 Windows XP is undoubtedly a robust and stable operating system, but that doesn't mean it is perfect. Like any complex software, it has its share of hardware conflicts, software errors, and crashing problems. Fortunately, it takes only a few troubleshooting techniques to solve the majority of problems that are most likely to crop up when using WinXP.
 First Things First. Patches and drivers are the first things all computer users should become familiar with, as they solve the majority of software and hardware problems. Patches are used to upgrade software to a newer version, fixing bugs, enhancing compatibility, and sometimes even adding new features in the process. Many times when software starts acting up or refuses to work with a particular piece of hardware, upgrading the software using the most recent patch available at the manufacturer's Web site solves the problem.
Drivers are programs that let hardware communicate with Windows and the other applications installed on the PC. Upgrading a hardware driver is much like applying a software patch, as driver writers always strive to fix compatibility problems, make the hardware work more efficiently, and add new features with each release. Check occasionally for new patches and drivers for all your major applications and hardware, making sure to read the documentation files to see what errors the upgrades fix and also whether there are any conditions under which you should not install the new patch or driver.
Another related item that bears mentioning is firmware. This is a special memory chip found on most motherboards and some hardware (such as optical drives) that stores the instructions that device can carry out. Most firmware is flashable, meaning it can be upgraded via a software patch. It is very important to keep the motherboard's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) firmware up to date, as it interacts with every piece of hardware installed on the computer. Check with the manufacturer of your computer to see what brand of motherboard the system uses and where you can obtain BIOS upgrades. Follow the installation instructions to the letter because if something goes wrong during the BIOS flashing process, the computer may refuse to boot. Usually the only way to fix this is to replace the motherboard or send the computer back to the manufacturer for repairs, so be careful.
Finally, keep WinXP itself up to date by using the Windows Update Web site. The quickest way to access the site is to click Start, expand Programs, and click Windows Update. Click Yes if you are asked to install the latest version of the Windows Update software and then click the Scan For Updates link. You should install all of the entries in the Critical Updates And Service Packs category, and also may install any of the entries in the Windows XP category. We recommend using drivers from the hardware manufacturers' Web sites instead of installing the Driver Updates offered by Windows Update, but the choice is yours. Click Review And Install Updates, click Add or Remove on any entry to put it on or take it away from the list, and click Install Now. Click Accept, wait for the files to download and install, and reboot the computer.
Hardware Troubleshooting. WinXP's PnP (Plug-and-Play) architecture is pretty advanced, and it works well with the majority of hardware that's out there, but conflicts still arise. Drivers sometimes break or are installed improperly, and WinXP still relies on the same types of finicky system resources older OSes (operating systems) had, such as IRQs (interrupt request lines) and DMA (direct memory access) numbers.
Device Manager. If a recently installed piece of hardware seems to cause trouble, the best place to solve the problem is the Windows Device Manager. Click Start, right-click My Computer, click Properties, select the Hardware tab, and click the Device Manager button. Open the View menu and make sure Devices By Type is selected, and then look for yellow icons with black exclamation points in the center. These indicate a device that is causing a conflict or is experiencing another error that is causing it to not work. |
There's little chance you'll be able to access programs or save data if there is a total system failure, but telling Windows XP not to reset itself is sometimes helpful.
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Double-click the entry for the device with the warning icon and select the Driver tab. Compare the Driver Date and Driver Version information listed there to that of the latest drivers available at the manufacturer's Web site to make sure the newest version is installed. If it is not, download the new driver and install it according to the manufacturer's instructions.
If there are no instructions, click the Update Driver button on the Driver tab to open the Hardware Update Wizard. Choose one of the two radio buttons depending on where the driver files are located (use Install The Software Automatically if you don't know), and click Next. If you choose the first option, the Wizard searches for the new driver and you can simply follow the prompts to install it. If you choose the second option, you must tell the Wizard where to look. Check the Search Removable Media box if the driver is located on a floppy diskette or CD-ROM, and if it is located on the hard drive check the Include This Location In The Search box and either type the installation path or click Browse to manually navigate to the appropriate folder. Click Next when you are finished.
