Dealing with Computer Crashes

These can be categorised into 2 areas:
Ooh Missus! I wish I hadn't done that.
You absolute *******. Why me, I haven't done anything wrong?

Whatever the cause, and if you suspect the cause could be something you or somebody has done be honest. It pays to think logically:

  • When did the computer last work OK?
  • Has any new software or update been installed/ uninstalled?
  • Has any hardware been attached/ installed/ removed?
  • Have any drivers been changed?
  • What was being done on the computer just before the crash?
If you know the possible reason for constant crashes, then try to reverse the changes made (you should consult any manuals/ readme files concerned first - you'd be amazed how many people don't even bother!)

Try the Three-fingered salute to free up system memory and locked programs.

Constant crashes in a particular program may point to either bugs (commoner than you'd think with fixes and information usually available from the author's/ manufacturer's web site) or incompatbility with specific hardware/ drivers you have installed.

To avoid crashes:

  • Don't play around with settings you don't fully understand. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
  • Run Scandisk to check that files are correctly identified. NB: If you do turn off your computer without shutting it down, usually scandisk runs to check things with one of those "You've been naughty!" messages.
  • Run Disk Defragmenter once a month to keep your hard disk arranged.
If all else fails, and the generally useless "invalid page fault" message appears not to go, CTRL, ALT & Del don't give you any joy and you can't shutdown and restart at all - Just turn off the computer, wait for five seconds for the hard disk to halt and reboot. Sometimes 2 fresh reboots may be needed.

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