First, restart the computer. About 90% of all computer problems are temporary in nature and will be cured by a restart. Second, check all your connections. This means keyboard, mouse, power, monitor, network cable, and headphones if applicable (at the library: on older Gates machines make sure you use the “middle” headphone jack, not the “outside” jack). Make sure they’re all connected to the right port on the computer. Make sure they’re all connected securely. Make sure your power/surge protector strip is turned on and plugged in, too!

Sometimes floppies just go bad. They get corrupted (the files) or the head won’t read, or the metal diskette shield can become loose or bent. Sometimes they’re bad fresh out of the box! And oddly enough – sometimes a floppy diskette will work in ONE computer – say, the one you saved the file from – and won’t read in another computer. (Has to do with lots of technical stuff that you don’t really want to know about.) Floppy drives fail, too. Foreign objects will get stuck inside them. Pencils. Diskette Shields. The metal spring that holds a diskette shield on the diskette. Pieces of paper. Sometimes the drive itself will just fail for no apparent reason, but frequently a failure is caused by one of those ‘objects’.

Someone’s been messing with the monitor buttons. Do a factory reset. You’ll need to check the monitor manual for how to do this in some cases. (Sometimes it’s pretty obvious if you press the “Menu” button on the front of the monitor.) If you have a big magnet sitting near a monitor, over a period of time it will mess up the color settings on the monitor and you’ll need to “DeGauss” the monitor. Again – check the monitor manual for how to.

Check your paper. Is it loaded properly? Jammed? Do you have the right size paper in the paper tray? Check to see that you have the correct printer selected in your application. Is it a shared printer? If so, make sure the computer that holds the shared printer is powered on. Use the File|Print selection instead of just the Print icon if you need to check settings. Are you printing from an older (esp. dot matrix) printer? If so, make sure it’s “online”. Check the print queue: are print jobs paused? Do you see your print job listed at all? Are other jobs in front of it that have jammed up the printer? Cancel some jobs if necessary.

The dreaded drag monster stole them. Your mouse dragged them from where they used to be to where they are now. No, YOU (or a friend) dragged them from where they used to be to where they are now. (Mice don’t move by themselves.) Be careful about clicking and dragging without watching what you’re doing.

Check what’s down, first. All computers in the building, only one, or part of them? What’s down? PINES only? Internet Explorer (web)? Email? If everything’s down, report it to systems admin. If only one or a few are down, or only one PART of the Internet is down, take appropriate action. Call Systems Administration if email or the web. If PINES only, check email to see if there’s a message about it; call other libraries to see if their PINES is down, too. (PINES being Workflows – not just the PINES web catalog.) If it looks like you are the only library with Workflows/PINES down, call Systems Administration. (If you're reading this and aren't at one of the ECGR libraries, then you'll need to check with your Internet Service Provider to determine what happened to YOUR Internet!)

Somebody probably messed with the Fonts. Look in Format | Fonts to see if odd things are checked (like all caps, small caps, hidden, etc.). Check to make sure that the Font color is normal (usually black). Sometimes the “normal.dot” (the default blank page in Word) gets changed. You’ll need to reset it. What about WordPerfect documents? Sometimes they’ll convert into Word. Most of the time they probably won’t. When they won’t – well – you’re SOL. You'll have to go back to where it was created - to use Word Perfect again on the document.

Error messages – 404, page won’t load, etc. It means there’s a problem with the page you’re trying to view. It’s not a problem (usually) on YOUR end; it’s a problem on THEIR end. Printing from web pages can be tricky. If it’s a “frames” page, sometimes you’ll have to tell it to print the whole page, all frames as seen, or only one frame will print per page. Use Control-Print screen to capture the screen and paste it into a document (like a blank Word document) to print it; use copy/paste for the same for a selection of text. In newer versions of IE you can select text right click and then print the ‘selection’, also. What’s a FAQ? This is a FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions. They’re all over the WWW.

