Windows gadgets(weather)

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Can’t connect did the usual stopped windows gadgets in control panel restarted comp.
then restarted windows gadgets says can’t connect.
tried windows fixit that didn’t fixit.

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…everything else is ok, correct? I had the same problem for quite awhile with my gadgets in one of my laptops. If I can remember just how that was solved — I will post here. Otherwise, I’ll wait along with you, to learn from others to fix that [again].

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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yes everything else works

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I searched for “Cannot connect to service” and found it in C:Program FilesWindows SidebarGadgetsWeather.Gadgeten-USjslocalizedStrings.js and references to an ActiveX object.

Looking at the jscript code in C:Program FilesWindows SidebarGadgetsWeather.Gadgeten-USjsweather.js it looks like the Weather gadget first determines the location of your PC then sends a request to a MSN Weather service for local weather data.

If you right-click on the Weather gadget and choose Options you may find, like me, you are unable to change or search for a location.
39318-weather
Click to enlarge

I suspect Microsoft have either turned off the location API (which I guess is/was accessed by the ActiveX object) or turned off the MSN Weather service (or both) now that Microsoft no longer support the Windows Gadget platform (due to concerns about security, i.e. malware in third-party gadgets).

Hope this helps explain why (I think) the Weather gadget can no longer connect.

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My thanks for your efforts on my behalf. Gerry :rolleyes:

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The fix here: Weather widget replacement for Windows 7 | Post #28 Might be helpful.

There are several ways to fix, but right now the challenge is to make it stick because it seems there is something about Windows Updates that keeps killing the widget.

Related:
Windows 7, weather gadget problem

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Rick:
I think that is a good conclusion since my girlfriends weather gadget stopped connecting also, approx. a week ago.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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yup i agree but would have been nice to be informed from them thank you

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It would have been nice to be informed that they were going to use your location information and send that information to a service you may not want to use.

cheers, Paul

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The Gadgets which got information from the Web have all been disabled indefinitely due to MS finding a security flaw in the data acquisition mechanism which could be used to download malware and/or hijack a PC.

I guess MS may not bother to fix what has turned out to be a not very popular way of doing things (in terms of the number of Gadgets which have been produced – they haven’t “taken off” like smartphone apps have).

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Thank you Anak, I can confirm that this works.

1. Close the weather gadget.
2. Open the following with your default notepad editor: %userprofile%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCacheConfig.xml
3. Make no changes and simply click file->save and then exit.
4. Re-open the gadget and it should work.

39571-weather

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Thank you Anak, I can confirm that this works.

1. Close the weather gadget.
2. Open the following with your default notepad editor: %userprofile%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCacheConfig.xml
3. Make no changes and simply click file->save and then exit.
4. Re-open the gadget and it should work.

39571-weather

Unfortunately it didn’t work for me. On #2, I opened notepad and pasted in the string. On #3, when I click file->save, it wants a file name and place to save it. On #4. the gadget ( upon restarting it ) is exactly the same. nada

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Strange… I literally didn’t do anything except open the Config.xml file in Notepad and click on Save then close Notepad again.

I’ve attached my Config.xml file from C:UsersAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCache in case you want to try replacing yours.

39573-Config

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Somehow I get the feeling that I’m missing something in my procedure.

1. Close the weather gadget.

I clicked the “X” and closed it.

2. Open the following with your default notepad editor: %userprofile%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCacheConfig.xml

I opened notepad and pasted the string into it.

3. Make no changes and simply click file->save and then exit.

I clicked file->save and it asks me for a file name and where to save it ( it wouldn’t let me save it or close it any other way ), so I named it weather gadget and saved it to my documents. I think this is where I am missing something.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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1. Close the Weather gadget.
2. Open Notepad then, in Notepad, use File > Open.
3. Navigate to the %userprofile%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCache folder.
For example, C:Userslumpy95AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCache.
4. Change the Search from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*), select the Config.xml file then click on the Open button.
39577-hidden3
(Click to enlarge
[INDENT](If you don’t see an AppData folder it’s because it’s hidden by default. To show the folder, do the following:
a) Open an Explorer window.
b) Click on Organize.
c) Select Folder and search options.
39575-hidden1
(Click to enlarge
d) Select the View tab.
e) Change the option to Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
f) Click on the Apply button.
g) Click on the Apply to all folders button.
h) Click on the OK button to dismiss the dialog. The AppData folder will now show up in Notepad’s File > Open dialog.
39576-hidden2
(Click to enlarge
i) Close (or minimise) the Explorer window.[/INDENT]
5. Once you have the Config.xml file open in Notepad, don’t do anything but click on File > Save.
6. Close Notepad.
7. Re-open the Weather gadget.

