Today’s topic will cover some common computer problems and how you can fix them without having to take your computer into a repair shop. The majority of PC users in the United States are still your plug and play types who use the computer for general uses like; e-mail, web surfing, word processing, minor financial book keeping, and some casual gaming. They do not have in-depth technical knowledge to fix minor technical problems. So this article will cover some basics that should keep your computer running smoothly.The first order of business is to maintain a well working system, to do this I would recommend these few steps,
1. Defragment you drive on a monthly basis, Windows has a built in defrag program that is sufficient for keeping the file system optimized. If you are someone who installs and un-installs programs often or works with files that are on and off the system frequently then defrag your hard drive twice a month.
2. Run an anti-virus and anti-spyware program through a complete scan every 1 to 2 weeks. This will help keep the system clean. There are free anti-virus programs out there that do a fantastic job of staying up to date. I have used Avast anti-virus for years and never had a problem, you can also use AVG anti-virus which is another good one that stays up to date. Anti-spyware programs like; Spybot search and destroy, AVG, or Windows Defender are great programs to have installed.
3. Stay up to date on all of your Windows updates, this will fix most security holes and help Windows to run efficiently.
Now on to issues and possible fixes, this is not an exhaustive list, I can’t cover everything so I will hit the most common. Most common issues can be diagnosed through either a few free programs or doing some research on the web.
1. System was working fine then just shut down and now when it boots up I get blue screens that say either PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA or IRQL_NOT_LESS_THEN_OR_EQUAL_TO, if you look down at the lower left of the blue screen, there may be a file name that will help you determine what has caused the blue screen, if not then it may be one or two possible problems. The first problem could be memory related so you want to download a program called memtest which can be found at, www.memtest.org, once you have this program downloaded you will need to either burn it onto a CD or install it onto a floppy drive, once this is done restart the system and let the program run for 30-60 minutes. If the program does not find any error then your memory is fine and the error relates to a software issue. Generally a blue screen is related to software, either a .dll was duplicated in memory and a reboot will fix it, or it is a driver/program incompatibility.
2. System is running real slow, this one can be an easy fix. First check to make sure you have plenty of space on your hard drive, you need at least two times the amount of memory free on the hard drive at all times. People do not realize virtual memory plays a role in system performance and they allow their system to get too full. If you have 2 GBs of memory in your system, you should have 4 GBs of hard drive space free at all times. If your hard drive shows less than 4 GBs, you run the risk of system instability and possible freezing up. The other possible problem could be the memory itself, so right click on your computer icon and go to properties and see if the full amount of memory is reported. If not then find the bad module and get it replaced.
3. You’re working on your computer and suddenly the system crashes without reason, this could be while you are playing a game or usual stuff. It is possible the power supply or the video card is going bad or has gone bad. I had a personal experience with this problem, my boy was playing a game and after 10-15 minutes the system would crash, this happened all the time. So I was intrigued by this and started doing some tests, first I unplugged my CD-rom and DVD-rom drives to minimize power draw, then I tried playing the game for a while and the system ran for 30-45 minutes then crashed. I decided to unplug the rest of the non-critical hardware, so the floppy drive was unplugged and the second hard drive. Now I played the game and the system did not crash, so I was able to determine the power supply was the issue. You may or may not be as lucky, the system might crash and never come back on, depending on the age of the system I would almost guarantee you it is the power supply, usually 4-5 year old or older systems have a high probability.
4. Video card problems are pretty easy to determine, if you are getting artifacts (square blocks of garbled color) will tell you there is a problem with the video card. Now the card may not be dying, it could be a bad fan, so turn off the computer and open the computer case and once you find the video card, turn the system on and see if the fan spins, if it does not or the fan is slow then the fan is bad and needs to be replace or the video card needs to be replaced. If you look for the video card and you have one but there is only a heat sink then it is a bad card. If you only have onboard video then get ready to buy a new video card.
5. The system runs for a while then locks up: This could be two possibilities; the first possibility could be is the system is overheating. You will have to turn off the system and open the side panel and make sure all fans are spinning, if all of your fans are spinning then you may need to add more fans or move the computer case to an area that will allow for better air flow. The second possibility could be something is corrupt in the system files. If this is the case you can boot into safe mode by tapping the F8 key while the system is booting up and then click start, then click run and type in chkdsk, a DOS box will come up and tell you that you can schedule a boot time chkdsk scan on the next reboot y/n, tap the y key and reboot the system. The scan will run and this may fix the lock ups.
Now everything I have outlined here should work on most systems. I do not have time to go into all of the possible problems and solutions; these are just a few that will keep you going or help you to troubleshoot the problem. I wish everyone a wonderful computing experience but we all know there can be a few hick ups along the way. If you would like to add some your own possible solutions or have better ideas on how to fix something please let me know by posting a comment. I am always eager to learn and listen to your ideas. If there is a simpler was to troubleshoot something please post a comment I am always looking for easier ways to fix computer problems.
Thank you all for your time I hope this helps solve a problem or two.
Kineo