Fix PC Troubles  1

Fix PC troubles

Everybody’s problems

Windows freezes, crashes

Reason System resources may be low—either due to overload or faulty memory

Solution

• Check which applications are running. Does the system always freeze with this combination? If so, avoid running these programs simultaneously. If you must run these programs together, you’ll have to add more RAM

• Your system may be low on resources. Click on Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Resource Meter. The Resource Meter stays as an icon in the System Tray. Double-click the icon and see if you are running low on resources. If so, reduce the number of running applications, free up disk space, add RAM to your computer, in that order

• When the computer starts, it checks the memory (RAM). Don’t skip this test by pressing the Esc key—let it finish and see if it reports any error. Faulty RAM is often the cause for Windows freezing or crashing

Illegal Operation

Reason Your system may have a different version of DLL, other than the one that the particular program needs

Solution

• Reinstall the program

• Alternatively, you can copy the same DLL from a machine that’s working properly. Search for this file on a different system. Copy it on a floppy and now copy this file from the floppy on your system

"Out of Diskspace..."

Reason No free space for the Windows to work on

Solution

• Open Internet Explorer (4.0 or 5.0). Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. Click Delete Files for deleting temporary Internet Files and Clear History for cleaning up the history. Additionally, you can change the space Internet Explorer, uses for caching, by clicking on Settings and selecting the disk space to be used in the pop up window

• Remove unused programs from Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel

• Click Start-Find-Files or Folders. In the Named box, type *.tmp and then click Find Now. If you find any files, select all of them and press Delete. Some files might give an error, because they may be in use by Windows. Close all open programs and try again. If they still persist, ignore the messages and continue deleting

• Right click the Recycle Bin and select Empty

Modem connects—but too slow

Reason There could be modem or phone line trouble, or the server at the other end may be too busy

Solution

• Your modem may be too slow—get a modem that is at least 33.6 kbps

• See the tip on ‘Connects, but then disconnects"—everything applies here as well

• The connection speed could vary according to the time of the day. At a time when there is heavy traffic to the ISP, your connection could be slow

PC starts in Safe Mode

Reason Your system may not have shut down properly

Solution

• Make sure that whenever you shut down your system, you do it from the Start menu

• If your computer still doesn’t show "It’s now safe to shut down your computer" message, then some application is running in the background. To identify the culprit, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Close all applications one by one by clicking End Task for each and check if the system shuts down

"Not Responding"

Reason There are a number of reasons for this, the most common being lesser RAM, inherent bugs in apps or illegal system calls

Solution

• Free up the RAM by uninstalling the programs or software that you don’t use

• Make sure that not many applications are running

CD doesn’t work

Reason Your CD may have scratches or the head may be dirty

Solution

• There are scratch-removal kits in the market that contain a solution which, when rubbed on to the surface, fills up the scratched regions so that the laser can pass unobstructed

• Clean the head if it is dirty. For this use a CD drive cleaning kit

"Invalid Page Fault in Module MSHTML.DLL"

Reason Internet Explorer Style sheet may be incompatible or damaged

Solution

• Restart Windows and Press the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows" message

• Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu

• Once Windows is loaded, go to Start-Settings-Control Panel

• Double click Internet and click on Accessibility on the General tab

• Clear the "Format documents using my style sheet" checkbox

• Click OK and then OK again. Restart Windows

Computer shocks

Reason Improper earthing

Solution

• Make sure your residential wiring is properly earthed

• Also try changing the power cord of your PC

Floppy doesn’t work

Reason Floppy drive or its head may be dusty

Solution

• If the floppy is dusty, change it

• If not, check the head. Use only a cleaning disk to clean the head and never a cycle pump or anything else

"Device conflict..."

Reason Resource conflict among the peripherals

Solution

• Use hardware troubleshooter within Windows to change the IRQs

• Right-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop. Click on Properties-Device Manager. The conflicting device will appear with a yellow "!" mark. Right-click on it and change the resource allocation

Screen shakes whenever an electrical appliance is switched on

Reason There’s a lot of electrical noise in your power supply

Solution

• Get a UPS or a CVT. Don’t use your computer without one. Your computer equipment could get damaged

• Separate your power line, which bears the load of heavy appliances, from your house current, which supplies to your light and fan fittings. Put them on separate phases and get your neutral and earthing checked. A weak neutral and earth cause fluctuations in the voltage

"Invalid Page Fault in Module..." and program crashes

Reason Disk space may be insufficient or virtual memory may be corrupt

Solution

• Restart the computer and run ScanDisk

• Check the hard disk for free space on your PC. If it’s too low—less than 60-70 MB, remove some programs or files that are unused

• Now run Disk Defragmenter(see page 52)

• Reboot. After Windows loads, try running the same program again

"Fatal Exception OE has occurred in..."

