SYMPTOM

When running Windows Update, the error code 0x80072f8f was received.

CAUSE

Regarding the error code 80072f8f, it means “ERROR_INTERNET_DECODING_FAILED” which caused by the Internet Time could not be synchronized with global Update Server. The valid date and time are on the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate that the Windows Update website uses. In this scenario, the Windows Update scan operation is unable to scan the computer for updates successfully.

RESOLUTION

Please take the following steps to check the issue:

1. Click the “Start” button, type “Date and Time” in the Search bar, and then click “Date and Time” in the Programs list.

2. In the “Date and Time Settings” dialog box, please perform the following:

    1) Check the time and date on system:

        In the “Date and Time” dialog box, click “Change date and time”, configure the correct date and time and click OK.

    2) Ensure the Time zone setting is correct.

    3) Configure Internet Time Setting:

        a) Switch to the “Internet Time” tab and then click Change settings.
        b) Select the check box next to “Synchronize with an Internet time server”, select the time server “time.windows.com”, and then click "Update now".
        c) Then Click OK to apply the settings.

Please restart the computer and check the issue.

The Windows Update history is a log that records previous attempts of installation. If an update fails to install, an entry will be added. Even if the update has been installed successfully later, either by installing a later compiled pack that includes the failed update or by Automatic Update in the background, those logged items remain.
 
Therefore, the history is not related to the current system status. To check whether Windows is up-to-date, we can have a check with Windows Update.

Also, please understand the information of Windows Update history is in a file and if you would like to delete it, all the update history, not just the installation failures will be removed.

To clear the Windows Update history, please follow the steps below:

1. Open command prompt:

    1) Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
    2) In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
    3) When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.

2. At the command prompt, type "net stop WuAuServ" (without quotations) and press Enter.
3. Click Start, type "%windir%" (without quotations) in the Start Search box and press Enter.
4. In the opened folder, look for the folder named "SoftwareDistribution" and open it.
5. Double click the DataStore folder and locate the DataStore.edb file. Right-click on the file, select "Rename" and type "DataStoreold" (without quotations) to rename this file.
6. Open command prompt, type in the command "net start WuAuServ" (without quotations) and press Enter to restart the Automatic Updates service.
 
Then check if the updates failure history is cleared.

When trying to join a HomeGroup, after entering the password, the message "Windows cannot set up a HomeGroup on this computer" appeared.

SOLUTION

Regarding the issue, please try the following methods:

1. Go to “Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\HomeGroup” and click “Start the HomeGroup troubleshooter” link to check the issue.

2. Please also try the methods in the guide:

    Why can’t I join a HomeGroup?

3. Please boot in Clean Boot to test this issue.

4. Ensure the Time Zone and Time/Date are the same on each machine.

5. Reset HomeGroup:
    --------------------------
    1) Click the Start Button, type "cmd" (without quotation marks), in the search result list, right click on Cmd.exe and select Run as administrator.
        Note: If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

    2) In the popup window, type the following command and press Enter:

        Net stop p2pimsvc

    3) Access the following folder and clear all files inside:

        C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Roaming\PeerNetworking

    4) Click the Start Button, type "cmd" (without quotation marks), in the search result list, right click on Cmd.exe and select Run as administrator.

        Net start p2pimsvc

6. Please check your network adapter settings for IPv6. Your network connection must have IPv6 to support HomeGroup. If it is disabled, follow the steps below to enable it:

    1) Right click on the network icon and click Open the Network and Sharing Center.
    2) In Network and Sharing Center, click Change adapter settings.
    3) In the Network Connections window, right click on your network adapter and select Properties.
    4) In the Properties window, check the box for Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
    5) Close all the windows and reboot your system.

7. If the issue persists, please try creating HomeGroup again.

If you configured the dual monitor as “For Duplicate your displays”, the screensaver can be displayed on both monitors; however, if you choose the “Extended your displays” option, this will not work.

You can change the display settings of your monitor by following the steps:

1. Click Start  and go to "Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization – Display- Change Display Settings".

2. Select the Duplicate these displays option in the Multiple displays drop box.

Then, choose the screensaver and it will be displayed on both monitors.

More information:

Work and play better with multiple monitors

SYMPTOM

Sidebar doesn't run at start up and the gadgets need to be added every time.

SOLUTION

First, please run MSCONFIG to check if the sidebar.exe entry is added under Startup tab and go to check if the sidebar.exe entry is added under [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

If it does not work, please copy ATL.DLL from to C:\Windows\System32 to C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar folder and run the following commands with elevated privilege:

CD\

CD "\Program Files\Windows Sidebar"

REGSVR32 ATL.DLL

REGSVR32 SBDROP.DLL

REGSVR32 WLSRVC.DLL

If the issue persists, you can try the following steps to reset the Sidebar. The following steps will remove all downloaded gadgets.

Show Hidden File

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1. Click Start and click Control Panel.

2. Choose Folder Options.

3. Click View tab, choose Show hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide Protected Operating System Files and Folders box, click Apply and click OK.

