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Computer Problems—How to Fix Certain Computer Problems?
Dec 14th
Nowadays it is a must for users to learn how to fix computer problems instead of reinstalling computer every time when encountering computer problems. That is what I want to share with you in this article—how to fix certain computer problems.
In the first place, you can forbid the function of restart automatically
If Windows encounters a fatal problem, it may start up system again in order to solve it. But, if such problem happens during starting up Windows, the operating system has to fall into trap of restarting again and again without running normally. Under such circumstance, you need to forbid this automatic startup function. The specific function is as follows: when starting up the system and seeing “Please select the operating system to start”, you should press F8 to open the menu of Windows advanced options and choose to forbid starting up system automatically when it goes awry and then press “Enter”. Now, if there is any problem in the Windows, it will give you a message of stopping which can be used to diagnose problems.
And then you can learn how to restore backup. If you can not repair Windows but have recent backup, you can restore system from backup medium. The methods to restore system are based on the backup tools you use. Therefore, you should renew system by the prompts of backing up tools.
Besides, you can shorten starting up time. In the “Start” menu, click “Run” and type “Msconfig” in the popping up dialog box. You can enter into “System Configuration” window. In the “General” tab, you can choose to startup selectively. By doing this, you can find all the items that the computer will load when starting up. Although the loading programs can improve computer performance and add a lot of functions, they may delay starting up time. That is to say, you can shorten starting up time by forbidding loading certain programs when booting computer. And this is a good way to prevent the problems which happen probably during this process.
If you find your computer is running slower and slower and cannot find any specific problems, I earnestly suggest you that it is necessary for you to defragment disk. Though defragmentation can help you reallocate disk fragments and free up disk space, you should do that properly since too much defragmentation is also harmful to computer.
All in all, as computer is such a complex machine that requires careful and cautious operations, you need to learn more methods to fix computer problems.
Increase computer speed—Methods on how to increase computer speed when 100% CPU occupancy
Dec 12th
Have you ever noticed that you are using a slower computer due to the 100% occupancy of CPU resources? Normally, there are many possibilities which result in this problem like hardware, software, and viruses. However, in this article, we will discuss solutions on how to increase computer speed easily by yourself when 100% CPU occupancy.
1) Turn off unnecessary monitoring services
Some new-editions of anti-virus program will add features to randomly monitor the WebPages, add-ons and emails, which undoubtedly increase the system burden. Now, even though there is not a reasonable way to solve this problem, it is recommended to turn off some unneeded monitoring services to avoid malfunction caused by anti-virus programs, or upgrade your hardware to increase computer speed.
2) Use certified drivers maximally
Nowadays, a large amount of test drivers flood on the Internet, which increases the harder to discover the malfunction cause and results in 100% CPU occupancy. So it is suggested to use the drivers that certified by Microsoft or released by official, especially the drive for graphic card.
3) Scan the computer for viruses or spyware
When the computer is infected by viruses or spyware, lots of system resources will be taken when running. So please use a reliable anti-virus/ spyware program to thoroughly scan your computer and also remember to regularly update your anti-virus program to ensure the latest virus database.
4) Disable some unnecessary startup entries
If too many programs run at the same time, the computer will become slower. So please go to Start -> run -> type “msconfig” to access “Startup”, and then disable some unneeded startup entries to increase computer speed.
5) To increase your computer speed, please go to Start -> Control -> Management Tools -> Services -> right click “RISING REALTIME MONITOR SERVICE” to change it to “Manual”.
6) Check “svchost” process
Svchost.exe is a core process for Windows XP, which also exists in system with NT kernel. In Windows 2000, the number of the svchost.exe is two, and it will be four or more in Windows XP.
7) Check the network connection, especially the network card.
If the XP computer is used to be a server, when receiving request for connection on port 445, it will allocate memory and some amount of CPU resources to provide services for these connections. If overloading, the CPU occupancy rate may become too high. So you have to determine proper settings for “MaxWorkItems” to improve system responsiveness which will be greatly affected ff the value is set incorrectly, or too many system resources is occupied exclusively by a user.
