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High CPU usage by Svchost.exe (imgsvc) is usually caused by the Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) service or corrupted system files. To fix it safely, first restart the WIA service in Services. Then update Windows, scan for malware, and repair system files by running sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in an administrator Command Prompt. You can also disable unnecessary startup apps and restart Windows Explorer if needed. This should reduce CPU usage without affecting your files.
The “Your PIN is no longer available” error usually happens after a Windows update or corruption in the PIN settings. To fix it safely without losing files, you can remove the old PIN and set up a new one. Here’s how:
Sign in with your password instead of the PIN.
Open Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options → PIN (Windows Hello).
Click Remove to delete the corrupted PIN.
Restart your PC.
Go back to Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options → PIN, and click Add to create a new PIN.
If you can’t sign in at all, boot into Safe Mode or Windows Recovery Environment, sign in with your Microsoft account password, and follow the same steps. Your files will remain safe throughout this process.
The “Mark Partition as Active” option is usually greyed out because Windows won’t let you change the system, boot, or recovery partitions from within Disk Management. To safely mark a partition as active without losing data, first back up any important files. Then use Diskpart from an elevated Command Prompt:
Open Command Prompt as administrator.
Type diskpart and press Enter.
List disks with list disk and select your disk: select disk X (replace X with your disk number).
List partitions with list partition and select the one you want to mark as active: select partition Y (replace Y with the partition number).
Type active and press Enter.
After this, close Diskpart and restart your PC. Only mark a partition as active if it contains a bootable operating system; marking the wrong partition can make Windows unbootable. Always back up files before making changes to partitions.
The AMD_AGS_X64.DLL missing error usually occurs when the file is deleted, corrupted, or part of an outdated AMD graphics driver. To fix it safely without losing data, first back up your important files. Then update or reinstall your AMD graphics drivers from the official AMD website, as this will restore the missing DLL. You can also run System File Checker and DISM to repair any corrupted Windows system files: open Command Prompt as administrator and run sfc /scannow followed by DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth. Avoid downloading DLL files from unofficial sites. After updating drivers and repairing system files, restart your PC and the programs should work normally.
The EXCEPTION_ILLEGAL_INSTRUCTION error happens when a program tries to run a CPU instruction your processor doesn’t support, or due to corrupted software, drivers, or malware. To fix it safely, first back up your important files. Then update Windows and drivers, scan for malware, and reinstall any program that crashes. You can also repair Windows files by running sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in an administrator Command Prompt. If the problem persists, reset BIOS settings to default, try a clean boot, or as a last resort, reset Windows 11 while keeping your files.
If your Windows PC keeps looping CHKDSK at startup, the safest first step is to back up your important files before attempting any repairs. This can be done by booting from a Linux live USB or connecting the drive to another working PC and copying your files to an external drive. Once your data is safe, check the disk’s health using SMART tools to see if it’s failing. After that, you can run CHKDSK or Windows repair commands from a recovery USB. Avoid running repairs before backing up, especially if the drive shows signs of failure, because it could make recovery harder. If the drive is physically failing, consider professional recovery.
Thanks, that helps. I’ll try the route of restoring to a backup, pulling the thread out, and just saving it separately. Not perfect, but at least I won’t totally lose it. Appreciate all the advice y’all.
There’s a bunch out there .. iMazing, stellar data recovery for iPhone etc. They basically scan the backup and let you save the convo as text, PDF, or even re importable files. I’ve used stellar iphone recovery before, worked fine for me.
Gotcha. Sounds like “merging” directly isn’t possible, but exporting it out is doable. Do you guys have any recommendations on what software actually works for pulling out just messages from a backup?
Tbh I learned this the hard way too. Once iCloud wipes, it’s game over unless you’ve got an offline copy. If the content really matters, your best bet is: restore an old backup to another device (or even a borrowed one), disable iCloud, then pull the chat out using recovery software. At least you’ll still have the history in readable form
Yep, it’ll sync and wipe it again. That’s why people usually extract the thread separately before re-enabling sync. It’s clunky but works.
That’s a good point. If I turn icloud back on afterward though, won’t it just overwrite again?
Just curious — why not try disabling iCloud Messages completely, then restoring from a backup? That way it should keep whatever was in the backup without syncing/wiping it right away. Then you could export the convo out before turning iCloud back on.
If you’ve got Time Machine backups, you might be able to pull the old chat.db file (that’s the Messages database) from the backup and mount it separately. But that takes a little digging around. There are guides for that, but it’s not super straightforward unless you’re comfy with Finder and hidden files.
Error 0x80073712 happens when Windows update files are missing or corrupted. To fix it safely, first run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. Then repair system files by running sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in an administrator Command Prompt. If needed, reset Windows Update components using Command Prompt, then try updating again. If the problem continues, use the Windows Update Assistant to install updates manually. This process keeps your files safe.