Beep Code Manual

BIOS Beep Codes When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected. Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS. The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix. Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems. AMI Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard. 2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly. 3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory. 4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard. 5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed. 6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode. 7 beeps Virtual mode exception error. 8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card. 9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty. 10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS. 11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory. 1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system. 1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K. 1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure. Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video. BIOS Beep Codes Phoenix Beep Codes Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes. 4-Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode. 1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard. 1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values. 1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers. 1-1-3-2 1-1-3-3 1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory. 1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error. 1-1-4-3 I/O port error. 1-2-1-1 Power management error. 1-2-1-2 1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure. 1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 1-2-3-1 System timer error. 1-2-3-3 DMA error. 1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error. 1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error. 1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure. 1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 1-3-3-1 Extended memory error. 1-3-3-3 1-3-4-1 1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory. 1-4-1-3 1-4-2-4 CPU error. 1-4-3-1 2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error. 1-4-3-2 1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error. 1-4-4-1 1-4-4-2 2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-1-1-3 2-1-2-1 IRQ failure. 2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 2-1-2-4 2-1-3-2 I/O port failure. 2-1-3-1 2-1-3-3 Video system failure. 2-1-1-3 2-1-2-1 IRQ failure. 2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error. 2-1-2-4 I/O port failure. 2-1-4-3 2-2-1-1 Video card failure. 2-2-1-3 2-2-2-1 2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure. 2-2-3-1 IRQ error. 2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory. 2-3-1-1 2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure. 2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-3-2-3 2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error. 2-3-4-1 2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure. 2-3-4-1 2-3-4-3 2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure. 2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 2-4-2-1 RTC error. 2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error. 2-4-4-1 IRQ error. 3-1-1-1 3-1-1-3 3-1-2-1 3-1-2-3 I/O port error. 3-1-3-1 3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-1-4-1 3-2-1-1 3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error. 3-2-2-3 3-2-3-1 3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-2-4-3 IRQ error. 3-3-1-1 RTC error. 3-3-1-3 Key lock error. 3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 3-3-3-3 3-3-4-1 3-3-4-3 3-4-1-1 3-4-1-3 3-4-2-1 3-4-2-3 3-4-3-1 3-4-4-1 3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 4-2-1-1 4-2-1-3 4-2-2-1 IRQ failure. 4-2-2-3 4-2-3-1 4-2-3-3 4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error. 4-3-1-3 4-3-1-4 4-3-2-1 4-3-2-2 4-3-3-1 4-3-4-1 4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. 4-3-3-2 4-3-3-4 IRQ failure. 4-3-3-3 4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure. 3-Beep Codes Beep Code Meaning 1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard. 1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure. 1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error. 1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard. 1-2-2 1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure. 1-3-1 Memory refresh failure. 1-3-2 1-3-3 1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory. 1-4-1 Address line failure. 1-4-2 Parity RAM failure. 1-4-3 Timer failure. 1-4-4 NMI port failure. 2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory. 3-1-1 Master DMA failure. 3-1-2 Slave DMA failure. 3-1-3 3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure. 3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure. 3-3-1 3-3-2 CMOS error. 3-3-4 Video card failure. 3-4-1 Video card failure. 4-2-1 Timer failure. 4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure. 4-2-3 Gate A20 failure. 4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode. 4-3-1 RAM test failure. 4-3-3 Timer failure. 4-3-4 Time of day clock failure. 4-4-1 Serial port failure. 4-4-2 Parallel port failure. 4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