To fix this problem, please open Registry Editor and then locate the branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/lanmanserver and then create a new DWORD value named “maxworkitems” in the right window. And then please double click it to enter the below value:
If the computer has more than 512 MB memories, type “1024″; type “256″ if it is less than 512MB.
With the method above, you can easily fix the CPU high occupancy rate. But if you find that you are using a slower computer even though with the above methods, please remember to timely turn off programs that do not need currently to free up more available memory. Besides, I suggest you to periodically defragment your computer to make sure that all files are put in order and coherently.
In a word, it is very easy for us to increase computer speed when the CPU occupancy rate stays at 100%. But please remember not to belittle some tiny points in increasing computer speed.
Speed up computer — How to speed up computer by increasing startup speed
Dec 10th
How to speed up computer has been a main concern for all PC users for it will be very frustrated to work with a slower computer. Here, you will find some ways on how to increase computer startup speed so as to speed it up.
1) Optimize BIOS settings
In the setting wizard of Bios, please go to the option “Advanced BIOS Feature” and them move the cursor to “First Boot Device” and then select the tab “HDD-O” (start from hard drive) but not the default “Floppy”. This will help increase computer startup speed, extend floppy’s lifespan and speed up your computer.
2) Cancel Window boot screen
To speed up your computer, you can cancel the loading of the Windows boot screen when starting it up. You can simply follow the steps here: 1) make all folders and files visible by going to My Computer, Tools, and Folder Options to tick “Display contents of system folders” and “Show hidden files and folders” within advanced settings; 2) find the file “Msdos.sys” and cancel its “Read-only” properties, then you can open it with Plain Text Editor to add “logo=0” at the end of the “Option” paragraph. In this way, the Windows boot screen will not be loaded when starting up the computer, speeding up computers.
3) Remove some unnecessary desktop icons
When starting up the computer, it is necessary for the system to search and then display the desktop icons one by one. This will consume a very longer time if there are too many desktop icons. So a removal of the unnecessary desktop icons is needed in order to speed up computer.
4) Optimize startup entries
We all know that if too many programs run at once, the computer will become slower. This happens the same when starting up the computer. So it is a must to disable some entries which do not need to run at Windows startups to increase computer speed. You can go to Start -> Run -> type “msconfig” to access Startup. Here, you can disable those that do not need to automatically run at booting up computer. In this way, you can easily increase computer speed.
5) Timely clean up Windows registry
When booting up the computer, the system will spend a lot of time in reading the registry for relevant data. So please periodically clean up the registry to fix some registry problem and get rid of some invalid/useless registry entries.
Besides the aspects above, to speed up computer, you have to regularly scan your computer for viruses/ spyware, uninstall some unwanted programs from your computer and so on. But from a fact study, we find that lots of PC users always ignore one important part when trying to increase computer speed: clean up system junk files and defragment the computer. A system cleanup with the Disk Cleanup utility can help effectively delete the unnecessary system junk files from the hard disk so as to free up more available hard disk space. And a simple disk defragmentation will help to rearrange the files on the hard disk, prevent it from being fragmented day by day.
In conclusion, there are many ways for us to speed up computer by increasing startup speed. Though they seems a little simple, they can help you easily increase computer speed. So please do not miss any of them when trying to avoid a slower computer.
XP blue screen? — How to fix XP blue screen of death
Dec 9th
Have you ever seen Windows XP blue screen? I believe all XP users might have encountered blue screen during the computer life. So, do you know what causes a blue screen? Here, we will learn both from hardware and software to see the causes and how to fix XP blue screen of death.
Part One: Hardware
First, excessive overclocking may be the main cause for XP blue screen for it will result in overloading algorithm and CPU overheat, which causes system operation errors. If you want overclocking without a blue screen, you’d better to take some steps to dissipate heat quickly such as turn to use a powerful fan and add some heat-dissipating materials (like silica gel). But it is recommended to keep the right amount of overclocking or no clocking in order to avoid blue screen of death. In my opinion, a stable PC performance is much more important than a short-tern high running speed.