The Library Board has mandated that we filter internet computers for public use. They’ve also required that we turn the filter off for adults (18 or over) who request it. This is a library board (regional) policy; it’s not an issue up for debate. Also, CIPA – legislation the “Child Internet Protection Act” has required it of libraries. What does our filter do? Our filter is “smartfilter” – it filters out web sites based on sites that have been categorized in such a way that we don’t want them viewed in the library - we filter out two categories “sex” and “extreme”. It’s not error-free, so let me know if you find things that should be filtered and aren’t – or vice versa. Disabling the filter is easy, and it’s now a “timed” disable feature so in 60 minutes it’ll revert back to being filtered (after the IE window is closed and then reopened, that is). If you're a library patron, you can ask a staff member to disable the filter for you (if you're an adult). If you're a staff member, you can disable the filter. (If you want to filter a computer at your house or place of business, you can purchase any number of "standalone" products, such as CyberPatrol, NetNanny, CyberSitter, ... just to name a few.)

Microsoft and computer applications that run in Windows are far from perfect. You’ll encounter lots of error messages; it can’t be helped. If you are continually getting “debug” or “script error” notifications, those can be turned off, at least for Internet Explorer. Many I.E. errors are the fault of the page that you’re trying to view – not your own computer. Not much you can do about those! Other error messages (runtime, fatal error, etc.) mean basically that the application you’re using – or your computer in general – has crashed. Sometimes explainable, frequently “just one of those things”. One of the frustrations with using Windows. (See the “If Microsoft Made Cars” list below.)

Popups are annoying, aggravating, interruptive, and sometimes embarrassing. How can you get rid of them? How can you quickly close popups before they embarrass you? Avoid installing “spyware” programs: Things like Bonzai Buddy, Brilliant Digital, comet Cursor, CommonName, Gator, OfferCompanion, Trickler, WebHancer (and lots more). Even WeatherBug and WebShots – while not proven (yet) to be spyware – are suspected spyware programs. They certainly introduce the possibility of spyware (and lots of popups) to your computer. Run AdAware, SpyBot, and or use the Google toolbar with popup-stopping enabled. However, regular maintenance is needed to make AdAware and SpyBot work for you. Be prepared to spend some time every week to keep your machine clean. Make sure you have anti-virus running and keep it updated (Norton from Symantec, McAfee Anti-virus, or others). You can also run the Microsoft Anti-Spyware tool if you have Windows 2000 or XP. It can be found at this link to Microsoft. This is a "beta" version of the software (that means it's still being tested), but it works very well and is free on a Windows-validated computer. It will run in "real - time" (active) mode so that your computer is protected from GETTING all that nasty spyware to begin with, rather than just being a clean-up tool for after the fact.

At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated: “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.” In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating (by Mr Welch himself, The GM CEO): If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics: 1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day. 2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car. 3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on. 4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine. 5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car2000" or "CarXP." But then you would have to buy more seats. 6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five per cent of the roads. 7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light. 8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt. 9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off. 10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radio antenna. 11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more. 12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car. 13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine. 14. A particular model year of car wouldn’t be available until AFTER that year, instead of before. 15. We’d all have to switch to Microsoft Gas ™.

This is probably because your boot.ini file is messed up. Here is a possible remedy: Start Windows XP with the Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD drive. Once you see the "Welcome to setup" message, press the letter 'R' on your keyboard to enter the Recovery Console. Select the Windows installation to be repaired (you will need to know the administrator password. You will then get a DOS prompt. from here, type: chkdsk /p [Enter] When that is done type: fixboot [Enter] Type: Y at the next prompt [Enter] Then type: exit [Enter] The system will now reboot into Windows. If for some reason that didn't work, you can boot to the recovery console (example above). Type: "chkdsk /r" [Enter] When done type: exit [Enter]. This takes a bit longer, but the system should boot back into Windows.

If you have FAT32 partitions, it is much simpler than with NTFS. Just boot with a Win98 floppy and copy the NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM files from the i386 directory to the root of the C:\ drive. For NTFS: Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 Enter in the administrator password when requested Enter in the following commands (X: is replaced by the actual drive letter that is assigned to the CD ROM drive) COPY X:\i386\NTLDR C\: COPY X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C:\ Take out the CD and type exit

If you get an error that NTOSKRNL not found: Insert and boot from your WindowsXP CD. At the first R=Repair option, press the R key Press the number that corresponds to the correct location for the installation of Windows you want to repair. Typically this will be #1 Change to the drive that has the CD ROM. CD i386 expand ntkrnlmp.ex_ C:\Windows\System32\ntoskrnl.exe If WindowsXP is installed in a different location, just make the necessary change to C:\Windows Take out the CD ROM and type exit

Issue:

I have problems in Windows after installing new software.

