Is your PC the stable, error-free platform you need? We didn't think so. Leigh Dyer, David Kidd and Ty Pendlebury present the essential guide to fixing your PC.
If there's one thing you can count on with your PC it's that one day, without warning, it'll fall over. The effects can range from a nagging error message every now and then, to something as serious as lost files or destroyed hardware. Owning a PC, then, isn't just a matter of learning how to turn it on and click a mouse; it's about knowing how to fix it when it goes wrong.
Understanding how to troubleshoot your PC isn't just a handy little skill. As we, and those around us, depend more and more on PCs, any errors and downtime can cost money in repair costs or lost productivity -- money that could have been saved by knowing how to read the symptoms, treat the problem, and ultimately how to prevent the problems in the first place.
But where do you start? Experienced troubleshooters each have their own methods, but we've always found that a basic medical model is an ideal way to keep your PC healthy. Physical damage, viruses, and even age can apply just as easily to your PC and by following basic diagnosis guidelines you can treat most known conditions.
We've broken this feature up into the three basic steps to fixing ailments: diagnosis, treatment and prevention. As a special bonus, we've also looked at using Linux to pull you out of an emergency and you'll also find some real world examples from our Labs team.
So, grab your doctor's bag and the nearest nurse as we present our complete guide to fixing PC problems
A trap many novice troubleshooters fall into is to focus on fixing a symptom rather than cause. If you grazed your knee after tripping on a broken step, would you put a band-aid and keep walking, or would you fix the step? Thus, the best path for successfully troubleshooting a problem is to isolate its root cause through a process of intuition, elimination, and replication.
Listen to your PC
The first thing you need to do is listen to what your PC is telling you. A good doctor will always ask a series of questions before conducting a costly and possibly unnecessary procedure and this applies to your PC. The first indication that something is wrong is often an error message. These can come in two basic forms: Windows specific or application specific. Windows messages often pop up in a box asking you whether you want more information, close the app, or send an error report. Application specific messages can vary greatly in the amount of information they provide.
Unfortunately, most error messages are often far too obscure to be of any use straight away, but they always provide some hint to the cause of the problem. The clues you should look for are things like file or application names, and the type of activity that occurred. This works well for simple problems like, for example, if you try to write to a CD-ROM which produces the error message telling you it can't write to it, but what about error message that don't make sense at all?
A classic example of a confusing error message occurs when you try to delete a file that Windows claims is in use. You know that you aren't using the file, but you can't delete it. Windows isn't lying to you, rather it's just not being terribly clear about what's going on.
So, for this step, glean as much information as you can, and if the error doesn't present itself immediately, you'll need to take a good, long hard look at what's been going on with your system.
History
Most problems on your PC occur because of some change that's occurred in the software or hardware. To kick it off, simply asking yourself what hardware and software you've installed in the last few days. This will often yield the trigger to the problem, if not the cause itself.
Of course, a neat documented history of any changes you've made to your PC would be the ideal option, but it isn't always practical -- especially if you're diagnosing a PC that isn't yours. Windows' System Restore could be the next best thing, as it automatically makes restore points when you update your drivers or perform other significant changes. It's always a good idea to check out the back log before you start troubleshooting.
The examination table
If you can't glean any information from error messages or your PC's recent history, it's time to look deeper. This is where we employ our best tools to find out what's going on. The following is a simple battery test that should cover the most common problems:
1) Test for spyware, viruses and other malware
A full virus and spyware scan is essential if you're hitting a brick wall.
2) Process Explorer
Shows which processes and files are in use, letting you search for DLLs, uncover rogue files, and stop any unwanted app.
3) Dr Watson
Check your error logs.
4) Sisoft Sandra
Ensure your hardware is performing as expected.
Examples
Hardware hustle: So you've installed a network card, plugged it in, and you can't connect. You've diagnosed, through Device Manager, that Windows is having a hard time recognising it, or in fact, it doesn't show up at all. You know that, because Windows XP supports a broad range of hardware, that it's not just failing to recognise something obscure. Furthermore, the lights on the back of the card aren't flickering at all. You deduce, therefore, that it's a problem with the network card or motherboard.
Random blue screen: While we don't see as many blue screen crashes as we used to, they're still one of the most frustrating problems you can encounter as they often force a reboot, which throws a spanner into the troubleshooting process. By applying the three rules above, you can sort through your blue screen problem: what does the error message say? Take down the error code. The history? Installed Service Pack 2. Examination table? Pauses while accessing a DLL file -- interestingly, it's a file that was replaced by Service Pack 2.
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Diagnosis Tools
Process Explorer is a third-party version of the Windows Task Manager. It shows you at a glance what programs are running, and updates CPU usage in real time. Not only can it help you figure out which application is holding onto that mystery 'locked' file, a quick right click will release it too. It also includes a very handy feature: right clicking on a process enables you to Google search on it - making it very easy to spot unnecessary programs and malware.