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Thanks Rick, I see what I did wrong now. I will give it a try in awhile and let you know if it was successful.
Good description BTW 😉

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Thanks, lumpy95. Fingers crossed… hope it works for you! 🙂

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Results:
On my girlfriends computer ( win 7 Pro 64 bit, same as mine ), the directions worked fine. However, on my computer there is no Config.xml file in the cache folder, the folder is empty?
Another interesting point, my girlfriend works for the GOVT. with win 7 on their computers and she said that the weather gadget has never stopped working on their computers?
My assessment is that since the GOVT. IT dept. pushes all updates to their computers, this whole thing must be tied to an update somewhere along the line that they didn’t push to those computers. She can’t run Disk cleanup, chkdsk, etc. from her computer, everything is controlled by the IT dept.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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lumpy93 – Did you try the Config.xml file I attached as a .zip to post #13?

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lumpy93 – Did you try the Config.xml file I attached as a .zip to post #13?

No, I haven’t. where do I unzip the file to and do I just place it in the cache folder? Instructions please, thanks Rick.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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That works!!!!!!!!!!!!! Extraordinary ; I did not believe that it could possibly work many grateful thanks !it’s so useful !

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TCHAPAIEV – Could you please clarify what worked for you? Post #12? The config.zip file attached to post #13?

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TCHAPAIEV – Could you please clarify what worked for you? Post #12? The config.zip file attached to post #13?

Well I got the same problem as MANY users ; all of a sudden , The weather gadget stopped functionning ; and here I found the solution that you referenced correctly ; yes that’s the config file to just open in notepad and save ; that’s all !

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TCHAPAIEV – Excellent. Thank you for clarifying. 🙂

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Nothing to thank ; I am grateful for the trick which works ! I just reply to see if the Chrome browser works here better than IE ; I have problems posting on that forum on IE for some obscure reason

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I just reply to see if the Chrome browser works here better than IE ; I have problems posting on that forum on IE for some obscure reason

I use Chrome too… with the AdBlock Plus extension installed (which shows that 3 ads were blocked on this page :)). Hope this helps…

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Yes, there does seem to be some tie-in with Windows Update that wants to kill the widget, haven’t found which security update it is though. 🙁

Lumpy, have your GF ask the Gov IT guys how they keep it running. :whisper:

Rick,

Nice #15post You should have that saved as a tutorial! To facilitate finding Rick’s Config.zip file it’s here in post #13

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lumpy95 – When you click on the link to the Config.zip file in post #13, make a note of where it’s saved on your PC. (By default, it’s to a folder called Downloads in your profile. So, if you log in on your PC with a username of lumpy95 then the default Downloads folder will be: C:Userslumpy95Downloads.)

Go to the folder and un-zip the Config.zip file. Copy the Config.xml file to the C:Userslumpy95AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCache folder then try the Weather gadget again.

Hope this helps…

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lumpy95 – When you click on the link to the Config.zip file in post #13, make a note of where it’s saved on your PC. (By default, it’s to a folder called Downloads in your profile. So, if you log in on your PC with a username of lumpy95 then the default Downloads folder will be: C:Userslumpy95Downloads.)

Go to the folder and un-zip the Config.zip file. Copy the Config.xml file to the C:Userslumpy95AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindows LiveServicesCache folder then try the Weather gadget again.

Hope this helps…

Thanks Rick. I will try this after making a restore point but a couple of questions first. I already dwnld’d the file but haven’t had the time to do it yet.
1- I assume that I just extract the zipped file to the downloads folder, then copy/paste the config.xml file to the cache folder
2- Just curious why my computer does not have the Config.xml file and my GF’s almost identical computer does ( same updates, OS, bittedness, etc. )? Any guesses?

