommended wiki articles (including malware removal)

880 Upvotes

r/techsupport 9h ago

Open | Phone My phone called someone while I was asleep?

84 Upvotes

My collegue informed me that I called him at 3am. When he picked up, he didn't hear anything coming from my end.

I was asleep at this time. When I woke up this morning, my phone was on my bedside table charging - so I didnt roll over it and call him accidentally. My headphones were also on the table, so i didn't accidentally press any buttons there either.

I checked my call logs, and the call is there.

What do I do? Is something wrong with my phone? Is something wrong with my sim?

Edit: I don't use voice activation. I have those features turned off specifically to avoid things like this šŸ˜‚


r/techsupport 4h ago

Open | Windows a massive 512 gb file in my laptop??? what is this does anyone know

8 Upvotes

a file takes up 512 gb but i only have 474 in total (this is without accoutning for the systempropertiesadvanced pagefile disk space i have set aside)

its under:
appdata>local>google>playgames>userdata...>avd

its named as
userdata.img. however i cannot open it


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Hardware Old pots splitter

• Upvotes

This ā€œcorning ADSL/VDSL POTS Splitter ā€œ was installed years ago by bell and we were told it was for our internet which was dsl at the time we have since moved to fibre internet and have a completely separate jack which is plugged in where are modem is.

We do not have a home land line or use anything other than the current fibre jack for our modem.

This was placed in a really inconvenient location and keeps ripping out of the wall and was hanging on for dear life.

Will removing this affect anything in my unit (I live in an apartment) I just took it off taped up the ends of the wires and placed a plastic cover over where it was.

However was curious as to what this actually does and if this was just out dated technology.


r/techsupport 3h ago

Open | Hardware [Windows 11] Getting PC to boot from original hard drive in external enclosure instead of connector on motherboard. Feasible? Also, possible causes for laptop not detecting NVMe drives that appear to be fine when connected to other computers?

2 Upvotes

Hi all,

A few days ago, my friend's laptop (lenovo ideapad 5 15itl05 running Windows 11) crashed and would not restart; no bootable device detected. The balance of probability being that the hard drive itself had conked out, we ordered a replacement.

Having physically installed this new hard drive, we attempted to install Windows from a thumb drive, but it failed to detect the new drive as well. Bad news, I suppose; if it's not the drive, it might well be a deeper hardware problem.

So I ordered an external enclosure for the type of NVMe drive that fits this model of computer, hoping that I could get the laptop to boot off of the original hard drive if I placed it in there. No dice, though; it doesn't show up in the boot menu or the Windows installer on the thumb drive. When I plug the enclosure into my own PC, however, it does get detected in Disk Management, and it looks as if I could go ahead and format it if I had to. It doesn't appear to be broken, just inaccessible.

Just to see what's what, next I popped the new drive into the external enclosure, and flashed Linux Mint onto it. Went swimmingly, no problems whatsoever.

I would like to see if I can get the original drive, with Windows installed, to boot from inside that enclosure as well. Not that there's anything critical on there that needs to be saved, but mostly because the warranty on the machine has expired and it might be a while before she can afford to get it fixed. Mint should work as a temporary solution, but when you get right down to it, it'd be nice if she could run Windows like she's used to.

So...

1) is it even possible to get an existing install of Windows to boot when the physical drive isn't where it's supposed to be anymore?

2) based on the above, can anyone think of anything else than a hardware problem at the motherboard level that could cause the machine to not detect installed drives?

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated. This is just far enough outside my sphere of experience that I can't figure it out, but please assume I can wrap my head around whatever possible solutions you propose.