Cause:

After installing any type of utility, driver or other software program on a computer you can encounter an almost endless list of issues that can be caused by any of the below reasons.

1. Confliction with other software installed on the computer.
2. Issue with program.
3. Improper installation or problems with installation.

Solution:

Reinstall or uninstall the program

If you're encountering problems with your computer or other programs after installing new software on your computer attempt to uninstall the program and see if the issues persist. Additional information about how to uninstall program in Windows can be found on document CH000347.

After the program has been uninstalled try installing the program again. Additional information and tips with installing software can be found on document CH000561.

Note: If after installing a program you're unable to boot into Windows, try booting into Safe Mode. Additional information about getting into Safe Mode can be found on document CHSAFE. In Safe Mode follow the above steps.

Check for software program updates or new versions

If you continue to experience issues verify that the program, game, or utility you're installing doesn't have any updates by visiting the developer of the program website.

If you're installing a software program or drivers for a hardware device such as a printer. Attempt to get the latest software and/or drivers from the manufacturer instead of using the included software. A listing of links to drivers can be found on our drivers page.

 

Issue:

My computer is running slow what steps can I do to fix it?

Cause:

This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. Hard disk drive is short on available disk space.
2. Several software programs have been installed/uninstalled leaving behind bad files and/or confusing the software.
3. Data Corruption.
4. Computer is overheating.
5. Bad Hardware.

Additional information:

If your Internet is slow this document does not contain information about this issue. See document CH000986 for additional information about why your Internet connection may be slow.

PC Solution:

Below are steps for Microsoft Windows that should help speed up the computer or determine why the computer is running slow.

Not enough hard disk drive space

If you have a hard disk drive that is 2GB or smaller, ensure that there is at least 200MB of hard disk drive space free. If you have a hard drive larger than this size, verify that there is at least 500MB of free hard disk space. This available space allows the computer to have room for the swap file to increase in size as well as room for temporary files. See document CH000528 for additional information about regaining lost hard disk drive space.

Hard drive corrupted or fragmented

Run Scandisk or something equivalent to help ensure that there is nothing physically wrong with the computer hard disk drive.

Run Defrag to help ensure that data is arranged in the best possible order.

Background programs

Remove or disable any TSRs or programs that automatically start each time the computer boots. See document CHTSR for additional information.

Hardware conflicts

Verify that the Device Manager has no conflicts, but if conflicts are present, resolve them.

Issues with Windows XP prefetch

If you have Windows XP try deleting all files in the prefetch directory. These are prefetch files and can lower system resources if loading programs no longer being used. See our prefetch definition for additional information about prefetch.

Issues in Windows 95 / 98 autoexec.bat / config.sys

If you are using Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 and do not plan on running any MS-DOS programs from MS-DOS follow the below steps.

1. Click Start, Run and type command and press enter.
2. In the MS-DOS window type cd\ to get to C:\> and then type ren autoexec.bat autoexec.ch and ren config.sys config.ch

This will rename your autoexec.bat and config.sys and help make sure memory is being optimized through Windows.

Computer or processor is overheating

Make sure your computer and processor is not overheating, excessive heat can cause a significant decrease in computer performance some processors will even lower the speed of the processor automatically to help compensate for the heat related issues. Additional information about your processor temperature and was of determining how hot it is can be found on document CH000687.

Specific operating system basic troubleshooting

Try running through the basic troubleshooting steps for your operating system.

Erase computer and start over

 Finally, if none of the above solutions resolve your issues, it is recommended that you either reinstall Windows and/or erase everything and then start over. Additional information about how to do this can be found on document CH000186.

Hardware issues

If your computer continues to be slow after going over each of the above recommendations it's possible that your computer is experiencing a more serious hardware related issue such as a failing component in the computer. This could be a failing or bad CPU, RAM, Motherboard, or other component.

Issue:

How to fix an invalid page fault.

Additional information:

An invalid page fault is caused when the operating system or a software program attempts to store or call a segment or block of the computer's memory that does not exist. Because of the invalid call, the program will generate an invalid page fault error message and terminate the program or process to prevent additional issues.

Cause:

There are several reasons a computer may generate an Invalid Page fault error. Below are few of those possibilities.

