Software troubleshooting

Most problems that occur with computers are the result of software-related issues:

Programs that lock up, printers that suddenly won’t print, operating systems that won’t boot and lots of other common errors are all somehow related to the operation of software on your PC.

Unfortunately, troubleshooting software problems on PCs is one of the hardest problem-solving tasks you’re ever likely to run into on your computer. The reason for this is because of the Byzantine-like structure of today’s PC applications and operating systems. In essence, the problem can be boiled down to this: All the various pieces of software on your computer—your main applications, the drivers for your specific peripherals, and the various Windows system files—work together in an enormously complex web of inter-relationships. Adding, removing or altering one piece of that puzzle can (and often will) lead to software that just doesn’t work.

Software troubleshooting tips:

1. Read carefully all error messages, warnings etc you get when troubleshooting your software. Do not hurry!

2. Try to analyse, why it happened. May be you installed some application (game, security software, new windows screensaver etc). If so try to uninstall it and see what happens.

3. If you get some specific error messages, you can try (may be by using some other computer) to type this message into a Google search engine and find out if there are others who have this problem. In most cases you’ll find that there are plenty of people having the same problem!! And normally the solution is also described on those pages.