If your computer has slowed down recently, and an error message such as a runtime error and DLL error have become a common affair, it is time for you to do some PC troubleshooting. Discussed below are some simple steps to help you troubleshoot your PC.
Check Any New Hardware or Software You Installed Recently
If the problems on your computer follow a recent software installation, it is quite likely that this program either has copied incompatible or outdated files to your system, or is having conflicts with other programs running on the system. In this case, you may try to resolve the error either by updating or uninstalling this troublesome program.
In the same way, if the errors appear soon after you install a new hardware, there may be problems with the device driver of this hardware. To check this, try to update the driver by downloading the updated files from the hardware manufacturer’s Web site. If the error still appears, there might be some physical problem with the new device and you may have to get it replaced or repaired.
Scan the PC for Malware Infections
A sudden slow down in computer performance and frequent errors may also indicate some sort of malware infection. Malware programs, such as virus and Trojans creep on to your system through infected Web sites, email attachments, and external media. Malware programs such as spyware and adware are also known to come bundled with other software, especially free games and media files that you may download from the Internet.
To resolve problems caused by malware infections, ensure that your antivirus and antispyware programs are updated with the latest malware database and then run a full system scan to detect and remove these malicious programs. If you do not have a malware removal tool on your PC, you may search for, and download a reliable tool from the Internet.
Scan and clean your Windows Registry
Registry problems may generate several computer errors, such as runtime errors, driver errors, and DLL errors. Windows XP and other Windows operating systems use the Windows registry to store software, hardware and other system configuration information. Registry problems occur when registry files get damaged due to an uncontrollable increase in its size pertaining to the accumulation of outdated, invalid, and corrupt entries within it. To prevent and fix registry problems, it is essential that you regularly scan and clean your registry. The best and the most efficient way to perform these tasks is to use a reliable registry cleaner tool.
Perform a System Restore
Many times, PC errors occur if you or a program you installed recently made some changes to the system configuration that did not work as desired. If you are unable to revert these changes manually, the error may continue to generate and prevent you from working normally. In this case, you can use the Windows System Restore utility to revert your system configuration and system files back to the time when your computer was operating without any problems. The System Restore utility that ships with Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems, continually monitors your system for any major changes and creates a restore point before these changes are implemented. These restore points comprise the changes done to the registry and system configuration. So, when you perform a system restore, these changes are reverted and you may have your system working normally again. You can launch the System Restore utility by navigating through Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. If required, you can use System Restore to make manual restore points. You may need to do this before you are going to make any major configuration changes to your system.
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Vista Start Menu is the convenient alternative to the plain Start menu you find in Windows XP and Windows Vista. It is easily understandable for beginners, it is also highly efficient for experienced users.
Replace your Start menu right now! It is safe because Vista Start Menu does not change your system settings, thus making it easy to install, as well as simple to remove.
Screenshot
Download Vista Start Menu
http://www.vistastartmenu.com
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This file is written specifically for the Intel® G31, G33, G35, Q33, Q35, G965, Q965, Q963, 946GZ, 945G, and 945GZ Express desktop chipsets and the GM965, 945GT, 945GM, 945GMS, and 940GML Express mobile chipsets, and will not function with any other product. View the README file for installation information and the RELEASE NOTES for driver version details. This driver package contains the version 14.31.1 drivers for Windows* 2000 and Windows* XP.
The software drivers provided on this page are generic versions, and can be used for general purposes. However, computer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to the software or software packaging they provide. To avoid any potential installation incompatibilities on your OEM system, Intel recommends that you check with your OEM and use the software provided via your system manufacturer.
Download Link
Download Media Accelerator
Website
Intel Downloads
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This file is written specifically for the Intel® G31, G33, G35, Q33, Q35, G965, Q965, Q963, 946GZ, 945G, and 945GZ Express desktop chipsets and the GM965, 945GT, 945GM, 945GMS, and 940GML Express mobile chipsets, and will not function with any other product. View the README file for installation information and the RELEASE NOTES for driver version details. This driver package contains the version 14.31.1 drivers for Windows* 2000 and Windows* XP.