If no drivers are included with the device or they are not available from the manufacturer, click the Don't Search radio button and click Next. Check the Show Compatible Hardware box, and if a driver shows up in the Model box that matches the troublesome hardware, click Next. Otherwise, uncheck the Show Compatible Hardware box and select the name of the hardware's manufacturer on the left, its model name on the right, and click Next. Windows installs the selected driver, and you should reboot the computer to make sure it loads properly.
If none of the available options match up, scroll to the top of the Manufacturer list to see if there is a generic product type listed in parentheses. They are not always available, but in the case of a monitor, for example, you can select Standard Monitor Types at the top of the Manufacturer list and then choose a generic model on the right. If you have a CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor, then PnP is the best option if the monitor supports that technology. Otherwise, select one of the Super VGA modes (making sure it does not exceed the maximum resolution supported by the monitor) for a non-PnP CRT, or one of the Digital Flat Panel modes if you have a LCD (liquid crystal display). Regardless of what you are installing, always check the documentation to make sure options in the model category are selected that match the specifications and features of the hardware.
Remove & Reinstall Hardware. In many cases it is best to remove hardware from WinXP and then reinstall it from scratch, using the latest drivers. To do this, open the Device Manager, right-click the hardware entry marked with the warning icon (or any other device you want to remove), and click Uninstall. Click OK when the warning box disappears and wait for WinXP to remove the device's drivers. Reboot the computer and reinstall the hardware according to the manufacturer's instructions, using the latest drivers.
This technique also is useful if multiple entries are listed for a single device in Device Manager. Accidentally installing two different drivers for the same device causes this to happen, and removing one (or both) of the duplicate entries can help resolve the problem.
Change Drive Performance Settings. Hard drives and optical drives can use various data transfer modes, and you always want to select the fastest mode supported by the drive. Unfortunately, WinXP sometimes defaults to a slower mode, dramatically reducing drive performance. Enter Device Manager and click the plus symbol next to the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers entry. Double-click Primary IDE Channel, choose the Advanced Settings tab, and use the Transfer Mode drop-down boxes in both Device 0 and Device 1 to select DMA If Available. Click OK and repeat the process for the Secondary IDE Channel entry in Device Manager. Reboot the PC, and the drives should be set to use the fastest available data transfer modes. If they don't support DMA, WinXP automatically sets them to use the slower PIO (Programmed Input/Output) mode, so you won't hurt anything by trying this.
Fix The Power Button. When the computer locks up, sometimes it is best to shut it down completely instead of resetting it. Many WinXP users find that when they press the power button to do this, however, nothing happens. To change this click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Power Options, and select the Advanced tab. In the Power Buttons section, use the drop-down list to select Shut Down and click Apply.
Alternatively, if the computer is in a spot where the power button occasionally gets bumped accidentally and causes you to lose your work, choose the Do Nothing or Ask Me What To Do setting. This is a real life-saver if you leave the computer on the floor and have pets or small kids.
Multimedia Problems. Microsoft built more multimedia support into WinXP than any of its previous operating systems, and overall the OS is excellent at handling a variety of multimedia files. If you know how to solve a few of the more common errors, you should have little trouble playing back audio and video or playing games.
Some Audio Plays, Some Doesn't. Although at first it looks like one control slider adjusts the volume level for all of your audio, in reality WinXP differentiates among CD, Line-In, Wave/MP3, and MIDI audio, providing separate audio controls for each type. Sometimes if you install a program that plays one of these types of files and adjust the volume using that program, it also changes the global WinXP volume setting for that type of audio. To fix things, double-click the speaker icon in the System Tray. If that icon is not there, click Start, click Control Panel, and double-click Sounds And Audio Devices. You can put a check in the Place Volume Icon In The Taskbar entry or simply click Advanced to open the separate volume controls. |
Click the plus symbols (+) next to entries in the Device Manager to see the hardware that falls under that category.
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Move the separate volume sliders so they are all at the same level. Don't max them out or you risk suffering from distorted audio. Generally it is best to place them all about two notches down from the highest setting. Close the window when you finish, and use the volume controls on your speakers to avoid this problem in the future.
