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descriptionHow to Troubleshoot Windows Errors EmptyHow to Troubleshoot Windows Errors

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How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors




In This Tutorial


  • You will learn about troubleshooting Windows boot problems
  • You will learn about troubleshooting Windows GUI problems
  • You will learn about troubleshooting  Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD)
  • You will learn about working with the Windows Registry
  • You will learn about troubleshooting Tools in Windows
  • You will learn about troubleshooting Windows application problems
  • You will learn about researching Internet for solution to a problems




The Contents



  1. Failure to Boot
  2. NTLDR is Missing or BOOTMGR is missing
  3. Failure to Boot: Hardware or Configuration
  4. Failure to Boot: Windows XP
  5. Failure to Boot: Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
  6. Failure to Load the GUI
  7. Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD)
  8. Repair Install Windows OS
  9. Working with the Windows Registry
  10. Troubleshooting Tools in Windows
  11. Auto Loading Programs
  12. Application Problems
  13. System Files
  14. Using the Internet to Find Solutions to Problems





This tutorial  looks at Windows problems from the ground up. It starts with catastrophic failure—a PC that won’t boot—and then discusses ways to get past that problem. The next section covers the causes and workarounds when the Windows GUI fails to load. Once you can access the Windows GUI, the many Windows diagnostic and troubleshooting tools that you’ve spent so much time learning about come to your fingertips.


Failure to Boot
When Windows fails to boot, you need to determine whether the problem relates to hardware or software.
Hard drive needs proper connectivity and power, and that CMOS must be configured correctly. If not, you’ll get an error like the one in below image.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors 9mQJOYh

If you see this screen, the problem could be with hardware. Windows hasn’t even started trying to
boot.
This issue may occur if one or more of the following conditions are true:
       
        • The basic input/output system (BIOS) does not detect the hard disk.
        • Booting from storage device or media that does not contain bootable operating system.
        • The hard disk is damaged.
        • Sector zero of the physical hard disk drive has an incorrect or malformed master boot record (MBR).

Note: Some third-party programs or disk corruption can damage an MBR.
         
         • An incompatible partition is marked as Active.
         • A partition that contains the MBR is no longer active.
         

Verify the BIOS Settings
Verify the computer's BIOS settings to make sure that BIOS lists and recognizes the hard disk.
See the computer documentation or contact the hardware manufacturer for information about how to verify the BIOS settings.
After you verify that the computer's BIOS detects the hard disk, restart the computer, and then test to determine whether the issue is  resolved. If the issue is not resolved, or if the computer's BIOS cannot detect the hard disk, you may have issues with your hardware.
However, be aware that the damage to your hard disk may be serious. Sometimes this means that your only solution is to replace your hard disk.


Use Windows Recovery Environment
Use the fixmbr command in the Windows 2000 and  XP Recovery Console to repair the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the hard disk drive.
Use the Bootrec  /FixMbr command in the Windows Vista and later versions of Windows OS Command Prompt to repair the MBR of the hard disk drive.


Warning:These commands can damage your partition tables if a virus is present or if a hardware problem exists. If you use this command, you may create inaccessible partitions. I recommend that you run antivirus software before you use these commands.  I also recommend that you backup your data before you use these commands.





NTLDR is Missing or BOOTMGR is missing
Entirely different set of errors such as NTLDR is Missing or BOOTMGR is missing.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors NgCQTiF

You need a totally different set of tools from the ones used to troubleshoot Operating System not found error.

Windows  XP and Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 boot differently, so to troubleshoot these failures to boot you need to know both processes and the tools available read my   Overview of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems tutorial to learn more about how Windows  XP and Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 boot differently.


To complete these steps, you must have a Windows 10,  Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7,  Windows Vista or Windows XP installation disc.



Fix 1:
You can run Startup Repair tool from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).
Read my Windows Recovery Environment tutorial to learn more about Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).



Fix 2:
Rebuild the boot configuration data (BCD) from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)
In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd command and then press ENTER.
You can also run System Restore tool from Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).


The bootrec command-line tool is a Windows Recovery Environment troubleshooting and repair tool that repairs the master boot record, boot sector, or BCD store. It replaces the old fixboot, fixmbr and Bootcfg, Recovery Console commands.




Replace NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files
Methods that you can use to troubleshoot the "NTLDR Is Missing" error message that you may receive when you try to start Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
Windows XP users can replace the required files for NTLDR to load correctly by using your Windows Installation Disc. The files are named NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM.


Fix 1:
Here are the steps to replace these files:
1. Inserting your Windows XP install CD.
2. Restart your computer and boot from the CD.
3. Press any key to boot from the CD.
4. Press R when you reach the Windows Options menu to access Repair Console.
5. After this step you’ll need to log into Windows by pressing 1 using your Administrator password if you have one.
6. Use the following commands to copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files from the Windows installation disk to your hard disk drive:
         

Code:


Copy   X:\i386\ntldr  C:\

Copy   X:\i386\ntdetect.com  C:\



Where X:\ is your inserted CD’s drive letter and C:\ drive letter is your Windows XP installed partition drive letter.

7. Once these files are copied, remove the Windows installation disc from the disc drive.
8. Restart your PC.





Fix 2:
The next steps are to rebuild the boot.ini file:
1. Inserting your Windows XP install CD.
2. Restart your computer and boot from the CD.
3. Press any key to boot from the CD.
4. Press R when you reach the Windows Options menu to access Repair Console.
5. Enter your Administrator password.
6. Enter the following command when Command Prompt appears:


Code:

  bootcfg   /rebuild



7. Remove the install CD.
8. Restart your computer.




Fix 3:
Another easy fix is to make sure you don’t have any non-bootable media added recently in your computer, such as CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives etc.
This can also include any memory card you may have entered in the card reader. The NTLDR error may appear if your computer tries to boot from one of these non-bootable media devices.
You can prevent it by changing the boot order from BIOS setup utility to make sure your computer boots from the hard disk drive first, as primary source, and not from any other devices.




Fix 4:
A loose IDE cable can lead to this error to occur. Make sure both ends of your hard disk cable are not faulty or loose.
Try to connect and reconnect back the cable and restart your PC.
If none of the solutions are working for you, try to check if the IDE cable is faulty and replace it with a new one. You can check that by replacing it on another computer’s hard drive and restart that PC to see if it boots correctly.

Visit Microsoft website for more troubleshooting steps:
Windows may not start and you may receive an "NTLDR is missing" error message if Windows is not up-to-date and there are too many files in the root folder : https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/320397







Failure to Boot: Hardware or Configuration
Most failed boot scenarios require you to determine where the fault occurred with the hardware and configuration, or in Windows. This is a pretty straight forward problem. Imagine that a user says “My PC won’t boot” or “My computer is dead.” At this point, your best tools are knowledge of the boot process and asking lots of questions. Here are some I use regularly:

“What displays on the screen—if anything—after you press the power button on the case?”
“What do you hear—if anything—after you press the power button on the case?”
“Is the PC plugged in?”
“Do you smell anything weird?”