Dxdiag is a tool which can help to identify misbehaving hardware and/or drivers. The program's main aim is to test your PC's drivers for WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certification, which means it has been tested for compatibility by Microsoft. Beta drivers aren't usually WHQL-approved and can cause problems. The Notes section can also identify any issues with your hardware, and how you may be able to fix it.
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Hopefully you would have now found what's troubling your PC, and by extension, what's been causing you to drink too much coffee, pace up and down the hallway, and swear obscenely at your dog. This next section will look at that next step after you've diagnosed the problem: fixing it.
Simply finding out what the problem is will often present the solution immediately. For example, if you found that spyware was causing Internet Explorer to crash, you're a button click away from removing the nasty piece of code and making IE stable again.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always turn out as easy as that. The steps listed here will give you some starting points at treating whatever problem you have. Please note that some of the tools listed here, while useful, can potentially damage or delete data.
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| Always back up your important documents and registry settings. |
Preparation
Regardless of what the problem is, always back up your important documents and registry. Do this by going to Start | All Programs | Accessories | Backup. Select Advanced Mode, then the Backup tab, then go to Job and New. Now select System State in the tree to backup our crucial documents, and put a tick into anything else you want backed up. Lastly, select the location to save the backup to and you're done. We'd also recommend creating a new System Restore point (go to Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Restore | Create a restore point).
Hired help
You might think your problem is unique, but we'll wager that someone, somewhere, has also encountered the same thing. Often you'll find that a a program patch or updated drivers will include a fix for the problem you've encountered, but not always.
Say your diagnosis revealed that Doom3 won't work because of a graphics problem. You're running the latest drivers, you're running the latest version of Doom3, and you know your system is compatible. This is where 'hotfixes' come into play. These will either be located on your card vendor's site, the game publisher's site, or a third party fan site.
Finally, while you're busy troubleshooting your system, it doesn't take much to make a post on key message boards or newsgroups online. Remember to put in your exact error message, list the context that the error occurred (eg. Whether the error occurs while the application is booting; what else you were running at the time) and list your key system components in the post.
Safety first
If you can't find any third-party fixes or patches, it's time to take matters into your own hands. Your first step is Windows XP's Safe Mode, which you can access by hitting F8 repeatedly while your PC is booting up. This will load up a skeleton crew of services and drivers - just enough for you to navigate around and rectify the problem.
It's particularly useful for uninstalling drivers or moving files around when Windows XP can't boot up completely. Also, due to the minimal processes running, you'll also be able to 'release' files that are being held by another process. This is particularly useful if the excellent Process Explorer is not having any luck (see Part One).
Recovery room
Safe mode can only take you so far, and it's not going to be of any use if your problem prevents you from booting up in the first place. It's not uncommon in the life of a PC to refuse to boot - typically a dodgy driver installation or hardware failure is to blame - and all you'll see is a BSOD, a freeze, or your BIOS telling you it can't find a bootable drive. In any case, you'll find yourself with a system that won't boot up into any kind of state for you to fix the problem or perform a rescue mission on crucial files.
This where you need some extra tools to bypass your Windows installation and access the files directly. The most likely option is Windows XP's Recovery Console, although there are alternatives to this with specialised recovery tools (see Linux to the rescue). Recovery Console is included on your Windows 2000/XP installation disc which you can access by booting straight from the CD-ROM.
Unfortunately, while Recovery Console can get you out of a pickle, it's default configuration is crippled to prevent abuse. This means you'll be restricted to certain directories on the drive, and you'll also be restricted by what you can do with them. While this is an advantage in business or other environments where security is essential, it's not as important for a home PC - fortunately we can loosen those restrictions and turn the Console into a more powerful tool.
First, head to Start | Run, type secpol.msc, and go to Local Policies | Security Settings. Alternatively, you can access it by going to Start | Administrative Tools | Local Security Policy. Press R to go to jump to the two Recovery Console settings and enable them both. Once you're in the Console, you'll also want to enter SET allowallpaths=true and SET allowwildcards=true.
There are many commands in the console that let you rescue files, manage services, and correct errors. To get you started, here's a list of essential commands to troubleshoot the most common problems:
chkdsk: Hunt down and repair errors throughout the filesystem.
diskpart: Manage partitions and drives.
listsvc: Look at all the available services and drivers.
enable/disable: Turn on or shutdown services.
fixmbr: Repair the Master Boot Record.
For example, if you've located a rogue or malfunctioning service that's preventing Windows from loading, you can enter:
listsvc
to look for the name of our service, and then enter:
disable name
to turn it off. For more information on any command, use the /? switch. Alternatively, Microsoft has a comprehensive listing in its Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314058.