Surround Speakers Don't Work. With games, DVDs, and even music taking advantage of more than two speakers, more and more computer users are connecting four or more speakers to their systems. Unfortunately, WinXP defaults to using only two speakers and occasionally reverts to that setting even if you've selected a surround-sound option.
To let WinXP know there are more than two speakers, click Start, click Control Panel, and double-click Sounds And Audio Devices. Click the Advanced button in the Speaker Settings section and select the Speakers tab. Use the Speaker Setup drop-down list to choose a configuration that matches your hardware, making sure to select Quadraphonic instead of Surround Sound if you don't have a center-channel speaker. The picture in the middle of the window changes to reflect the chosen setting, and you can click OK when you are finished.
The Monitor Flickers When The Resolution Changes. Monitors don't display a solid, steady image. Instead, many rows and columns of lines are "painted" on the screen several times per second, quickly enough that the eye can't detect that the image isn't solid. This is called the monitor's refresh rate, and it is measured in Hz (Hertz, or cycles per second). Higher refresh rates produce steadier, more solid-looking images, but at low refresh rates the eye can detect that something is up, and the screen appears to flicker.
Most monitors look best at refresh rates between 75Hz and 120Hz, provided they (and the video card to which they are attached) can support refresh rates that high at the selected resolution, which is the number of horizontal and vertical lines used to create the image. A resolution of 1,024 x 768 means the monitor displays 1,024 pixels (picture elements) horizontally and 768 pixels vertically, making a total of 786,432 pixels available to create the entire image. Higher resolutions allow for more detail because there are more pixels available to create images, but sustaining high resolutions at high refresh rates requires a powerful video card and a good monitor.
The monitor's resolution is adjustable by right-clicking the Desktop, clicking Properties, selecting the Settings tab, and moving the Resolution slider. Then you can select the refresh rate by clicking the Advanced button, choosing the Adapter tab, and clicking the List All Modes button. A box appears showing all of the refresh rates available for a given resolution that are supported by your video hardware, and you can select one by clicking it and then clicking OK. We recommend using 75Hz or 85Hz, whichever looks best on your display.
Going through that process sets the resolution of your Desktop and the default resolution Windows works at, but problems arise when a game or other application switches to a different resolution (for example, when your Desktop is set to 1,024 x 768 but a game uses a fixed resolution of 800 x 600). When that happens, WinXP is designed to use a refresh rate of 60Hz, which provides for the greatest amount of compatibility, but causes severe flicker that is annoying at best and causes headaches and eye fatigue at worst. |
Setting all the drives to their maximum possible data transfer rates provides a tremendous overall speed boost.
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The only solution that works permanently is to install a third-party application that lets you establish independent refresh rates for each available resolution. The best products we've tested are RefreshLock and RefreshForce, free utilities created and maintained by Gregory Maynard-Hoare that you can download at http://www.pagehosting.co.uk/rl. Use the instructions that come with the software to select independent refresh rates for each resolution supported by the monitor, keeping them at 75Hz or higher for each resolution if possible.
Software Compatibility. WinXP is designed to be backward-compatible with programs created for MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 95/98, but incorporates so much new technology that several old programs inevitably fall through the cracks. If some of your legacy programs are not running properly, use the Program Compatibility Wizard to trick them into thinking you are using an older operating system.
Program Compatibility Wizard. Click Start, expand All Programs, expand Accessories, and click Program Compatibility Wizard. Click Next and choose one of the available radio buttons depending on the location of the troublesome program. If you select I Want To Choose From A List Of Programs, WinXP scans the hard drive to find all installed applications. Click the name of the program so it is highlighted and click Next. If that doesn't work, click Back, select I Want To Locate The Program Manually, click Next, and either type in the path for the program (e.g. C:\WINDOWS\Program\Program.exe) or click the Browse button to locate it manually using an Explorer interface. Click Next.