1. Incompatibility or issue with the software programs.
2. Issues with the computer memory.

Solution:

Remove all TSRs

Disable or unload any TSRs or programs currently running before running the program causing the GPF.

Additional information on how to end task a TSR can be found on document CHTSR.

Delete all program temporary files

Delete all temporary files that may still be residing on the hard disk drive from currently or previously running programs.

Additional information on how to remove temporary file can found on document CH000225.

Run Scandisk / Defrag

Attempt to run scandisk / defrag on the hard disk drive as it could be possible your hard disk drive may have an issue causing the swap file or data files to become corrupt or invalid

Additional information on scandisk can be found on our scandisk page.

Additional information on defrag can be found on our defrag page.

Update software or check for software patches

If you are experiencing invalid page faults in only one program, verify that the software program is compatible with the operating system you are running the program within. Also verify with the manufacturer or vendor of the software program that there are no available patches or updates for the program that may help or resolve your issue.

Recently installed software / hardware

If you have recently installed new software or hardware, attempt to uninstall or reinstall that software / hardware to verify it is not causing your issue.

Bad Memory, invalid bits or physically bad memory

It is possible that bad memory can cause Illegal Operations. If you have recently added memory to the computer it is recommended that it first be removed to verify that you are not experiencing conflictions with the recently installed memory.

If no memory has been recently added to the computer it is recommended you follow all other steps found on this page before replacing the memory within the computer.

Issue:

How to fix a fatal exception error.

Additional information:

Windows and software now commonly use exceptions which allow Windows or other software to communicate in layers and communicate errors or exceptions. If a program is given an exception that is invalid or unknown, the program or operating system will generate a fatal exception. Fatal exceptions are also commonly referred to as a Fatal OE, as the OE error is one of the more commonly experienced fatal exception error messages. 

Fatal exception error messages are generated when one of the below situations occur.

• Access to an illegal software instruction has occurred.
• Invalid data or code has been accessed.
• The privilege level of an operation is invalid.

When a fatal exception is encountered the error will be in the below format.

A fatal exception <YZ> has occurred at xxxx:xxxxxxxx

In the above example of the fatal exception the YZ represents the actual processor exception, this can range from 00 to 0F. Each of theses processor exceptions are explained under Extended information.

After the processor exception is the enhanced instruction pointer to the code segment and the 32-bit address. This is exactly where the error exception has occurred.

• See our fatal exception dictionary definition for additional information about this term as well as related dictionary definitions.

Cause:

Fatal exception errors are generally caused by incompatibility issues, errors in the code, heat related issues, and/or other hardware / software issues. Because of the wide range of possibilities, we have created this document to help determine or resolve your issue.

Solution:

Remove all TSRs

Disable or unload any TSRs or programs currently running before running the program or attempting to recreate the error.

• Additional information on how to end task a TSR can be found on document CHTSR.

Delete all program temporary files

Delete all temporary files that may still be residing on the hard disk drive from currently or previously running programs.

Additional information on how to remove temporary file can found on document CH000225.

Run Scandisk / Defrag

Attempt to run scandisk / defrag on the hard disk drive as it could be possible your hard disk drive may have an issue causing the swap file or data files to become corrupt or invalid

• Additional information on scandisk can be found on our scandisk page.
• Additional information on defrag can be found on our defrag page.

Disable External Cache in CMOS

If the option is available, attempt to enter your computer's CMOS setup and disable the external cache. If this resolves your issue it is likely that you are encountering a heat related issue.

• Additional information about CMOS can be found on our CMOS page.

Heat related issue

Verify that all fans in and on your computer are properly working. Possibly attempt to add an additional case fan, if there is available space.

Overclocked computer

If you have overclocked any component within the computer, set the computer to its factory settings to verify that the overclocked component is not causing the issue.

Update software or check for software patches

If you are experiencing invalid page faults in only one program, verify that the software program is compatible with the operating system you are running the program within. Also verify with the manufacturer or vendor of the software program that there are no available patches or updates for the program that may help or resolve your issue.

Verify your computer has more than 200 MB available

If your computer is running low on hard disk space, your Windows swap file will be unable to increase in size when needed, causing programs to be swapped between memory and the hard disk drive more frequently. When this occurs it is more likely that a GPF can occur.

Recently installed software / hardware

If you have recently installed new software or hardware attempt to uninstall or reinstall that software / hardware to verify it is not causing your issue.

