Know how to solve this 10 problems in your PC easily

**Fatal error: 
The system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt- Delete to restart your computer.
If you do this you will lose any
unsaved information in all open
applications."
You have just been struck by
the Blue Screen of Death.
Anyone who uses M'zoft
Windows will be familiar with
this. What can you do? More
importantly, how can you
prevent it happening?

** 1. Hardware conflict
The number one reason why
Windows crashes is hardware
conflict. Each hardware device
communicates to other devices
through an interrupt request
channel (IRQ). These are
supposed to be unique for each
device.
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 will try to hog a single
IRQ for itself.
If there are a lot of devices, or if
they are not installed properly,
two of them may end up
sharing the same IRQ number.
When the user tries to use both
devices at the same time, a
crash can happen. The way to
check if your computer has a
hardware conflict is through the
following route:


* Start-Settings-Control Panel-
System-Device Manager.
Often if a device has a problem a
yellow '!' appears next to its
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 using 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.
Sometimes you may have to
find more recent drivers on the
internet to make the device
function properly. If the device
is a soundcard, or a modem, it
can often be fixed by moving it
to a different slot on the
motherboard (be careful about
opening your computer, as you
may void the warranty).
When working inside a
computer you should switch it
off, unplug the mains lead and
touch an unpainted metal
surface to discharge any static
electricity.
To be fair to M'zoft, the problem
with IRQ numbers is not of its
making. It is a legacy problem
going back to the first PC
designs using the IBM 8086 chip.
Initially there were only eight
IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in
a PC. It is easy to run out of
them. There are plans to
increase the number of IRQs in
future designs.

** 2. Bad Ram
Ram (random-access memory)
problems might bring on the
blue screen of death with a
message saying Fatal Exception
Error. A fatal error indicates a
serious hardware problem.
Sometimes it may mean a part
is damaged and will need
replacing.
But a fatal error caused by Ram
might be caused by a mismatch
of chips. For example, mixing
70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with
60ns Ram will usually force the
computer to run all the Ram at
the slower speed. This will often
crash the machine if the Ram is
overworked.
One way around this problem is
to enter the BIOS settings and
increase the wait state of the
Ram. This can make it more
stable. Another way to
troubleshoot a suspected Ram
problem is to rearrange the Ram
chips on the motherboard, or
take some of them out. Then try
to repeat the circumstances that
caused the crash. When
handling Ram try not to touch
the gold connections, as they
can be easily damaged.
Parity error messages also refer
to Ram. Modern Ram chips are
either parity (ECC) or non parity
(non-ECC). It is best not to mix
the two types, as this can be a
cause of trouble.
EMM386 error messages refer to
memory problems but may not
be connected to bad Ram. This
may be due to free memory
problems often linked to old
Dos-based programmes.
** 3. BIOS settings
Every motherboard is supplied
with a range of chipset settings
that are decided in the factory. A
common way to access these
settings is to press the F2 or
delete button during the first
few seconds of a boot-up.
Once inside the BIOS, great care
should be taken. It is a good
idea to write down on a piece of
paper all the settings that
appear on the screen. That way,
if you change something and
the computer becomes more
unstable, you will know what
settings to revert to.
A common 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 wrong
figure can cause the Ram to lock
up and freeze the computer's
display.
M'zoft Windows is better at
allocating IRQ numbers than any
BIOS. If possible set the IRQ
numbers to Auto in the BIOS.
This will allow Windows to
allocate the IRQ numbers (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 a few weeks, the
information on a hard disk drive
starts to become piecemeal or
fragmented. It is a good idea to
defragment the 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 start the procedure.
You will be unable to write data
to the hard drive (to save it)
while the disk is defragmenting,
so it is a good idea to schedule
the procedure for a period of
inactivity using the Task
Scheduler.
The Task Scheduler should be
one of the small icons on the
bottom right of the Windows
opening page (the desktop).
Some lockups and screen freezes
caused by hard disk problems
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 too full. Do
some housekeeping on your
hard drive every few months
and free 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.
Empty the Recycle Bin every
week to free more space. Hard
disk drives should be scanned
every week for errors or bad
sectors. Go to
>>Start-Programs-Accessories-
System Tools-ScanDisk
Otherwise 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 problems.
These can often be resolved
easily by reducing the
resolution of the video display.
Go to
>> Start-Settings-Control Panel-
Display-Settings
Here you should slide the screen
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 adequate.
If the screen freezes or you
experience system lockups it
might be due to the video card.
Make sure it does not have a
hardware conflict. Go to
>> Start-Settings-Control Panel-
System-Device Manager
Here, select the + beside Display
Adapter. A line of text
describing your video card
should appear. Select it (make it
blue) and press properties. Then
select 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 point and make a
note of everything you do in
case you make things worse.
The way to resolve a hardware
conflict is to uncheck the Use
Automatic Settings box and hit
the Change Settings button. You
are searching for a setting that
will display a No Conflicts
message.
Another useful way to resolve
video problems 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 recent
drivers for it.
6 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 good idea to create 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 list of
virus signatures in order to be
able to identify viruses. These
signatures are stored in a DAT
file. DAT files should be updated
weekly from the website of
your antivirus software
manufacturer.
An excellent antivirus
programme is McAfee VirusScan
by Network Associates. Another
is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made
by Symantec.


**7. Printers
The action of sending 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 computer's performance.
If the printer is trying to print
unusual characters, these might
not be recognised, and can crash
the computer. Sometimes
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 state, also
called a cold boot, will restore
the printer's default settings
and you may be able to carry
on.


** 8. Software
A common cause of computer
crash is faulty or badly-installed
software. Often the problem can
be cured by uninstalling the
software and then reinstalling
it. Use Norton Uninstall or
Uninstall Shield to remove an
application from your system
properly. This will also remove
references to the programme in
the System Registry and leaves
the way clear for a completely
fresh copy.
The System Registry can be
corrupted by old references to
obsolete software that you
thought was uninstalled. Use
Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to
clean up the System Registry
and remove obsolete entries. It
works on Windows 95,
Windows 98, Windows 98 SE
(Second Edition), Windows
Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and
Windows 2000.
Read the instructions and use it
carefully so you don't do
permanent damage to the
Registry. If the Registry is
damaged you will have to
reinstall your operating system.
Often a Windows problem can
be resolved by entering Safe
Mode. This can be done during
start-up. When you see the
message "Starting Windows"
press F4. This should take you
into Safe Mode.
Safe Mode loads a minimum of
drivers. It allows you to find
and fix problems that prevent
Windows from loading
properly.
Sometimes installing Windows
is difficult 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.
Remember to restore all the
BIOS settings back to their
former settings following
installation.


**9 .Overheating
Central processing units (CPUs)
are usually equipped with fans
to keep them cool. If the fan
fails or if the CPU gets old it may
start to overheat and generate a
particular kind of error called a
kernel error. This is a common
problem in chips that have been
overclocked to operate at
higher speeds than they are
supposed to.
CPU problems can often be fixed
by disabling the CPU internal
cache in the BIOS. This will make
the machine run more slowly,
but it should also be more
stable.


** 10. Power supply problems
With all the new construction
going on around the country
the steady supply of electricity
has become disrupted. A power
surge or spike can crash a
computer as easily as a power
cut.
If this has become a nuisance for
you then consider buying a
uninterrupted power supply
(UPS). This will give you a clean
power supply when there is
electricity, and it will give you a
few minutes to perform a
controlled shutdown in case of a
power cut.
It is a good investment if your
data are critical, because a
power cut will cause any
unsaved data to be lost.