1.Helllooo.I.T! Have you tried turning it off and on again? A hit line from 'the IT crowd'. It always cracks me up.But you know what? 75% of the times, that's what does the trick.Your Windows computer starts to play tricks on you,the taskbar's gone,or you can't access a menu,a site freezes up your computer while browsing,your printer won't respond..the list goes on and on.Most of the times,for such niggles,'Have you tried turning it off and on again? is a pretty useful question.
2. There are always programs which you tend to use very sparingly.Most of the times,when you do use them,it's probably for a pretty important reason.However such sparsely used apps can give you a headache when they report a missing file.You might get a message like "The program could not start because xyz.dll is corrupt or missing.Reinstalling the application may fix the problem".Wait! before you start rummaging for the installation CD,there may be a quick fix.Jot down the name of the missing file,say abc.dll.Now go to %systemroot%\system32\dllcache or in most cases c:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache and look for the file.if you find it,you've hit the jackpot! Copy the file to c:\WINDOWS\system32\ or the program folder (as applicable.If unsure,do it at both places) and see if it works.It should :D
3. #2 above can happen to a system file,and that can cause chaos.No taskbar,random restarts,irritating error messages,it's a right headache.You can solve this problem in a jiffy.Pop in your windows CD.Hit win+r (or start->run if taskbar is working) and type in
4.Nowadays flashy softwares are popping up claiming to 'unclutter' your computer.These softwares are themselves bulky and cause a sizeable clutter themselves.How Ironic.In my humble opinion,there is no need for this circus.1 or 2 small applications and a few simple steps ought to do the work for you
The apps you need are a) ATF Cleaner and b) auslogics disk defrag.Use these two regularly and you should be OK.Many softwares claim to 'erase' your internet tracks.Please understand that your computer isn't the only place you leave tracks,so these aren't of much use.
5.Using a 'limited user account' is a very effective way of staying safe while surfing.You can have a dedicated account for surfing the internet.Go to control panel->user accounts and create a limited account.Limited accounts pose restrictions to what commands a program can run,so the risk of malware/viruses is greatly reduced.However it is always essential to run a good Antivirus software.A small disadvantage is that some of your programs may also limit their functionality.However if you do surf the internet for extended periods of time,then this is a very handy (and free!) way of staying relatively safe.
5 things you should know about your Windows computer
Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Comments (0) / by Varun
Blue Screen of Death
Thursday, September 25, 2008 / Comments (0) / by Varun
You spent the whole of last night writing the article for your magazine that's going to get you promoted.Now there you are,coffee mug in hand,pressing the power button.There is the Blue screen of death,the destruction of your coffee mug and the sudden depression that lowers your blood pressure,making you feel faint.It all fits now!
[click to enlarge]
This is what e call a 'blue screen of death'. Now as you can see,there's not much that you can garner about what is wrong,from this.Looks all cryptic doesn't it? Don't worry,it's pretty simple.Following are some things you could do to revive the dead beast.
1.If the BSOD appeared after logging in,try rebooting in the safe mode and remove any new software you installed,or a setting you changed.
2.If the blue screen appears only for half a second and flashes away,restart computer,tap F8 and in the menu select option 'Disable automatic restart on failure'.
Alternatively,got to My Computer,Right click it->properties->advanced->startup and recovery->settings->system failure->uncheck automatic restart.
This will stop the auto restart and now you can read what the screen says.
3.If you can log on to your Windows account(Safe Mode),the simplest thing you can try is System restore to an earlier date. Start->Programs->accessories->system tools->System Restore
If that doesn't work,read further
Okay so now let's try to decrypt the screen.
There are 3 parts of the Blue Screen that are of importance to us
[click to enlarge]
1.The Error Message
2.The Stop Code
3.Faulty file,if any
Right so let's begin
1.
