Software comparisons, alternatives, and tool decision notes.

Fix 'git pull failed index.lock file exists' Error

When running git pull, you may see an error like:

fatal: Unable to create &#...

How to Enable Chrome Extensions That Aren't Loading

You open Chrome and see a grayed-out extension icon. Clicking 'Enable' does nothing, or t...

Fix Explorer.exe Keeps Restarting in Windows 10

If your File Explorer (explorer.exe) keeps restarting on Windows 10, you'll see the taskbar a...

Fixing Python UnicodeDecodeError When Reading a File

You open a file in Python, call read(), and get a UnicodeDecodeError. T...

Fix Git Clone Connection Timed Out Due to Proxy Settings

You run git clone https://github.com/example/repo.git and after a long pause you get...

How to Fix Windows Update Service Error 1053

You see error 1053 when the Windows Update service fails to start or respond in time. The full me...