10 Reasons PC Crashes You Must Know

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
best spyware remover and 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.