Reason RAM may be faulty

Solution

• Install latest drivers or software for your motherboard, and video card

• Disable the External Cache in your motherboard Bios (contact your vendor or dealer to do this, as this is beyond the scope of this article)

• Lower your video resolution from the Display Properties (Right-click on Desktop, select Properties, click on the Settings tab, and then change Desktop Area or Colors)

• A common cause for these messages is faulty physical memory (RAM) in your PC. So replace them and see if you still get these messages

• If all else fails, do a fresh installation of Windows or contact your vendor

"There was an error running SCANDISK.EXE, or it was canceled..."

Reason ScanDisk may not have completed properly

Solution

• If any of your previous sessions on ScanDisk have quit before completion, you’ll get this message

• After loading Windows, go to Start-Programs-Accessories and select ScanDisk. Select the drive and do a thorough test. Reboot the PC

"Cannot find a device file that may be needed..."

Reason Required files or drivers for an application may be missing

Solution

• If you’ve recently installed a program or device, re-install it and then run uninstall

• If the missing file has a .vxd extension, then it is a driver. This could be caused by improper installation of a particular device component, like adding TCP/IP protocols from Network Settings in Control Panel, but not providing the CD when prompted and then skipping the installation. Removing that component and re-installing it properly should solve the problem

• Click Programs-Accessories-System Tools. Then click on System Information and under the Tools tab click on System File Checker. Click "Extract one file from installation Disk," and type the name of the file that’s missing, after inserting the Windows CD. Click OK-OK-Yes when prompted to restart

"HH Caused an Invalid Page Fault in Kernel32.dll"

Reason This system file may be damaged

Solution

• Restore the file hhctrl.ocx file from the Windows 98 CD

• Click Programs-Accessories-System Tools. Then click on System Information and under the Tools tab click on System File Checker

• Click "Extract one file from Installation Disk," and type hhctrl.ocx, after inserting the Windows installation CD

• Click OK-OK-Yes when prompted to restart

"Cannot delete . Access is denied..."

Reason You may be trying to remove files being used by an application at that time

Solution

• Instead of deleting files via Windows Explorer, try uninstalling it. Go to Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

• If program is not listed then stop the program before you remove its files. Be careful not to delete any files from the Windows directory

Slow Windows 98 start up

Reason Windows and your computer may be incompatible

Solution

• Go to Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Information

• Select Tools and Automatic Skip Driver Agent (this is a temporary fix, for a proper fix, you’ll have to contact your motherboard vendor or manufacturer for software update)

"Please wait... Shutting down"

Reason Windows and your computer may be incompatible

Solution

• Uninstall any new software that you may have installed recently and check if the problem is solved

• Start your computer in Safe Mode (press F8, when the message "Starting Windows..." is shown, and select Safe Mode) and shut down. If your PC doesn’t shutdown properly in Safe Mode, Windows 98 and your motherboard may be incompatible

• Disable Fast Shutdown. Click Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Information. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility. Under the General Tab, click Advanced. Click to select Disable Fast Shutdown checkbox, click OK–OK. Restart

• Your shutdown Wave file could be corrupted. Click Start-Settings-Control Panel. Now double–click on Sounds. Click Exit Windows in the Events box, and then click None in the Name box. Click OK, and then restart your computer

Computer stops after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Reason Incorrect placement of a system file

Solution

• Click Start-Find-Files or Folders

• In the Named box, type reboot.vxd and click Find Now

• Right–click on the reboot.vxd file and click Rename. Give any name to it

• Restart the computer

No Operating System or Insert System Disk

Reason The computer may be trying to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or it can’t recognize the hard disk

Solution

• Remove all floppies and CDs and retry

• Check the BIOS setup: As you start your PC, the initial screen tells you which key to press for BIOS setup (usually the Del or F2 key)

• Select Standard Setup and see if there’s a hard disk listed as the "Primary disk". If not, exit this screen and go to Hard Disk Auto Detection. When the hard disk is detected, save this change and reboot

• If BIOS can’t detect your hard disk, the CPU will have to be opened to make sure that all cables to the hard disk are firmly in place. If BIOS still doesn’t recognize it, the hard disk is probably physically damaged and will have to be replaced

• If hard disk is already listed in the BIOS and the computer still says "No Operating System," boot from a bootable floppy or CD, check for viruses and re-install Windows

Boots from floppy but says invalid drive C

Reason The hard disk isn’t being detected

Solution

• Check if the hard disk is properly listed in the BIOS. (Press Del or F2 on startup)

• After booting from the floppy, type "fdisk" at the DOS prompt (A:\)

• Select Display Partition Information. There should be at least one Primary Partition of the Type PRI DOS listed. If not, you’ll have to recreate the partition but everything on the hard disk will be wiped out. Be very careful!