Rename Sidebar file

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1. Click Start -> Computer

2. Go to C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar (where <user name> is your current user account name).

3. Open Settings.ini, press CTRL+A (select all) and press delete. The file is now empty. Save the file.

4. Browse into the Gadgets directory.

5. Select CTRL+A (select all) and rename them.

Sometimes, we may be puzzled by the issues of Bluetooth devices. I would like to share some ideas about how to troubleshoot these issues.

First of all, please make sure the software and drivers for the Bluetooth devices are properly installed and configured.

Also, we can take the following steps to pair the Bluetooth device in Windows 7 and type the passkey.

How to pair the Bluetooth device in Windows 7 and how to type the passkey:

==================================================

1. Connect your device to computer.
2. Click the Start, type devicepairingwizard and Press Enter.
3. Select the box "Turn on Bluetooth" and check "Make this device visible to other devices".
4. After the device is detected, select your device and then Click Next to begin pairing.
5. Let the Windows install the device drivers for your Bluetooth peripheral. If you skip the driver installation phase, you’ll probably end up with an outdated driver and might not have full functionality of your Bluetooth device.

Note: If you need to enter any pass code try 0000 that's the default for most of the Bluetooth device out there, if doesn't work, check the user menu of your device.

If there is any issue, please open Device and Printers, right click the Bluetooth device, and select Troubleshoot to fix the problem.

References:

Add a Bluetooth or other wireless or network device: frequently asked questions

Add a Bluetooth enabled device to your computer

Attempting to pair a Bluetooth mobile phone may fail on some slower systems.

SYMPTOM

Microsoft games (Solitaire etc.) cannot work normally in Windows 7

RESOLUTION

We can reset the games feature to solve this issue:

1. Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features.

2. Select Turn Windows feature on or off.

3. Uncheck Games. Click OK, and then reboot to apply these changes.

4. Repeat the steps 1-2 above, and then Check Games feature again.

5. Click OK, and then reboot the computer to apply these changes.

SYMPTOM

The taskbar thumbnails in Aero stopped working.

Please Note: Taskbar Thumbnail Preview only works when you have enabled Aero in Windows 7, for more information, please refer to:

What is the Aero desktop experience?

https://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-is-the-Aero-desktop-experience

RESOLUTION

First, please apply the update in the following Knowledge Base article and see if it works:

An update is available that enables the thumbnail controls of certain applications to be displayed correctly on the taskbar in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2259539

If the issue persists, please also try the following methods:

1. Test this issue in Clean Boot:

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

2. Check the Group Policy settingsfor this issue:

How to Enable or Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Preview in Windows 7

-----------------------------------------------------

1) Click on start and type on Search bar gpedit.msc and press enter.

2) Now navigate to User Configuration, Administrative Templates, and Start Menu and Taskbar in left pan of Group Policy Editor.

3) Locate “Turn off Taskbar Thumbnails” in right pan of Group policy editor and double click on it.

4) Select Disable click Apply and Press Ok.

5) Now check Taskbar, it shouldn’t show Thumbnails Preview.

3. Please check the following registry keys:

Before modify the registry keys, please take a backup of the key. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, please click the following link to view the article:

Back up the registry

https://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Back-up-the-registry

1) Type regedit in Start menu Search box and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

2) Go to following key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

3) In right pane, create a new DWORD value DisablePreviewWindow and set its value to 0 to enable previews.

4) Log off or restart your system to take effect.

Start Menu Items Missing

SYMPTOM

Accessories and Startup menu items disappeared from the Default User profile. But they are existed in the domain administrator account and in

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

RESOLUTION   

First, please check if the items exist in:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

If they exist and the computer is in a domain, please check if your domain admin enabled the policy “Remove common program groups from the Start Menu” for your user account in the domain. If you have local administrator rights you can run “rsop.msc” to get an overview of the settings that are enforced from the domain.

If the items don’t exist, please try to copy them back from a good Windows 7 computer.

REFERENCE 

Some items missing from Start Menu

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproinstall/thread/d9e91a66-6474-4bd8-aef9-5e4ba9d31963

Method 1:

1. Right click on Start button.

2. Select Properties.

3. Switch to Start Menu tab and click Customize button.

4. Under the “Start menu size” section at the bottom of the “Customize Start Menu” dialog, set a new value for Number of recent items to display in Jump Lists option.

More information:

Customize the Start Menu Options in Windows 7 

Method 2:

Reduce or Disable Frequent Items of Windows Explorer Jump List in Windows 7

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Before modify the registry keys, please take a backup of the key. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, please click the following link to view the article:

Back up the registry 

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start menu Search box and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced 

3. In the right-pane, locate Start_JumpListItems (a 32-bit DWORD value) and double click it to edit.

4. Example of possible value for Start_JumpListItems value:

1)      To display maximum of 15 frequent items, set Start_JumpListItems to F or 15 (if Decimal Base is selected).

2)      To display only 1 frequent item, set Start_JumpListItems to 1 (valid for both Hexadecimal and Decimal Base).

3)      To totally disable Frequent item in Windows Explorer Jump List, set Start_JumpListItems to 0