Hardware problems can give you a blank screen on boot up, so follow the tried and true troubleshooting methodology for hardware. Make sure everything is plugged in and turned on. If the PC is new, as in less than 30 days old, you know it might have suffered a burn-in failure. If the customer smells something, one of the components might have fried. Try replacing with known good devices: RAM, power supply, CPU, hard drive, motherboard.
If the user says that the screen says “No boot device detected” and the system worked fine before, it could mean something as simple as the computer has attempted to boot to an incorrect device, such as to something other than the primary hard drive.




Failure to Boot: Windows XP
Windows boot errors take place in those short moments between the time POST ends and the Loading Windows screen begins. For Windows XP to start loading the main operating system, the critical system files ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini must reside in the root directory of the C: drive, and boot.ini must point to the Windows boot files. In a scenario where any of these requirements isn’t in place, the system won’t get past this step. Here are some of the common error messages you see at this point:

No Boot Device Present

NTLDR Bad or Missing

Invalid BOOT.INI


These text errors take place very early in the startup process. That’s your big clue that you have a boot issue. If you get to the Windows splash screen and then the computer locks up, that’s a whole different game, so know the difference.



Attempt to Repair by Using the Recovery Console
To begin troubleshooting one of these errors, boot from the Windows installation CD-ROM. You have four options from the initial screen: set up Windows XP, repair using the Recovery Console, perform a XP Repair Install and using the Automated System Recovery (ASR).

The Recovery Console, provides a command-line interface for working with Windows before the GUI starts. Press R to start the Recovery Console.
The Recovery Console shines in the business of manually restoring Registries, stopping problem services, rebuilding partitions (other than the system partition), and using the expand command to extract copies of corrupted files from an optical disc or floppy disk.

A bad boot sector usually shows up as a “No Boot Device” error. If it turns out that this isn’t the problem,  using the Recovery Console command to fix it won’t hurt anything.

At the Recovery Console prompt, just type:


Code:


Fixmbr

Fixboot




This fixes the master boot record (MBR) and Boot Sector.

If the boot.ini file is gone or corrupted, run this below command from the Recovery Console:



Code:

Bootcfg  /rebuild




The Recovery Console will try to locate all installed copies of Windows and ask you if you want to add them to the new boot.ini file it’s about to create. Type yes to the ones you want.


You may receive a message that is similar to the following message:

Total Identified Windows Installs: 2
[1] C:\Windows
Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All):
Enter Load Identifier: (Custom description for an operating system loading from the Boot menu)
Enter Operating System Load Options: (that is: /fastdetect)

[2] D:\Windows
Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All):
Enter Load Identifier: (Custom description for an operating system loading from the Boot menu)
Enter Operating System Load Options: (that is: /fastdetect)


If the Recovery Console does not do the trick, the next step is to restore Windows XP.




Attempt to Restore
If you’ve been diligent about backing up, you can attempt to restore to an earlier, working copy of Windows. Assuming you made an Automated System Recovery (ASR) backup, this will restore your system to a previously installed state, but you should use it as a last resort. You lose everything on the system that was installed or added after you created the ASR disk.




Rebuild
If faced with a full system rebuild, you have several options, depending on the particular system. You could simply reboot to the Windows CD-ROM and install right on top of the existing system, what’s called a repair installation.

Most OEM systems come with a misleadingly named Recovery CD or recovery partition. The Recovery CD is a CD-ROM that you boot to and run. The recovery partition is a hidden partition on the hard drive that you activate at boot by holding down a key combination specific to the manufacturer of that system. (See the motherboard manual or users’ guide for the key combination and other details.)

Both “recovery” options do the same thing, that is to restore your computer to the factory installed state. If you run one of these tools, you will wipe everything off your system all personal files, folders, and programs will permanently deleted!
Before running either tool, make sure all important files and folders are backed up on an optical disc or spare hard drive.






Failure to Boot: Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
With Windows Vista, Microsoft upgraded the installation environment from the 16-bit text mode environment used in every previous version of Windows to 32- and 64-bit. This upgrade enabled the Windows installation process to go graphical and support features such as a mouse pointer and clickable elements, rather than relying on command-line tools. Microsoft calls the installation environment the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE or Windows PE). With Windows PE, you can boot directly to the Windows DVD. This loads a limited function graphical operating system that contains both troubleshooting and diagnostic tools, along with installation options. The Windows installation media is called a Live DVD because WinPE loads directly from disc into memory and doesn’t access or modify the hard drive.

When you access Windows PE and opt for the troubleshooting and repair features, you open a special set of tools from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE or Windows RE). The terms can get a little confusing because of the similarity of letters, so mark this: Windows RE is the repair tools that run within Windows PE. WinPE powers WinRE. Got it?

Let’s tackle WinRE.

You can read my tutorial to learn more about Windows Recovery Environment.


Note:  Microsoft also refers to the Windows Recovery Environment as the "System Recovery Options" menu.


Startup Repair  
The Startup Repair utility serves as a one-stop, do-it-all option. When run, it performs a number of repairs, including:

• Repairs a corrupted Registry by accessing the backup copy on your hard drive
• Restores critical system and driver files
• Runs the equivalent of the Recovery Console’s fixboot and fixmbr
• Rolls back any non-working drivers
• Uninstalls any incompatible service packs and patches
• Runs chkdsk
• Runs a memory test to check your RAM

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors 6vmz0Zr

Startup Repair fixes almost any Windows boot problem. In fact, if you have a system with one hard drive containing a single partition with Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 installed, you’d have trouble findings something it couldn’t fix. Upon completion, Startup Repair shows the screen below.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors XgmE2Rs

Note the link that says View diagnostic and repair details. This opens a text file called srttrail.txt that lists exactly what the program found, what it fixed, and what it failed to do. It may look cryptic, but you can type anything you find into Google search engine for more information.

In Windows 7/8/8.1/10, Startup Repair starts automatically if your system detects a boot problem.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors I19v3WL

Personally, I think this menu pops up way too often. If you fail to shut down your computer properly, for example, this menu appears. In this case, you can save time by booting normally. When in doubt, however, go ahead and run Startup Repair. It can’t hurt anything.



Windows Memory Diagnostics (Tool)
Bad RAM causes huge problems for any operating system, creating scenarios where computers get Blue Screens of Death (BSOD’s), system lockups, and continuous reboots. Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft added a memory tester to the Windows Recovery Environment.
You can also use more advanced memory diagnostic tool like [url=Memtest86+]http://www.memtest.org[/url] live CD.

Note:  You can also find the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool in the “Control Panel --> System and Security --> Administrative Tools”, or start it from an administrative Command Prompt using the [c]mdsched[/c] command.






Failure to Load the GUI
Assuming that Windows gets past the boot part of the startup, it then begins to load the graphical Windows OS.
You will see the Windows startup image on the screen, hiding everything until Windows loads the desktop.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors LnqmlvV

Several issues can create a scenario where the graphical interface fails to load. Windows can hang during the GUI-loading phase because of buggy device drivers or Registry problems. Even auto loading programs can cause the GUI to hang on load. The first step in troubleshooting these sorts of scenarios is to use one of the options in  Advanced Boot  Options menu to try to get past the hang spot and into Windows. To get to this menu, restart the computer and press F8 after the POST messages but before the Windows logo screen appears.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors FBttPtP

Here’s a rundown of the Advanced Boot Options menu options.