Second, a physical damage on the memory module will also cause a XP blue screen because of the incompatibility. If so, please buy a new memory module to solve the XP blue screen and optimize PC performance.
Third, (if you have ever noticed) you will find that once a loading CD is opened abnormally, the computer will also come into blue screen. This will not influence the proper running of the system, but please inject the CD or press “ESC” key to solve the problem.
Fourth, another fatal cause is hardware conflict. So please go to Start menu -> Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager. Here, please check whether there is any device marked with yellow exclamation mark. If so, you can first delete it and then reboot the computer, letting the system automatically adjust the settings. If it does not solve the problem, you can manually adjust or update the corresponding devices.
By the way, please note that some inferior parts and components will be another cause for XP blue screen. So please be careful enough when buying CPU, memory chip and other components from the market.
Part Two: Software
From software, there are many parts will result in XP blue screen as what you can see below:
1)The computer is attacked by virus or hacker; 2) there is some error/ loss in the Windows registry; 3) too many programs run at windows startup; 4) versions conflict; 5) not enough virtual memory; 6) necessary DLL files lose; 7) excessive character files, etc. At this point, after learning the causes, it is possible for you to figure out the XP blue screen within proper solutions.
With the discussion above, you will find some methods to fix XP blue screen of death. But please remember to timely quit programs that do not need currently to save system resource and release more available memory. Beside, please do not forget to periodically clean up the system and defragment hard disk in order to always optimize PC performance.
With the above solutions and good habits in suing computer, you can easily avoid and fix XP blue screen. Please do not forget some tiny tips when trying to optimize PC performance.
Windows XP crashes — How to save a crashed Windows XP
Dec 8th
In our daily usage of computer, it is inevitable for us to do some illegal operations, which makes the system run improperly or crash. At this point, some will decide to reinstall the system to bring back the entire system. But we can say that it is too early to do this action because we can try a simple restore job to save a crashed Windows XP.
First of all, we all know that System Restore is a very useful utility in Windows XP. If some necessary system files are deleted incorrectly or there is something wrong with the computer or it is completely crashed, you can use the System Restore to save your XP system to a previous state.
1) How to enable System Restore
Actually, the running of the System Restore is something associated with the process “rstrui”. So you can go to C:\windows\system32\restore to locate the item “rstrui”, and then right click it to select “Send to -> Desktop (create shortcut)”. So you can double click this shortcut to quickly start System Restore. In DOS mode, you can simply go to Start -> Run -> type “rstrui” to enable it.
2) Use command-line to start System Restore
If the computer has been completely crashed and impossible to get into neither normal nor safe mode, you can type in the command-line “C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui” and then press “Enter” to run a system restore if you can access “ Safe Mode with Command-line”. In this way, you can effortlessly bring back a crashed Windows XP.
3) Use system menu to restore a crashed XP in safe mode
If you are able to get access Windows Safe mode, even though fail to access normal mode, it is recommended to restore the system here. Here is what you can go: Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore -> select “Restore my computer to an earlier time” and then click “Next”. Here, you can select the restore point and restore your computer. After rebooting, you can easily save your crashed Windows XP.
With the steps above, you can simply save a crashed XP computer, but it does not mean that all degree of damage can be restored in this way. If the computer is damaged too much, a reinstallation is needed, which will cause the loss of some important data. So it is necessary to learn how to prevent a crashed Windows XP computer.
For a user who has a little knowledge about computer, I know that it is much more important for us to carefully maintain the system rather than do some other restore jobs. Below is what I always do in daily life to optimize PC performance: 1) timely uninstall unwanted programs when noticing that they are not used any longer; 2) periodically clean up the system junk files; 3) run a disk defragmentation at a regular basic, which is what I want to emphasize too much because lots of PC users often neglect it. But it can help effectively gather all parts of a fragmented file together.
In conclusion, you can easily save a crashed Windows XP with a system restore job. But it is more important for you to learn how to prevent system crashes and then maintain PC performance.
Optimize PC performance — Tips you should know when cleaning up Windows system
Dec 4th
It is known to all that the Disk Cleanup utility can help us delete the useless system junk files to release more available hard disk space and then optimize PC performance. But there are some tips that needs to be paid attention to when cleaning up your system.