• Make sure that the boot-up floppy is virus-free

Can’t boot from a CD

Reason The CD may not be included in the boot sequence in the BIOS

Solution

• Make sure that the CD is bootable

• Go to BIOS setup (see tip on No Operating System)

• Select Advanced Features

• Go to the item that says Boot sequence

• Select CD as the first choice. To change the selection either the PageUp or PageDown or the + or - key combinations will work depending on your system

• Save the changes, exit this screen and restart the computer

Watchout Not all computers let you boot from a CD

Nothing happens after the "Starting Windows" screen

Reason This is mostly related to newly added hardware or software, or corrupt files

Solution

• With recently added or removed software or hardware, Windows needs to update itself and this could take a while—wait

• Get rid of fonts you don’t use and remove unnecessary programs from the Startup Group: Click Start-Settings-Taskbar and Start Menu-Start Menu Programs-Remove. Then navigate to the Startup folder and remove items that you don’t always need

• Restart your computer and press F8 when you see the message that Windows is starting. Choose the Safe Mode. If Windows starts without complaining, restart in normal mode

• If that doesn’t help, instead of the Safe Mode choose the logged startup option. Windows will log all activity to a file called bootlog.txt in the C:\ directory. Open this file in Notepad and find out what window is objecting and fix it

• If system starts in Safe Mode but not in Normal mode, click Start-Run and type in "msconfig". Select Selective Start-up and reboot. Each item will be listed as it loads, and you’ll be able to identify the item after which Windows gets stuck. Remove or uninstall the offending item and retry

• Click Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools and click System Information. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility. On the General Tab, click Advanced. Click to select VGA 640 x 480 x 16 check box, click OK-OK. Restart. If the system starts now, the problem is with the display card driver, reinstall it

Fix PC troubles

Everybody’s problems

Windows freezes, crashes

Reason System resources may be low—either due to overload or faulty memory

Solution

• Check which applications are running. Does the system always freeze with this combination? If so, avoid running these programs simultaneously. If you must run these programs together, you’ll have to add more RAM

• Your system may be low on resources. Click on Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Resource Meter. The Resource Meter stays as an icon in the System Tray. Double-click the icon and see if you are running low on resources. If so, reduce the number of running applications, free up disk space, add RAM to your computer, in that order

• When the computer starts, it checks the memory (RAM). Don’t skip this test by pressing the Esc key—let it finish and see if it reports any error. Faulty RAM is often the cause for Windows freezing or crashing

Illegal Operation

Reason Your system may have a different version of DLL, other than the one that the particular program needs

Solution

• Reinstall the program

• Alternatively, you can copy the same DLL from a machine that’s working properly. Search for this file on a different system. Copy it on a floppy and now copy this file from the floppy on your system

"Out of Diskspace..."

Reason No free space for the Windows to work on

Solution

• Open Internet Explorer (4.0 or 5.0). Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options. Click Delete Files for deleting temporary Internet Files and Clear History for cleaning up the history. Additionally, you can change the space Internet Explorer, uses for caching, by clicking on Settings and selecting the disk space to be used in the pop up window

• Remove unused programs from Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel

• Click Start-Find-Files or Folders. In the Named box, type *.tmp and then click Find Now. If you find any files, select all of them and press Delete. Some files might give an error, because they may be in use by Windows. Close all open programs and try again. If they still persist, ignore the messages and continue deleting

• Right click the Recycle Bin and select Empty

Modem connects—but too slow

Reason There could be modem or phone line trouble, or the server at the other end may be too busy

Solution

• Your modem may be too slow—get a modem that is at least 33.6 kbps

• See the tip on ‘Connects, but then disconnects"—everything applies here as well

• The connection speed could vary according to the time of the day. At a time when there is heavy traffic to the ISP, your connection could be slow

PC starts in Safe Mode

Reason Your system may not have shut down properly

Solution

• Make sure that whenever you shut down your system, you do it from the Start menu

• If your computer still doesn’t show "It’s now safe to shut down your computer" message, then some application is running in the background. To identify the culprit, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. Close all applications one by one by clicking End Task for each and check if the system shuts down

