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A computer crash happens when your computer suddenly stops responding or unexpectedly shuts down. It will bring your computer to a complete state of halt. You may encounter the “Blue Screen of Death” indicatingan error in your system. This is a common complaint among computer users. No operating system is immune. A simple reboot would sometimes do the work but crashing is a telltale sign that something is wrong in your computer. It is important to know the causes so you can avoid this problem from happening in the future.
The most common causes of these troublesome problems will be covered here. They fall into the following general categories:
• Hardware: Defective or mismatched components in your computer.
These Illegal operations or freezes can, many times, be related to bad or intermittent hardware, or simply mismatched hardware. Mismatched hardware is common, even some of the large computer manufactures do
insufficient analyses and testing when they select the components that make up their systems. Many components that make up a computer just don’t play well together. Some modems just don’t work well with
specific video cards. Some sound cards are incompatible with certain main boards. The list goes on. Many manufactures only look at the cost of a given part, not its compatibility, thus they can often produce
unstable computer systems.
Hardware can become defective. Mishandling the internal components of a computer can prematurely age them, which reduces their lifespan from decades to weeks or months. Many hardware failures are subtle and will not cause the computer to completely stop working, but will cause intermittent problems. Adding new internal components to a computer, especially by under-trained technicians, can cause static electricity
damage to the other parts of a computer. Electro Static Discharge “ESD” is similar to when you walk across the floor touch a doorknob and receive a shock, but it’s a much smaller spark. An ESD created by a person just working on the inside of a computer is so small that we can’t even feel it, but it can cause great damage to the computer’s internal components.
Other hardware related problems could be caused by dirty or loose internal connections, stalled or slowly turning cooling fans, improper or loose heat sinks, bad or intermittent memory, or any of a thousand
other things.
• Aluminum Migration & ESD: Premature ageing and “Electro Static Discharge” can make a computer very intermittent.
Semiconductors do wear out! Contrary to the beliefs of many, integrated circuits grow old and die, or become intermittent. How they do that varies; modern “chips” as used in computers, have literally millions of transistors printed on a small “chip” of silicon no bigger than your fingernail. Each microscopically small transistor is connected to the others, on the surface of the chip, with even smaller aluminum or copper wires. These wires are only a few thousand atoms wide. Over the years, the thermal stress of turning the computer on and off can cause tiny cracks in the wires. As the computer warms up the wires can part and cause the computer to stop working. Even a few seconds of off-time can cool the system enough to allow the wires to
re-connect, so your computer may work just fine for a few minutes, or hours, then after it warms up, it may fail, letting it cool off can bring it back to life for a few minutes or more.
Some chips are much more prone to premature failure than others.
Intel, one of the best chip manufactures, designs their parts to be very robust and tolerate heat and mishandling better than others.
(This, of course, costs time and money.) Some of Intel’s competition tries to garner market share by building cheaper or faster chips.
Cheaper and faster means hotter and shorter-lived parts. All manufactures, from houses to toasters, walk a narrow line between quality and price. Too much quality and the price go up and nobody buys their products. Too little quality and the product die of old age too early and they get a bad name, and can’t sell their product. Most modern computers, especially the lower priced ones, are constructed from the cheapest parts available. When the big names in the computer industry promote their products by price alone, they just can’t put too much quality in them.
By far the most common failure mode of a modern integrated circuit is aluminum migration. The small aluminum wires of a chip are arranged in parallel rows very close to each other. Heat, electricity and time, can cause the aluminum of one wire to slowly flow across the gap between the wires, and eventually short out the chip. Most quality chips are designed to minimize this migration, and usually will run for decades before they short out, but many things can speed this failure process. Cheaper parts, excessive heat, marginal circuit design, or bad handling, can cause the premature death of a chip through aluminum migration.
• Operating System: Some versions of Windows have bugs that can cause these problems
Early versions of Windows have some bugs, (errors in the way it was written), and that can cause intermittent problems. For instance, the first version of Windows 95 had a problem with one of its components
called “Kernel32.dll” this error manifested its self on only some computers when trying to connect to the Internet. Subsequent upgrades cured this problem. Windows 98-SE, the second release of Windows 98 is
by far the most bug free and stable version of Windows yet, (But only if it was professionally installed on your computer). Generally, if your computer came with Windows 98-SE, installed from the factory, it’s more stable than an older machine that has been upgraded from Windows 95.
Windows 95 & 98 has a database of information the Registry that controls how windows and all the programs should operate and cooperate with each other. As new programs are added and old programs are removed, the registry can become damaged. Many times this damage will cause the computer to become unstable. More freezes and error messages. Some times the only solution to this kind of problem is to completely clean your hard drive and reinstall the operating system and all other programs.
• Drivers: Buggy or down-level drivers can cause many problems
Drivers are little programs written by the manufacture of a given component like video cards, sound cards, modems and so forth. These drivers are installed in, and become part of, the operating system.
Errors in drivers or older versions of these critical components can cause many intermittent problems.
• Software: Some programs have bugs in them that can cause these problems
The software that’s in your computer can have bugs or is just poorly written, and when its run can cause all manner of trouble in the computing environment. The trouble caused by one program may not show up until yet another, unrelated, program is latter run. Some programs that make heavy use of memory may not release all the memory that was assigned to it, when it is closed. This can cause fragmented memory.
Fragmented memory can slowly grow as programs are used, eventually growing to a point where the free memory is insufficient to allow the computer to run properly.
