Troubleshooting Common Windows Errors for Dummies (Topic)

Probably every Windows user working with any of the OS of this family constantly experiences some kind of problems, ranging from small freezes to blue screens of death.

But let's be honest, it is not the OS itself and the Hindu code that are to blame for most of these problems, but rather our unwillingness to tune it properly and take preventive measures to improve it. In this article we will try to figure out the most common and unpleasant problems and errors that we can prevent ourselves.

You probably noticed that from version to version of Windows it becomes easier and more friendly and if it's an adventure to install drivers in XP, then Windows 10 does it itself, without your participation. Therefore, the best advice for beginners and those who do not want to understand much - use the most current version of Windows.

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

The hero of hundreds of jokes and gags his majesty the blue screen of death or BSOD. Now let's skip the jokes, let's figure out what BSOD usually means?

What is commonly called BSOD is nothing more than a critical error that the system cannot cope with and had to terminate in order to avoid damage to the system or hardware.

It should be understood that blue screens are not always directly related to the system. It can also be problems with installing drivers and general hardware compatibility. The undisputed leader in bsodes and problems of this kind is Windows Vista, which optimization is very bad.

What to do?

Whenever you see a blue screen, do not restart your computer right away. Look for the error code: This will give you vital information about what caused the problem.

After restarting, enter the error code into a search engine like Google and it will give more information about a specific problem. You can also use the BlueScreenView tool to analyze blue screens.

From the search, we learn what the specific problem may be related to and whether we can solve it ourselves.

The error in the screenshot is for example related to hibernation or a virtual machine - this information will help us understand that we can solve this problem ourselves by continuing to Google.

It should also be noted that once a blue screen appears, it usually doesn't matter much. Sometimes Windows does magic and creates an error of its own that never appears again. You shouldn't worry about fixing these errors if they don't happen regularly.

Safe Mode

You may have already heard this term or seen this line in the system boot options.

Safe Mode allows you to boot a special version of your system with disabled drivers, effects and personal settings, which can solve many problems with hardware compatibility, incorrectly installed drivers, or roll back the system to a working version.

The ability to roll back to the last saved version is perhaps one of the most important non-axial options for the average user. You can return your system to a time when everything was working well with the click of a button.

When Windows is stable in safe mode, but has problems during normal boot, then most likely you can solve the problem by removing new hardware, rolling back to a working version, through system restore.

But if the system does not start in safe mode, then the problems are most likely quite fatal. In this case, it would be best to consult a specialist. But to tell the truth, reinstalling the system can help.

Problems connecting to the Internet

How terribly annoying it is when the speed of the Internet connection drops and such volumes that any TV series does not load in more than one resolution. We, out of habit, begin to blame Windows for this, but as a rule it is not her fault here.

These problems are usually the result of a problem with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or a freezing router.

One important point, before all these actions, check if you are running a torrent client or any other software that can clog your entire connection (download download large data streams)

Let's take a look at the whole process of diagnosing and fixing network problems.

Before starting our research, you should make sure that the system itself did not find the problem, to do this, click on the network connection icon and click Diagnose problems

Let's start by trying to connect to your connection from another device, such as a phone or laptop.

If everything works on the other device, then the problem is with the specific device, and not with the ISP or network.

In this case, I recommend starting by disabling the adapter (Network and Access Center - Change adapter settings - Disable). And only then if this simple option did not help to look for the deeper causes of the problem. But do not forget about the magic reboot, sometimes rebooting the system solves many problems.

If there is also no Internet on the other device, then the problem is already reaching a new level and we should check the router and call the provider and find out if there are any problems on your line.

This chain of actions allows even users who are not very knowledgeable in networks to quickly understand what is happening with their connection and why the download speed of their favorite TV series dropped.

Hardware failures

Perhaps there are no Supermen among us who have X-ray vision and who are able to understand from one glance at the PC what is broken inside. But with even a fairly small amount of knowledge, you can quickly understand what is wrong with your equipment and whether it is worth looking for a replacement.

Very often errors or hard drive crashes cause the blue screens discussed earlier. If you are still using a mechanical hard drive (which has moving parts). If you hear clicks while booting, you can be sure your disk is very bad.

If your computer does not boot, some of our tips will help you. For example, consider a situation where your computer turns on but does not boot into Windows. If you see a BIOS welcome message and then a message that no OS was found, it most likely means that your hard drive has hit a better location and should be replaced.

It is always terribly at the wrong time and incredibly sad when the hard drive dies along with all the files, but fortunately there is a lot of software that can get your files out of the mortal body of your disk.

There are many different symptoms of various faults in your equipment, most of which will be fairly easy to identify. If we omit completely exotic cases, then the very fact that the computer turns on and you see the BIOS greeting indicates that further problems can most likely be associated with either the hard drive or with incompatibility (incorrect installation) of components.

Malware

Although Windows is more susceptible to malware than other operating systems, it is not the main culprit for malware on your system.

In the end, the same Windows 10 has huge security functionality, especially when combined with other operating systems of the Windows family. And if you add common sense to this functionality, then malware infection becomes extremely unlikely.

Even if you have never encountered malware, you should still know its behavior and how to deal with it.

Strange pop-ups, extremely slow performance. Obscured toolbars and other junk that appears in your browser are signs of malware infection.

If you suspect that your computer is infected, you should review the list of " Programs and Features" and remove anything that you suspect.

Then run a scan using, for example, Nod32 and use it to find and remove anything that it has identified as malicious software.

And now the most unpleasant thing. You cannot defeat some Po without special knowledge. You will not be able to find it, but it will not allow itself to be deleted, or it will lock the computer at all and encrypt the files. The most you can try is to roll back to a restore point in safe mode. There is also an option to reinstall the system and it will most likely help in 90% of cases, but in this option you will lose all files, since you cannot transfer data.

General troubleshooting tips

We've discussed the five big problems Windows typically blame, their actual causes and tips to fix them. Here are some additional tips.

Don't forget to restart!

You have heard this dozens of times, so we will not focus on this point. But it's important to remember that when you start troubleshooting, the first step should always be to restart your computer . After a simple reboot, many problems will disappear. While many troubleshooting methods are more complicated than just restarting, it's always worth trying to restart first. Why waste an hour when you only need two minutes to reboot?

There is one important but. If you think you've caught malware, a reboot will only make matters worse. Since it will allow him to gain access to the sections protected during system operation. Therefore, first you need to remove it and only then reboot or turn off the PC.

Use search!

Most likely, you are not the first person to have a specific problem with your computer. This is good news, because it means that it is highly likely that someone else has already described the solution to your problem!

Knowing how to troubleshoot by applying the above guidelines can help you more than once, but all solutions become outdated and you can always find a faster and more convenient way, just don't be lazy to search.

The Topic of Article: Troubleshooting Common Windows Errors for Dummies.
Author: Jake Pinkman