"Not Responding"

Reason There are a number of reasons for this, the most common being lesser RAM, inherent bugs in apps or illegal system calls

Solution

• Free up the RAM by uninstalling the programs or software that you don’t use

• Make sure that not many applications are running

CD doesn’t work

Reason Your CD may have scratches or the head may be dirty

Solution

• There are scratch-removal kits in the market that contain a solution which, when rubbed on to the surface, fills up the scratched regions so that the laser can pass unobstructed

• Clean the head if it is dirty. For this use a CD drive cleaning kit

"Invalid Page Fault in Module MSHTML.DLL"

Reason Internet Explorer Style sheet may be incompatible or damaged

Solution

• Restart Windows and Press the F8 key when you see the "Starting Windows" message

• Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu

• Once Windows is loaded, go to Start-Settings-Control Panel

• Double click Internet and click on Accessibility on the General tab

• Clear the "Format documents using my style sheet" checkbox

• Click OK and then OK again. Restart Windows

Computer shocks

Reason Improper earthing

Solution

• Make sure your residential wiring is properly earthed

• Also try changing the power cord of your PC

Floppy doesn’t work

Reason Floppy drive or its head may be dusty

Solution

• If the floppy is dusty, change it

• If not, check the head. Use only a cleaning disk to clean the head and never a cycle pump or anything else

"Device conflict..."

Reason Resource conflict among the peripherals

Solution

• Use hardware troubleshooter within Windows to change the IRQs

• Right-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop. Click on Properties-Device Manager. The conflicting device will appear with a yellow "!" mark. Right-click on it and change the resource allocation

Screen shakes whenever an electrical appliance is switched on

Reason There’s a lot of electrical noise in your power supply

Solution

• Get a UPS or a CVT. Don’t use your computer without one. Your computer equipment could get damaged

• Separate your power line, which bears the load of heavy appliances, from your house current, which supplies to your light and fan fittings. Put them on separate phases and get your neutral and earthing checked. A weak neutral and earth cause fluctuations in the voltage

"Invalid Page Fault in Module..." and program crashes

Reason Disk space may be insufficient or virtual memory may be corrupt

Solution

• Restart the computer and run ScanDisk

• Check the hard disk for free space on your PC. If it’s too low—less than 60-70 MB, remove some programs or files that are unused

• Now run Disk Defragmenter(see page 52)

• Reboot. After Windows loads, try running the same program again

"Fatal Exception OE has occurred in..."

Reason RAM may be faulty

Solution

• Install latest drivers or software for your motherboard, and video card

• Disable the External Cache in your motherboard Bios (contact your vendor or dealer to do this, as this is beyond the scope of this article)

• Lower your video resolution from the Display Properties (Right-click on Desktop, select Properties, click on the Settings tab, and then change Desktop Area or Colors)

• A common cause for these messages is faulty physical memory (RAM) in your PC. So replace them and see if you still get these messages

• If all else fails, do a fresh installation of Windows or contact your vendor

"There was an error running SCANDISK.EXE, or it was canceled..."

Reason ScanDisk may not have completed properly

Solution

• If any of your previous sessions on ScanDisk have quit before completion, you’ll get this message

• After loading Windows, go to Start-Programs-Accessories and select ScanDisk. Select the drive and do a thorough test. Reboot the PC

"Cannot find a device file that may be needed..."

Reason Required files or drivers for an application may be missing

Solution

• If you’ve recently installed a program or device, re-install it and then run uninstall

• If the missing file has a .vxd extension, then it is a driver. This could be caused by improper installation of a particular device component, like adding TCP/IP protocols from Network Settings in Control Panel, but not providing the CD when prompted and then skipping the installation. Removing that component and re-installing it properly should solve the problem

• Click Programs-Accessories-System Tools. Then click on System Information and under the Tools tab click on System File Checker. Click "Extract one file from installation Disk," and type the name of the file that’s missing, after inserting the Windows CD. Click OK-OK-Yes when prompted to restart

"HH Caused an Invalid Page Fault in Kernel32.dll"

Reason This system file may be damaged

Solution

• Restore the file hhctrl.ocx file from the Windows 98 CD

• Click Programs-Accessories-System Tools. Then click on System Information and under the Tools tab click on System File Checker

• Click "Extract one file from Installation Disk," and type hhctrl.ocx, after inserting the Windows installation CD

• Click OK-OK-Yes when prompted to restart

"Cannot delete . Access is denied..."