Nuke it
Reformatting is often the last thing you want to try. Not only does it take time to reinstall your applications, but you may not be any wiser about the problem, and thus doomed to encounter it again. However, if you've diagnosed the problem down to a specific application, or set of applications, that simply won't behave, often you can save yourself time by reformatting. It can take days to troubleshoot a PC, and a reformat and reinstall may only take a couple of hours.
Your best bet here is to simply create an image of a working installation so you can reduce the installation time after the format.
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From the Labs
We were eager to try out Microsoft's new AntiSpyware app. While we respect the noble efforts of Ad-Aware and Spybot working together on our PCs to keep malicious code off our systems, we're longing for the days when one single app would just do the job properly.
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| The solution to our Winsock problem. | We didn't hold too much hope for such an early beta from Microsoft, but we were surprised by how much it detected - and detected where our two stalwarts failed. We keenly removed our spyware, but with the unfortunate side effect cutting our connection to the internet.
Our diagnosis was relatively easy, given the amount of error messages being thrown up by various applications complaining about Winsock connections not working. MS Antispyware not only removed the spyware, but cut the regular Winsock LSP services that the spyware was lurking on. Thus, the service that Windows XP uses to communicate and monitor network traffic was severed.
As with any problem that removes your connection to the internet, it can be hard to find a solution. Fortunately, we created a System Restore point prior to this, so we rolled back, hunted for a handy fix (a neat little app called WinsockxpFix.exe from www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html), and then ran Antispyware again. WinsockxpFix.exe patched up the connection, and our connection is smooth and spyware free.
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We can't talk about fixing problems without ending with a section on prevention. Ever noticed why some tend to have more problems with their PC than others? Like your body, it all comes down to how well you treat your PC every day. To start with a prevention plan, ask yourself these questions:
1) Am I online often?
2) Do I install many applications?
3) Is my hardware outdated?
4) Am I overclocking or running my PC outside its recommended usage?
5) Are there more than 10 apps in my system tray?
If you answered yes to any, or all, of these then you'll encounter problems. In fact, we'd be surprised if you didn't answer yes to any of these, as these are the results of a PC in constant, daily use. The key is to find the sweet spot between looking after your PC, while still doing everything you need it do.
The most trouble-free PC will be the one that sits in the corner, without an internet connection, and is turned on once a week for some healthy Solitaire action. That's certainly not us, so we've concocted the following plan to keep your PC running as smooth as it can be, without compromising its functions.
Run what you need to, when you need to
The first rule is often overlooked, yet it makes perfect sense. We know the more applications you have open, and the more services you have running in the background (on top of what Windows runs automatically) your system is more likely to run into conflicts, run out of memory, and generally become more unstable. The short answer is to simply not run them. If you're writing a document, ask yourself if you really need your email client, four instances of Internet Explorer open, active virus checking turned on, and Steam running in the background.
Logging on to the internet can also be unnecessary, posing a greater threat to your PC than just instability. Many malicious threats are coming in (or going out) via your online connection, so if you're not intending to email or browse, log off. Why have two layers of firewalls chewing through resources when you're tucking in for a ten-hour stint of The Sims offline?
Patch yourself up
This is so obvious, yet so overlooked. Always keep your hardware drivers up to date and your software patched up. Many problems we encounter at PC Authority are due to a poor combination of drivers and patches and you can prevent most of this by taking a quick look at vendors' sites. While it's unlikely that your mouse will need updated drivers every month, core components like graphics cards, sounds cards or motherboards should be updated regularly. If you can't find the drivers, which is especially common for outdated hardware, try sites like www.mrdriver.com or www.windrivers.com.
Don't experiment
If you're overclocking your graphics card and/or CPU, you can get unpredictable results like crashing, reboots, or freezing. Likewise, if you're running beta software or other unstable code, then you can't always predict the outcomes. While we wouldn't recommend that you never experiment by pushing your hardware and software, it's important to keep it under control.
The other point to note is in relation to those running cracked executables to get around CD copy protection. Because these are modified versions of the original code they won't be supported by the developers and, as a result, you're on your own if incompatibilities occur with updated graphics drivers or the like. Your only option is to run the original program or wait for an updated crack that gets around the problem.
Good point
If you're running Windows Me or XP, you can create a restore point. It's best to do this on a fresh PC, or on a PC that's running stable, which lets you quickly roll back if you've just installed some dodgy drivers or software. For a more thorough back up, it's best to check out products like Symantec's Norton Ghost or Backup4all.
Smooth runnings
Finally, always run your diagnostic tools regularly. Defrag, ScanDisk, anti-virus and spyware checkers are all important to keep your PC running healthy and they'll pick up problems before they happen.