Safe Mode   Starts up Windows but loads only very basic, non-vendor-specific drivers for mouse, 640 x 480 resolution monitor (in XP) and 800 x 600 resolution monitor (Vista and 7), keyboard, mass storage, and system services.
Once in Safe Mode, you can use tools such as Device Manager to locate and correct the source of the problem. You can disable any suspect device or perform other tasks, such as removing or updating drivers. If a problem with a device driver is preventing the operating system from starting normally, check Device Manager for warning icons that indicate an unknown device.

You can perform Clean Boot of Windows OS. A clean boot is performed to start Windows by disabling third-party or Microsoft services and startup programs.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135

When you start Windows by using a normal startup operation, several applications and services start automatically, and then run in the background. These programs include basic system processes, antivirus software, system utility applications, and other software that has been previously installed. These applications and services can cause software conflicts. After the computer is restarted, you will have a clean boot environment which you can use to troubleshot startup, installation or uninstallation programs and not able to run programs.
You can use System Restore from within Safe Mode to restore Windows OS to good working date.


Safe Mode with Networking This mode is identical to plain Safe Mode except that you get network support. I use this mode to download antivirus software’s and download device drivers if none of these actions cannot be done when Windows boots into normal mode.



Safe Mode with Command Prompt When you start Windows in this mode, rather than loading the GUI desktop, it loads the Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as the shell to the operating system after you log on.
From here you can run any of the commands, plus a lot of utilities as well. Safe Mode with Command Prompt is a handy option to remember if the desktop does not display at all, which, after you have eliminated video drivers, can be caused by corruption of the explorer.exe program. Although Explorer is not loaded, you can load other GUI tools that don’t depend on Explorer. All you have to do is enter the correct command. For instance, to load Event Viewer, type eventvwr.msc at the Command Prompt  and press ENTER key.

Full list of commands you can use at command Prompt visit : An A-Z Index of the Windows CMD  command line


Enable Boot Logging  This option starts Windows normally and creates a log file of the drivers as they load into memory. The file is named Ntbtlog.txt and is saved in the ‘C:\Windows’ folder. If the startup failed because of a bad driver, the last entry in this file may be the driver the OS was initializing when it failed. Reboot and go into the Recovery Console or WinRE. Use the tools there to read the boot log (type ntbtlog.txt) and disable or enable problematic devices or services.



Enable VGA Mode (XP)/Enable Low-Resolution Mode (Vista and 7)   Enables VGA Mode/Enables Low-Resolution Mode starts Windows normally, but only loads a default VGA driver. If this mode works, it may mean you have a bad graphic card driver, or it may mean you are using the correct graphic card driver but it is configured incorrectly (perhaps with the wrong refresh rate and/or resolution). Whereas Safe Mode loads a generic VGA driver, this mode loads the driver Windows is configured to use but starts it up in standard VGA mode rather than using the settings for which it is configured. After successfully starting in this mode, open the Display applet and change the settings.



Last Known Good Configuration  When Windows’ startup fails immediately after installing a new driver but before you have logged on again, try the Last Known Good Configuration option. This option applies specifically to new device drivers that cause failures on reboot. The "Last Known Good Configuration" only saves copy of a system's hardware configurations and the services, driver settings taken from the system's registry when the OS successfully boots. Using the Last Known Good Configuration restores previous drivers and also restores registry settings for the  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet subkey.



Directory Services Restore Mode  The title says it all here; this option only applies to Active Directory domain controllers, and only Windows Server versions can be domain controllers. I have no idea why Microsoft includes this option. If you choose it, you simply boot into Safe Mode.



Debugging Mode  If you select this choice, Windows starts in kernel debug mode. To do this, you have to connect the computer you are debugging to another computer via a serial connection, and as Windows starts up, a debug of the kernel is sent to the second computer, which must also be running a debugger program.



Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure   Sometimes a BSoD will appear at startup, causing your computer to spontaneously reboot. That’s all well and good, but if it happens too quickly, you might not be able to read the BSoD to see what caused the problem. Selecting Disable automatic restart on system failure from the Advanced Startup Options menu stops the computer from rebooting on Stop errors. This gives you the opportunity to write down the error and hopefully find a fix.



Disable Driver Signature Enforcement  Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 require that all very low-level drivers (kernel drivers) must have a Microsoft driver signature. If you are using an older driver to connect to your hard drive controller or some other low-level feature, you must use this option to get Windows to load the driver. Hopefully you will always check your motherboard and hard drives for Windows compatibility and never have to use this option.



Viruses can cause the GUI to fail or make it appear to be missing. One nasty one running around, for example, caused what appeared to be a BSoD warning of imminent hard drive controller failure. Even after getting rid of the virus, Windows appeared devoid of any graphical elements at all: no Start button, icons, or files even in Computer. That’s because the virus had changed the attributes of every file and folder on the hard drive to hidden! The attrib command can be used for recovery techniques for virus-attacked computers.







Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD)
BSOD’s can be caused by poorly written device drivers or malfunctioning hardware, such as faulty memory, power supply issues, overheating of components, or hardware running beyond its specification limits.
The BSOD only appears when something causes an error from which Windows cannot recover. The BSOD is not limited to device driver problems, but device drivers are one of the reasons you’ll see the BSOD.

When dealing with BSOD issue asking lots of questions can narrow down cause of the BSOD. Here are some of the questions I ask:

• Did you recently install a new program?
• Did you recently install a new device or update or install a device driver
• Are you overclocking your PC?
• Have you installed all available Windows updates?


Knowing if program has been installed recently before BSOD issue started can help resolve BSOD issue as some programs do install device drivers that can be buggy.
Knowing if recently any device connected to computer can help as device itself could be malfunctioning or the device driver is buggy which in both case can cause BSOD.
Device driver problems that stop Windows GUI from loading look pretty scary. Infamous Windows Stop error, better known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors 6lyFkre

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors DrQzdUb

Whenever faced with a scenario where you get a BSoD, read what it says. Windows BSoD’s may tell you the name of the file that caused the problem and usually suggests a recommended action. Once in a while these are helpful. Above screenshot of BSOD indicates that the “SPCMDCON.SYS” driver cause the BSOD, user needs to uninstall this driver and install latest updated version of this driver.

By default, Windows will create a memory dump file when a stop BSOD occurs. Windows stores BSOD memory dump files at "C:\Windows\MiniDump" folder. Depending on the OS version, there may be several formats this can be saved in, ranging from a 64kB "mini dump" (introduced in Windows 2000) to a "complete dump" which is effectively a copy of the entire contents of physical memory (RAM). The resulting memory dump file may be debugged later, using a kernel debugger. For Windows WinDBG or KD debuggers from Debugging Tools for Windows are used.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors O4rEcea

Diagnostics tool called BlueScreenView, which is used for analyzing Windows kernel memory dumps. BlueScreenView offers detailed information. It will automatically load minidump files found in the root folder.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors Zw4xmfp

A debugger is necessary to obtain a stack trace, and may be required to ascertain the true cause of the problem; as the information on-screen is limited and thus possibly misleading, it may hide the true source of the error.
The second indication of a device problem that shows up during the GUI part of startup is a freeze-up: the Windows startup screen just stays there and you never get a chance to log on. If this happens, try one of the options from Advanced Startup Options.

