Basic Software Troubleshooting and Repair:

PRELIMINARY MEASURES: When you have a problem with a Windows computer, the first thing you should do is save your work and restart the machine.  The majority of daily glitches and difficulties can be resolved by running the machine through its shutdown process, and then restarting.  To be thorough, when you know that you have a sick computer, be sure to check for obvious hardware failure. Check the following list to make sure that your system is working properly:

• Dead cooling fans:  You will see repeated illegal operations, fatal exceptions and general system lockups when a CPU fan stops working.  CPU fans do eventually fail - beware especially if your computer works fine for a little while after being turned on, and then goes bonkers as the heat builds up.
• Look for disconnected, frayed, or melted cables.
• Check for loose memory chips.
• Make sure that hardware jumpers are configured properly, especially if you have recently installed any new system components.
• Check for improper BIOS settings - if the BIOS continually loses its settings, you may need to replace the motherboard battery.
• Look for disconnected external peripherals.
• Malfunctioning drives:  If you hear a hard drive clicking loudly and repeatedly, you can be fairly certain it is either dead or dying.
• Look for components with clear physical damage, broken parts, charred surfaces, smoking circuit boards, etc...  

Most often, you will find that your hardware is not to blame.  The majority of problems that people run into are due to software error (corrupted files, software misconfiguration, version incompatibility issues, drivers and device settings, etc.).

REINSTALL: When a particular program goes berserk, reinstalling the failing application may be the fix you need.  Save any settings and data used by the program, then use the original install disks to recopy the program components to your hard drive.  Often, newly installed programs will replace shared and system files - sometimes with versions older than those already installed on the hard drive.  This can cause a variety of software problems - from minor lockups and glitches, to total system failure.  Reinstalling the broken application can very often clear up these problems.  In more stubborn cases, you may need to try changing the default installation directory provided by the installation program.  For example, if the install program tells you that your application files will be copied to “C:\Program Files\appdir”, change it to “C:\Program Files\appdir2”.  (Be aware that in changing the default installation directory, you may loose your current program settings).  You will find that this reinstall process is especially effective in situations when the error messages are associated with missing or corrupt .dll and .vxd files.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION PATCHES:  Newly released programs innevitably contain bugs.  Sometimes, new versions of programs will not interact well with other previously installed software.  As bugs become known, software vendors will post “patches”, “fixes”, and “service packs” on their web site to provide corrections to the program code.  When you have programs that contain bugs, check the web site of your software manufacturer (look for a “support” link) - they may have posted the fix you need.  If they haven’t, leave them an email message to bring the problem to their attention, then check back regularly.

ELIMINATE TROUBLESOME PROGRAMS: Try to be conscious of when and how software problems begin.  If you notice that consistent problems began when you installed an unnecessary program, then uninstall that program from your system (click on START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS).

REINSTALL/UPDATE DRIVERS:  Many hardware associated problems are caused by driver conflicts, corrupt driver components, and drivers which need to be updated for use with new program releases.  When a piece of hardware stops working or continually produces errors, try reinstalling the driver disk that came with it (usually provided on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, in the manufacturer packaging).  A much more effective solution is to look for a new driver release provided by the manufacturer of the component.  www.windrivers.com provides specific manufacturer links to virtually every hardware component on the market.  It’s a good idea to save downloaded driver patches onto floppy or CD-R disk, as it is very likely you will need to install them several times throughout the life of your computer.

DEFRAG THE HARD DRIVE:  After a computer has been used for a while, data and software components tend to get scattered around the surface of the hard drive.  This can lead to cross linked files, problems with software, and reduced system performance.  Running a “defrag” takes each of these scattered bits of information and lines them up neatly in concentric circles on the hard drive. Your system will perform faster after defragmentation, and certain types of software problems will be eliminated.  To run the built in Windows defrag program, click on START -> PROGRAMS -> ACCESSORIES - SYSTEM TOOLS -> DISK DEFRAGMENTER.  Running a defrag through the night is suggested, as large fragmented drives may take a number of hours to complete.

REINSTALL THE OS:  Reinstalling your Windows operating system is one of the best cures to an enormous number of common computer problems.  Follow the steps below to reinstall windows over a current installation, using the original full install disk.  This process will maintain your currently installed applications, links, and registry settings:

1) Go to a real mode DOS prompt:  either restart in DOS mode (click START -> SHUT DOWN -> RESTART IN DOS MODE) from a Windows session, start the machine with a Windows 9x “startup disk”, OR press the [f8] key repeatedly upon system startup, and select COMMAND PROMPT ONLY from the start menu.

2) At the command prompt, type in the following::

 rename c:\windows\win.com  win.na1 [enter]   (assuming c:\windows is your current windows directory)

 d:  [enter]  (assuming that “d:” is the name of the CD-ROM drive containing the windows setup CD)

 cd \win98 [enter]

 setup [enter]

3) During setup, accept all defaults (i.e., click NEXT, OK, CONTINUE, FINISH, etc.,  when prompted).

4) The exception to default responses is when asked for the Windows install directory.  The default will be listed as C:\WINDOWS.000 (assuming that your current windows directory is c:\windows).  WATCH FOR THIS QUESTION, choose "other directory",  and remove the .000 (period and three zeros) from the end of the default directory, so that it reads "C:\WINDOWS".

5) Continue with the installation, accepting all defaults.

REINSTALLING WINDOWS IN A NEW DIRECTORY: In really bad cases, your “Windows Registry” (the main database/repository in which Windows stores all system and software settings) may become corrupt beyond the point of repair.  When this happens, you may be forced to reinstall Windows into a NEW directory.  To do that, follow the steps above, but  eliminate step #4.  Reinstalling in a directory other than that which currently contains Windows (usually C:\windows), will create a totally new, fresh installation of the operating system.  Your data will not be erased, but none of the software or drivers from your current setup will be installed.  Your hard drive will still contain all of the documents, drivers and files that you have created and stored on the hard drive, but you will need to reinstall ALL of your software and drivers.  You will eventually want to delete your old Windows directory and clean up your hard drive, once you know that you’ve successfully reinstalled all of your programs, settings, and system data.  This procedure should only be undertaken if you CAN’T otherwise get your machine to work properly.

ERASING YOUR HD: In the worst case scenario, you may need to wipe your hard drive clean, and reinstall your operating system, drivers, and programs from scratch (see the “Fdisk/Format”, and “OS install” hardware tutorials).  This is most often the case when machines have been hit by certain types of debilitating viruses, or in situations when all other repair attempts have failed.  Machines should be erased on a periodic basis (every 6 months to a year) to maintain good performance. Make sure that you save all of your critical data (documents, spreadsheets, downloads, favorites, email addresses, drivers, program settings, etc.) onto floppy, CD-R, or other removable media BEFORE you format your hard drive.  Once you erase your HD, EVERYTHING it contains will be PERMANTLY erased.  Backing up regularly will help you avoid loosing important data.  Virtually every computer owner runs into a situation, at some point, when wiping the hard drive is necessary.  Update your backups incrementally, so that you don’t get caught unexpectedly with a devestating system loss.

By following the steps above, you should be able to overcome most common computer problems.