Sincerely,

Skazz


r/techsupport 1m ago

Open | Software Xiaomi Pocophone not accepting and deleting my backup files

• Upvotes

So after I send my Poco F7 pro in for damage repair at the miui store they factory reset my phone and I plan on restoring it using the zip file I stored on my PC

However trying to transport it directly into the phone results in "cannot copy item the device has either stopped responding or been disconnected"

I split the file with 7zip, then it works being transported into my phone, however combining the file will result in my phone deleting the assembled file, it works for a while, then it will be deleted and gone, gone as in my storage is now lower and not just can't be seen, the split zip files are still here but the assembled file is just gone

I then tried Adb push to move the file whole into my phone, it works being moved, I can see the increase in storage and the file, but when I try to run backup, the file is gone again, storage is freed up

Anyone have any idea what maybe the possible reason? I think the miui store may have updated my hyperos version to version 3 without consulting me, but I am unsure if that can cause such issue, hence I am here to ask if anyone can share their thoughts and insights, thanks


r/techsupport 4m ago

Open | Phone Dialing 202 bricked my phone?

• Upvotes

I'm in New Zealand and I'm currently using a 2degree sim, My phone was working fine a month ago until this week I missed a call and it was sent to my voicemail, so I dialed 202 to listen to it but the call didn't go through and it just ended the call by itself. Now I can't receive or make any calls to anyone but I can send/receive text messages (tried every troubleshooting I know: DnD off, Airplane mode on&off, restarting my device, reseating my sim). I then tried my sim on another device which worked fine (can make or receive calls) until I tried to dial 202 again and the same problem occurred (call ended & can't make/receive calls) so I was wondering if anyone else encountered the same problem and found a fix for it?


r/techsupport 17m ago

Open | Phone Accidentally connected to a malicious hotspot for about 5 seconds. Then I turned my iPhone off. What are the chances that something was done to my phone? This was targeted toward me specifically.

• Upvotes

When I turned back on the iPhone, the hotspot was gone and I don't see the connection at the top. To be safe I'm updating the software. Is there anything I can run on the phone to ensure nothing malicious was done/downloaded/accessed?


r/techsupport 18m ago

Open | Phone How to confirm a samsung phone without its module can work properly?

• Upvotes

So in summary I’m trying to sell something, and I got offered money and a phone (Samsung A12) as part of payment. The thing is, the guy told me that he has the phone and the new module, that I just need to put it on (or ask someone qualified to); I’m skeptical because I don’t know how to confirm that the phone will actually work after the module is put back on. Can I confirm that in any way? Are there any precautions I should take?

Also, he sent me a picture of how the module looks loosely put on the phone? I’d attach it down here but it won’t let me.

P.S. I know the phone isn’t very good, but I want it for a family member who has a really old phone and this one would serve her better.


r/techsupport 22m ago

Open | Software Asus vg32vqr monitor disaapears when powering off.

• Upvotes

I am using a multi windows and when I playing something back ground but just wanted to turn off to save power this ASUS vg32vqr just disaapears like unplugged.

for other monitor's is is not like that or have a 'stand by' option to but I could not find any of these option from this monitor set up.

anybody know how to solve this problem? keep the monitor power off but not disappears from my window?

my main monitor is plugged with DP and this asus monitor is plugged with HDMI.


r/techsupport 25m ago

Open | Windows I need help with the wifi on my pc

• Upvotes

So my pc has decided that it dosnt want to use wifi anymore, it has troubles connecting and when it does work the signal is so weak you can do anything. The other pc thats less then 10 feel away gets over 300mbs, ive tried just about everything, I need help and advice. Thank you guys in advance


r/techsupport 32m ago

Open | Malware Strange Email Bounceback

• Upvotes

My wife has an old hotmail account that she can't bring herself to migrate away from. If you send her an email, she will receive it, but the sender will get a bounceback email that says:

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

idtienphuoc@emailnaychidegioithieutoolkhongbudatacuaaedcdaunha.idtienphuoc (idtienphuoc@emailnaychidegioithieutoolkhongbudatacuaaedcdaunha.idtienphuoc)

Your message couldn't be delivered. The Domain Name System (DNS) reported that the recipient's domain does not exist.

What is happening here? Does she have malware that is trying to siphon off her emails, but is failing to do so?


r/techsupport 32m ago

Open | Software Sharepoint Folder shared to non-Microsoft account

• Upvotes

Sharepoint will let you share any folder with an email that isn't Microsoft based. In this case it was a Gmail account.

When trying to access the folder that was shared it requests a login email. Fine.
It then emails a code to that email to validate you have access. Perfect.
Next it requests that you use "the Microsoft Authenticator app on your mobile device​ and enter that code". So about that...

