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   System Troublshooting 

Rather than give you only one step at a time, I'm posting the
complete list of troubleshooting steps I work with.  :-)

1. To see if it's a software conflict:  Temporarily disable Startup
programs one at a time, starting with Firewall, Antivirus, and ad
blockers using: http://new.jtsoft2001.com/windows/startup.php

You can lookup what a program does before you disable it here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm

2.   Run a virus scan at: http://housecall.antivirus.com Afterwards
Download & Run Spybot from: http://security.kolla.de to find any
Trojans, Adware, or Spyware which could clog up your system.

3.  Click My Computer / Rightclick the Drive & Choose Properties
/ Run the "Disk Cleanup..." / Next Click the "Tools" Tab and run
the "Error-Checking" and "Defragmentation" utilities.

4.  Go to the Windows Update site for everything under Critical and
Recommended: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

5.  Update DirectX and your Chipset, Sound, &Video Drivers:
For all Video / DirectX / Game and Hardware Issues, I have a
Checklist of Solutions at: http://NibblesNbitsVideo.tk

6.  Dust your fans, vents and components using a 1/4" paintbrush
and a hose vacuum.  Use compressed air for hard to reach places.
Set a housefan to blow cold air into your case to expose an over-
heating issue.. If it works add more fans or replace defective ones.
Use this Mainboard Monitoring Utility: http://mbm.livewiredev.com

7.  A faulty power supply can cause STOP errors, random reboots,
and black screen lockups.  One way to test for that is to remove all
extra devices, network cards, extra RAM sticks, modem, scussi,
sound card, unplug CD drives (if not needed to verify CD), and then
try the game again.  If the problem is solved look into a 400 watt P/S.

8.  Test your RAM using: http://www.memtest86.com/memt30.zip
after you extract that zip file, click on the README.txt file for the
instructions on how to create the boot floppy to test your RAM.
* Allow Windows to control your pagefile at a "system managed size".
Be sure there's enough space for the pagefile size to = 1.5 * your RAM 

Bonus Tip: Set the pagefile to it's own partition or hard drive if possible. References: http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php is a good site about this as is:
www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/mcfedries/03june16.asp


9.  If your system restarts by itself as a result of a STOP error, use the steps in this article to stop that behaviour and identify the cause.

9b. Click Start / Control Panel /Administrative Tools / Event Viewer /
Click the Applications listing on the left / in the right pane look for
yellow or red symbols and doubleclick them to identify any problems.

XP:  If you install this 32 bit Update  you will get articles with fixes to load up automatically when you click the link "For More Information" that you'll see in the body of the error message in Event Viewer. 

10.  Click Start / Run / then type: sfc /scannow        and press ENTER to replace any damaged system files -or- Run Setup.exe on your Windows 98/Me/XP/2000 CD to reinstall Windows over itself without erasing your programs and data.  Once everything works fine reinstall updates one at a time from: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com but test the game after each update in case one of the updates was at fault.

11.  If you have room on one of your partitions, use it to install another
clean installation of Windows which you can gradually update with the
appropriate chipset, video, and sound drivers, as well as Direct X, but
with no extras including themes, firewalls, antivirus, etc.  You may have to reinstall the game(s) for use with that partition, but it's well worth it.

12.  If you don't have enough space for step 10 I suggest you at least
create a new administrators account with no themes, firewall, antivirus,
or any other software or startup programs installed for that account. If
this solves the problem, then you should switch over to the new account.

(C)opywrite 2003 +NibblesNbits.  Last Updated on Sept 16th, 2003 at 10:27pm Note: This site is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.