Converting to NTFS

Your hard drive must be formatted with a file system such as FAT, FAT32 or NTFS so that Windows can be installed on to it. This system determines how files are named, organised and stored on the drive. If you’re not using it already, NTFS (New Technology File System) is recommended for Windows XP because of the additional functionality it offers. If your PC came with Windows XP pre-installed then there’s a chance that you’re already using NTFS. If you’ve upgraded from Windows 98 or Windows Me you may still be using FAT or FAT 32. The option to change over to NTFS would have been available during the upgrade process. Don’t worry if you skipped this as it’s possible to convert at any time from within Windows XP without losing any data. The recommended option: There are a number of features in Windows XP that will only work if the NTFS file system is present, which is why it’s suggested you make use of it. File and folder permissions, encryption and privacy options are just some of those you’ll be able to access. In particular, those of you who have set up user accounts will find NTFS invaluable. For instance, if you continue to use FAT or FAT32 anyone with physical access to the drive will be able to access the files and folders that are stored there. However, with NTFS you’ll be able to use a level of encryption (Professional Edition only) that will enable you to protect your data. You’ll also find NTFS more reliable in that it’s more able to recover from disk errors than its FAT or FAT32 counterparts. A log of all disk activity is kept so should a crash occur, Windows XP can use this information to repair the file system when your PC boots up again. To find out what file system you’re using, open My Computer, right-click your main hard drive and choose Properties. Take a look at the General tab to see confirmation of the file system that’s in use. Convert now: You can use the convert tool in Windows XP to change the file system on your hard disk from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS. The whole process is safe and your existing data won’t be destroyed. To begin, click Start -> Run, type cmd and press [Return]. At the command prompt type convert c: /fs:ntfs and press [Return] (where ‘c’ is the letter of the drive you’re converting). When you try and run the convert utility, it’s likely that Windows XP will be using your paging file so the process won’t be completed immediately. Therefore, you’ll see a brief message on screen informing you that the conversion will take place instead the next time Windows starts up. Having restarted, the Check Disk utility will run, the conversion will be performed automatically and you may find that your PC will reboot twice more. The benefits: With your drive now running NTFS, it’s time to take advantage of the new options that are available. Having created a number of different user accounts you can now control the level of access that’s granted to individual users. For example, there are going to be certain files and folders that you’ll want some users to be able to access but not others. If you have Windows XP Professional Edition you can do this immediately. Right-click any file or folder, choose Properties and select the Security tab. A dialog will be displayed showing the names of all your users. Alongside will be two columns which enable you to select levels of access for each of them, the permissions include Full Control, Modify, Read and Write. You can then check the appropriate box to determine whether or not to Allow or Deny a particular permission. For Windows XP Home Edition users, the Security tab won’t be immediately available. To access this option you’ll need to restart your PC, pressing [F8] until a menu appears. Next select Safe Mode and wait for Windows XP to start up. You can then set your options in the same way. Another feature is NTFS compression. It’s quick and seamless as your file or folder is decompressed automatically when you access it. (Don’t confuse this with a Zip compression utility where the files need to be extracted before they can be accessed.) Although you may have used NTFS compression on a file or folder, there’s no way of telling just by looking at it. To remedy this, open My Computer, click Tools -> Folder Options and select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and check the option ‘Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color’, then click Apply and OK. Take a look at your compressed items in My Computer and you’ll see the text label has changed from black to blue. Something else that’s exclusive to Professional Edition users is the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this to protect your important data so that no one else can read it. Your encrypted files and folders will only be accessible when you have logged into your user account successfully.

Clear Unwanted Items From Add And Remove

Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT). Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall, and remove any unwanted subkeys under "Uninstall."