CPU Core Voltage

If available, verify within your CMOS or by jumper that your CPU core voltage is set to factory specification. This may require that you consult your documentation or motherboard manufacturer.

Bad Memory, invalid bits or physically bad memory

It is possible that bad memory can cause a Fatal Exception. If you have recently added memory to the computer, it is recommended that it first be removed to verify that you are not experiencing conflicts with the recently installed memory.

If no memory has been recently added to the computer and you have tried all the above recommendations you can find additional information about testing your memory on document CH000708.

Extended Information:

Below is a listing of the more commonly experienced processor exceptions ranging from 00 to 0F. If you have not already, please review the Additional Information section of this document explaining the basic information about the Fatal Exception errors and the layout of the Fatal Exception.

00 = Divide Fault
Occurs if division by zero is attempted or if the result of the operation does not fit in the destination operand.

02=NMI interrupt
Interrupt 2 is reserved for the hardware Non-Maskable-Interrupt condition. No exceptions trap through interrupt 2.

04=Overflow trap
Occurs after an INTRO instruction has executed and the OF bit is set to 1.

05=Bounds Check fault
The array Index is out of range

06=Invalid Opcode fault
This error can be caused by one of the below conditions.

1. Processor attempting to decode a bit pattern that does not correspond to any legal computer instruction.
2. Processor attempts to execute an instruction that contains invalid operands.
3. Processor attempts to execute a protected-mode instruction while running in virtual 8086 mode.
4. Processor attempts to execute a LOCK prefix with an instruction that cannot be locked.

07=Copressor not available fault.
This error can occur if no math coprocessor is present. This error can also occur when the math coprocessor is used and a task switch is executed.

08=Double Fault.
This error occurs when processing an exception triggers a second exception.

09(OD)=Copressor Segment Overrun.
Floating point operand is outside the segment.

10(0Ah/0A)=Invalid Task State Segment Fault
Can be caused by a number of possibilities as Task State Segment contains a number of descriptors.

11(0Bh)=Not Present Fault
The Not Present interrupt allows the operating system to implement virtual memory through the segmentation mechanism. 0B fault occurs when this segment is not available.

12(0Ch)=Stack Fault
Occurs when instruction refers to memory beyond the limit of the stack segment.

13(Odh)=General Protection Fault
Caused by any condition that is not covered by any of the other processor exceptions. The exception indicates that this program has been corrupted in memory generally resulting in the immediate termination of the program. Also see document CH000224 for additional information about GPFs.

14(Oeh)=Page Fault
Occurs when a paging protection rule is violated (when the retrieve fails, data retrieved is invalid or the code that issued the fault broke the protection rule for the processor).

16(10h)=Coprocessor error fault
Occurs when an unmasked floating-point exception has signaled a previous instruction.

17(11h)=Alignment Check Fault
Only used on 80486 computers. Caused when code executing at ring privilege 3 attempts to access a word operand that is not divisible by four, or a long real or temp real whose address is not divisible by eight.

 

Issue:

How to fix a general protection fault.

Cause:

There are several possibilities and reasons a computer receives a General Protection Fault error, below is a listing of some of the more common reasons.

1. The program being used is calling a section of memory that is already being used by another program or TSR.
2. The program has not been programmed properly or is still in testing and is calling an invalid portion of memory.

Solution:

The following are recommendations into finding the cause of a GPF and or resolving a GPF. It is important to know that GPFs are always likely to occur on the computer and if you are experiencing a GPF rarely such as once every few weeks to not worry about attempting to locate the root cause of that GPF. However, if you are experiencing GPF error messages often it is recommended you follow the following recommendations to help resolve your issues. 

Remove all TSRs

Disable or unload any TSRs or programs currently running before running the program causing the GPF.

Additional information on how to end task a TSR can be found on document CHTSR.

Delete all program temporary files

Delete all temporary files that may still be residing on the hard disk drive from currently or previously running programs.

Additional information on how to remove temporary file can found on document CH000225.

Run Scandisk / Defrag

Attempt to run scandisk / defrag on the hard disk drive as it could be possible your hard disk drive may have an issue causing the swap file or data files to become corrupt or invalid.

Additional information on scandisk can be found on our scandisk page.

Additional information on defrag can be found on our defrag page.