First, please remember to regularly clean up your system.
When browsing the websites or downloading/installing programs on the computer, some files will come together like Internet temporary files, which make no sense but just waste hard disk space. So the Disk Cleanup tool is needed to clear up these useless files. Here is what you can start: go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup. If you have more than one drive, please clean them one by one. Besides, a disk defragmentation can not be missed after deleting the files because this will make all files on the hard disk gather close together and then improve disk visiting time
Second, periodically clear up Windows registry.
The same as Internet temporary files, when windows system and other processes are running, some registry items are generated and rewritten inevitably and constantly. Normally these entries will overload the workload of the system and then cause system slowdown, freeze-up and crashes. So a deletion of these invalid and useless registry entries is a must to optimize PC performance. But if you are not professional on computers, please go to depend on a registry cleaner and remember to first back up the registry before the cleanup.
Third, try not to log in system as administrator
When copying and pasting files to the computer from a outside device, if you are logging the system as an administrator, some spyware or malicious software will come easily. So you’d better to log on your computer with a common user.
Fourth, carefully install programs on your computer.
We know that programs on the computer will take lots of hard disk space. And sometimes, some programs will automatically load some entries when starting up the computer which significantly affects PC performance. So you should be careful enough when installing programs on the computer and delete the useless one immediately once it is not used any more. In this way, your can not only release more disk space, but also regain faster computer speed.
Fifth, Remember to always update anti-virus/ spyware programs.
Once a computer is infected by virus or spyware, lots of system sources will be taken when booting up the computer. This will greatly slow down computer speed. Seriously, they will spy out system data and steal users’ privacy. So please remember to turn on the real-time safeguard of your anti-virus / spyware programs to block this potential risk, and update them when available to always enjoy the latest virus database.
Above are tips that you should know in cleaning up Windows system to optimize PC performance. Though they seems rather simple, please do not miss none of them when trying to optimize your computer.
System cleanup —How to ensure a timing and effective system cleanup
Dec 4th
Currently, with the rapid growth of broadband, the need of more available hard disk space arises as a very important problem to be resolved for all PC users. If there is not enough available hard-disk space, some messages will pop up like “unable to create the specified connection” or “cluster configuration cannot proceed”.
So a system cleanup is needed to always optimize PC performance. It’s known that we can use Microsoft’s built-in Disk Cleanup utility to scan the hard disk and then delete some unwanted Internet temporary files and some useless files from recycle bin. But rare people realize that windows Prefetch folder always takes large amount of disk space. From Microsoft website, we know that prefetching boot files and applications can decreases the time needed to start Windows XP and other applications. But when trying to take this action it is necessary to go through all system data, and the data which was accessed will be recorded in the hard disk, which takes up large amount of disk space. As times by, Windows XP will become sluggish because of insufficient available hard-disk space.
So how to effectively clean up these useless files? Here, a simply way will be discussed to ensure an effectively system cleanup, that is, edit a script.
1) Run Notepad, and then edit the below command lines (pretend that Windows XP is installed under C:\Windows)
c:\windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe /dc /sageset:1
c:
cd\
cd c:\windows\prefetch
del *.* /q
(Note: the last two lines are used to clean up the windows Prefetch folder)
2) Save the file as “*.bat” and store on that hard disk such as C:\ cleanup.bat.
3) Right click the just created “cleanup.bat” item to open “Disk Cleanup Settings” wizard. Here, you can check the items to be cleaned up.
4) After that, right click the icon of “cleanup.bat” and select “Edit” to change the first line to “c:\Windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe /dc /sagerun:1”.Hence, when clicking it, it will automatically run a system cleanup operation but not the wizard of “Disk Cleanup Settings”.
5) If you want to timing run “cleanup.bat” to clean up system, please go to Control Panel -> Scheduled Tasks -> Add Scheduled Task –> select “cleanup.bat” and then set the time when to run this system cleanup operation.
With the simple ways above, you can effectively clean up the system junk files at a scheduled time effectively, which releases more available free disk space and saves your time.
