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General Troubleshoot
Windows XP Tips Page
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General Troubleshoot Windows XP Tips Page:
By WinXpFix.com
If you experience a Windows XP Stop error,
don’t panic. Instead, you can run through the
following general troubleshooting list to isolate the
problem and find a good resolution.
Experienced tech support will recommend
that you use the hardware driver that was made specifically
for your device. But, if an driver causes an errors,
you might have better success by using a more up-to
date driver for your product, even if the model name
is not identical. This strategy is most likely to work
for you with printers, video adapters and network cards.
First take a good look for a driver name
in the error message. If the error message identifies
a specific file name and you can trace that file to
a driver for a specific hardware device, you may be
able to solve the problem by disabling, removing, or
rolling back that driver to an earlier version. The
most likely offenders are network interface cards, video
adapters, and disk controllers.
Decoding Stop Messages
Stop messages may look cryptic, but they often contain
detailed information about the underlying cause of the
problem that can enable you to diagnose and repair the
condition that’s causing your system to fail.
Stop messages may appear under any of the following
circumstances:
* During Windows Setup. This type of Stop
error is almost always caused by a faulty device driver,
a piece of hardware that is in the process of failing,
or an incompatible system BIOS. You may see a Stop message
during Windows Setup if you attempt a clean install
on a system that uses a high-speed disk controller whose
drivers are not included with the Windows XP CD. To
avoid encountering this Stop error, which occurs when
Windows is suddenly unable to access the disk containing
temporary Setup files, you must press F6 when prompted
at the beginning of Setup and provide the correct drivers.
* At startup. If you see a Stop message
during startup on a system where Windows XP previously
ran properly, the cause of the error is usually an incompatible
service or device driver. If you recently installed
a new software application or a new device, those are
the most likely culprits.
* While Windows is running. These Stop
errors can be caused by drivers, services, or defective
hardware and can be difficult to diagnose. The text
of the Stop message usually provides important clues.
This chapter includes a list of common Stop errors,
with suggestions on how to respond to each one.
The Steps:
Don’t rule out hardware problems
In many cases, software is the victim and not the cause
of blue-screen errors. Damaged hard disks, defective
physical RAM, and overheated CPU chips are three common
hardware failures that can result in Stop errors. If
the errors seem to happen at random and the message
details vary each time, hardware problems are indicated.
Ask yourself, "What’s new?"
Be suspicious of newly installed hardware devices and
software programs. If you added a new device recently,
remove it temporarily and see whether the problem goes
away. Take an especially close look at software in the
categories that install services or file-system filter
drivers, which hook into the core operating system files
that manage the file system to perform tasks such as
scanning for viruses. This category includes backup
programs, multimedia applications, antivirus software,
and CD-burning utilities. You may need to uninstall
or update the program to resolve the problem.
Search the Knowledge Base Make a note
of the error code and all parameters that appear on
the same line. Search the Knowledge Base using both
the full and short formats. For instance, if you’re
experiencing a KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error, use
0x0E and 0x0000000E as your search keywords.
Check your system BIOS carefully Is an
update available from the manufacturer of the system
or motherboard? Stop errors are especially common in
connection with Advanced Configuration and Peripheral
Interface (ACPI) machines, where flaws in the BIOS may
trip up the operating system. Also, check the BIOS documentation
carefully—resetting all BIOS options to their
default settings can sometimes resolve an issue caused
by over-tweaking.
Are you low on system resources? Stop
errors are sometimes the result of a critical shortage
of RAM or disk space. If you can start in Safe Mode,
check the amount of physical RAM installed and look
at the system and boot drives to see how much free disk
space is available. You may be able to free space by
running the Disk Cleanup Manager, as described in "Managing
Disk Space."
Is a crucial system file damaged? To reinstall
a driver, restart your computer and press F8 when prompted
to start Windows in Safe Mode. To repair a damaged system
file that prevents you from starting even in Safe Mode,
start from the Windows XP CD and use Recovery Console.
From Recovery Console’s special-purpose command
prompt, the Copy command automatically expands compressed
files on the fly when you copy from the CD to a local
drive.
Related:
Part
1 - How To - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page
Part
2 - How To - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, The Windows XP Setup Wizard
Part
2 - How To - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, The Boot Floppy Disk
Part
3 - How To - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, Startup Modes
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