Lumpy, have your GF ask the Gov IT guys how they keep it running

Anak, IT doesn’t tell them anything. If they have any problems on their PC, their supervisor calls IT and it is worked on from a remote location. Since I am the only thing close to an IT guy at home, she is extremely happy with me when I fix things on her PC. In this case, Rick has made a hero out of me, 😆

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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1- I assume that I just extract the zipped file to the downloads folder, then copy/paste the config.xml file to the cache folder

Yes… or you could use your girlfriend’s Config.xml file.

2- Just curious why my computer does not have the Config.xml file and my GF’s almost identical computer does ( same updates, OS, bittedness, etc. )? Any guesses?

No, sorry, I don’t have any idea.

Since I am the only thing close to an IT guy at home, she is extremely happy with me when I fix things on her PC. In this case, Rick has made a hero out of me, 😆

😮

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SUCCESS, I used her config.xml file and it went fine. Thanks so much Rick for the time and explanation.
This should be a “sticky” since there is so much interest in it.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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SUCCESS, I used her config.xml file and it went fine.

Excellent! Thanks for letting us know. I hope Mark5109 (OP) is still keeping an eye on this thread.

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I hope Mark5109 (OP) is still keeping an eye on this thread.

Yeah, we haven’t heard from him as to success or failure.
BTW, my thanks to Anak for originally finding that article also.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Yeah, we haven’t heard from him as to success or failure.
BTW, my thanks to Anak for originally finding that article also.

You’re welcome.

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seems out of my league to mess with it

i got a headache trying this thanks all if you make house calls:)

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Thanks for posting Mark and ( according to your signature ) thanks for your service.
Actually the procedure seemed to be fairly simple with Ricks instructions and file for download, but if it gives you a headache then you probably don’t need it anyway, LOL.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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The weather gadget has changed since a couple of days ago. It used to be current temp but now it is the high/low for the day.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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lumpy 95 , this is supposed to be an naswer to your question you say :”2- Just curious why my computer does not have the Config.xml file and my GF’s almost identical computer does ( same updates, OS, bittedness, etc. )? Any guesses?”
Are you sure ? Which OS do you work on ? Make sure that you browsed at the required place ; one may suspect your sytem files are partially corrupt ; but if yourGF has the same problem that is highly improbable ; did you try on her PC ? Hope that helps

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Soory I am coming too late , I missed the next posts and am happy you finally succeeded .

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TCHAPAIEV:
1- Are you sure ?= yes
2- Which OS do you work on ?= Win 7 Pro x64
3- Make sure that you browsed at the required place= I did
4- one may suspect your sytem files are partially corrupt= I don’t think so
5- did you try on her PC ?= yes, and the fix worked fine, and I copied her file to my computer which made the fix work on my computer.
For some reason that file was not originally on my computer but it was on hers. Still a mystery 😀
Thanks for the input.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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I’ve been following this thread, but have had nothing to offer. My weather gadget hasn’t stopped working on the Windows 7 Ultimate side of my dual boot. I don’t spend a lot of time on that side, but I do keep it updated regularly. Also I do have the Config.xml file.

>>>edit<<< My resurrected Inspiron 580 has Windows 7 Professional, I just tried the weather gadget on it, and it didn't work. So I copied/pasted the Config.xml file from my Windows 7 Ultimate, and now it works. Very simple fix, thanks.[/size]

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I’ve been following this thread, but have had nothing to offer. My weather gadget hasn’t stopped working on the Windows 7 Ultimate side of my dual boot. I don’t spend a lot of time on that side, but I do keep it updated regularly. Also I do have the Config.xml file.[/size]

bbearren :
1- Interesting that your weather gadget never stopped working.
2- Since the Config.xml file seems to be on so many win 7 computers, I’m confused as to why it wasn’t on mine ( although I had no problems copying from my gf’s computer and pasting it into the correct spot on mine ).

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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bbearren :
1- Interesting that your weather gadget never stopped working.
2- Since the Config.xml file seems to be on so many win 7 computers, I’m confused as to why it wasn’t on mine ( although I had no problems copying from my gf’s computer and pasting it into the correct spot on mine ).