But it is greatly recommended that you can run a disk defragmentation after the system cleanup. As we delete or move files from the hard disk, there must be some gaps left behind, which make the hard disk fragmented it can not be defragmented at time. A defragmentation is a process which can rearrange the files on the computer, making them always stay at the same single place and much easier to be accessed to and then optimize PC performance.
In conclusion, we can ensure a timing and effective system cleanup with simple scrip to release hard disk space, but please not that another simple process — disk defragmentation is also needed in order to maintain hard disk and optimize PC performance.
Improve Computer Performance—the Methods to Optimize Windows Performance
Dec 4th
Have you been troubled with that computer performance is declining day after day? Though you have used software to check it, computer shows that there is no virus. What is the matter? In fact, since computer has been serving for you for a period of time, there are many junks piling in the computer but you just have not realized yet.
Do not worry about that. Many causes that lead to this problem can be find in this article. What you need to do is to read it patiently and follow the steps so as to optimize Windows performance.
There is a large number of swap files in the hard disk which is prepared for putting virtual memory and many applications may often use them. In this way, system has to read the major storage at every turn. Its speed is the main cause that has influence on computer running speed. Normally, Windows system can manage virtual memory automatically according to different requirement of various applications. However, such variable changes can add excessive burden to system and reduce its working speed. As a result, you had better set the maximum and minimum values of virtual memory so as to avoid altering that too often.
As for how to do that, you can right-click “My Computer” and click “Properties”. And in the “Advanced” tab, choose “Performance” dialog box and then set “Virtual Memory”. By doing this, you can improve computer performance by limiting virtual memory correctly.
Then you should check applications and drive programs. Some programs may slow down system speed when computer starts up. If you want to check the problems in this regard, you can start your computer under “Safe Mode”. Because it is the original starting method, it should be slower than normal ways. Actually, the safe mode booting way does not have to load too many applications and drives as normal one does. But if you find it is faster rather than slower, it is probably that certain program in the system goes awry so that computer booting is so tardy. So, you need to check them in order to improve computer performance.
What is more, excessive desktop icons can reduce computer performance as well. Every time when Windows startup and display desktop, it has to find and load desktop shortcuts one by one. The more shortcuts are there, the more time are needed. Meanwhile, some anti-virus software has the function to scan system which also wastes much time. As a matter of fact, if you have opened real-time monitor function of certain software, it seems redundant to scan system when booting. You can shut down this scanning function but should be on condition that you have opened real-time monitor. And, it is suggested that you can put the seldom used icons to a specific folder or delete them without further ado.
Now, are there problems in your computer in accord with one or more descriptions in this article? If so, you should take some measures to improve computer performance; if not, you also ought to prevent those problems so as to optimize Windows performance.
Does your computer freeze up without any cause? Useful methods on how to fix computer freezes
Dec 1st
Does your computer always freeze up without any cause while in the midst of doing something? Or does your mouse often freeze so you have to manually turn off your computer which is not safe for the computer or cause data loss?
Above are very common complaints for all computer users. If you have searched the Internet, you will find that these are due to a variety of things. Here some methods will be discussed on how to fix computer freezes.
Firstly, it will relate to the hardware on your computer. If there are defective or mismatched components existing on your computer, it will cause the random freezing-up of the computer. So you have to check your computer to see whether there are something conflict and then replace them correctly. Besides, it is necessary to note the settings of the Bios should be correct; and then the frequency of the CPU shouldn’t be too high; and the memory modules are correctly inserted into the sockets; and the displayer / power should be good heat-dissipation.
Secondly, it will have something to do with the software installed on the computer, which will take up lots of system resources. So it is highly recommended that you can uninstall the unwanted programs from Add / Remove Programs when noticing that they are no longer used. Also, if too many programs running automatically when booting up the computer, some will cause computer freezes. So please go to Start -> Run -> type “msconfig and press Enter -> go to Startup and disable some programs that do not need to automatically run at windows startup. Hence, it will stop your computer from freezing up time to time.