Message : PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
Code: Stop 0x00000050
Corrupt File : Variable
Microsoft's Explanation:
This Stop message occurs when requested data is not found in memory. The system generates a fault, which normally indicates that the system looks for data in the paging file. In this circumstance, however, the missing data is identified as being located within an area of memory that cannot be paged out to disk. The system faults, but cannot find, the data and is unable to recover. Faulty hardware, a buggy system service, antivirus software, and a corrupted NTFS volume can all generate this type of error.
Link
My Interpretation:
Chances are,you have either a faulty RAM,or a driver issue.Unplug the RAM,remove any dust and plug it back in.Run Memtest for as long as you can.If your RAM fails it,time to buy a new stick.
If you have a driver issue,I suggest the following: Get DCPro and download latest drivers.Uninstall your Drivers,reboot in safe mode and run DCPro.Now install new drivers
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2.
Message : UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
Code : Stop 0x0000007F
Faulty File : variable
Microsoft's explanation:
This Stop message means that one of two types of problems occurred in kernel-mode, either the kind of condition that the kernel is not allowed to have or catch (a bound trap), or an unrecoverable error. Occasionally, this message can be caused by software problems, but the most common cause is hardware failure. It usually occurs after the installation of faulty or mismatched hardware (especially memory) or in the event that installed hardware fails. Setting the CPU to run at speeds above the rated specification (known as overclocking the CPU) can also cause this error.
Link
My Interpretation:
If You overclocked your processor,try reducing the freq. multiplier by 1.Check for faulty motherboard.Look for bloated capacitors,etc.You could also have faulty RAM.Follow procedure for #1 above
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3.
Message : BAD_POOL_CALLER
Code : Stop 0xC2
Faulty File : variable
Microsoft's explanation:
None for XP (weird)
My Interpretation:
It's a Software glitch.Look for the file at the bottom of the BSOD.Try to locate it and understand what it's for (Google helps) It will generally be assosciated with a driver.Install the updated driver.
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4.
Message : DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Code : Stop 0x000000D1
Faulty File : generally vsdatant.sys
Microsoft's explanation:
None specific for XP
My Interpretation:
The Most common problem seen.
Possibility 1: reset BIOS settings
Possibility 2: You have ZoneAlarm product installed? I thought so.Get rid of it.You don't know how much frustgration I've had because of this BSOD
right click on ZA uninstaller and under path put '/clean /rmlicense' at the end (without the quotes).However make sure you have your ZA key safe for future installations.
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5.
Message : NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
Code : Stop 0x00000024
Faulty File : generally ntfs.sys
Microsoft's explanation:
None for XP
My Interpretation:
Run the checkdisk utility Win+r-> chkdsk /f.there may be some error with the file system.Check if both the Hard disk cables are tight enough.If you can't get into windows at all,Insert windows CD in the drive,boot rom CD and select the option repair current installation of windows.You will be directed to a DOS console.you can enter chkdsk /f there to perform disk check.
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6.
Message : DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
Code : Stop 0x0000009F
Faulty File : variable
Microsoft's explanation:
This behavior occurs when drivers do not handle power state transition requests properly. The error message most often occurs during one of the following actions:
• Shutting down
• Suspending or resuming from Standby mode
• Suspending or resuming from Hibernate mode
Link
My Interpretation:
Probably your Drivers again.If you just updated them,try Rolling Back to previous version.If not,try newer version.Disable and re-enable hibernate option if using it.
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7.
Message : UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
Code : Stop 0x000000ED
Faulty File : variable
Microsoft's explanation:
1.The file system is damaged and cannot be mounted.
2.You use a standard 40-wire connector cable to connect the UDMA drive to the controller instead of the required 80-wire, 40-pin cable.
3.The basic input/output system (BIOS) settings are configured to force the faster UDMA modes.
Link
My Interpretation:
Same as that of Microsoft's.Insert the WINXP cd and go to recovery console and perform chkdsk /r.It should Work.
If it does not,then there is another possibility.
Warning: Use this method at your own risk.It may causeyou to lose your partitions.You have been warned
Method:
In recovery console,type fixmbr and hit enter.Windows tries to fix your Master boot record.Reboot.
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So there you have it,the 7 most common Blue screens explained.
