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Dr.Watson Postmortem Debugger has Encountered a Problem and Needs to Close

Yesterday night, while working on my computer, I saw the error message "Dr.Watson Postmortem Debugger has encountered a Problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

My computer froze when I pressed the 'don't send report' button. Since I couldn't work anymore, I restarted it, but again, the same Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger came up with a sorry message.


I could not do anything on the desktop PC. So, I started browsing on my Laptop. The first thing I did was a search using the error message and found many people were facing the same issue.


I saw multiple opinions about the error message as a system error and a possible malware attack. While surfing more, I found it was not a malware infection.


It is a built-in Windows debugger program.


Microsoft uses the Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger to collect error reports from devices run on the Windows Operating system.




How to Fix the Dr.Watson Postmortem Debugger Error Message?

As I expected, it is not an essential tool for a user.


We can either delete or disable it without affecting the functionality of our computers.


So, I decided to disable this program to make my desktop PC work again. I tried to log on to my Desktop computer and successfully logged on to the Windows account after a few unsuccessful attempts. Then, I followed the steps below.


How to disable the Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger?



  1. Click on start

  2. Click on Run (Or press the Windows and R keys together to open the Run). Type drwtsn32 on the Run window and Click on OK. Now, the Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger options window will open.

    It looks like the image below.


    check
  3. Uncheck all the checkboxes under options and click OK.




Where Can I read the Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger Log Files?

As I explained before, it is a default unnecessary program installed by Microsoft to collect information regarding software errors or bugs. It keeps a log file that stores all software errors that happened and sends it to Microsoft.

The log file created by Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger records all kinds of software errors that occur, and to read this log file, you may navigate to the following location.



C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\DrWatson



It is saved in the name drwtsn32 and can open in Notepad. This log file contains Application exceptions that occurred, System Information, Task List, etc.

We can change the log file path of the Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger by accessing it by following the steps below.


  1. Click the Windows Start button, and click the Run.

  2. Type drwtsn32 on the Run and press OK.


    What is

    You can change current settings (including the log file location) from here. You can specify a different address for the log file if you want.


Since it is an error reporting tool from Microsoft, you will get the error message "Dr.Watson Postmortem Debugger has encountered a Problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience" when a program crashes. It is not because of virus infection but a feature (unnecessary though) that does its duty only in an annoying way.

Create a Home Computer Network Without a Router

My friend had an interview last week, and the first question he faced was about creating a LAN without a router or DHCP server.

He was not sure and asked me if it was possible. I told him it was possible and showed him it with two Windows laptops.


We can create a computer network without a router and DHCP server.


We connected two computers directly using a bridged USB cable and started communication between these two computers without the help of any external DHCP server.


A bridged USB cable is different from an ordinary USB cable.


If you read my previous tutorial, you might recall the need for a bridged USB cable.



Can I Create a Home Network Without a Router?

We can create a home network without a router. We use Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) to establish a network if there is no DHCP server (Router) to issue IP addresses.


Windows supports APIPA.


APIPA helps start communication between Windows computers in a network without a DHCP server. However, it can create issues if there is an external DHCP server. I covered this topic in the following tutorial.



How to Use APIPA to Create a Home Network?

All Windows computers support the feature APIPA. So, we can connect multiple Windows PCs without a router, and the APIPA will automatically assign unique IP addresses to each computer.


APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) eliminates the possibility of an IP address conflict.


The limitation I see with APIPA is the lack of support from Linux.



So, let us check how to build a home network without a DHCP server.

In this project, we avoid using the router or DHCP servers. We do not use Etehrnet cable in this connection.

So, no chance for static IP addresses. We use a bridged USB cable to connect the PCs. Both computers will get APIPA from the Windows Operating System.



APIPA will assign IP addresses in the 169.254.X.X range. All computers in the IP range 169.254.X.X can communicate with each other.


The IP address range for APIPA is 169.254.0.1-169.254.255.254.


All APIPA computers can communicate with each other as their subnet mask is 255.255.0.0 (Class B address). The subnet rules say the network address of APIPA is 169.254.0.1, and the broadcast address is 169.254.255.255. Any address that comes in between this range can communicate with each other.


An APIPA device cannot access the Internet.


Because it is a private IP address, we cannot use APIPA to get the Internet connection to our computers. For Local networks and Intranet, APIPA is enough.

When to Charge Laptop Battery & Increase Battery life and Efficiency

When it comes to laptop battery charging, there are different opinions about the right way and time to do it. This tutorial explains how to manage a laptop battery with right time to recharge and steps to keep remaining charge more efficiently. Lithium based battery is used for laptops and it is better to wait till its charge comes between 20% to 10% to plug it back to power. Most of the experts recommend, never let the battery charge drops below 10% before connecting it back to power supply. In addition to the level of power left, the temperature has a major role in the efficiency of the lithium battery.

