"A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead."
Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer
Page
Web Tech Support!
Part
3 - Startup
Modes
More software downloads
*
Page 1 - Troubleshoot a Windows Computer Tips
Page
*
Part 1 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, The Windows XP Setup Wizard
*
Part 2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, The Boot Floppy Disk
*
Part 3 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips
Page, Startup Modes
Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page: Tech Support Page!
By Raymond Garcia,
WebTechGeek.com
Usually Windows XP works quite well, and
even though it is more stable than its predecessors, it
still can hang and crashes on occasion. Fortunately, Windows
XP comes with a number of diagnostic tools that can help.
Microsoft has also added one new tool, Remote Assistance,
which allows Microsoft technicians to fix your computer
over the phone.
Before you call a computer repair tech service
and pay big money for help, you should take a look at
your computer yourself. Just a little common sense may
help you solve some simple hardware and software problems,
like loose cables. If you do decide to call technical
support, remember to write down the problem and what you
were doing when it occurred. And also take note of any
error messages.
You should try to be as specific as possible
when talking to the tech support or Pc repair person.
For example: the OS Windows ME or XP, Whenever I try to
start up my PC, I see an error message box, whenever I
run this program. Computers tend to crash or hang when
their hard disks become too fragmented or full. You should
free up space by deleting unnecessary files and emptying
the Trash or Recycle Bin. Also run Scandisk and disk defragmenter
in system tools. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com
for more How to tips!
When an application crashes in Windows XP,
Windows will displays a box telling you about it. There's
not much you can do, just click OK. It's a good idea to
restart Windows the program may have damaged files or
Windows' internal operations. Remember to come back to
WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!
If a Windows program hangs, you can force Windows to
stop the hung program. Just press CTRL-ALT-DEL to open
the Windows Task Manager dialog box.
Look on the Applications tab of the Windows Task Manager,
a hung program will usually has the notation "Not
responding" in the Status column. All healthy programs
are designated as "Running." Now select the
name of the hung Windows program and then click End Task.
The program should then exits.
If all else fails, press CTRL-ALT-DEL to display the
Windows Task Manager and then choose Shut Down > Restart
on the menu bar: Windows XP should restart. Windows may
runs ChkDsk so that all disk errors can be repaired, this
is normal for Windows. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com
for more How to tips!
Startup
Modes Part 3
Startup Modes
Part 3;
By Raymond Garcia,
Web TechGeek
Startup Modes: The most worst problems
prevent Windows from starting up at all. If the Windows
installation on your hard disk is intact, you can start
Windows in one of several special startup modes that provide
limited function and will help you diagnose the problem.
Windows XP, however, brings its legacy from Windows 2000/NT,
a more complicated operating systems than Windows 98 and
Me. Because of this sophisticated lineage, Windows XP
has a number of more challenging options than Windows
98/Me. Every mode has a purpose and the added options
give you more recourse when disaster hits. Remember to
come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!
Press F8 during Windows startup (when
you see the boot menu, if you have a dual-boot system)
to see a menu of startup modes:
Safe Mode Windows starts by using the
simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices.
If Windows still doesn't start, try Safe Mode With Command
Prompt or the Recovery Console.
Safe Mode With Networking Windows starts by using the
simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices
but also includes simple networking components. If Safe
Mode works and you need information from a network, try
this mode.
Safe Mode With Command Prompt Windows starts by using
the simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices.
It further reduces the overhead by not loading the Graphical
User Interface--you communicate with it by typing DOS-style
commands. This mode works the same way as the Recovery
Console.
Enable Boot Logging Windows starts normally but logs
all the drivers it loads in the file Ntbtlog.txt (usually
stored in C:\Windows). Use this mode if you think that
a device driver might be the problem.
Enable VGA Mode Windows loads the standard, super-compatible
Microsoft VGA driver, which can often assist in reducing
conflicts until you can fix the problem. Use this mode
if your video driver isn't working.
Last Known Good Configuration Windows starts using the
last configuration that did not to have any known problems.
It uses backup copies of your Registry and device driver
files.
Directory Services Restore Mode This mode is not used
in either Windows XP Home Edition or Professional: it
is used on Windows servers.
Debugging Mode Windows starts normally but sends debugging
information through a serial cable to another computer
(rarely used except by Windows system programmers).
Selective Startup This mode isn't displayed on the Windows
startup menu that appears when you press F8. Instead,
you enable it by using the System Configuration Utility.
Windows prompts before loading or running each driver
or program. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for
more How to tips!
Normal Mode Windows starts normally.
Note: Windows XP does not support DOS, with the exception
of a DOS Virtual Machine, to run legacy applications.
Because of this, Windows can not start up in DOS mode.
Of course, you can still start up DOS from a floppy disk,
Zip drive (if your BIOS supports it), or bootable CD-ROM
disc. When running DOS, you can't read disks formatted
with NTFS. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for
more How to tips!
Related Links:
Part
1 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page
Part
2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page,
The Windows XP Setup Wizard
Part
2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page,
The Boot Floppy Disk
Part
3 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page,
Startup Modes - This Page!
Computer
Help Page # 1.
Troubleshoot a Computer!
See
windows Tips page Resolving Hardware Conflicts Tips!