Verify your computer has more than 200 MB available

If your computer is running low on hard disk space, your Windows swap file will be unable to increase in size when needed, causing programs to be swapped between memory and the hard disk drive more frequently. When this occurs it is more likely that a GPF can occur.

Recently installed software / hardware

If you have recently installed new software or hardware attempt to uninstall or reinstall that software / hardware to verify it is not causing your issue.

Disable external cache

If your CPU utilizes external cache attempt to disable it temporarily to verify if it is causing your GPF error messages. If available, you will be able to disable your external cache through CMOS.

Additional information on CMOS can be found on our CMOS page.

If this resolves your issue it is recommended that you contact your manufacturer or motherboard / CPU manufacturer for additional recommendations and/or BIOS updates that may resolve your issue.

Disable Power Management / Screen savers

If you are receiving GPFs when away from the computer or during durations when your computer is inactive, attempt to disable power management and screen savers to ensure that they are not causing your issue.

Additional information on power management can be found on our power management page.

Operating System issue

It is possible for Windows or an overwritten Windows related file to cause a General Protection fault.  Most commonly the General Protection Fault with Explorer and KRNL386.EXE. Attempt to reinstall your operating system to resolve the issue.

Bad memory or other bad hardware

If you have followed all of the above recommendations and continue to experience GPFs it's possible hardware inside your computer may also be bad. Often bad memory is the primary cause for random GPFs. Additional information about testing your computer memory can be found on document CH000708.

Additional information:

• See our GPF dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related links.

Question:

Windows restarts without warning.

Additional information:

This document is about computers that are restarting or rebooting by themselves, if your computer is turning off and remaining off please see document CH000689.

Some of the below steps in the answer require you open your computer and remove hardware devices, while in the computer make sure you're aware of ESD.

If you're looking for information about how to restart Microsoft Windows see document CH000825.

Cause:

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. Software issue or error.
2. Hardware issue or error.
3. Heat related issue.
4. Computer virus.
5. Issue with operating system.

Answer:

Software issue or error

Errors generated by software programs can cause a computer to reboot unexpectedly or without warning. If you are running Windows XP see the below section "For Windows XP users" before continuing. 

If you are not running Windows XP or following the below steps still cause your computer to reboot without warning. Boot your computer into Safe Mode, and let the computer run in Safe Mode. Additional information and help with getting into Safe Mode can be found on document CHSAFE.

If the computer is still rebooting in Safe Mode the issue is likely not software related but something else, skip to the next section. If the computer is not rebooting in Safe Mode it is likely you have software related issue. We would recommend you run through the basic troubleshooting section for your operating system.

For Windows XP users

Windows XP is designed to automatically reboot each time an error occurs such as a BSoD. Although this may be nice for errors that do not occur often, users who have a re-occurring error may wish to identify the error to troubleshoot it. Below are the steps on how this feature can be disabled and enabled in Windows XP.

1. From the desktop right-click on My Computer.
2. Click the Properties option.
3. In the System Properties window click the Advanced tab.
4. In Advanced click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.
5. In the Startup and Recovery window uncheck the Automatically restart check box.
6. Click Ok.

Now if the computer generates and error it should not automatically restart and enable you to display any errors your computer may be experiencing.

Hardware issue or error

Any failing hardware component in your computer could cause your computer to unexpectedly generate an error and/or reboot without warning. If you have recently attempted to add a new hardware device, remove that device to make sure it is not causing your issues.

Make sure you are not encountering any hardware conflicts by viewing Device Manager for errors. Additional information about Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager page.

New drivers can also cause this issue, if you have recently performed any hardware driver updates you may wish to try an earlier version of the drivers. Additional information and help with computer drivers can be found on our drivers page.

If you have updated drivers and removed any hardware that could be causing this issue and continue to experience random reboots, it's possible that the memory is bad in the computer. Additional information about testing computers memory can be found on document CH000708.

Finally, hardware devices that are not installed properly in the computer can also cause random reboots. Make sure all the cables and expansion cards are connected properly to the computer. The best way to determine this is to disconnect and reconnect all cables and expansion cards. 

Computer virus

Computer viruses such as the blaster virus are written to reboot your computer without warning. Usually these viruses will make the computer reboot ever 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes after the computer has booted. 

If you believe your computer may be infected with a virus or are uncertain if your computer is infected with a virus make sure your virus scanner definitions are up to date. Additional information about checking this can be found in document CH000533. 

