Computer
Crashes & What to Do
If
you have started to see a "crash"
increase in either your Windows
operating system or any other programs
you use, luckily, there are a few
things you can do. Let's have a
look see.
First,
if the same problem is repeated
regularly, you should take down
some notes about your actions that
led up to the crash. Try to remember
your sequence of actions and write
down everything you did up until
the time the program stopped working.
Make sure you take note of the contents
of any error messages or other dialogue
boxes that may have come up on your
screen as well.
After
you have everything written down,
you're going to want to go to the
program manufacturer's Web site.
There you can look for a patch or
an update that you might be missing
that can solve the crashing problem.
A lot of times, this is an easy
answer. If the patch or update already
exists, you can just take care of
the problem right then and there.
If it doesn't have a fix, you can
try to find something by doing a
search for the product's name, including
some of the symptoms you are experiencing
while you're using the program.
Another
thing you can do is check your Windows
event log. Windows often logs details
about system and application crashes.
To access the event log, right click
on your My Computer icon and choose
Manage. Once there, look in the
left pane and find Event Viewer.
Go ahead and click on the little
plus sign (+) to expand it. That
will bring up three different sections:
Application, Security and System.
Choose Application. Once you do
that, you will see a list of different
actions in the right pane. There
are quite a few of them, so I will
give you some time to look over
them.
Okay,
now, if you see any that have a
red X next to them, it means your
system found a serious problem with
that particular application. When
you double click on the red X, an
Event Properties box will appear.
That will give you some information
on what happened to cause the application
to error out, etc. Even though you
have that information, it may still
be hard to decipher what's really
going on. If that's the case, Microsoft
has a database called Event ID that
you can use to get more information.
Go here to see Event ID. You will
have to enter all the information
you know about the application and
the problem in order to get a result.
Once you have it all filled in,
click Go and you will be taken to
an explanation.
Another
place you can go (which seems to
be more preferable) is EventID.net.
This allows you to take the Event
ID and source of the application
error (found in the Event Properties
box we talked about earlier) to
see a description of the problem.
This site also includes other users'
experiences with the same error,
along with some possible solutions
to fix the error problem. You do
have to subscribe to this Web site,
but it is only $9 for three months
worth of help or $24 for one year.
Either
of these sites may help you better
understand why your programs keep
crashing on you. They could definitely
save you some peace of mind as well,
so give them a try today!
Even
though you have that information,
it may still be hard to decipher
what's really going on. If that's
the case, Microsoft has a database
called Event
ID that you can use to get more
information. Go here to see Event
ID. You will have to enter all the
information you know about the application
and the problem in order to get
a result. Once you have it all filled
in, click Go and you will be taken
to an explanation.
Another
place you can go (which seems to
be more preferable) is EventID.net.
This allows you to take the Event
ID and source of the application
error (found in the Event Properties
box we talked about earlier) to
see a description of the problem.
This site also includes other users'
experiences with the same error,
along with some possible solutions
to fix the error problem. You do
have to subscribe to this Web site,
but it is only $9 for three months
worth of help or $24 for one year.
Either
of these sites may help you better
understand why your programs keep
crashing on you. They could definitely
save you some peace of mind as well,
so give them a try today!
