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"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 Microsoft 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. A good resource is
www.driverguide.com. 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 Microsoft, 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.
Microsoft 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 (
www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus
2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).
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. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from
www.jv16.org
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.
One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and
install it on top of the CPU. Specialist
cooling fans/heatsinks are available from
www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com
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.
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