XP Slow Startup

Is there anything more frustrating that needing to get a specific file, or quickly check for new email, only to have to wait what seems like an eternity for your Windows XP computer to fully startup! Slow XP startup can turn even the simplest tasks into nerve-racking exercises in patience.

XP Slow Startup

Computer Running Slow

Someone once said computers are only as smart as the person using them, or as good as the data they have to work with. While these statements are true, there is also one other variable to consider; system resources. Think about it, would you expect a budget commuter car to have the performance to win the Indy 500! Of course not! With that said, don’t expect your computer to move at the speed of light, if you have hardware and software roadblocks slowing it down.

Computer Running Slow

Windows 7 Slow

Every time Microsoft releases a new operating system, one of the claims will be that the new OS works faster than its predecessor. Unfortunately previous users of Microsoft Vista have been heard complaining that Windows 7 is slow. From a software standpoint, Windows 7 should run faster than Vista. But this assumes there is adequate RAM available to carry out the added features found in the operating system. One of the reasons users may observe Windows 7 running slow is too little RAM installed on the computer.

Windows 7 Slow

Windows Vista Slow

A couple years ago, Microsoft launched Windows Vista. While the operating system offered may perks over XP, it didn’t take long for users to complain that Vista is slow. While many of the people complaining had a natural bias against Microsoft products, enough complaints of Vista slow performance emerged to force further investigation of the issue.

Windows Vista Slow

Fix Slow Computer

The economy is getting tougher and now more than ever, it is important to try and make do with what you have. In the past one of the best ways to fix a slow computer was just to buy a new one. While that is a sure fire way to solve the problem, it definitely isn’t the cheapest course of action to fix slow computer problems. The first step is to identify if this is a recent or ongoing problem. Is your computer suddenly slow, or has it been that way for a while! If it has been that way for a while, your computer may be short on resources for the type of computing you do. If the problem came on suddenly, it is more likely that the problem is related to corrupt files or registry values.

Fix Slow Computer

Computer So Slow

Computers are somewhat like people. They can do multiple things in a short period of time if they have adequate resources. If your boss asks you to get the report on his desk by the end of the day, while you’re supposed to be working on three other things, you can likely get the report done, and a couple of the other things, but not all of them. You just don’t have the resources to pull that off. Computers have the same problem; we ask them to do task after task in what seems like simultaneous fashion. If you push too hard, the computer will likely slow to a crawl.

Computer So Slow

Computer Locks Up

Have you ever been in the middle of an important project and just when you go to save your document or maybe send an important email, your computer locks up! If you have you know that you can lose valuable time if your work didn’t save and you lose it when you inevitably have to reboot your computer. Windows computers lock up for multiple reasons. Sometimes there are problems with the hard disc, other times you may have tied up all of the system memory, or maybe there are errors in the registry. If you continue to use your PC without determining the cause of the problem, it is only a matter of time until your computer locks again.

Computer Locks Up

Laptop Freezes Up

Laptop computers have revolutionized the way people work and play. Being able to take the power of a computer anywhere you go is a wonderful thing, but as people have gotten more comfortable working on laptops, the demands on the computers have increased contention between the need for a small device, and the ability to perform complex computing. When system resources are sacrificed in the name of creating a compact laptop, users are often stuck with performance shortcomings like laptop freezing.

Laptop Freezes Up

My Computer Keeps Freezing

Have you ever seen someone become completely overwhelmed in a situation and just shut down! Maybe they just had too much to do, and not enough time to do it, or too many people were coming at them with demands or requests. Your computer is no different than a person in that regard. If you exceed your computer’s capacity to handle requests, it will likely freeze. The freeze can be temporary if the computer can manage to work through the backlog of requests. However, if the computer doesn’t have adequate capacity to keep track of you requests, and its basic operations for functioning, it will freeze indefinitely.

My Computer Keeps Freezing

Stop Computer Freezing

Just like people, computers follow instructions and complete tasks in an orderly manner. While it may appear that your computer can do two things at once, most computers actually process one instruction at a time, albeit so fast that it looks like multiple things are happening at once. In order to work at this pace, your computer needs adequate system resources to facilitate the requests initiated by the user and various programs. Anything that makes it difficult for the computer to carry out these tasks can cause the computer to slow down or freeze up.

Stop Computer Freezing

Windows Vista Freezes

When users initiate a task on a computer, the operating system has to sort through a series of files or the registry to find out how to interact with the hardware required to perform the task. Next the operating system pulls the required information and stores it in memory for quick reference. A delay or miscue in any of these events can cause a computer to run slow or freeze. These delays can occur because of a lack of physical resources to accommodate the task in time, or perhaps the files required are corrupted or missing.

Windows Vista Freezes

My Computer Freeze Up

In many ways, computers are like people. They have the capacity to conduct multiple tasks, and depending upon the resources they are given, they may be able to do a lot of work or just a few tasks at a time. So why does my computer freeze you ask! The computer doesn’t have enough resources to conduct all of the tasks you have requested, or has bad instructions that don’t allow it to complete a task. Resource related issues are usually related to insufficient hard drive space or RAM. Problems that arise from bad instructions or operations are usually related to the Windows Registry.