I like to say thank you to usasma  for contributing to this BSOD introduction he has write down a short notes for you all to follow to troubleshot BSOD errors.


usasma wrote:


There are 2 causes for BSOD's, but due to the differences in frequency we address them as 3 causes:
- 3rd party driver problems (over 90% of BSOD errors are due to this)
- hardware problems (less than 10% of BSOD errors are due to this)
- Windows driver problems (less than 1% of BSOD errors are due to this - as long as Windows Updates are up to date)

And, just to make things more difficult, there are grey areas between the 3:
A 3rd party driver error can actually be due to hardware.
Some hardware errors can be caused by low-level driver issues or incompatibilities.
And some Windows issues are actually due to 3rd party drivers.

As such, BSOD analysis is sometimes simply playing the odds.  
Fix all the most likely problems and you'll usually fix the BSOD's
If not, just keep playing the odds.

There are 2 types of BSOD's:
- simple
- complex

Simple one's are just that - you figure out what's wrong, you fix it, and the BSOD's stop

Complex one's are a bit different - you may fix them or you may not.
If not, then they may continue to BSOD, or they may show other errors (most common is a black screen)
Just treat it as a new error and diagnose it as such.

How do you tell if a BSOD has been fixed?  It doesn't come back.
How long should you wait?  It depends on the error and it's original frequency.
In most cases I wait a week before thinking of success, then another week before I become relatively assured of success.

Patterns:
- the most important thing with BSOD analysis is the ability to recognize patterns.
- along with this goes the ability to recognize the lack of a pattern.

In most cases patterns will lead you to the cause of the BSOD.
That's what we use all of the reports for - looking for patterns.  
Recognizing patterns in the midst of seemingly random errors is crucial.
If you can do this, then the truly "random" errors will most likely be hardware issues - which cuts your work down immensely.
BUt remember the grey areas - a hardware-like error can actually be due to other problems.

When in doubt, run hardware diagnostics.  I maintain a list of suggested free diagnostics here:  http://www.carrona.org/hwdiag.html
You cannot fix a system that has a hardware failure unless you remove/replace the defective component (no, disabling it will not work).
FWIW - the ultimate hardware test is replacing the questionable component.
This is even true if the component has failed a hardware diagnostic (and it does happen).
If the user doesn't have a replacement component to test with, try:
- removing the component and it's drivers and then seeing if the BSOD's stop
- purchasing a new component from a store that will refund their money if the component isn't needed, and testing with that component.

Check the Usual Causes section of http://www.carrona.org/bsodindx.html for errors that have hardware problems associated with them.
Look at the memory dumps - they may suggest hardware in the output.
Other possibilities are those memory dumps with few 3rd party drivers listed.
Also, you may find instances of hal.dll in the stack text
These aren't diagnostically significant, but are suggestive enough to run hardware diagnostics.

Windows driver issues.
First and foremost is the assumption that a Windows driver that is blamed in a memory dump is probably not actually to blame.
Windows has built in error correcting mechanisms to keep this from happening.
Also, should a Windows driver cause problems, then you'd likely see more problems other than the occasional BSOD.

Secondy, Windows must be fully updated. If it's not, ask the OP to do it.  
Without updates you're doomed to second guess the OP and their ability to determine what's wrong
And if they were able to determine it, why are they asking you to interpret it for them?

Windows updates rarely break things.  And if they do, they're usually fixed very quickly
I say this being the victim of a STOP 0x6B BSOD due to a recent Windows Update for build 10565 of W10.
If a Windows Update is blamed - look for the underlying problem that caused the update to be blamed.
Most often it'll be an outdated, incompatible, or corrupted program/driver that the OP hasn't taken care of.

All of that being said, there's relatively few ways to fix Windows:
SFC.EXE /scannow
DISM (W8 and later)
System Restore
Startup Repair (Vista and later)
Manual registry repair (from a backup)
Last Known Good Configuration
Repair install/Refresh (W8)/Reset using Keep My Files (W10)
Reinstall Windows/Factory Restore/Reset
Wipe and clean install (this is the ultimate "fix" to determine if Windows is to blame).  
- I suggest a method for this at this link:  http://www.carrona.org/canned.html#clean
- You may also want to try new recovery/restore media, just to rule out problems with the original one's


So, here's how to start:

- determine if you need hardware diagnostics. (after reading the post and looking at the reports).  
If so, run them.
If not, then don't run them.
If uncertain, run them anyway.

- determine if you need to run Driver Verifier.  (after reading the post and looking at the reports)
There are some BSOD's that are typically driver related (STOP 0xA, 0xD1, any BSOD w/"Driver" in it's name).
If the BSOD doesn't reveal the exact driver, then it's prudent to run Driver Verifier in the beginning.
It may save you some time.  I maintain a suggested procedure for using it here:  http://www.carrona.org/verifier.html

REPORTS:

First, read the post carefully.  There are many clues given by the OP, and it's the analyst's job to see them.
Also, many BSOD's are fixed by the OP.  
They get an idea from what you've said and that reminds them of something significant about the problem - and they go ahead and fix it.

At a minimum, there are 3 things to check in the reports (you may check more, but that's up to you):
- systeminfo.txt report
- MSINFO32.nfo report
- memory dumps

Occasionally we will also use the Administrative Event logfile from Event Viewer (very handy for Event ID 41 error patterns).

systeminfo.txt report
Check for all Service Packs
Check BIOS/UEFI date (W8 and later is very important to update it, W7 and earlier is less important)
Check available memory (RAM) - if less than 1 gB - limit startups, only run 1 program at a time, upgrade RAM
Check Windows Updates - if broken, fix it; if not broken, get all of them
Check for USB wireless networking - frequent BSOD cause

MSINFO32
Check drives for less than 15% free space
Check # of drives - 3 or more, ask for PSU make, model, wattage and age
Problem devices - fix them all (except PS2 keyboard and mouse - if using USB keyboard and mouse)
Check Windows Error Reporting for significant errors
Check Startups for problem programs
Check Program Groups for problem programs

Run memory dumps and also check drivers present in the dumps
List of common BSOD related drivers:  http://www.carrona.org/drivers/bsod_drivers.php
Look for drivers that are older than the release date of that version of Windows (list at http://www.carrona.org/winreldt.html )
Look for NTStatus codes in the different NTStatus links at http://www.carrona.org/bsod.html
FYI - W8.1 is (IMO) a separate version of Windows from W8 (they changed the kernel version from 6.2 to 6.3 - that's a major deal!)

WinDbg is useful, but when looking for patterns you'll need to analyze a lot of memory dumps.
The free BSOD Processing app by writhziden at Sysnative.com is handy for this (or you can run your own scripts in kd.exe).

