How We Verify

Advice about a broken PC is only worth following if it is right. This page explains exactly how every fix on this site is sourced, checked and kept current.

Sources

Fixes are written from Microsoft's own documentation: the Microsoft Learn System Error Codes reference (from WinError.h), Microsoft's Windows Update error references, and Microsoft Support's recovery and sign-in guidance. Each article lists its sources at the foot of the page. Forums, videos and other blogs are never used as the basis for a fix step.

The checks before a page is published

• The code's meaning is confirmed in the Microsoft reference, not copied from another site.
• Steps are ordered safest first; anything that can affect your files is flagged before the step, never after.
• Steps that differ between Windows 10 and Windows 11 are checked on both and shown separately.
• Anything we cannot verify is left out or clearly marked as unverified — we do not guess.

Keeping pages current

Every page shows when it was last checked. Pages are re-verified after each monthly Patch Tuesday cycle and whenever Microsoft changes the underlying guidance; if a procedure changes, the page is updated and its date moves.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix the page, move its checked date, and — for anything that could have sent a reader the wrong way — note the correction on the page itself. Readers can report problems via Contact; those reports are read first, before new pages are written.