Read my edited post.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Read my edited post.

Ahhh, thank goodness I’m not the only one, :fanfare:

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Just a “Heads Up“, I ran chkdsk /f this morning and that resulted in having to go through the whole process again to get the weather gadget to work. The config.xml file was still there but had to do the process again.
As soon as I ran chkdsk /f and the computer booted, the weather gadget wouldn’t work.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Just a followup, evidently MS reallllly doesn’t want us to use the weather gadget because it just disappears after a couple of days no matter if the fix has been done or not. At least that’s the case with both computers here.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Just a followup, evidently MS reallllly doesn’t want us to use the weather gadget because it just disappears after a couple of days no matter if the fix has been done or not. At least that’s the case with both computers here.

On my Windows 7 dual boot on my main desktop, nothing has changed, it continues to work. On my Inspiron 580, my gadgets will disappear from the desktop, but if I right-click on the desktop and select “Gadgets”, as soon as the Gadget box opens, my gadgets reappear on the desktop right where I left them, and the weather gadget comes up already synced with MSN weather.

I don’t have to do anything additional; just remind it that it’s there, I guess. I use Remote Desktop Connection for the 580, and perhaps that has something to do with it, can’t say. But whenever I boot into the Windows 7 side of my main desktop, the gadgets are just there.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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1- Something obviously changed on my computer because I couldn’t even access desktop gadgets from control panel. ALL gadgets were gone. I used system restore to take me back to before the Config.xml file and now the gadgets are back, just no weather gadget.
2- I also had an icon for AISuiteII in the taskbar showing that it wasn’t responding, which is gone now that I restored.
3- In system restore points, I had 2 critical WUs that showed up after doing the Config.xml fix that weren’t listed in installed updates or update history.
4- After posting this I looked at system restore and another WU critical update is listed immediately after the restore for some reason, and again it doesn’t show up in installed updates or update history. What the heck is going on? I have WU set to NEVER check for updates since I do it manually.
39716-sys-restore

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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Perhaps it is your antivirus/malware program gone rogue. I’ve run across many user problems with Norton, and especially AVG. What do you use?

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Perhaps it is your antivirus/malware program gone rogue. I’ve run across many user problems with Norton, and especially AVG. What do you use?

I use MSE and there is a definitions file update but not listed as a critical update from WU.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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I also use MSE and all my definition updates are listed as optional. I find it incredible that they would be listed that way. That is, wouldn’t you want you’re antivirus program accept the update whenever a new one came down the pike? No matter, I notice they’ll sit in the que, but are eventually installed within 24hours.

I just saw your new post, there was problems last year with a new security update that would change the update settings. Can you reset to your liking and see if it reverts?

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I just went into computer Management and looked in event viewer/Applications and Services Logs/Microsoft/Windows/Windows Update Client/Operational and evidently WUs runs automatically NO MATTER WHETHER I TELL IT TO OR NOT!

39719-comp-mngmnt

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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There’s nothing to reset, it’s still “Never check for updates ( not recommended )”. I have to assume that setting means nothing to MS anymore.
According to that log, WU checks every day for critical updates and installs them if it finds any.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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As MartinM indicated, there are serious security holes with Gadgets and rather than fix these useful objects, MS scrapped Gadgets. They can still be downloaded around the web and off the Win7 install disk. Win8 can even use them. Not advisable, but….

http://wayback.archive.org/web/20130327012616/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/personalize/gadgets

Best look for 3rd party apps instead.
http://rainmeter.net/ [simplynova]

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Thanks Fascist Nation but after all of the problems that have surfaced from the “Weather Gadget Fix”, I won’t be using that one anymore. The only one I use is the UPS indicator now so that I know when/if the battery starts to fade on the UPS, and it seems to be working alright ( fingers crossed ). Once I did system restore to before I did the Config.xml fix, all of the gadgets returned. Glad I set a restore point before running the fix.
I can live without the weather gadget, but it was a shock to discover that evidently WUs runs in the background no matter how you set it. The only thing I had to re-download and run was the Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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