How to determine Driver Verifier.............

Regards,
- John (aka usasma)




Configure Driver Verifier to find out which driver is causing the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD). Driver Verifier monitors Windows kernel-mode drivers, graphics drivers, and even 3rd party drivers to detect illegal function calls or actions that might corrupt the system. Driver Verifier can subject the Windows drivers to a variety of stresses and tests to find improper behaviour. Essentially, if there's a 3rd party driver believed to be causing the issues at hand, enabling Driver Verifier will help us see which specific driver is causing the problem.
Perhaps the most important which I will now clarify as this has been misunderstood often, enabling Driver Verifier by itself is not a solution, but instead a diagnostic utility. It will tell us if a driver is causing the BSOD, but again it will not outright solve your issues. If Driver Verifier finds a violation, the system will BSOD. To expand on this a bit more for the interested, specifically what Driver Verifier actually does is to look for any driver making illegal function calls, causing memory leaks, etc. When and/if this happens, system corruption occurs if allowed to continue.

Troubleshooting BSOD Stop Bugcheck Messages
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3106831
http://www.carrona.org/bsod.html
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/244617


Last edited by FreeBooter on 5th March 2018, 4:25 pm; edited 3 times in total

descriptionHow to Troubleshoot Windows Errors EmptyRe: How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors

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Repair Install Windows OS
Sometime you may have no choice but to either clean install Windows OS or repair install Windows OS if issue cannot be resolve any other means.
Repair your Windows installation and keep all of your personal user account files, settings, and programs. You will be performing a Repair Install  from within your currently running Windows OS. Visit below links to learn how to repair install Windows OS.


How To Perform a Repair Installation For Windows XP


How To Perform a Repair Installation For Vista


How To Perform a Repair Installation For Windows 7


How To Perform a Repair Installation For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10






Working with the Windows Registry
Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components and for applications running on the platform that have opted to use the Registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user interface and third-party applications can all make use of the Registry.

There is one copy of the registry for each user in hidden files called NTUSER.dat located in the root of each user account profile folder on your Windows drive .

The Windows registry can be manually edited using Registry Editor. To open this panel, type  regedit.exe into Start Menu search box, and then select Registry Editor from the search results that appear .

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Registry is separated into five different sections:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT   You should not change these settings . They include essential Windows system settings along with other things such as file associations .



HKEY_CURRENT_USER  These are the custom settings for the currently logged-in user . These will include settings for Windows and installed software . These are the most commonly changed settings .



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE  This section is for general Windows and software settings which means the settings in this branch apply to the computer's configuration and affect every user who logs on to it.  You may need to make changes in this section .



HKEY_USERS  This section is for general controls for user accounts; you will not need to change these settings .



•  HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG  These are additional settings related to your current configuration; you will not need to change these settings.


These sections are called hives, which are analogous to root directories on your hard drive. Each hive, by definition, has its own storage location (a file) and log file.  Inside a hive you find both keys (and subkeys, analogous to directories and subdirectories on your hard disk) and values. The term value (or data value, as it is sometimes called) refers to the information, or data, assigned to a key, making the key analogous to a file on your hard drive as well. A key or subkey may have zero, one, or more value entries, a default value, and from zero to many subkeys. Each value entry has a name, data type, and a value.

Each registry value is stored as one of five main data types:




  • REG_BINARY - This type stores the value as raw binary data. Most hardware component information is stored as binary data, and can be displayed in an editor in hexadecimal format. This datatype is made up of binary data: 0s and 1s. As a general rule, you won’t edit binary values; instead, you’ll edit string values because they’re made up of text and numbers.

  • REG_DWORD - This datatype is represented as a number. Sometimes a 0 turns on the key or a 1 turns off the key, though it can use other numbers as well. While you see and edit the value as a number, such as 456, the Registry itself views the number as a hexadecimal number, 1C8. You can switch between both views in the Registry editor when you change the value.

  • REG_EXPAND_SZ - This type is an expandable data string that is string containing a variable to be replaced when called by an application. For example, for the following value, the string "%SystemRoot%" will replaced by the actual location of the directory containing the Windows NT system files. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)

  • REG_MULTI_SZ - This type is a multiple string used to represent values that contain lists or multiple values, each entry is separated by a NULL character. (This type is only available using an advanced registry editor such as REGEDT32)

  • REG_SZ - This type is a standard string, used to represent human readable text values.This datatype is easy to understand and edit because it’s made up of plain text and numbers. It’s one of the most common data types in the Registry.





There are other data types not available through the standard registry editors.

Occasionally, you may have to change or remove a setting in the Windows registry. You  should always be very careful when you do this, because changing the wrong setting in the registry can cause Windows OS to become unresponsive or unable to boot.
You should always create a backup before making any changes to the registry . You can create a backup copy of the registry by selecting Export on the File menu .You can restore this backup the same way by selecting Import on the File menu . (Note that you may have to do this in Safe Mode if the changes you have made make Windows OS unstable .)  If you export the registry as a Registration File with an REG file extension you can restore this backup by double clicking on it. Exporting to hive files is my choice most of the time. There is a undesirable disadvantage when you backup registry as Registration File reason is that the Registration File backup does not delete values or keys that has been created  after you export registry as a Registration File backup it will only restores what has been backup but if you export registry as a hive file its much more accurate than either type of REG file. They are the same format as the Windows OS working hive files, so they represent settings exactly the same way. Also, when you import a hive file, Registry Editor deletes the branch it's replacing before importing the settings. In other words, the editor removes any settings that exist in the working registry but not in the hive file you're importing. When restoring keys from a backup after an unsuccessful registry edit, this is exactly the behavior you want.  

The Windows registry hive files load every time the computer boots. Windows does a pretty good job of protecting your registry hive files from corruption, but from time to time something may slip by Windows and it will attempt to load a bad registry hive. These errors may show up as BSoD's with a message “Registry File Failure”,  text errors that say “Windows could not start” or boot error message indicating one of the registry hive missing or corrupted.


Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM  


Whatever the case, when you run into these sorts of scenarios, you need to restore a good registry hive copy. The best way to do this is to start Windows with “Last Known Good Configuration” boot option from Advanced Boot Options menu but this option only restores one of the ControlSetxxx subkeys. A control set contains system configuration information such as device drivers and services. Control sets are stored in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, under the SYSTEM key.  If that fails, you can restore an earlier version of the Registry through the Recovery Console in Windows 2000 and Windows XP or through Windows WinRE in Windows Vista/7/8/8.1 and 10.


Replacing the Registry in Windows XP
Boot to the Windows installation CD-ROM, get to the Recovery Console, and type these commands to restore a Registry.