Heat related issue

Many computer today are designed to turn off or automatically reboot if the computer, processor, or other device in your computer gets to hot. If you have heard any abnormal noises coming from your computer recently such as a high squealing this could indicate a fan may be failing in your computer.

You can first start by verifying the fan on the power supply is working by examining the back of the computer and seeing if the fan is moving and moving smoothly. For all other fans in the computer you will need to either open the computer and make sure the fan are working (processor fan and case fan) and/or if your BIOS monitors the RPM of the fans enter BIOS and make sure the BIOS does not report any errors.

Users may also be able to determine how hot their computer is by onboard thermal sensors, if your computer comes equipped with these sensors make sure your CPU is not running to hot, additional information about how hot your CPU should be running can be found on document CH000687.

Issue with operating system

If after following each of the above recommendations your computer still continues to reboot it is likely that you are experiencing a Microsoft Windows operating system related issue that cannot be explained. To help make sure this is the case please try the below steps.

1. Reboot the computer and enter CMOS setup as the computer is booting. If you are not familiar with how to enter CMOS please read through document CH000192.
2. After you have loaded the computer in CMOS setup let the computer sit.

If the computer does not reboot while letting the computer sit in CMOS it is likely that you are in fact experiencing an issue with Microsoft Windows and it is recommend that if you have followed all of the above recommendations that you reinstall your version of Microsoft Windows. Additional information about erasing the computer and starting over can be found on document CH000186.

Question:

Computer turns off without warning.

Cause:

This issue could be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. Heat related issue.
2. Hardware issue or error.
3. Computer virus.
4. Issue with operating system.
5. Other failing hardware

Additional information:

This document is about computers that completely turn off; if your computer is turning off and then back on (restarting), please see document CH000605.

Some of the below steps in the answer require you open your computer and remove hardware devices. While in the computer, make sure you're aware of ESD.

Answer:

Heat related issue

A computer that turns off without warning is often a heat related issue. Many computers today are designed to turn off or automatically reboot if the computer, processor, or other device in your computer gets too hot. If you have heard any abnormal noises coming from your computer recently such as a high squealing, this could indicate a fan may be failing in your computer.

You can first start by verifying the fan on the power supply is working by examining the back of the computer and seeing if the fan is moving and moving smoothly. For all other fans in the computer, you will need to either open the computer and make sure the fan are working (processor fan and case fans) and/or if your BIOS monitors the RPM of the fans, enter BIOS and make sure the BIOS does not report any errors.

While inside the computer it's also a good idea to verify the processor heatsink is properly connected by disconnecting and reconnecting the heatsink. If the processor heatsink is not properly it will not keep the processor cool causing the computer to overheat.

Users may also be able to determine how hot their computer is by onboard thermal sensors. If your computer comes equipped with these sensors, make sure your CPU is not running to hot; additional information about how hot your CPU should be running can be found on document CH000687.

Hardware issue or error

Any failing hardware component in your computer could cause your computer to unexpectedly turn off without warning. If you have recently attempted to add a new hardware device, remove that device to make sure it is not causing your issues.

Before attempting to remove any hardware, make sure you are not encountering this issue because of hardware conflicts by viewing Device Manager for errors. Additional information about Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager page.

If you have not recently installed any new hardware into the computer, the next best solution to determining if this is a hardware issue would be remove any hardware on the computer that is not needed. For example, remove your modem, network card, sound card, and any other expansion cards that are not needed for the computer to operate. Run the computer without these cards to see if they are the cause of your issue.

Computer virus

It's possible for your computer to be infected with a virus that is designed to shut down your computer or turn it off. If your computer seems to be turning off when executing a certain program at specific times in the day, it could be infected.

If you believe your computer may be infected with a virus or are uncertain if your computer is infected with a virus, make sure your virus scanner definitions are up to date. Additional information about checking this can be found in document CH000533. 

Issue with operating system

If after following each of the above recommendations your computer still continues to reboot, it is likely that you are experiencing a Microsoft Windows operating system related issue that cannot be explained. To help make sure this is the case, please try the below steps.

1. Reboot the computer and enter CMOS setup as the computer is booting. If you are not familiar with how to enter CMOS, please read through document CH000192.
2. After you have loaded the computer in CMOS setup, let the computer sit.