Linux rescue systems have been around for probably as long as Linux itself. The idea is simple enough: a small stand-alone Linux system on a bootable floppy or CD that you can fire up no matter how badly fried your hard drive is. These systems are very handy, but they're only really useful in the hands of a Linux expert.
The Linux live CD concept has taken that idea and built upon it, creating CDs that contain an entire Linux desktop system, complete with GUI interface, web browsers, office tools and dozens of other applications. With automatic hardware configuration, live CDs like Knoppix can have just about any PC running Linux in minutes.
Live CDs are the perfect way to take Linux for a test-drive, but they also make excellent rescue systems for both Linux and Windows. With a simple GUI interface and a wide range of tools at your disposal, you can edit files, resize partitions, scan for viruses, and save important files over your LAN if all else fails.
Network backups with Knoppix
When your Windows install is damaged to the point where only a re-install will do, a Linux live CD is a great way to access important files on your damaged system. After configuring network settings, you can copy key files over to another PC on your network before commencing the re-install. Knoppix, the well-known project that was judged the best Linux live CD last issue, makes network backups a piece of cake.
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| The Knoppix desktop, as it looks after booting up. |
1) Boot your PC from the Knoppix CD, and hit enter at the boot prompt. Knoppix will begin to load itself from the CD, detecting your hardware and eventually logging you in to a graphical desktop.
2) Configure your network settings. Click on the penguin icon on the panel at the bottom of the screen, open the Network/Internet menu, and select Network card configuration. A dialog box will appear asking whether or not to use DHCP. If you have a DHCP server on your network, click Yes; otherwise, click No, and enter your IP address and other details in the following dialogs.
3) On the desktop, find the Hard Disk Partition icons. Each of these opens a certain partition on your drive -- if you only have one partition, you should see only one icon. Click on the icons to open and browse the partitions, and find the files you'd like to recover.
4) Open another file browser window (clicking on the Home icon on the panel will do this), click on the location bar, and type in the name for the PC you'd like to copy the files to, in this format:
smb://computername/
5) Browse through the shares on the remote PC, logging in if necessary, and find the folder you'd like to copy your files to.
6) Drag the files from the local drive over to the network share, select Copy Here in the small menu that appears when you let go of the mouse button, and wait as your files are copied across.
Once you're finished with Knoppix, you can shut down your system by clicking on the large K icon on the panel and selecting the "Log out" option.
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| Captive can scan your PC for NTFS drivers | Capturing NTFS
Linux has full support for FAT32 filesystems, but the relatively new NTFS format still causes problems. The only way to achieve full read/write support for NTFS is to use Captive, a tool that loads the Windows NTFS drivers in to the Linux kernel.
To enable Captive NTFS under LinuxDefender, click on the 'Install NTFS Write Drivers' icon on the desktop to open the driver install wizard. If you're running Windows XP SP1, the wizard can scan your Windows install for your existing drivers. Otherwise, skip the local scan, copy the drivers off another machine on to a floppy or across the network, and tell the wizard where to find them. If all else fails, the wizard can download part of the XP SP1 installer and fetch the drivers from inside.
Once the drivers are installed, you should be able to gain full access to your NTFS partitions. |
BitDefender produce a range of security and anti-virus applications for Linux and Windows, and a neat showcase for some of them is LinuxDefender, a Knoppix-based live CD which comes pre-loaded with AV tools. Using LinuxDefender, you can scan for and remove viruses without booting into Windows.
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| The LinuxDefender desktop, which is based on Knoppix. |
1) Boot your PC from the LinuxDefender CD -- the boot process, and the desktop you end up at, are quite similar to Knoppix.
2) Configure your network settings, following step 2 from the Knoppix tutorial on the previous page.
3) Set a password for the 'knoppix' user, which is required for the next step. Click on the shell icon on the panel to open a Linux terminal window. Then, enter the following command:
sudo passwd knoppix
Enter the password you'd like to use when prompted, and then close the window by typing Ctrl-D.
4) Open the BitDefender admin screen. To do this, click on the BitDefender Remote Admin icon on the desktop. A web browser window will appear, along with a security warning dialog. Click through the dialogs until you get to a login screen. Enter the username 'knoppix', along with the password you specified in step 3.
5) Click on Live Update on the left side of the page, and then click on the Update Now! button at the bottom. This will start the system fetching updates from the internet. Keep hitting the Live Update link every few minutes until the LastUpdate date changes, showing that the updates are installed.
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| Find files and folders to scan. |
6) Open and browse your hard drive partitions, following step 3 from the Knoppix tutorial above. However, if you're using NTFS partitions, follow the instructions for installing NTFS drivers before opening your drives.
7) Once you've found the folders and files you'd like to scan, right-click on them and select "Scan with BitDefender" The virus scanner will appear and begin the scans.