Code:

Ren  C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM             SAM.BAK
Ren  C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM          SYSTEM.BAK
Ren  C:\Windows\System32\config\SECURITY        SECURITY.BAK
Ren  C:\Windows\System32\config\DEFAULT         DEFAULT.BAK
Ren  C:\Windows\System32\config\SOFTWARE        SOFTWARE.BAK

Copy  C:\Windows\repair\SYSTEM      C:\Windows\System32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\repair\SOFTWARE    C:\Windows\System32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\repair\SAM         C:\Windows\System32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\repair\SECURITY    C:\Windows\System32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\repair\DEFAULT     C:\Windows\System32\config


This procedure assumes that Windows XP is installed to the C:\ partition. Make sure to replace  C:\ drive letter to the appropriate Windows OS installed partition drive letter if it is a different location.

Above commands renames the registry files at their existing location, and then copies the registry files from the Repair folder to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. When you have finished this procedure, a registry is created that you can use to start Windows XP. This registry was created and saved during the initial setup of Windows XP. Therefore any changes and settings that occurred after the Setup program was finished are lost.



Replacing the Registry in Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
Windows Vista/ 7/8/8.1/10  keep a regular backup of the registry handy in case you need to overwrite a corrupted registry. By default, the RegIdleBackup task runs every 10 days, so that’s as far back as you would lose if you replaced the current registry with the automatically backed-up files. You can find the backed-up registry files in \Windows\System32\config\RegBack folder.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors AcNAKqd

To replace the Registry, boot to the Windows DVD to access WinRE and get to the Command Prompt shell.

Code:

Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SAM         SAM.BAK
Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SYSTEM      SYSTEM.BAK
Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SECURITY    SECURITY.BAK
Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\DEFAULT     DEFAULT.BAK
Ren  C:\windows\system32\config\SOFTWARE    SOFTWARE.BAK

Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SAM         C:\windows\system32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SYSTEM      C:\windows\system32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SECURITY    C:\windows\system32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\DEFAULT     C:\windows\system32\config
Copy  C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack\SOFTWARE    C:\windows\system32\config


This procedure assumes that Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10  is installed to the C:\ partition. Make sure to replace C:\ drive letter to the appropriate Windows OS installed partition drive letter if it is a different location.

Above commands renames the registry files at their existing location, and then copies the registry files from the RegBack folder to the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder.

If you want to learn more about Windows registry read Microsoft Windows XP Registry Guide ebook.







Troubleshooting Tools in Windows
Once you’re able to load into Windows, whether through Safe Mode or one of the other options, the whole gamut of Windows tools is available for you. If you suspect some service or Registry issue caused the problem, head on over to Event Viewer and see what sort of logon events have happened recently.
Let’s go there first.


Event Viewer
When you get into the GUI, one of the first tools you should use is Event Viewer to see what’s causing the problems on your computer.
Let’s examine Event Viewer, both in Windows XP and in Windows 7 (the Vista/8/8.1/10 version of Event Viewer is almost identical to the version in Windows 7), to see what we can do with this amazing utility.

Windows XP Event Viewer You can find Event Viewer in the Administrative Tools applet in the Control Panel. By default, Event Viewer has three sections: Application, Security, and System.
Each of these sections stores certain types of events, as described next.

Application As the name implies, the Application section stores events specific to applications. There are three types of events recorded: Errors, Warnings, and Information. Errors, marked with a red X, are the most serious, reflecting events that prevent the application from working properly. Warnings, marked with an exclamation point over a triangle, are for events that aren’t preventing the application from running but may do so in the future. Information events are merely record keeping, letting you know that a program, driver, or service ran successfully.

Security records events that Microsoft calls audits. Audits record anything to do with security, such as the number of logon events. All audits are listed as either successful or failed.

System The System section is similar to the Application section in that you have Errors, Warnings, and Information, but the events listed here are specific only to the operating system.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors G4bQlN6


When something goes wrong with Windows, it’s common for techs to turn to Event Viewer first. Let’s say an application fails to load. A common use for Event Viewer is to view the application to see what happened.

Double click any log in Event Viewer to view that event log properties sheet.

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One very cool feature of Event Viewer is that you can click the link to take you to the online Help and Support Center at Microsoft.com, and the software reports your error, checks the online database, and comes back with a more or less useful explanation.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors HP6inNa


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Event Viewer might reveal problems with applications failing to load, a big cause of Windows loading problems. It might also reveal problems with services failing to start. Finally, Windows might run into problems loading DLL's. You can troubleshoot these issues individually or you can use System Restore tool to load a restore point that predates the bugginess.



Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 Event Viewer Windows Vista/7/8/8.1 and Windows 10 adds an easy-to-use interface to Event Viewer. Opening Event Viewer (System and Security | Administrative Tools | Event Viewer) below screenshot of Windows 7 Event Viewer shows you a very different interface from the one you’ve seen in Windows XP.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors VgD4G7j



Note the four main bars in the center pane: Overview, Summary of Administrative Events, Recently Viewed Nodes, and Log Summary. Pay special attention to the Summary of Administrative Events. It breaks down the events into different levels: Critical, Error, Warning, Information, Audit Success, and Audit Failure. You can then click any event to see a dialog box describing the event in detail. Microsoft refers to these as Views. Windows 7’s Event Viewer still includes the classic logs you saw in Windows XP (Application, Security, and System) but leans heavily on Views to show you the contents of the logs.

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By default, Event Viewer stores logs as .evtx files in the C:\Windows\System32\winevt\logs folder.


You can use Event ID: number and Source: entry to research internet for more information about any event.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors 1aYYYgg

Above screenshot shows event log with Event ID: 1001 and Source: Windows Error Reporting  use any search engine, I recommend google and bing search engine and type Event ID 1001  Windows Error Reporting into search engine to research more information for this event.

Searching through event logs for evidence of a particular event can be like looking for a needle in an event log haystack, especially if it’s not immediately obvious whatever event log you should be checking for. You might suspect that an event has occurred and has even been logged, but you might not be sure what evidence exists of that event within the event log. I found that the clearing the event logs can help me found a particular event by clearing the logs and restarting the computer will start creation of new fresh event logs. You can clear event logs by right clicking each events and select "Clear Log".

Windows 7’s Event Viewer remains largely untouched in terms of the data collected, but Microsoft did a great job of making that data much easier to understand and use.







Auto Loading Programs
Windows loves to auto load programs so they start at boot. Most of the time this is an incredibly handy option, used by every Windows PC in existence. The problem with auto loading programs is that when one of them starts behaving badly, you need to shut off that program! Use the System Configuration utility to temporarily stop programs from auto loading. If you want to make the program stop forever, go into the program and find a load on startup option.  Open System Configuration utility by typing msconfig into Start Menu search box or Run dialog box.

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Note: Sysinternals Autoruns utility for Windows has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup operations, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and when you start various built-in Windows applications like Internet Explorer, Explorer and media players.





Services
Windows loads a number of services as it starts. In a scenario where any critical service fails to load, Windows tells you at this point with an error message. The important word here is critical. Windows will not report all service failures at this point. If a service that is less than critical to Windows doesn’t start, the OS usually waits until you try to use a program that needs that service before it prompts you with an error message.

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To work with your system’s services, go to the "Control Panel --> Administrative Tools --> Services" and verify that the service you need is running. If not, turn it on. Also notice that each service has a Startup Type: Automatic, Manual, or Disabled that defines when it starts. It’s very common to find that a service has been set to Manual when it needs to be set to Automatic so that it starts when Windows boots.