Boot Block Recovery For Free

You don't need to pay a measly sum of dollars just to recover from a boot block mode. Here it is folks: AWARD Bootblock recovery: That shorting trick should work if the boot block code is not corrupted, and it should not be if /sb switch is used when flashing the bios (instead of /wb switch). The 2 pins to short to force a checksum error varies from chip to chip. But these are usually the highest-numbered address pins (A10 and above). These are the pins used by the system to read the System BIOS (original.bin for award v6), calculate the ROM checksum and see if it's valid before decompressing it into memory, and subsequently allow Bootblock POST to pass control over to the System BIOS. You just have to fool the system into believing that the System BIOS is corrupt. This you do by giving your system a hard time reading the System BIOS by shorting the 2 high address pins. And when it could not read the System BIOS properly, ROM Checksum Error is detected "so to speak" and Bootblock recovery is activated. Sometimes, any combination of the high address pins won't work to force a checksum error in some chips, like my Winbond W49F002U. But shorting the #WE pin with the highest-numbered address pin (A17) worked for this chip. You just have to be experimentative if you're not comfortable with "hot flashing" or "replacement BIOS". But to avoid further damage to your chip if you're not sure which are the correct pins to short, measure the potential between the 2 pins by a voltmeter while the system is on. If the voltage reading is zero (or no potential at all), it is safe to short these pins. But do not short the pins while the system is on. Instead, power down then do the short, then power up while still shorting. And as soon as you hear 3 beeps (1 long, 2 short), remove the short at once so that automatic reflashing from Drive A can proceed without errors (assuming you had autoexec.bat in it). About how to do the shorting, the tip of a screwdriver would do. But with such minute pins on the PLCC chip, I'm pretty comfortable doing it with the tip of my multi-tester or voltmeter probe. Short the pins at the point where they come out of the chip. AMIBIOS Recovery bootblock: 1. Copy a known working BIOS image for your board to a floppy and rename it to AMIBOOT.ROM. 2. Insert the floppy in your system's floppydrive. 3. Power on the system while holding CTRL+Home keys. Release the keys when you hear a beep and/or see the floppy light coming on. 4 . Just wait until you hear 4 beeps. When 4 beeps are heard the reprogramming of the System Block BIOS went succesfull, so then you may restart your system. Some alternative keys that can be used to force BIOS update (only the System Block will be updated so it's quite safe): CTRL+Home= restore missing code into system block and clear CMOS when programming went ok. CTRL+Page Up= restore missing code into system block and clear CMOS or DMI when programming went ok. CTRL+Page Down= restore missing code into system block and do not clear CMOS and DMI area when programming went ok Btw: the alternative keys work only with AMIBIOS 7 or higher (so for example an AMI 6.26 BIOS can be only recovered by using CTRL+Home keys). Boot Block Recovery for FREE ************************************************ BLACKOUT Flashing ************************************************* Recovering a Corrupt AMI BIOS chip With motherboards that use BOOT BLOCK BIOS it is possible to recover a corrupted BIOS because the BOOT BLOCK section of the BIOS, which is responsible for booting the computer remains unmodified. When an AMI BIOS becomes corrupt the system will appear to start, but nothing will appear on the screen, the floppy drive light will come on and the system will access the floppy drive repeatedly. If your motherboard has an ISA slot and you have an old ISA video card lying around, put the ISA video card in your system and connect the monitor. The BOOT BLOCK section of the BIOS only supports ISA video cards, so if you do not have an ISA video card or your motherboard does not have ISA slots, you will have to restore your BIOS blind, with no monitor to show you what’s going on. AMI has integrated a recovery routine into the BOOT BLOCK of the BIOS, which in the event the BIOS becomes corrupt can be used to restore the BIOS to a working state. The routine is called when the SYSTEM BLOCK of the BIOS is empty. The restore routine will access the floppy drive looking for a BIOS file names AMIBOOT.ROM, this is why the floppy drive light comes on and the drive spins. If the file is found it is loaded into the SYSTEM BLOCK of the BIOS to replace the missing information. To restore your BIOS simply copy a working BIOS file to a floppy diskette and rename it AMIBOOT.ROM, then insert it into the computer while the power is on. The diskette does not need to be bootable or contain a flash utility. After about four minutes the system will beep four times. Remove the floppy diskette from the drive and reboot the computer. The BIOS should now be restored. Recovering a Corrupt AWARD BIOS With AWARD BIOS the process is similar but still a bit different. To recover an AWARD BIOS you will need to create a floppy diskette with a working BIOS file in .BIN format, an AWARD flash utility and an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. AWARD BIOS will not automatically restore the BIOS information to the SYSTEM BLOCK for this reason you will need to add the commands necessary to flash the BIOS in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The system will run the AUTOEXE.BAT file, which will in turn flash the BIOS. This is fairly easy. Here are the steps you need to take. · Create a bootable floppy diskette · Copy the BIOS file and flash utility to the diskette · Create an text file with any standard text editor and add the following lines @ECHO OFF FLASH763 BIOSFILE.BIN /py In the above example I am assuming that you are using the FLASH763.EXE flash utility. You will need to replace the FLASH763 with the name of whatever flash utility you are using, and replace the BIOSFILE.BIN with the name of the BIOS file you are using. You will also need to change the ‘/py’ to whatever the command is for your flash utility to automatically program the BIOS without user intervention. If you do not know the command to automatically flash your BIOS type the name of the flash utility with a space and then /? to display the utility’s help screen. The help screen should pecify the command switch to automatically flash your BIOS. If you are using the FLASH763.EXE utility then the switch to automatically flash your BIOS is ‘/py’.

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown, Win XP Tweak

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit. 1. Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad. QUOTE Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management] "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop] "AutoEndTasks"="1" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control] "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000" 2. Save the file as shutdown.reg 3. Double click the file to import into your registry. NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications." You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening? 1 Hardware conflict The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device. For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself. If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route: * Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager. Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it. Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it. Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty). When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity. To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs. 2 Bad Ram Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing. But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked. One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged. Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble. EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes. 3 BIOS settings Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up. Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to. A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display. Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.). 4 Hard disk drives After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to * Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler. The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop). Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk. Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space. Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to * Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use. 5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems. These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate. If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts. If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse. The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message. Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device). Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it. 6 Viruses Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance. A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer. An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com). 7 Printers The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file. Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance. If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on. 8 Software A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy. The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000. Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode. Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly. Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work. Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation. 9 Overheating Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to. One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable. 10 Power supply problems With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut. If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut. It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.