Now you must choose one of the radio buttons to select a compatibility mode for the program, depending on the OS for which it was designed. We get the best results with most incompatible programs by choosing Microsoft Windows 98 / Windows Me, but sometimes you must select Microsoft Windows 95 instead. Click Next and some checkboxes appear that let you configure a few extra compatibility options. Usually you don't need to check any of these settings, but certain games and legacy programs only work when the 256 Colors and 640 x 480 Screen Resolution options are selected. It is rare that the Disable Visual Themes option needs to be checked, but it can't hurt.
Click Next and then click Next again and the Wizard launches the program using the new compatibility settings. If the program worked, choose the Yes, Set This Program To Always Use These Compatibility Settings radio button. Otherwise, you can select the middle radio button to try a different configuration or the bottom radio button to exit the Wizard without applying any compatibility changes. Click Next and, if you applied the changes, decide whether you want to submit the information to Microsoft, click Next, and then Click Finish.
It also is possible to adjust compatibility settings by right-clicking a program icon or shortcut, clicking the Compatibility tab, and using the checkboxes and drop-down menus there. Click Apply after making any changes to make them stick, or click Cancel to exit the window without applying compatibility changes.
PCResets Itself. If you've ever launched a program only to have the screen go black and the computer reboot itself, know that in WinXP that is by design. In the past when a complete system failure happened sometimes the PC would reboot, but most often it would simply freeze up, leaving users to wonder if Windows would recover if they only waited awhile. WinXP makes the decision for you, resetting the PC and making you lose any unsaved work.
There's really nothing you can do to prevent the complete system failure, but if you'd rather have WinXP freeze up than reset itself—in the hopes that you might be able to gain access to the system and save data or close programs—it is possible to turn off the automatic reboot feature. Right-click My Computer, click Properties, select the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button in the Startup And Recovery section. Take the check out of the Automatically Restart box and click OK.
Other Options. If you are having problems with a particular piece of hardware, such as a printer, modem, or a network device, WinXP comes with a variety of interactive troubleshooters that guide users step-by-step through potential solutions. To access these documents, click Start, click Help And Support, and click the Fixing A Problem link on the left. Pick a category in the Fixing A Problem section that appears in the left-hand pane, and then click a specific topic in the right-hand pane. If you choose a hardware-related topic, such as the Printing Troubleshooter, be sure to check the I Want The Troubleshooter To Investigate Settings On This Computer box so WinXP can put your problem in context.
If things ever go really awry, you may need to rely on WinXP's System Restore tool to fix the computer. This utility rolls back the computer to an earlier time, restoring it to the working condition it was in before a problematic driver, application, or even virus was installed. 
by Tracy Baker
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Hot Tip
Dealing With WHQL Warnings
Microsoft certifies all Windows XP drivers at its WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) to ensure that they will work with the OS (operating system) and not cause compatibility problems. WHQL certification is optional, however, and some companies do not certify their drivers before making them available to consumers. When WinXP users attempt to install non-certified drivers, a warning message pops up asking if the user really wants to proceed with the installation.
In most cases, if the manufacturer has said the drivers are compatible with WinXP, you can ignore the warning and continue installing the drivers. If you are unsure, continue using the old drivers you already have until WHQL-certified ones are available. If you accidentally install drivers that cause problems with WinXP, enter Device Manager, double-click the entry for the improperly configured hardware, and select the Driver tab. Click the Roll Back Driver button and follow the prompts to revert to the previous set of drivers. |
Cool Feature
Automatic Updates
Windows Update is great as long as you remember to use it. Fortunately for the forgetful, Windows XP comes with an Automatic Updates utility that fetches critical system updates on its own and then asks if you want to install them. To turn on this feature and adjust its options, click Start, right-click My Computer, select the Automatic Updates tab, and check the Keep My Computer Up To Date box. Use the Settings radio buttons to tell Automatic Updates how to handle itself. |
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Windows XP is undoubtedly a robust and stable operating system, but that doesn't mean it is perfect. Like any complex software, it has its share of hardware conflicts, software errors, and crashing problems. Fortunately, it takes only a few troubleshooting techniques to solve the majority of problems that are most likely to crop up when using WinXP. 