The software drivers provided on this page are generic versions, and can be used for general purposes. However, computer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to the software or software packaging they provide. To avoid any potential installation incompatibilities on your OEM system, Intel recommends that you check with your OEM and use the software provided via your system manufacturer.
Download Link
Download Media Accelerator
Website
Intel Downloads
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Features
Control Panel
* You can create a Windows
* 2000 style User Accounts to your Control Panel.
* Fixes the Autologon problem after installing .NET 1.x
Media Player
You can play around with some cool Windows Media Player tweaks.
Right Click Menu
You can add/remove some of the options in your context/right click menu e.g., adding/removing send to, adding/removing send to folder items etc.
Files and Folders
Windows only remembers a certain no. of folder views. Once you have reached that limit, it will no longer save the folder views. The default is 5000 for Windows XP and Windows Vista. You can change this setting through XDN Tweaker.
File Associations
You can control the file associations especially in Windows Vista which offers no easy way to change the programs associated to a certain extension.
Internet Explorer 7
You can tweak some cool IE 7 settings.
Splash Screens
You can easily disable the splash screens shown by Windows programs like outlook express.
Network Settings
You can play around with network settings but its only recommended for advanced users.
Download Info:
One of the advantages XDN Tweaker has is that it is portable, meaning that you have no need to install it. Just download and unzip it and start playing around. Its current version is 0.8.8.2. And the size of the download is about 252 KB. It requires .NET framework 2.0 or higher to be installed in order to work properly.
Download Link
Download XDN Tweaker
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Here is a list of those points which you should consider while upgrading to vista. If you are a professional than the Upgrade will be a decision that must be careful enough to know all the changes and differences which have been made in windows vista release because your previous hardware and software that you used to work on Windows XP may not be compatible with vista so you also need upgrade that.
This does also requires you to spend extra money just to use Microsoft’s new Operating System without any glitch.
Although you should know that vista is the most secure OS in Microsoft’s History. When Windows XP was launched it was targeted for Business use but vista is specifically designed for digital home entertainment (Vista home premium) also including many features for business (vista business edition) users also. When vista was launched many productive software were incompatible but now vendors have given updates and patches.
If you are running a PC with 512 MB RAM you could have some performance issues while using vista, you should consider upgrading to at least 1024 MB.
- You need to have compatible hardware
- You need to have compatible software
- Be prepared for learning the new features (as many things has been changed from Windows XP)
Windows Vista: Software And Hardware Compatibility
Now that Vista is installed, time to install some softwares on Windows Vista. Before anything else is installed, the most important thing software to install is an anti virus software. There are few anti virus software that works for Windows Vista:
- AVG Anti Virus Free Edition works on Windows Vista. The AVG Anti Virus Free edition will not work on the 64-bit version of Windows. You’d have to buy the professional license.
- Trend Micro is offering free 90-days trial to PC-Cillin Internet Security for Windows Vista beta testers
- Avast Anti Virus
Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.7
Firefox works well on Windows Vista but it has a funny twitching bug. The problem can be solved by either adding something to the bookmark bar or hide the bookmark bar.
Opera 9.02 Works.
iTunes 7 Works. The most important thing for me is iTunes can access and play shared music from another computer.
Quicktime 7 Works.
Foxit Reader 2.0 Works.
Skype Skype works, outgoing and incoming calls are working just fine.
Yahoo Messenger 8 (With voice) — Works.
Windows Live Messenger Works but incompatible with Windows Aero color scheme. When Windows Live Messenger is running Windows Vista will its color scheme to Windows Vista Basic.
mIRC Works.
TightVNC Works but very slow. It takes longer to view the desktop than usual. Perhaps disabling Windows Aero and removing desktop wallpaper will improve the speed.
UltraEdit Works.
FeedDemon Works. The reason I’m using FeedDemon is because of its ability to sync with NewsGator online so I don’t have to import my RSS subscription. I miss NetNewsWire already.
Putty Works.
Java Runtime Environment Version 5.0 Update 6 — Works. Azureus runs well on Windows Vista.
WinRAR 3.61 Works.
VLC Works.
Microsoft C# 2005 Express Edition Works.
Please note that all listings are subject to change and it is up to the user to make sure any hardware or software is compliant with Microsoft Vista before installation.