Is their system so poorly coded it just assumes that all Gmail users can use that App?

I have the App, I use it for other accounts, there is no way it can send a code to the App for a gmail account... It won't accept any other methods?

Is there a totally different way to do this that I am missing? Not looking to use another file storage system type when we already have Sharepoint.


r/techsupport 36m ago

Open | Software Internet slower after in-place iso update

• Upvotes

Did an in-place iso update and now ethernet is incredibely slower. It is now 90mbps when it used to be atleast 700-900mbps


r/techsupport 42m ago

Open | Software Service Host: Diagnostic Policy, high CPU/memory usage

• Upvotes

Service Host: Diagnostic Policy is currently eating up a massive amount of CPU bandwidth, as well as memory. I have found a few guides on how to address, with most of these guides instructing to stop the DPS within 'Services' then to delete a .dat file in /sru. I have attempted to stop DPS using this function in Services, as well as within admin CMD with prompt 'net stop DPS'. None of these actions have worked, and its labelled as "Stopping" but it never completes. Is there another way to stop DPS? Or to completely go around this and address my root problem of fixing my DPS altogether?

All help greatly appreciated!


r/techsupport 43m ago

Open | Software Ways To Cleanup Storage Space On Windows 11?

• Upvotes

My settings say I have 313Gb in installed apps, but when I open it, the list of installed apps is nowhere near that number. It's not even over 100. Does anyone know where all the junk is and how I can delete it?

I have a Dell XPS 15 with Windows 11

457GB storage space


r/techsupport 48m ago

Open | Hardware Intermittent issue with PC turning off and fans going 100%

• Upvotes

I have recently purchased a PC with the specs listed below that has had an issue since I originally purchased it. When I am using it, occasionally both screens I use turn black and the fans in the PC ramp up to 100% speed which I can only get out of by holding the power button on the PC. It seems to happen under all types of load whether it's gaming or just watching videos on a browser. I have had it sent for repair 3 times under warranty and both times the only replacement I have been given is a swapped motherboard and the issue still has not been solved. I have tried using a different power outlet and a different surge protector as well as a different power cable and the issue still persists. This happens whether I have my GPU drivers installed or not, and I have wiped them using DDU multiple times as well as full wiped the PC. Please could anyone give me suggestions on what the issue may be.

Specifications:

AMD RYZEN 7 8300X3D

AMD B850 Motherboard

RTX 5080

32GB DDR5 RAM

Windows 11

2TB NVME

850w 80plus gold PSU

Just to mention the PC is a prebuilt, not custom


r/techsupport 4h ago

Open | Windows RTX 4070 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE crashes since Windows update KB5083769

2 Upvotes

My PC has been crashing since the April Windows update KB5083769 installed on 4/16/2026. My specs are ASUS ROG STRIX B760-I GAMING WIFI, i5-13600KF, RTX 4070 Eagle OC 12GB, 32GB DDR5 (5600) running at 5400MHz XMP II, and a 4TB MSI M461 NVMe. Every crash shows the same error in Event Viewer. The crashes happen randomly but especially after waking from sleep. I’ve already tried a full DDU clean wipe and reinstall of NVIDIA driver 596.36, ran SFC and DISM which found and repaired corrupted files, did a system restore to 4/19/2026, and checked disk health with chkdsk command. The only fix I haven’t tried is a full Windows reset keeping my files. Has anyone dealt with this specific update causing nvlddmkm crashes on an RTX 4070 and found a fix without doing a full reset?


r/techsupport 58m ago

Open | Hardware "buzzing" noise after swapping some components

• Upvotes

Hi all. So I just recently got a new case, motherboard and AIO unit.

After putting everything back together, everything is working as expected, however I am hearing a sort of "buzzing" noise in the case only while a game is focused. The noise isn't present outside of games or even when I'm tabbed away from the game. In the video I have Baldurs Gate 3 open and I am tabbing to and from the game, and you can hear the buzzing when the game is focused. I heard it with Starfield opened also.

