Pc remedies DO exist for most common pc problems.
Your computer system is a complex device with many layers of hardware and software that must cooperate and share resources while operating at blazingly fast speeds. Under these circumstances, conflicts are very likely to occur and, over time, become increasingly inevitable.
If you've owned your computer system for a considerable amount of time, you've no doubt experienced at least one of the five following problems.
CAUTION! - Opening your computer case or adjusting computer settings can cause severe damage to your computer and void manufacturer warranties. By following the advice given below, you acknowledge that you are doing so At Your Own Risk!
1. Hardware Conflicts
The primary cause of Windows computer system crashes is hardware conflict. Individual hardware sub-systems, such as your video card and sound card, communicate to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device expects to hog a single IRQ for itself.
Interrupts are supposed to be unique for each device but conflicts can happen when sub-systems are accidentally configured to use the same IRQ. This often happens when you have tried to upgrade one of these devices with a new one and forgotten to make sure certain hardware jumpers are configured correctly. This often results in a computer crash.
By the way, a crash is the computer's way of saying that it's confused and can't figure out what to do. It just gives up and fails.
The method of checking to see if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route. Click:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.
Often, if a device has a conflict, a yellow '!' appears next to the device's description in the Device Manager.
Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be fighting each other for the use of it.
Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.
There are times when you may have to locate newer drivers on the Net to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the hardware device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be remedied by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (Caution! Opening your computer case, may void the warranty).
When working inside a computer, ALWAYS make sure you switch it off, unplug the main power cord and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity that might accidentally destroy sensitive computer circuitry.
If you have any doubts about your ability to prevent accidents, DON'T DO IT! It's better to pay a seasoned professional to handle these problems than to risk your safety, ruin your computer and possibly lose all of your data.
2. Faulty RAM
RAM, (random-access memory), problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error means a serious hardware problem has happened. Often, it may mean that a component is damaged and needs a replacement.
But a fatal error caused by RAM might mean there's a mismatch of chip types. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns RAM usually forces the computer to run all the RAM at the slower speed. This often crashes the machine when the RAM is overworked due to memory intensive operations like playing a video game.
A way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings of the PC and increase the wait state of the RAM. This often has the effect of making it more stable.
Another way to troubleshoot a suspected RAM problem is to rearrange the RAM chips on the motherboard, or remove some of them. Then attempt to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling RAM, try not to touch the gold connections, since they can easily be ruined by improper handling.
Parity error messages also refer to RAM. Modern RAM chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). Mixing the two types can be a major cause of trouble.
EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but probably aren't connected to bad RAM. This message may be a result of free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programs.
3. BIOS Settings
All PC motherboards are equipped with a range of chipset settings that are determined at the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or the Delete Button during the first several seconds of a boot-up.
Once the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) settings screen is displayed, you should exercise great care BEFORE changing anything. It's essential that you write down all the settings that appear on screen onto a sheet of paper so that if you change something and the computer becomes erratic and unstable, you'll know what settings to revert to.
A common BIOS error revolves around CAS Latency. This refers to RAM. Older EDO (extended data out) RAM has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRAM has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong value can cause your system RAM to lock up and freeze the computer's display.
Your Windows operating system is better at allocating correct IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If you can, set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will put the burden of allocating IRQ's on Windows instead of on you. Make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'YES' to allow Windows to do this.
4. Hard disk drives
After several weeks of adding new software and changing data, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become disorganized and fragmented. For faster startups and optimal performance, it's really important to defragment your hard disk every week or so. To prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to:
* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter
This will begin the defragmenting procedure. You won't be able to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it's important to schedule the operation during a time period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.
The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows desktop.
Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk issues can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimization. This can be adjusted by going to:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.
Hard disks will also slow down and crash if they're too full. Do some regular housekeeping on your hard drive every few months or so and free up some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C: drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space. A free software utility called CCleaner is handy for this.
Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week. To find errors or bad sectors, click to:
* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk
Another thing you can do is to assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.
5. Fatal OE Exceptions and VXD Errors
Fatal OE Exception Errors and VXD Errors are often caused by video card display issues.
Many times, these can be resolved quickly by reducing the screen resolution of the video display. Go to:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings
Slide the screen area bar to the left and view the color settings on the left side of that window. For most PC's, high color, 16-bit depth is sufficient.
If your display freezes or you experience system lockups, it might be because of the video card. To make sure it doesn't have a hardware address or IRQ conflict click on:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager
Next, select the + beside Display Adapter. Some text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press Properties. Then push Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.
If there is a video card hardware conflict, you should find it here. Take great care at this point and make a written note of everything you do just in case you make things worse instead of better. Then you can roll back your settings.
The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You're looking for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.
Another practical way to remedy video problems is to select:
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics
Move the Hardware Acceleration Slider to the left.
Most often, the cause of problems relating to video graphics cards is outdated or corrupt drivers. A driver is a tiny piece of special software written by the device manufacturer so that their device can communicate with the main computer.
Google your video card's manufacturer and search for the most recent drivers for it.
Final Note
Still feel like putting your fist through your computer screen? If you've done everything suggested here and you still can't resolve your computer problems, you probably need a professional solution. Free PC remedies will only go so far and after that you will need to spend a few dollars.
Drivers are at the heart of a multitude of PC problems. Your best bet is to keep all your drivers as recent as possible to avoid these issues. Unfortunately, most companies are lax in notifying users of new updates so you're forced to scour the Net in search of the latest ones manually.
A better and more efficient way to do this is to use a commercial solution like Driver Detective.
It keeps track of ALL your installed drivers and updates them automatically. It's a quick and easy way to avoid the hassle and frustration of having your system hang unexpectedly. Even seasoned computer professionals rely on Driver Detective, so why shouldn't you?
Click here to download a free driver scan using Driver Detective.