PC Help Journal

One doesn’t need to be a computer expert to resolve common Windows PC errors. All you need is some basic computer knowledge, a little patience, and the right software.

In this article, we learn how to resolve common Windows computer errors using the following four-step strategy. You will be pleasantly surprised to find how easily you can fix common Windows errors, such as error code 81000306, by implementing these steps.

Install the Latest Windows updates

If you use Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows7, enable the Automatic Update feature to automatically download new Windows updates.

Keeping your Windows files up-to-date not only helps you fine-tune your system’s security, but also allows you to fix known Windows issues.

Run a malware scan

Malware are responsible for the majority of Windows errors.  If your computer is inundated with recurring error messages or is behaving erratically, chances are your Windows computer is infected with malware.

Run a malware scan on your entire computer using reliable antivirus and antimalware tools. Promptly delete or quarantine any malware found on your PC.

Remove any incompatible software

Different versions of software are compatible with different version of Windows operating systems. You may be experiencing Windows errors such as error c000021a or error 0x0000000a, due to incompatible software.

Furthermore, some software are known to conflict with each other. This is especially true in the case of antivirus software. The rule of thumb is to install only one antivirus software on your computer.

Check all the programs that you have installed on your computer and ensure that your software is compatible with each other as well as with your Windows operating system. If you are using any software that is incompatible or is known to conflicts with other installed software, uninstall it, or look for a compatible alternative.

When you uninstall a program, make sure all the files, processes, and registry entries associated with the program are also removed from your computer. In other words, ensure complete uninstallation of programs. This is necessary, as leftover processes or data in the registry may cause problems in your computer later on. You may seek the help of a reliable uninstaller tool to ensure that programs are completely uninstalled from your computer.

Clean your registry

It is no secret that a large number of application errors, such as DLL and EXE errors, occur due to a corrupt or unclean registry. If the above steps fail to resolve the error you are facing, turn to the registry for an answer.

Clean your registry using a reliable registry cleaner and see if this fixes the problem.

In the end, remember that the most common PC errors can be easily fixed, so don’t shy away from taking the initiative to resolve computer errors on your own.

So I came across one of the most troubling PC problems of the decade.  One of my friend’s laptop had a problem where it would shutdown Internet Explorer and display the “Internet Explorer has stopped working.”  The same goes for browsing in the folders on the desktop where Windows Explorer would randomly close and restart itself.  After numerous research on the net, here are the list of solutions that I found.  There were a couple solutions that did manage to fix the problem.  Note: not all the solution will fix the problem, but I hope at least one of them will.

METHOD 1

1. Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

sfc /scannow

The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

METHOD 2

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search Bar, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Locate the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions
4. In the right pane delete this subkey: MachineThrottling
5. Turn your computer off and back on for the change to take effect.

METHOD 3

disable any monitoring software. Everest – HWMonitor – pc-wiz – core temp – etc…

these programs seem to have compatibility issues…

METHOD 4

1. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools.
2. Scroll down to Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced Tab.
4. Uncheck Enable third-party browser extensions.

METHOD 5
To temporarily disable all add-ons
• Click the Start button , click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).
Now check if problem is solved or not.
METHOD 6
Disable all add-ons :
1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Click the Tools button, click Manage Add-ons, and then click Enable or Disable Add-ons.
3. In the Show list, click Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer to display all add-ons.
4. Click the add-on you want to disable, and then click Disable.
5. Repeat step 4 for every add-on. When you are finished, click OK.
6. Close IE.
7. Now open IE and check.
If issue persists, then perform steps as per below links:
Internet Explorer stops responding, stops working, or restarts
1.Verify that you are logged on to Windows with a user account that is a computer administrator.
2.Verify that you have the error reporting feature in Windows turned on.

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_verifyrequirements1000

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_methodthree1000

Advanced troubleshooting

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_advtroubleshooting1000

Note: Above steps can be used for most of IE7 related issues.

METHOD 7

1. In Internet Explorer, Click on “Tools”, “Internet Options”:

2. Go to the tab “Security” and untick the option “Enable Protected Mode”:

3. Restart the Internet Explorer.

Read more: http://windows7themes.net/how-to-fix-internet-explorer-has-stopped-working.html#ixzz0jhUwTcQC

METHOD 8
1. Click on the “Start Menu” and go to “Network”

2. Click on “Organize” at the upper right corner of the window. A drop down window will pop up. Click on “folder” and “search options”.

3. On the folder option window, you will see three tabs at the upper right-hand corner. Click on “view” and SELECT “always show Icons, never thumbnail”. Next, DESELECT “display files Icon on thumbnails” as illustrated below.

4. Click OK and you should be good to go.

Most of all have seen the blue screen of death (bsod) working on a PC at some point in our lives.  It’s a critial system error that forces your computer to shut down to prevent any further damage.  BlueScreenView is a free program that will pull up the last bsod for you to analyze and google the error.  This is an extremely helpful tool for troubleshooting.  BlueScreenView displays the following:

• Minidump Filename
• Date and Time of the Crash
• Bug Check Code and 4 parameters
• Details of the driver or module that could have caused the crash

BlueScreenView Screenshot

Download BlueScreenView for free

[NirSoft via Life Rocks 2.0 via LifeHacker]

This morning I experienced a dilemma where I could literally break every Apple product I have ever owned.  Let’s start from the beginning.  I gave my 500GB external hard drive to my girlfriend since she was running out of space.  She was using an iMac so of course the external hard drive was formatted for a Mac.  She need more space so I had to give her my 1TB external (we basically swapped).  Upon receiving back my 500gb external, I realized I could not use it yet until I reformat it.  I went through the basic steps but apparently, Apple had put in a security where it’s a “GPT Protective Partition.”  I was furious and had to Google for half an hour to figure out how to solve my issue.  So here it is.  Credit goes to Paul Gu for his easy to follow procedures.

1) Go to Start > Run (Windows Vista and 7: type in “run“)

2) Type in “cmd”

3) Type in “DiskPart”

4) Type in “List Disk” to display all the disks on the machine.  Figure out which hard drive number is corresponding to your external hard drive (Ex - mine was 1)

5) Type in “Select Disk Number” (Replace “Number” with actual number corresponding to your drive.  i.e. mine would be “select disk 1“)

5) Use “clean” command to remove GPT disk from the current in-focus disk by zeroing sectors.

Now your hard drive is ready to be reformatted.

6) Right click on “My Computer” and go down to “Manage”

7) Under “Storage,” Click on “Disk Management” on the left side.

Right click on the disk info and choose “Initialize Disk”

9) Once that is done, you can go to eHow for easy step by step instructions to reformat your hard drive.

Paula from Studio City asked me how to remove some of her icons in the “My Computer” window. I found out that those items are restricted from being deleted. Though there is a way to delete them using a program. TweakUI will allow you to go in and uncheck the items you don’t want to display. Once you downloaded TweakUI from below, then you can watch the youtube I made on how to remove the icons.  Remember to watch the video in HD and full screen mode.  No audio sorry.

Download TweakUI

This is an article I found on Ezinearticles.com.  I do agree with the tips and thought I share with you guys.

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Find daily articles on how to Fix XP on my blog. Be sure to visit. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amene_Katanda