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Windows services or third party services is dependent on certain service(s) we could say a service will not start until those services are started.

To view service dependencies.

   

  1. Open Services manager.

       
  2. In the details pane, right-click the service that you want to view dependencies for, and then click Properties.

       
  3. Click the Dependencies tab.

       
  4. To view services that are associated dependencies of the selected service, in the list on the Dependencies tab, click the plus sign next to the service.



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The top list on the Dependencies tab identifies the other services that must be running for the selected service to function. The bottom list on the Dependencies tab identifies the services that require the selected service to be running so that the dependent services can function properly.










Application Problems

Programmers want to write applications that work well, enable you to accomplish a specific task, and be good enough to earn your money. But PCs are complicated and programmers can’t get it right every time with every combination of hardware and software. Application problems show up in several ways. The typical scenario has the application failing to install or uninstall. Operating system version issues can cause compatibility problems. Another typical scenario is where an application tries to access a file and that file is either missing or won’t open. The least common problems come from sloppy or poorly written code that causes the application or the operating system to crash. Finally, corrupted applications can corrupt data too, but Windows has tools for recovering previous versions of files and folders.

Application Installation Problems

Almost all Windows programs come with some form of handy installer. When you insert the disc, Windows knows to look for a text file called autorun.inf that tells it which file to run off the disc, usually setup.exe. If you download the application, you’ll need to double-click it to start the installation. Either way, you run the installer and the program runs. It almost couldn’t be simpler.

A well-behaved program should always make itself easy to uninstall as well. In most cases, you should see an uninstallation option in the program’s Start menu area and in all cases (unless you have an application with a badly configured installer), the application should appear in either the Add/Remove Programs applet or the Programs and Features applet.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors Wryy3HA

    Note
Remember that you need local administrator privileges to install applications in all versions of Windows.


Programs that fail to install usually aren’t to blame in and of themselves. In most cases, a problem with Windows prevents them from installing, most notably the lack of some other program that the application needs so it can operate. One of the best examples of this is the popular Microsoft .NET Framework. Programs written to incorporate .NET require the proper version of the framework installed to function. Many such programs attempt to install the .NET framework when you install the program, but this doesn’t always work. If .NET is missing or if the version of .NET you are using is too old (there have been a number of .NET versions since it came out in 2002), you can get some of the most indecipherable errors in the history of Windows applications.

Screenshot below shows one such example in Windows 7 where the VMware vSphere client fails due to the wrong .NET version. Too bad that the bad error message doesn’t give you any clues!

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors N46uUZQ

These types of errors or any other application errors invariably require you to go online and do Web searches, using the application name and the error. No matter how bad the error, someone else has already suffered from the same problem. The trick is to find out what they did to get around it.


Problems with Uninstalling

The single biggest problem with uninstalling is that people try to uninstall without administrator privileges. If you try to uninstall and get an error, log back on as an administrator and you should be fine.

Don’t forget you can right-click on most uninstallation menu options on the Programs menu and select Run as administrator to switch to administrator privileges.

Sometimes uninstall registry values for a program get corrupted and you will have error indicating Windows could not found a file to uninstall the program and ask you to supply the missing file you can deal with this kind of error by reinstalling the program which should repair damage registry values, you can also force uninstall a program using Revo Uninstaller program.


Compatibility

Most applications are written with the most recent version of Windows in mind, but as Windows versions change over time, older programs have difficulty running in more recent Windows versions. In some cases, such as the jump from Windows Vista to Windows 7, the changes are generally minor enough to cause few if any compatibility problems. In other cases, say a program written back when Windows 2000 was around, the underpinnings of the OS differ so much that you have to perform certain steps to ensure that the older programs run. Windows XP, Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows 10, provides different forms of compatibility modes to support older applications. Windows XP handles compatibility using the aptly named Compatibility tab in every executable program’s Properties dialog box (right-click on the executable file and click Properties). Select the version of Windows you want Windows XP to emulate, and in many cases that is all you need to do to make that older program work.

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors Imit1EP
XP Compatibility tab

You can also set other settings on the Compatibility tab, such as the following located under Display settings:

Run in 256 colors -- Many old Windows programs were designed to run in 256 colors. Later versions of Windows that support more colors can confuse these older programs.
Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution -- A few (badly written) older programs assume the screen to be at 640 x 480 resolution. This setting enables them to work.
Disable visual themes -- Windows themes change a program window’s title bar, fonts, and menus, which might make problems for some programs.

Windows Vista and later versions of Windows add some important improvements to the Compatibility tab. Both add more recent OS options to the Compatibility mode drop-down menu.

The newer Compatibility tab also adds some new options to help older programs run:

How to Troubleshoot Windows Errors FpUta48
Windows 10 Compatibility tab.

Disable desktop composition -- Disables all display features such as Aero. More advanced Windows display features often bog down older programs.
Disable display scaling on high DPI settings -- Turns off automatic resizing of a program’s windows if you’re using any high DPI (dots per inch) font. This was added because many programs with large fonts would look bizarre if resized.
Run this program as an administrator -- As stated, enables you to run the program as an administrator. If this option isn’t available, log on as an administrator to see it.
Change settings for all users -- Clicking this button applies compatibility changes made to a program to every user account on the machine. Otherwise, the settings are only for the current user.

The secret to using compatibility mode isn’t much of a secret at all if the program doesn’t run, try a compatibly mode. If you want to be really careful, do a Web search on your application before you try to run it. Compatibility mode is a handy tool to get older applications running.


Missing File or Incorrect File Version

An application may rely on other files, in particular DLL files. Sometimes the application installer will bring specially formatted versions of common DLL or other files to Windows, overwriting the previous versions. Later applications might look for the earlier version of the DLL and fail when it’s not found. You’ll experience this sort of scenario with error messages such as “missing DLL” or “cannot open file xyz.” The usual fix for either issue is to perform an Internet search for the missing DLL or file that fails to open, along with the name of the program you’re trying to use.

    Warning
Do not install any DLL file from unknown not trusted source as it may be malware your installing instead of legit DLL file!



Crashing Programs

Occasionally, a program gets released that isn’t ready for prime time and the error-prone code causes the application to crash or even causes the operating system to crash. I’ve seen this most often with games rushed to market near the winter holidays. Poorly written or buggy programs can have awful effects. Some of the scenarios caused by such programs are the computer locking up or unexpectedly shutting down. The system might spontaneously shut down and restart. That kind of improper shutdown can cause problems, especially to open files and folders. The problem here is that all this crashing can be caused by hardware and driver problems, not just application problems. You’ve got to keep in mind all of these things as you approach troubleshooting a crash.

Here’s a typical scenario where you need to troubleshoot broadly first. If you’re playing a graphically intensive game that happens to be huge and takes up a lot of RAM, what could the problem be if the screen locks up and Windows locks up too? It could be that the program ran a routine that clashed with some other application or used a Windows feature improperly. It could be that the video card was marginal and failed when taxed too much. It could be that the system accessed a section of RAM that had gone bad.