Reason You may be trying to remove files being used by an application at that time

Solution

• Instead of deleting files via Windows Explorer, try uninstalling it. Go to Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

• If program is not listed then stop the program before you remove its files. Be careful not to delete any files from the Windows directory

Slow Windows 98 start up

Reason Windows and your computer may be incompatible

Solution

• Go to Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Information

• Select Tools and Automatic Skip Driver Agent (this is a temporary fix, for a proper fix, you’ll have to contact your motherboard vendor or manufacturer for software update)

"Please wait... Shutting down"

Reason Windows and your computer may be incompatible

Solution

• Uninstall any new software that you may have installed recently and check if the problem is solved

• Start your computer in Safe Mode (press F8, when the message "Starting Windows..." is shown, and select Safe Mode) and shut down. If your PC doesn’t shutdown properly in Safe Mode, Windows 98 and your motherboard may be incompatible

• Disable Fast Shutdown. Click Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Information. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility. Under the General Tab, click Advanced. Click to select Disable Fast Shutdown checkbox, click OK–OK. Restart

• Your shutdown Wave file could be corrupted. Click Start-Settings-Control Panel. Now double–click on Sounds. Click Exit Windows in the Events box, and then click None in the Name box. Click OK, and then restart your computer

Computer stops after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Reason Incorrect placement of a system file

Solution

• Click Start-Find-Files or Folders

• In the Named box, type reboot.vxd and click Find Now

• Right–click on the reboot.vxd file and click Rename. Give any name to it

• Restart the computer

No Operating System or Insert System Disk

Reason The computer may be trying to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or it can’t recognize the hard disk

Solution

• Remove all floppies and CDs and retry

• Check the BIOS setup: As you start your PC, the initial screen tells you which key to press for BIOS setup (usually the Del or F2 key)

• Select Standard Setup and see if there’s a hard disk listed as the "Primary disk". If not, exit this screen and go to Hard Disk Auto Detection. When the hard disk is detected, save this change and reboot

• If BIOS can’t detect your hard disk, the CPU will have to be opened to make sure that all cables to the hard disk are firmly in place. If BIOS still doesn’t recognize it, the hard disk is probably physically damaged and will have to be replaced

• If hard disk is already listed in the BIOS and the computer still says "No Operating System," boot from a bootable floppy or CD, check for viruses and re-install Windows

Boots from floppy but says invalid drive C

Reason The hard disk isn’t being detected

Solution

• Check if the hard disk is properly listed in the BIOS. (Press Del or F2 on startup)

• After booting from the floppy, type "fdisk" at the DOS prompt (A:\)

• Select Display Partition Information. There should be at least one Primary Partition of the Type PRI DOS listed. If not, you’ll have to recreate the partition but everything on the hard disk will be wiped out. Be very careful!

• Make sure that the boot-up floppy is virus-free

Can’t boot from a CD

Reason The CD may not be included in the boot sequence in the BIOS

Solution

• Make sure that the CD is bootable

• Go to BIOS setup (see tip on No Operating System)

• Select Advanced Features

• Go to the item that says Boot sequence

• Select CD as the first choice. To change the selection either the PageUp or PageDown or the + or - key combinations will work depending on your system

• Save the changes, exit this screen and restart the computer

Watchout Not all computers let you boot from a CD

Nothing happens after the "Starting Windows" screen

Reason This is mostly related to newly added hardware or software, or corrupt files

Solution

• With recently added or removed software or hardware, Windows needs to update itself and this could take a while—wait

• Get rid of fonts you don’t use and remove unnecessary programs from the Startup Group: Click Start-Settings-Taskbar and Start Menu-Start Menu Programs-Remove. Then navigate to the Startup folder and remove items that you don’t always need

• Restart your computer and press F8 when you see the message that Windows is starting. Choose the Safe Mode. If Windows starts without complaining, restart in normal mode

• If that doesn’t help, instead of the Safe Mode choose the logged startup option. Windows will log all activity to a file called bootlog.txt in the C:\ directory. Open this file in Notepad and find out what window is objecting and fix it

• If system starts in Safe Mode but not in Normal mode, click Start-Run and type in "msconfig". Select Selective Start-up and reboot. Each item will be listed as it loads, and you’ll be able to identify the item after which Windows gets stuck. Remove or uninstall the offending item and retry

• Click Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools and click System Information. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility. On the General Tab, click Advanced. Click to select VGA 640 x 480 x 16 check box, click OK-OK. Restart. If the system starts now, the problem is with the display card driver, reinstall it

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