The better ways to Charge Laptop Battery

Nowadays we are using lithium-ion batteries for Laptops and they are having a rapid-charging option. It is important to note that when we start using the Laptop for the first time, it is advised to charge it for a long time (attain 100%). To know the exact time period, better refer the Laptop user manual. Never operate your Laptop at higher as well as lower temperature and keep it in room temperature. So the major points to remember while charging laptop batteries are provided below.
  1. Connect to power when charge falls below 20%

  2. Stop avoiding overheating and better keep in room temperature

  3. For first time use, recharge the battery to 100%


It is better to remove the battery from the Laptop if you are not going to use it for a long time. Another important point we need to remember is never short circuit terminals to discharge battery charge. You can configure the time when the power left falls below 20% from power options. To perform it, visit the link below.
How to Change Critical Level And Get Informed


Use Laptop Battery Efficiently

Now we know the right time to connect a laptop back to power. This section covers how to utilize the battery charge in a better and efficient way. Think of a situation where you are in no position to find a power outlet to connect but wants to continue your work. So the only option left is to manage the existing charge more efficiently. In such a scenario, the following tips will help you.
  1. Turn off Wireless and Bluetooth

    If the WiFi button is on, it will take additional power to scan available wireless networks present in that area. If it fails to find any wireless network, it will continue the scanning. It is the same for Bluetooth also. To avoid such wastage of energy, I recommend you to turn off Wireless button.

  2. Avoid playing computer games

    High-end PC games cost too much energy and it not recommended to play them when you have no chance to find a power supply. Playing games on your Laptop drain laptop battery fast.

  3. Reduce the Laptop Speaker Volume and don't play any movies

  4. Reduce screen brightness

  5. Avoid using external devices like an external mouse, DVD drive, USB adapters etc

  6. Avoid using multimedia applications

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Can I connect two Computers With a USB cable?

Have you ever wondered if we can use a USB cable to connect two laptops? Which are the popular methods to share data between two computers?


There are many methods to connect two computers and share data between them. Ethernet cables and wireless (IEE802.11 standards) are the most popular modes to connect two devices.


With a Bridged USB cable, we can connect two PCs.


You can use a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable to connect two computers and use the same connection to share files between them. However, for this, you must use a specific type of cable called the Bridged USB cable.


We cannot use an ordinary USB cord to connect two computers.


This guide explains the difference between bridged and ordinary USB cables and the procedure to connect two PCs with a Bridged USB cable.



How to Connect Two Computers With a USB Cable?

The Universal Serial Bus cable that connects two computers directly is called the Bridged USB cable. It is available in two different standards.


They are USB 1.1 and 2.0.


The difference in standard is the speed of data transfer. In the 1.1 version, the data transfer speed is 12 Mbps, and that in version 2.0 is 480 Mbps.

It is important to note that no other Universal Serial Bus cords can connect two PCs directly. Using the wrong cords may harm the USB ports of your computers.



Now let us check the two different modes of its working.



Modes of working of Bridge Cord

The bridged Universal Serial Bus cord works in two different modes. They are:


  1. Link mode

  2. Network Mode


In link mode, two laptops share the connection through the bridged Universal Serial Bus cord, and file sharing is enabled.

In network mode, multiple PCs share the connection, and they share the Internet ( in addition to the file sharing). It is the fundamental difference between link mode and network mode.



Now, you understand everything you should learn while connecting two computers with a USB cable. We cannot use an ordinary USB cord, but a special cord called the Bridged USB cord.

A bridged USB cord is popular with external UBS storage devices. Anyone who has an external USB storage device is familiar with this cord.



What If The Computers' Not Detecting The USB Connection?

I received a comment yesterday about complaining about an error while connecting two PCs with a USB cord. She followed the instructions and connected her two desktop PCs with a Bridged USB cord. Nothing happened.

It happens when the PCs do not have the required driver. By default, Windows 11 detects a USB connection. However, this is not always true.

The solution is to install the driver/software that comes with the Bridged USB cord.

How to Change System Date and Time in Ubuntu Linux?

This weekend was great as I established a Local Area Network in my friend's home. He has a total of six computers, and two of them are running on Ubuntu Linux.

After creating the Local Area Network, we implemented one propitiatory real-time simulation software on this LAN by installing the software on all these computers. The software works fine with the integrated data from 5 computers, but one computer is not connecting.


It seems one Linux PC rejected the connection.


So, the techie in our mind got up, and we started troubleshooting the issue.

At first, we thought the issue was with the compatibility issue of Ubuntu and the software. But the first Ubuntu computer is working fine with the software, and in a careful analysis, we found that that computer is functioning more efficiently than other Windows-based computers. So, it is not the issue with Ubuntu.


So, what would be the actual cause of the issue?


Then I just checked the connection manager of the software, and the error message was something like an unpredictable date with many hexadecimal codes.



So it has something with the system date. We went to the non-functional computer and checked the system date. It was the default system date set when installed Ubuntu. So we just set the system date and time with the current date and time. The result was promising.

It fixed the problem. So here I am presenting steps to change computer date and time in Ubuntu Linux when there are no date and time displays on the system tray.





How to change system date and time in Ubuntu Linux?

  1. Click on Show Applications (at the left-bottom).

  2. Click on the Settings.

  3. Click on Date and Time (from the left side menu).

  4. To manually change the time and date, turn off the Automatic Date and Time.

  5. Now click on the date and time. You can change the Ubuntu Date and time.