In that same scenario, though, where the game runs but degrades the overall performance of Windows, what could cause that problem? That points more squarely at the application side of things rather than the hardware or drivers, especially if the computer successfully runs other programs. The bottom line with crash issues is to keep an open mind and not rule out anything without testing it first.

    Note
A general protection fault (GPF) occurs when a program tries to do something not permitted, like writing to protected memory or something else Windows doesn’t like. This can cause an error message to appear or can even crash the computer. You are very unlikely to encounter a GPF today.



Volume Shadow Copy Service and System Protection

One of the big headaches to a failure with an application isn’t so much the application itself but any data it may have corrupted. Sure, a good backup or a restore point might save you, but these can be a hassle. Unless the data was specifically saved (in the backup), there’s a chance you don’t have a backup in the first place. Microsoft came to your rescue in Windows Vista (Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise only) and Windows 7 (all editions) with a feature called System Protection. This amazing feature is powered by Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), a feature introduced in Windows XP and used by ntbackup. VSS enables the operating system to make backups of any file, even one that is in use. In Windows Vista and 7, VSS is also used by System Protection, enabling you to access previous versions of any data file or folder. Try right-clicking on any data file and selecting Restore previous versions, which opens the file’s Properties dialog box with the Previous Versions tab displayed.

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If any of the following criteria are met, you will have at least one previous version in the list:

• The file or folder was backed up using the backup program.
• You created a restore point.
• The file or folder was changed. You must make sure System Protection is enabled as well. Go to the System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box to see if the feature is enabled (it should be running by default).

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    Note
Keep in mind that System Protection doesn’t have to be only for recovery of corrupted data files caused by bad applications. It’s also a great tool to recover previous versions of files that users accidentally overwrite.


The System Protection tab also enables you to load a restore point and to create restore points manually, very handy features.

In Windows Vista and Windows 7 there was a "Previous Versions" tab on the properties dialog of folders. This could be used to recover a previous version of a file that has since been deleted or changed. This can be an invaluable feature but Microsoft replaced it with the "File History" feature in Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows 10. While File History is good, it doesn't have all the features that Previous Versions did.

Alternatively, you can use a third party tool called Shadow Explorer.

Be sure to get the latest version. Install Shadow Explorer and run it, it will look like the below image. First select the drive you want to recover a file from the drop down list next to the File menu. Then select the date of the copy you want to recover the file from. After that, you browse to where the file is located. Then you right click the file and select Export. Choose where to recover the file to and click OK. Your previous version should now be restored.

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System Files

Windows lives on dynamic link library (DLL) files. Almost every program used by Windows—and certainly all of the important ones call on DLL files to do most of the heavy lifting that makes Windows work. Windows protects all of the critical DLL files very carefully, but once in a while you may get an error saying Windows can’t load a particular DLL. Although rare, the core system files that make up Windows itself may become corrupted, preventing Windows from starting properly. You usually see something like “Error loading XXXX.DLL,” or sometimes a program you need simply won’t start when you double click its icon. In these cases, the tool you need is the System File Checker (Sfc.exe) that you can execute from Command Prompt.

    Note
Newly installed DLL's must be entered into the Registry via a process cleverly called registration. In most cases DLL's will register themselves, but on rare occasions you might need to manually register a DLL using the command-line tool Regsvr32.


Open the Command Prompt by clicking Start Menu --> All Programs --> Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt, and open it as an administrator. In Windows Vista and later versions of Window operating systems type cmd.exe into Start Screen or Start Menu, right-click on Cmd.exe, and open it as an administrator.

Type Sfc  /Scannow  command and press Enter key.

Above command will scan Windows system files for corruption and replace any file that’s is corrupted from a cached copy located in a compressed folder at "%WinDir%\System32\dllcache".

    Information
Microsoft replaced the DLLCACHE folder that existed in Windows XP and Windows 2000 with C:\Windows\winsxs this folder is used to store backup DLL files and other system files.


You can also run System File Checker (Sfc.exe) command from Command Prompt at Windows Recovery Environment.

Type Sfc /Scannow /OffBootDir=D:\   /OffWinDir=D:\Windows command and press Enter key.

Replace the D: drive letter with the partition drive letter where Windows installed.

Please replace partition letter D: with Windows installed partition letter.  When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assign any other drive letter usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice" command can be use to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.

You can use Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management (DISM) tool to fix Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 Component Store corruption when a sfc /scannow command is unable to repair corrupted or modified system files because the component store (source) is corrupted.

1. Open the Command Prompt by typing cmd.exe into Start Screen or Start Menu, right-click on Cmd.exe, and open it as an administrator.

2. Type the following command, and then press Enter.

Code:

Dism  /Online  /Cleanup-image  /Restorehealth


SFC command should be able to repair the files afterwards.

   Important
When you run this command, DISM uses Windows Update to provide the files that are required to fix corruptions. However, if your Windows Update client is already broken, use a running Windows installation as the repair source, or use a Windows side-by-side folder from a network share or from a removable media, such as the Windows DVD, as the source of the files. To do this, run the following command instead:


Code:

DISM  /Online  /Cleanup-Image   /RestoreHealth     /Source:WIM:X:\Sources\Install.wim:1    /LimitAccess


Replace the X: placeholder with the drive letter of the install.wim image file stored location.

DISM creates a log files (%windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log and %windir%/Logs\dism.log) that captures any issues that the tool found or fixed. %windir% is the folder in which Windows is installed. For example, the %windir% folder is C:\Windows.

How to Resolve the Source Files Could Not Be Downloaded Dism Tool Error





Using the Internet to Find Solutions to Problems

You’re never alone as long as you have an Internet connection. Whatever problem you face with your computer, you’re almost certainly not the first person to encounter it . A great many websites exist to help with computer problems, and technical experts can be very generous about sharing solutions to problems they’ve encountered.

The major search engines are extremely good at recognizing search queries and providing relevant results. Searching for network driver for dell laptop, for instance, brings up a whole page of results, all offering appropriate drivers to download .

   Important
Make sure to only install device drivers that you obtained from website of either device manufacturer or computer manufacturer


Putting text into double inverted commas (as in “text”) is a useful way to make certain that the search engine treats the text inside the quotes as a string and not as separate words .

Use plus (+) signs before specific terms to ensure that they appear in the search results . For example, the search phrase [c]+”win32 .Gattman .A” +”windows 7” +remove provides[/c]  only results that include the terms win32.Gattman .A and Windows 7 and remove .

Of course, you first need to know what to search for when trying to find a solution to a problem. Try to pick up clues from the information provided by anti-virus or anti-malware software, the Windows event log, or a Windows or other software error message. If you notice a code or the name of a program, virus, or service, write it down right away. You can copy the error message text from popup dialog box by clicking the error message dialog box and press CTRL + C keys to copy the content of the error message dialog box.

Try not to use irrelevant words in your search terms, keep things short and to the point.  If your search item includes characters like periods or forward slashes (common in virus names), enclose the term in quotes, for example “Win32 .Gattman .A”.

Cool Google Tricks To Improve Your Searches
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