My Computer Freeze Up

Windows XP Freezes UP

When initial Windows XP users were asked about their complaints about the operating system, many complained that Windows XP freezes up. While these complaints were from beta testers and initial retail release customers, there have continued to be occasional reports of XP freezing up to this day. There are a handful of reasons Windows XP freezes. The reasons range from early software that hasn’t been updated, to resource availability issues, to virus infections that have corrupted system files and registry entries, and even outright over-use of the system can cause XP screen freezes.

Windows XP Freezes UP

Windows 7 Freezes Up

When Windows 7 freezes up, it can be a number of issues. If Windows 7 is frozen and you need to fix Windows 7 freezing then read on.

Windows 7 Freezes Up

Windows 7 Crashes

New and improved sometimes doesn’t mean 100% better than the previous version. This can be seen with first hand reports of Windows 7 crashing. Even the best operating systems can fall victim to a host of problems that can cause system crashes. Reasons for an operating system failure or crash can range from hardware problems, to software problems, or the results of virus or malware attacks. If Windows 7 keeps crashing, there are a couple things you can quickly check to try and solve the problem.

Windows 7 Crashes

Computer Keeps Crashing

Have you been using the same computer for a couple of years, only to have it start crashing on a continual basis! If you have, take a second to read this information before shelling out for a new computer. A little troubleshooting may be the best way to stop computer crashes and save some money. When a computer crashes, it basically runs across a situation where it either lacks the physical resources to conduct a task, or it becomes so burdened by its list of pending tasks that it consumes all of its physical resources and crawls to a halt. The other reason for a computer crash would be corrupt files or registry entries that effectively confuse the computer.

Computer Keeps Crashing

Windows Vista Crashes

Not long after its initial release there were multiple reports of Vista crashes. Users would be in the middle or running an application or surfing the web and suffer a random Vista crash. In these instances Vista would lock up and force the user to manually reboot their computer often losing unsaved data. Windows Vista crashes for multiple reasons. Sometimes it’s related to hard drive problems, insufficient memory, or errors in the registry. Users who continued to user their computers without resolving the issues often complained that Vista keeps crashing.

Windows Vista Crashes

Windows XP Crashes

Because of the demands of competition in the software industry, there is often a rush to put new operating systems in the hands of consumers. This leads to software hitting the shelves when perhaps it could have stood to go a few more rounds of quality assurance testing. This is most obviously illustrated in the case of issues like Windows XP crashes. A Windows XP crash is typically related to hardware inefficiencies or corrupted files, programs or registry values.

Windows XP Crashes

Fix Bad Pool Header

Chances are you landed on this page because you just had a bad pool header (AKA bad header pool or bad pool caller) message displayed when your computer crashed and it showed you the infamous blue screen of death or BSOD. It can be a Windows XP bad pool header, Vista bad pool header or a Windows 7 bad pool header. Whatever system you are on, that bad pool header blue screen indicates a very serious problem for your computer.

Fix Bad Pool Header

Vista Blue Screen

If you work in an enterprise environment it is likely that you may still be running Windows XP instead of Vista. Among many of the complaints some users have with Vista, is the fact that it can be memory intensive and lead to the Microsoft Vista blue screen of death. Vista bluescreen errors are often caused by a handful of problems that ultimately culminate in the incorrect handling or utilization of system memory that puts the system into a state where it can no longer function

Vista Blue Screen

XP Blue Screen

Many business users have elected to retain Microsoft Windows XP over upgrading to Vista or 7. Despite its longer track record, and vetted support, it is still possible to get the dreaded XP blue screen of death. The XP blue screen can occur when XP encounters a scenario where it runs out of memory and cannot initiate tasks to resolve the issue. So perhaps the real question is what causes the memory mismanagement that leads to an XP bluescreen!

XP Blue Screen

Windows 7 Blue Screen

Blue screens generally happen when a computer either handles memory incorrectly and gets to a point where it doesn’t have any resources left to go on, or when the operating system encounters an instruction which confuses it or can’t work. These are typically referred to as illegal operations. With this in mind, the fixes are pretty straight forward. Eliminate any situations where the operating system can’t operate properly with 3rd party programs, or where it would try to conduct an illegal operation.

Windows 7 Blue Screen

Physical Memory Dump

There are a couple of answers to what may have caused a dump of physical memory, but it is difficult for the average user to determine what exactly happened. Blues screen memory dumps are usually caused by DLL file errors, actual memory problems, memory allocation problems, and COM conflicts or errors. Any of these problems can cause the computer to essentially get confused, and dump the contents of the memory.

Physical Memory Dump

Fix Blue Screen Of Death

In order to stop BSODs from happening, you need to understand what is causing the bluescreen in the first place. Advanced computer users may be able to reference the error codes given on the blue screen to determine the root cause of the problem, but without having a trustworthy source to define the error codes, users can sometimes cause more harm than good.

Fix Blue Screen Of Death

Blue Screen Errors

In order to fix something, we have to know what specifically broke. As such, here are ways to identify what may have caused the specific problem leading to your blue screen error. Make sure your computer is up to date with the latest operating system and program software. As new interactions unveil potential interaction problems, software developers develop fixes to problems that can cause blue screen issues.

Blue Screen Errors