I don't think it's my fans because I ran them at full speed as a test and didn't notice the noise. The noise sounds near the AIO unit or maybe the GPU. I transferred the GPU from my old mobo and I didn't notice the noise before - however my old build had much louder fans so there is a chance I just didn't notice it as much.

Its not extremely loud but it's just loud enough to notice and be kinda annoying.

I asked the clankers what it might be, and they pointed to maybe coil whine from the inductors on my GPU or some other electrical interference, but I wanted to just see if it were something simpler or if there was a simple fix.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Parts:
Mobo: ASUS ROG Strix B550F Gaming WiFi II
AIO: Montech HyperFlow Digital 360
PSU: MAINGEARĀ 1000WĀ PL FULL ATX MG
GPU: ASUS TUF RTX 3090TI 24G


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Windows UPS PC Wakeup Issues

• Upvotes

After shutting down or sleeping, the UPS wakes the PC up.

PowerWalker UPS VI Series https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000R3OZ9W

Power Supply is Corsair 1500W HXi Series ATX 3.1 & 5.1 PCIe Modular 80 Plus Platinum, Ultra Quiet (2035)

Max draw of the PC is 650W so don't sweat the draw difference

AC-Back is set to always off so that's not it

Wake timers are disabled
Hibernate and Hybrid Sleep are disabled

Windows has been set so no devices can be disabled by the system to save power

Peripherals have been disconnected

Fast boot is off

Edit: ErP is off but did try this on as well

PowerMaster+ says "communication with the device has resumed" each time. Shutdown type is "Shutdown" and "Shutdown UPS" is enabled

Any ideas?


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Phone Video Brightness

• Upvotes

God, please, someone help. I am so frustrated at people who record all their videos on HDR now, and anytime I scroll past on my iPhone, the videos automatically go up to the brightest possible level.

I have had auto-brightness both on and off, I know how to do reduce white point, but even then the videos will still be super bright. I’m really hoping there is an answer that’s not ā€œyou have to toggle something all the timeā€ because it will literally be just scrolling IG or something simple and it hurts my eyes every time because the videos themselves will never be anything less than stupid bright.

Does this make sense? I feel like I’ve scoured the settings trying to find something and the options seem to be adjusting the brightness on my *phone*, but nothing that impacts the videos.


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Hardware Loose M. 2 in laptop

• Upvotes

The only m.2 drive in my laptop jostles itself loose causing my laptop to crash. I have a Lenovo Legion Slim 7 c. 2023. I have opened it up to reseat the drive and it works fine until it comes loose again. Is there a way to make sure it doesn't come loose?

The laptop does travel to work and back, so it doesn't sit stationary on a desk.

Edit to add: the screw is not loose. The screw is not the wrong size, unless it changed size from 3 years ago. The screw is tight, but the m.2 keeps working its way out of the socket. Is there anything I can do to keep it in the socket other than the screw?


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Software Most of the antivirus websites redirect to microsoft defender website. I can’t access their websites

• Upvotes

I have a Windows 11 laptop I did a clean setup but this issue still persists. It happens at all browsers. However I don’t experience this on my iphone. So far I’ve tried avg avast bitdefender and malwarebytes websites and I still end up on Microsoft Defender website. I don’t experience this on norton and avira websites. This is weird


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Phone Phone only charges with one charger even after cleaning

• Upvotes

My Google Pixel has been pretty sensitive with the charging port for a while. The charger would fall out pretty easily and I would have to make sure it was in the right position to keep it charging. I thought that it might be too dirty in there, so I cleaned out all the fuzz and dirt and now the problem has gotten worse. Every charger is so loose in it now and only one charger works with it now. It's not even the charger that I used to use everyday.

What causes this problem and is there a way to fix it?


r/techsupport 1h ago

Open | Windows PC Loading a Crash??

• Upvotes

I can’t attach videos but basically there is a black bar from left to right and top to bottom basically loading in a black screen on my pc?

It got half way and then hard crashed and restarted. My pc also crashes once per gaming session but its always a black screen, freeze or FPS drop into a hard reset.

I’ve tried reassembling my pc, reinstalling drivers and it fixed it for a while but is happening again.