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In this section I will be sharing information of different types of troubleshooting scenarios I have faced when working with computers. You may be familiar with some, all or none at all. Regardless, the information may come in handy for you!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about any of these tips and want to add one of your own, feel free to fill out the form at the bottom of the page. This section is updated often, so please check back! When Problems Occur It would be nice if we can use our computers all the time without having problems, but they do come up. Here are examples of a few.
This will certaintly not be the death of you just like it won't be the death of your computer. Is it fixable? It all depends on what causes the blue screen. The BSOD can be caused by corruption in the operating system, recently installed software drivers that might not be compatible with your computer, also hardware could be involved. A recent hardware upgrade which may cause conflict with another hardware component in your computer could also cause this blue screen. Sometimes the blue screen message may flash on the screen so quickly you'll miss it. If you are able to see the message, get a pencil or pen and jot it down. There is a website that I have been using for a few years now that has helped me figure out what my blue screen message was directed from - a possible software or hardware issue or maybe both.
The website is called AltaVista
I have this website bookmarked as one of my Internet Explorer favorites, I recommend you bookmark this website as well.
"Cannot find .DLL"Once in a while you may see this type of message after you turn on your computer and that is as far as you can go. What does it mean?DLL (Dynamic Link Library)are files that are used by a Windows operating system. (Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista) A recent software install, virus, spyware, etc. can cause a dll file to get corrupted. Before you decide on your possible solutions, find out what type of dll file is in question. There is a website, specifically designed to identify the particular dll file and offer solutions as well as the ability to download the file to your computer.
Depending on the type of dll file it is, you have choice of restoring your XP operating system to a previous day, week or month before you started experience problems. You also can try and copy the dll file from another computer, save it on a flash drive or blank CD and copy it to your computer. You also have the choice of reinstalling your Windows operating system - provided you have your important data already backed up. There may be other steps that need to be taken to restore and/or fix your dll problem - either way it turns out, knowing exactly what file is in question is better than not knowing.
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, before the start of Windows, was a program called DOS - Disk Operating System. This system was a single-user, single task operating system that control by a set of commands.
There were commands that could be executed to attempt to fix both hardware and software issues and guess what? THEY STILL WORK! Call me old-fashion or old-school, I still have success using DOS commands. There are two that remain ideal in cases where your computer does not boot and/or you suspect that your hard drive is about to crash. Good old CHKDSK-:)
CHKDSK (Checkdisk) is a commnd prompt mainly used at a DOS prompt to fix hard drive errors. Two common commands are:
You can run both commands at the same time by typing them both on the same line at the command or C prompt. Here is screenshot of a command or C prompt and the letter C represents your hard drive.
Is Your Computer Protected? Just like we keep our automobiles and homes safe, it should be the same with our computers. As the internet becomes more popular and used so often, there is still the threat of getting a virus or spyware corrupting our computer and we need to keep this from happening. In the past, I've used Norton, McAfee, Panda, SpySweeper but I recently came across a new program and so far I am very happy with it and I highly recommend it. It's called AVG Antivirus Security. You may be happy with the program you're using and that's fine. But if you're looking for a program that will daily check to make sure your computer is virus and spyware free, this program is definitely worth looking into.
If you chose to download AVG,
make sure you uninstall any other anti-virus programs FIRST.
Another familiar box you've seen on your screen?
There may be times where you may see this box flash up on your screen which indicates that you may be or may not be infected with a virus. This Security tool box is actually malware - which tries to present a fake virus on your computer. The malware associated with this program is often hidden in your Windows operating system. To properly troubleshoot this issue to prevent this box from reappearing, we need to see WHERE in Windows the file(s) associated with that particular program is located, find the file and remove it. This, however is the beginning of our troubleshooting. There are many steps that could be involved in virus/malware removal. There also could be other anti-virus programs that may be needed to get rid of a stubborn virus or malware attack. In any event, you want to make sure you get a computer repair professional who is experienced in virus/malware removal if you are not comfortable in doing it by yourself.
Scenario: You turn your Dell desktop computer, a black screen appears and you see in white letters 'hard drive not recognized' and the computer starts to reboot on it's own. H-m-m-m, does this really mean that you don't have a hard drive in your computer? No. But as your computer boots up, it runs a series of tests to identify all the hardware in your computer, inlcuding external devices such as your keyboard, mouse and keyboard. This identification is part of the computer's BIOS or Basic Input/Output System. Every computer has BIOS settings and depending on the exact make and model of the computer, there may a different F-function key used to actually get to the BIOS.
Going back to our scenario, when you return your machine, you immediately hit the F12 key to get to the BIOS. After choosing the appropriate option, you may see a screen that is similiar to this:
Did you notice the entry 'SATA 1?' That is your hard drive! So now that we know for sure that you have a hard drive in your computer, you want to make sure that the hard drive is set up to be recognized by the computer when it boots up. The fourth option is BOOT. You need to tab over to that section and check to make sure that the hard drive is shown in the boot sequence list. This same check can be run on any hardware component on your computer. There may be a case where you need your computer to boot off from the CD-ROM drive, for example, if you need to reinstall Windows. You would go into the BIOS, Boot Sequence and choose to have the CD-ROM first on the Boot list. Scenario: Your turn on your computer and it takes several minutes for the desktop to appear. There seems to be an issue with the way your computer is booting up or it doesn't seem to boot up properly. Another troubleshooting idea is to try booting up your computer in Safe Mode. Safe Mode prevents certain services and programs to load while your computer is booting up. Depending on the type of the computer, load times may also vary. To get the computer to boot up to Safe Mode, you want to hit the F8 key as soon as you turn it on. Notice the screen below:
In the screen, you have a number of things you can try to troubleshoot your start-up issue. If you chose 'Last Known Good Configuration' your computer will try to start up at the state when your computer was operating correctly. If you chose this option and computer still does not boot up to the desktop correctly, you can hit F8 again and chose the first option, Safe Mode Booting up in safe mode is doing just that - booting up in safe way to troubleshoot any issues. This method is often to used to troubleshoot software issues such as virus, Windows, application software, etc.
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