Most software and hardware is listed with which mode of Microsoft Vista i.e 32 bit or 64 bit the device or software is compatible with. See the distributor or manufacturers website for more details.
Please read from Microsoft themselves
Applications that have earned the “Certified for Windows Vista” logo or the “Works with Windows Vista” logo…
See Vista Updates & Patches/Drivers sticky for more information on drivers and patches.
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor 1.0
Brief Description Of Upgrade Advisor
Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is designed to help Windows XP users identify whether their PCs are ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista, which edition of Windows Vista meets their needs, and which features of Windows Vista will be able to run on their PCs.
File Name: WindowsVistaUpgradeAdvisor.msi
Version: 1.0
Language: English
Download Size: 6.6 MB
Estimated Download Time: 16 min 56K Dial-up (56K)DSL/Cable (256K)DSL/Cable (768K)T1 (1.5M) 16 min
System Requirements
Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP Service Pack 2
A minimum of .NET Framework 1.1 and MSXML 4.0
Download Upgrade advisor and test wether your computer is suitable for Windows Vista or not.
More detailed hardware and software compatibilities about WIndows Vista can be found over here at tom’s hardware.
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Sometimes when you repair your local area connection from the local area connection status window, you find out that your DNS cache could not be cleared and whatever you do, the cache will not clear up. So here’s the cool way of clearing your DNS cache.
Open your command prompt and type the following command
C:\>net stop dnscache
If it says that the dnscache is not started then type the following command
C:\>net start dnscache
It will start your local dns cache. Now try flushing your dns cache by issuing the following command
C:\>ipconfig /flushdns
It will most probably clear your dns cache and display the results for you.
If you want to see what is in your local dns cache at this time, issue this command to find out
C:\>ipconfig /displaydns
This can also be done as
Go to run and type services.msc
select DNS Client, select automatic from drop down menu and start the service.
Did this article solve your problem? If not then tell us your particular case. Let’s see if we can get into the root of your problem.
Clear DNS Cache in Linux
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If you have accidentally deleted the show desktop icon in your quick launch toolbar, then you can restore it from the following place:
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Where C:\ is your Windows drive.
If unfortunately, you can’t find the quick launch file from the above location, then you can create the shortcut yourself again. But it is a special type of shortcut whose method of creation is also different. I am reproducing the method of creating quick launch toolbar shortcut from Microsoft site here.
1. Click Start , click Run, type notepad, and then click OK.
2. In Notepad, type the following text on individual lines:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
3. On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as Show Desktop.scf.
Note Notepad might automatically append a .txt extension to the file name. Remove this extension if present. The file name should be Show Desktop.scf.
The file must now be moved to the correct folder in the user profile to appear in the Quick Launch toolbar. To manually do this, use one of the following methods.
Method 1
1. Use the mouse to drag the Show Desktop.scf icon to the Quick Launch toolbar or another location where you want the shortcut to appear.
2. Click Move Here.
Method 2
1. Use Windows Explorer to locate the following folders:
Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98
Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Note Username refers to the account name where you want to put the icon.
2. Use the mouse to drag the Show Desktop.scf file to the Quick Launch folder.
3. Click Move Here
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One of the things I love to have in my Windows machine is the ability to run all my softwares from the Run menu. It’s fun and time saving. I just have to remember the names of the programs that I want to run from the Run menu. For example, I rename the Mozilla Firefox shortcut as “ff” and then I can write ff in the Run menu to open the Firefox browser. So here’s what I do:
Make a folder named shortcuts in your C:\ drive.
Right click My Computer –> Properties –> Advanced –> Environment Variables –> In System Variables (second one) select Path and click Edit. Go to the end of the line and type the following(only the one in bold):
C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32;C:\Shortcuts
So you have to include ;C:\Shortcuts at the end of Path Variables text field. And you’re done. Click OK to continue. Now create a shortcut of your program you want to run from Run menu, rename it to whatever you like and place it in C:\Shortcuts. For example, I create a shortcut of Internet Explorer and rename it to “ie” and place it in the C:\Shortcuts folder. Now whenever I type ie in my Run menu (Start –> Run), it will open up Internet Explorer. I have shortcuts of about every software I’ve installed and I love these two letter shortcuts.
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