Adbots, Parasites, & Spyware are a family of small programs that are installed in your computer, (usually without your knowledge), during the installation of some shareware/freeware programs. Hundreds of useful programs, some of which you may already have in your computer, carry an imbedded “spyware” program. Spyware allows advertising agencies to receive reports about where you are surfing and what web-ads you click on. Most of these Adbots, or spyware programs, DON’T collect specific information about you, but only report general demographics, and therefore are NOT stealing your name, credit card, or other personal information.
• Memory Fragmentation
RAM memory is where all your programs reside during the time you are using (running) them. As you open a program, or use a feature of the program, like the spell checker feature in your word-processor, the program or feature is loaded into memory. When you stop using a program’s feature, or close the program all together, it should release all of the RAM memory it used while it was loaded and running, thus making that memory available for the next program that you select to load. The problem is that many programs don’t release their memory cleanly. Many programs, when closed, will leave fragments of themselves in the RAM memory. The next program that loads, even the same program you closed earlier, must be loaded in another part of the
memory. Little by little, as the day goes on, and as you open and close programs, or use features of these programs, the useable (free un-fragmented) memory becomes smaller and smaller. Eventually you may
see the System is dangerously low in resources message, or it may get so fragmented that it can’t even display the warning message, and your computer just hangs or freezes.
• CMOS Settings: Improper CMOS settings can cause many problems.
Changing CMOS settings can also be used to help diagnose some hardware problems.
• Loading Order: The order in which the software components of your computer are loaded into memory, at startup each day, can cause a multitude of odd problems.
Windows is a preemptive multitasking operating system. What this means is that Windows controls how programs are loaded and run in your computer. A little like a cowboy trying to herd cats, Windows makes
dozens of decisions during the boot process. When the computer is turned on Windows starts loading dozens of small programs into memory.
Some of these programs are components needed by Windows; others are things like ICQ, virus-checkers, and many others. Some of these small programs may trouble Windows with a request that Windows can not
answer, or is too busy to respond to at that particular time, so Windows preempts it for a few seconds. What this does is cause the programs to load a different order each time the computer is started.
Some of these small programs may not work well if they are not loaded in a particular order.
• A Combination of the above: Defects in any of the above may only show up under specific circumstances.
Here are three suggested tips on how to fix computer crashes:
1. Remove spyware and viruses
New viruses appear and infect computers every day. Your system may have been infected without you knowing. These viruses can cause computer crashes. Always run a scan and check for these malicious
files hiding in your computer. Delete them from your hard drive. Make sure to keep your virus definitions updated and always download the latest security updates.
2. Avoid overheating
A computer CPU, or central processing unit, including fans that are designed to keep it running cool. Sometimes, the fan wearing down and not work as efficiently, other times, just not able to handle the
computer work you do. In both cases, buying a fan, the bigger the better is not too expensive. If an end to your PC crashing problem, it will have more than decent.
Computer crashing can occur when the computer has been running for awhile. If your CPU becomes too hot because of prolonged usage, the hardware parts will overheat and fail. Place your computer in a well-ventilated room. Always see to it that air circulates well inside your computer, that the fan is working, and vents are not blocked.
3. Fix Windows Registry
Each Windows-based PC has something called the Windows registry. The registry contains some files that are integral to the performance and operation of your computer. Over time, some of those files could be
damaged, be incorrect or missing altogether. When that happens, the system registry to be disturbed – and often crash is a symptom that is too general.
Registry errors are the most common cause for computer crash. The Windows Registry contains all vital information the computer references in order to operate. When your computer was brand new, the registry was in pristine condition. Over time, it gets disorganized because of new entries being added. Some entries become obsolete and no longer wanted. The registry therefore needs to be regularly cleaned. But manual cleaning is very difficult unless you are a computer expert. Removing the wrong registry entry can cause serious damage. For non experts, you need to have a registry cleaner installed. This software will fix all the registry errors it can find.
It will locate invalid and useless entries and repair them. These programs scan your Windows registry for problems and then automatically take corrective actions. If you run a registry cleaner and survive crashes, they may be caused by different issues.
4. The file does not irregular
Windows operating systems handle file organization in a way that is not very intuitive. In essence, they violate the file and fit them into the gap in computer memory. Over time, these files are not organized to encourage the frequent crashes. Fortunately, large optimization solutions are built directly into the Windows-based PC:
disk defragmentation utility. Despite its location on the computer varies, usually you can find it in the system and the Security section in the Control Panel. By running defrag once every few months, you may be able to keep those pesky computer crashes in the bay.
5. Malicious Software
Malicious software can take many forms. Sometimes, this is a virus that intentionally release after opening strange emails, at other times, adware company that tag along with other information automatically downloaded from a website. Whatever type, there is no question that malicious software can wreak havoc on computer performance. Fortunately, there are programs out there bully who regularly scan your computer for these problems – and that helps to keep them, too. Buy one, install it and use it regularly; the issues
you might end accidents.
6. Lack of Memory Available
When you buy a new computer, it feels like there is no end to how much memory it has. Of course, this is not true at all. Like the never-ending as the available memory in your PC may initially seem, the fact is that it can run out with incredible speed. You can find out for sure by checking the information in it If it appears that your available memory is low, you can use PC cleaning program to remove files that do not need to “My Computer.”; Programs such as deleting things like temporary Internet files and debris debris other files
that can suck away much needed memory.
Do not Put Up Crashes Often!
As already discussed, frequent computer crashes can be triggered by a variety of issues. Fortunately, many of the issues are relatively easy to fix. Work your way through the previous list; chances are, you will
be able to determine the problem and put an effective treatment for work. Nine out of ten, a computer requires little routine maintenance to get it back on track again. In the future, keep these points in
mind. Every time you buy a new computer, stick with the basic management right from the get-go. By doing that, you can avoid the “blue screen of death” and hit a problem at all – and something that that you will surely appreciate!
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