If the computer does not turn off while letting the computer sit in CMOS, it is likely that you are in fact experiencing an issue with Microsoft Windows or your operating system and it is recommend that if you have followed all of the above recommendations that you reinstall your version of Microsoft Windows. Additional information about erasing the computer and starting over can be found on document CH000186.

Other failing hardware

If after reinstalling your operating system, or during the installation of your operating system, your computer turns off abnormally, it is very likely that other hardware is failing in the computer. Often this is RAM, CPU, Motherboard, and/or Power Supply (in that order).

If you have extra available parts or have a friend or co-worker with a similar configuration that is willing to allow you to test their hardware in your computer, try swapping these parts to determine if they are at fault. Otherwise, you will need to have the computer serviced.

Question:

Not a valid Win32 application.

Additional information:

Often this error message will be similar to the below error message.

C:\Program Files\myprogram\program.exe is not a valid Win32 application.

Cause:

This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.

1. File is corrupt, bad, or missing.
2. File is not designed for your version of Windows.
3. File is a virus, worm, or other malware file.
4. Hardware incompatibility.

Answer:

File is corrupt, bad, or missing

If the file or program you're attempting to run is corrupt or missing, Windows will be unable to execute the file properly and sometimes generate this error message.

Download files

If you downloaded this file and verified it is a file that will work with your version of Windows, delete the file and try downloading and running it again. It's possible during the download that the file became corrupted.

Finally, if the second download does not work, try downloading the file from a different webpage. It is possible that the person or company maintaining the website mistakenly uploaded a corrupt version of the file you're attempting download.

Installing a program from a CD or other disk

If you're attempting to install a program and are getting this error, verify that the CD is clean. If the CD is dirty or bad, you could get this error during the install and/or get this error after the program has been installed because it was not copied properly onto the computer.

Additional information about cleaning a CD can be found on our cleaning page.

Running a program from the computer

If you're running the program from a shortcut on the computer, verify that the program is still on the computer. In some cases if the program is no longer installed on the computer you may get this error.

If the hard disk drive is corrupted or bad it can also cause working programs to fail either because not all the data can be read from the hard disk drive or because the program has become corrupted while on the drive. Run scandisk and defrag on the hard disk drive to check for any potential errors.

Long file name issue

Make sure the program or file you're attempting to run does not contain the same name as the long file name directory it is contained in. For example, executing a file named "program" in the "program files" directory can cause errors in some versions of Windows.

Additionally, if you're attempting to install a program and after the install the program does not work, you may also want to try installing the program in a different directory.

Bad file

Any file can be changed or renamed to be a .exe file. If you're downloading the file, make sure the file is supposed to be a .exe file and that it's not being changed. If you're attempting to create a .exe, file make sure you're compiling the file for Windows and never just rename a file to a .exe file. For example, renaming a .bat file to a .exe file will not make the file an executable file. For a file to become an executable file it needs to either be compiled or converted through a software program designed to convert the file.

File is not designed for your version of Windows

If you're trying to run a program that is not designed for your version of Windows you may get this error. Although many older programs designed to work in older versions of Windows will work with new versions of Windows, unfortunately, not all programs will work.

• If the program is an older MS-DOS program or early Windows program you may get this error.

• If the program is designed for a 64-bit version of Windows and you're running it in a 32-bit version of Windows, it will not work and generate this error.

If you're attempting to run an older computer game in a new version of Windows, see document CH000587 for additional suggestions about getting older games to work in Windows. 

File is a virus, worm, or other malware file

This error can be generated by a file that is a virus, worm, trojan, or other type of malware file. Often, this will be caused because the virus scanner installed in the computer will not allow the file to be installed or run. Try scanning the file to verify it is not a virus and/or infected.

If the file has been checked and is clean, it is still possible that the virus protection program and/or another program installed on the computer is causing issues during the install or execution of the program. Boot the computer into Safe Mode and try running the program; booting the computer into Safe Mode will make sure nothing is running in the background that could be causing this issue. Additional information about Safe Mode can be found on document CHSAFE. 

Hardware incompatibility

If you're getting this error during the installation of a program it's also possible that the CD-ROM drive or the drive you're installing the program from is not compatible with Windows or has drivers that are not compatible with Windows.

Download the latest drivers for your CD drive or other drive through our drivers page.