Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6. Troubleshooting

Most Windows users would probably consider the barrage of incomprehensible error messages and crashing to be the operating system's biggest annoyance, and I'd be the last one to argue with them. But the problems that plague our computers vary widely from simple features not working to massive data loss, with a whole range of annoying quirks in between.

No single resource could possibly document every bug and every error message produced by Windows and every possible combination of drivers and applications, and this chapter is no exception. Instead, the topics in this chapter use many of the more common problems to show you how to troubleshoot your Windows system by isolating the problem and then using the tools available to find a solution.

First off, if you remember only two pearls of wisdom from this chapter, let them be the following:

1. 99% of all computer problems are solved by pressing your computer's Reset button.

2. Insanity can be defined as repeating the same actions over and over again, expecting different results. (Or, worse, repeating the same actions over and over again, knowing that you'll never get different results.)

Naturally, a corollary to these principles is that resetting your computer repeatedly will get you nowhere. Herein lies the rub: what do you do during that remaining 1% of the time when restarting your computer doesn't help?

General Troubleshooting Techniques

Troubleshooting a computer involves more than just whining about it. One of ...