Basic Computer Troubleshooting Techniques
Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:37 am
Here is a reply I have recently submitted to a user who suffered problems following a Windows XP System crash:
The clue to your issue is that the Windows XP System crashed.
So far you have discovered you have a problem with VideoStudio,
Unfortunately I suspect that there is a good likelihood that you will also find other things on your computer, programs or DATA may have also been affected - you just don't know it yet.
Firstly a short lesson about Hard Drives, then a few steps you can follow to try and cure or alleviate the problem.
If you look at the front of your Computer you should see one or more steady green lights. There is one for each hard drive that is installed in your computer. The green light signifies that the hard drive has power and thus turned on.
Alongside that steady light will be another that is mostly turned OFF but every now and again blinks. When lit this signifies that the computer is either reading from or writing to the hard drive. It takes time to read/write the hard drive - firstly a directory has to be checked to establish where on the hard drive the information is (or is going to be) located, then the laser head has to be moved to that disc position for the read/write operation.
To speed things up you install RAM in your computer which retains a big chunk of DATA therefore when saving stuff to the hard drive it is not written immediately but kept in RAM and then moved over to the hard drive when the computer has something else that needs to be installed in RAM to carry out whatever task it is currently performing.
This is why you have to 'Shut Down' the computer and not simply press the 'OFF' button - this enables anything in RAM to be written to the hard drive - otherwise it will be lost forever.
If you have the misfortune of suffering a sudden mains electricity failure
you may be lucky in so far that nothing was at that time being written to the hard disc, or you could be unlucky and the partly written DATA will now effectively render your hard drive useless as it may have destroyed the hard drive directory or even rendered a hard drive cluster unusable.
So what can we do if we have suffered a catastrophe of this nature?
Firstly there isn't one single easy answer because the damage can range from NIL to you need a new hard drive.
All we can do is follow various repair procedures.
1. Sometimes simply rebooting your computer is all that is necessary.
2. Try System Restore to return the computer to a time before the error occurred.
3. Uninstall and Re-install the affected program(s)
4. Run the Windows System File Checker
5. Run the Disc Checking Utility built into Windows. Note the various switches available. The one most often used is the F (Fix) Option but if this fails to cure the problem then you need to use the more extensive R (Repair) Option.
6. Check the Windows Error Log
7. Run a Registry Checking Utility
I must warn users to be very careful when running a Registry Checking Utility. Whilst they are good at what they do, in the wrong hands they can also cause havoc to a good working system.
8. Sometimes it may be necessary to track down a faulty startup event/program by using MsConfig
9. Check your RAM for errors using one of the free RAM checking utilities available for download
10. If a piece of hardware is faulty try rolling back or re-installing the device drivers. Check the device manufacturers website for updated drivers.
11. If a piece of hardware is still faulty after step 10, try removing it and reinserting it in case it has become loose due to movement. Try changing any cables that may connect the device to the motherboard.
12. If a piece of hardware still remains faulty after step 11, check the device manufacturers website for updated firmware. CD and DVD drives especially – Firmware is software that resides inside the device and enables it to communicate with the computer. Think of it as the BIOS of the hardware.
Other options previously suggested by Forum Members include making a Drive Image
I am sure a few more members will jump in here with a few more suggestions.
(Any useful suggestions to that original post will be copied here for ease of future reference)
The clue to your issue is that the Windows XP System crashed.
So far you have discovered you have a problem with VideoStudio,
Unfortunately I suspect that there is a good likelihood that you will also find other things on your computer, programs or DATA may have also been affected - you just don't know it yet.
Firstly a short lesson about Hard Drives, then a few steps you can follow to try and cure or alleviate the problem.
If you look at the front of your Computer you should see one or more steady green lights. There is one for each hard drive that is installed in your computer. The green light signifies that the hard drive has power and thus turned on.
Alongside that steady light will be another that is mostly turned OFF but every now and again blinks. When lit this signifies that the computer is either reading from or writing to the hard drive. It takes time to read/write the hard drive - firstly a directory has to be checked to establish where on the hard drive the information is (or is going to be) located, then the laser head has to be moved to that disc position for the read/write operation.
To speed things up you install RAM in your computer which retains a big chunk of DATA therefore when saving stuff to the hard drive it is not written immediately but kept in RAM and then moved over to the hard drive when the computer has something else that needs to be installed in RAM to carry out whatever task it is currently performing.
This is why you have to 'Shut Down' the computer and not simply press the 'OFF' button - this enables anything in RAM to be written to the hard drive - otherwise it will be lost forever.
If you have the misfortune of suffering a sudden mains electricity failure
you may be lucky in so far that nothing was at that time being written to the hard disc, or you could be unlucky and the partly written DATA will now effectively render your hard drive useless as it may have destroyed the hard drive directory or even rendered a hard drive cluster unusable.
So what can we do if we have suffered a catastrophe of this nature?
Firstly there isn't one single easy answer because the damage can range from NIL to you need a new hard drive.
All we can do is follow various repair procedures.
1. Sometimes simply rebooting your computer is all that is necessary.
2. Try System Restore to return the computer to a time before the error occurred.
3. Uninstall and Re-install the affected program(s)
4. Run the Windows System File Checker
5. Run the Disc Checking Utility built into Windows. Note the various switches available. The one most often used is the F (Fix) Option but if this fails to cure the problem then you need to use the more extensive R (Repair) Option.
6. Check the Windows Error Log
7. Run a Registry Checking Utility
I must warn users to be very careful when running a Registry Checking Utility. Whilst they are good at what they do, in the wrong hands they can also cause havoc to a good working system.
8. Sometimes it may be necessary to track down a faulty startup event/program by using MsConfig
9. Check your RAM for errors using one of the free RAM checking utilities available for download
10. If a piece of hardware is faulty try rolling back or re-installing the device drivers. Check the device manufacturers website for updated drivers.
11. If a piece of hardware is still faulty after step 10, try removing it and reinserting it in case it has become loose due to movement. Try changing any cables that may connect the device to the motherboard.
12. If a piece of hardware still remains faulty after step 11, check the device manufacturers website for updated firmware. CD and DVD drives especially – Firmware is software that resides inside the device and enables it to communicate with the computer. Think of it as the BIOS of the hardware.
Other options previously suggested by Forum Members include making a Drive Image
I am sure a few more members will jump in here with a few more suggestions.
(Any useful suggestions to that original post will be copied here for ease of future reference)