-Hardware conflictFirst reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Every hardware scheme connect to other devices throughout an IRQ ( interrupt request channel). These are expected to be exclusive for each hardware.
For illustration, a printer regularly connects within on IRQ 7. The keyboard regularly uses IRQ 1 and the floppy in IRQ 6. Every device will try to dominate a single IRQ for itself.
If there are a set of devices, or if they are not mounted correctly, two of them might end up sharing the similar IRQ number. When the user attempt to use both devices at the same period, a crash can occur. The way to test if your PCs has a hardware conflict is throughout the following route:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.
Often if a device has a trouble a yellow '!' appears next to its explanation in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and push Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your PC. If the IRQ number show twice, two devices may be using it.
Sometimes a device might allocate an IRQ with something explaine as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best method to fix this trouble is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.
Sometimes you may have to find extra drivers on the internet to make the device function correctly. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a another slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your PC, as you may cancelled the warranty).
When functioning inside a computer you should toggle it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to release any static electrical energy.
To be fair to Mcft, the trouble with IRQ numbers is not of its creation. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs with the IBM 8086 chip. At first there were only eight IRQs. Nowadays there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is simple to run out of them. There are strategy to boost the number of IRQs in future designs.
-Bad Ram
Ram (random-access memory) troubles might get on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a important hardware problem. Sometimes it may signify a piece is damaged and will require replacing.
But a fatal error caused by Ram might be triggered by a mismatch of chips. For illustration, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will generally force the PC to run all the Ram at the slower rate/speed. This will frequently crash the device if the Ram is overworked.
One way about this problem is to go into the BIOS settings and step up the wait status of the Ram. This can make it extra stable. A different way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram trouble is to reorganize the Ram chips on the motherboard, or get some of them out. Then try to repeat the conditions that caused the crash. When managing Ram try not to touch the gold contacts, as they can be easily broken.
Parity fault messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is finest not to mix the two types, as this can be a trigger of trouble.
EMM386 error messages refer to memory trouble but may not be linked to bad Ram. This might be due to free memory problems often related to old Dos-based programmes.
-BIOS settings
Each motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are determined in the manufacturing works. A universal way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete key during the first few seconds of a boot-up.
Once within the BIOS, great care have to be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a part of paper all the settings that come out on the screen. That way, if you modify something and the PC becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to slip back to.
A general BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the incorrect figure can bring out the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.
Mcft Windows is improve at allocating IRQ numbers than several BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will permit Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS set for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to admit Windows to do this.).
-Hard disk drives
Past a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to turn into bit by bit or fragmented. It is a excellent idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to avoid the disk from causing a display freeze. Go to
* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter
This will start the process. You will be not capable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a fine idea to schedule the process for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.
The Task Scheduler must be one of the little icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).
Several lockups and display freezes caused by hard disk trouble can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.
Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are very full. Do some maintenance on your hard drive every few months and free several space on it. Open the Windows directory on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files directory. Deleting the contents (not the directory) can free a lot of space.
Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free extra space. Hard disk drives must be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to
* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk
Otherwise appoint the Task Scheduler to execute this process at night when the PC is not in use.
- Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors
Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.
These can often be resolved easily by dropping the resolution of the video display. Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings
Here you should slide the display area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is enough.
If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not contain a hardware conflict. Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager
Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text telling your video card should show. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then choose Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.
If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this situation and make a note of all you do in case you make things bad.
The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings key. You are searching for a setting that will show a No Conflicts message.
Another helpful way to resolve video troubles is to go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics
Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).
Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most new drivers for it.
- Viruses
Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a excellent idea to make a Windows start-up disk. Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs
Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.
A virus scanner requires a record of virus signatures in order to be able to recognize viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files must be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software company.
- Printers
The action of transfer a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.
Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the PCs performance.
If the printer is trying to print strange characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the PC. Occasionally printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless condition, also called a cold boot, will re-establish the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.
- Software
A common cause of PC crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the trouble can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system correctly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a totally clean copy.
The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to outdated software that you thinking was uninstalled.
Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done through start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F8. This should take you to page where you can select Safe Mode.
Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and repair problems that stop Windows from loading correctly.
Sometimes installing Windows is not easy because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.
Keep in mind to restore all the BIOS settings back to their previous settings after installation.
- Overheating
Central processing units (CPUs) are commonly equipped with fans to stay them cool. If the fan stop working or if the CPU gets old it may begin to overheat and generate a specific kind of error called a kernel error. This is a general problem in chips that have been overclocked to function at higher speeds than they are supposed to.
One solution is to get a greater better fan and install it on top of the CPU.
CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will construct the machine run extra slowly, but it should also be more stable.
- Power supply problems
With all the new structure going on around the state the stable supply of electricity has turn into disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a PC as easily as a power cut.
If this has turn into a nuisance for you then think about buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will present you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to do a controlled shutdown in case of a power loose.
It is a good deal if your data are critical, because a power cut will produce any unsaved data to be gone.
Comments
Post a Comment