Thirdly, why does your computer freeze without any cause may cause from not enough system maintenance. As we all know that a computer is just like a human being who needs to well taken care of. Only in this way, will the computer or all of its components be used for a much longer time. If it lacks necessary system maintenance, it won’t run properly or freeze randomly without any cause, which will result in data loss, and lower working efficiency. So system maintenance is needed in order to fix computer freezes.
When talking about system maintenance, what lots of PC users think of will be how to remove some unneeded files from the computer and check / fix the PC errors. That is right for the unnecessary files will only take hard disk space without any meaningful significance. So a cleanup of them is a must by using the built-in Disk Cleanup in order to free up more available disk space. Moreover, it is necessary for you to use the Error-checking tool to check and then mark the bad sector on the hard. In this way, it will ensure a smooth running of your computer, without computer freezes.
But not all computer users realize that a simple disk defragmentation plays very important role in maintaining PC performance. First of all, as we all know that when there is not enough available free space to locate a same content into a single place, it will be cut into different parts and put in different corner of the hard disk. If this content is frequently input or output, it will increase the movement of the hard disk head to gather all parts together, which will slow down the computer. Seriously, it will eventually freezes up your computer. So a regular disk defragmentation is needed in order to maintain PC performance and fix computer freezes.
As what you can see above, there are many ways for you to fix computer freezes. But when trying to prevent the problem of “computer freeze up without any cause”, please do remember to run a disk defragmentation. It will do you a favor in maintaining PC performance.
Disk defragmentation — One effective thing you can do to fix computer freezes problem
Dec 1st
No matter what the computer is used for, it will be a huge nuisance to see that the computer freezes up or crashes when doing something in the midst. So is there any thing that we can do to fix computer freezes problem easily? Of course, there is, I believe.
For me, it is annoyed to see that my computer freezes up suddenly time and time again when starting it up or doing something for at this time it is impossible for me to access any program, or move my mouse to anywhere. What is serious, I have to manually turn off my power to close it down because the “Alt+Ctrl+Delete” is useless, which will cause the loss of some important information and unsafe elements to the computer. But that is what I can do.
After checking the Internet, I found that there were many things that I could do to fix computer freezes problem like checking some hardware settings, or removing some unwanted programs / files to release more available free space and memory, scanning the entire computer for viruses. I have done all without any remarkable result.
When talking this with one of my friends, I learned that the problem might be coming from the fragments on the hard disk. And disk fragments come inevitably as we download, store and delete files on the computer. The more fragmented the hard disk is, the more time it will consume to visit the hard disk. If we run too many programs at once, large number of system resources will be taken, which will greatly overload the movement of the hard disk and seriously slow down or freeze up the computer.
With the suggestion of my friend, I went to run a disk defragment and get surprising result: it fixed the computer freezes problem instantly. But to ensure a smooth disk defragmentation, it needs you to go thorough this article for some useful tips.
To ensure a thorough and faster disk defragmentation, you have to do the below sides before:
1) Completely clean up the garbage files on the hard disk. After being used for a long time, there must be lots of useless garbage files storing on the disk like download files, TEMP files, cache files and so on. So please go to run the packaged Disk Cleanup tool to remove some unnecessary files.
2) Check and then fix the hard disk errors. Please go to run the Microsoft “Error –checking” to check and then automatically fix some hard disk error.
3) Close all other running programs before the disk defragmentation. It is better to close other running program when running a disk defragmentation for once the Disk Defragmenter finds that there is something modified on the file, it will re-defragment the disk. So do not forget to turn off the screen savor and anti-virus programs before the defragmentation, and it is better to reset the size of virtual memory to a fixed value specified.
Basically, with the three preparations above, it will be much faster in defragmenting the hard disk. But for me, I am still unhappy with the lower-efficiency of the built-in Disk Defragmenter. Then I turned to use a disk defrag tool named Advanced Defrag, which finished the defragment process within only a coffee time. So I want to add that in order to get a faster defragmentation, it is better to rely on an advanced defrag utility.
As what you can see the explanation above, it is very necessary to run a disk defragmentation periodically in order to avoid and fix computer freezes problem. If you have never done one before, please remember to take action right now.