Outline from School Class "When Windows Freezes" Fall 2002 Fixing Broken Windows This is the first time for me to present this course and you are the beta testers of this course. Since I do this work all the time, it should work out to be a good deal for you. I am going to carefully follow my outline that I created so, I hopefully, do not miss essential details. Before we can fix Windows, we have to know what it is made of and how it works. What is Windows? Operating System Tells Programs how to work with the computer and its hardware including the Motherboard and all its parts as well as the add on accessories. It is the Interface between you, the user, and the computers hardware. A Program does a task but it doesn't know what to do with the computer w/o the OS (operating system). What you normally see is ... POST messages as the computer comes on and sometimes: POST=(Power On Self Test) Boot up process messages More commonly, you only see the Desktop with Icons, Tabs, Buttons, and Groups of Programs 3 Different Flavors Windows 3.1 on DOS - this is all but dead Windows 95 - 98 - Me The consumer and small business operating system NT - 2000 - XP The heavy duty operating system with network security 2000 & XP are built on NT (NT=New Technology) - Completely Different with only some similarities Makeup Windows 3.1 and 95, 98, and ME operate on top of DOS DOS is made up of 3 files IO.SYS MSDOS.SYS COMMAND.COM Before we talk about the rest of Windows, we need to understand something about memory. Windows needs something more than 1 MB, usually a lot more DOS operates in the FIRST 640 K of memory UMB is 640K to 1 MB No program can operate here (Barrier caused by hardware from the first design of the PC) After DOS or the First 3 files loads, then Windows loads Actually, Configuration Files, Config.Sys and Autoexec.Bat also load above DOS in the first 640K and then: DOS based drivers such as for mouse, CD ROM, older Sound Cards, Scanners, SCSI Hard Drives load in the first 640K Windows then loads above 1MB out as far as it needs to. One of the biggest problems with Windows is from old DOS based drivers that load into the first 640K or in the Upper Memory Blocks between 640K and 1 MB. If these can be eliminated, Windows runs much better and with less conflicts. NT/2000/XP do NOT operate on top of DOS - They use different files from the 3 DOS files. They are: BOOT.INI NTDETECT.COM and NTLRD.COM There are no commands like in DOS from these, but you can make a boot floppy There are no memory management problems because you can't use real mode or DOS drivers Now After DOS loads, Windows starts loading with almost a hundred different components and their parts and links Including: Win.Com, a Packager to put all the components together, the Task Manager, Error Message Manager, Font Handler, Program Manager, File Manager, Windows Explorer, and Internet Explorer Also: 2 Editors (Notepad & WordPad), PaintBrush, Games, Calculator, Media Player, CD Player, Volume Control, Address Book, Dialer, and others I may have forgotton Also still: Networking components, whether you use networking or not, A WINSOCK, which is a special dialer for the Internet that handles special protocol for the Internet, and then the Protocols that networking may use such as NetBUI or TCP/IP or NetBios More: Help and Diagnostics and repair tools such as Scandisk, DEFRAG, MSCONFIG, Registry Editor, Registry Checker, DrWatson, Ping, IPCONFIG, WINIPCFG, TraceRt, and others There are Links like in DLL files (dynamic link libraries) to tie Windows together with itself and Programs. Programming is done in modules to make programming easier, and part of these modules are dll. Then there are Drivers to make Windows work with specific hardware on the motherboard including controllers with special features and other plug in cards and Drives like a Floppy, CD ROM, and Hard Drive. Yes, Windows needs drivers, even for the seemingly basic stuff too. There are over a 1000 dll files and hundreds of drivers for the basic stuff. These are in the form of DRV, VXD, SYS, 386, and BIN files. There are INF files that contain descriptions and lists of files of what drivers are used for that device. REGISTRY There is a database built into Windows called the Registry. These are DAT files. They contain lists of what's installed into Windows, how it is to work, and where the programs and files are located. In Windows 3.1, there were a series of database files called INI files. These carried over into Windows 95 and 98 because of DOS compatibility and again they are the cause of serious problems with Windows. Various software programmers were instructed by Microsoft to rewrite their programs so they would use the registry instead of the INI files but few did. This was all in the name of saving time and money and the result was a poorly written program, although most worked to a greater extent. This is where the conflicts begin with memory conflicts. When Windows crashes, it is a conflict! If all this works right together and Windows is setup properly, it boots to the desktop in 30 to 45 seconds without errors and runs smoothly. Windows has the ability to change its looks and settings and placement of Icons and can be configured for different looks for different users. This can be a source of trouble, by the way. Additional Programs If you want Office or one of its components such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, or Publisher, those must be installed into Windows, either by the user, the IT department, or at the computer factory if it is called for. Office is not part of Windows. Because it was also written by Microsoft, it integrates very smoothly with it in most cases. Still other programs such as Quicken, Quick Books, Money, Graphics Programs, and so forth are also available and also must be installed into Windows. The concept here is important; they must be installed into Windows, not copied into Windows. Installation includes copying files into specific folders or directories and then modifying the registry to list how this program is installed, how it is to work with Windows, and where to find its pieces. What goes Wrong with Windows (A List) Virus HD Failure Memory Power Supply Human Error Power Surge, Glitch, Brownout, Failure Conflict Software Installation Failure Removing Programs Corrupted Software Installed Hacker Details: Virus Deletes or Modifies Files Modifies Registry Trouble can happen when received or at later date Protection is required Must be updated Weekly HD Failure Common Dies suddenly Files start getting corrupted and Windows starts acting up Can be caused by bump, vibration, moving computer while on Last years (5-8 is common) Can die in 1-3 years or even in first few months Sudden death or bad sectors develop Memory Failure Sudden or show up only under certain circumstances like when more programs running at once Can show up with change of temperature Heat buildup can cause memory to fail Memory can have bad cells and change and corrupt data only when that cell is used for storage Power Supply Failure Caused by heat buildup which is caused by dust buildup Dust is insulator and heat can not escape Dust Causes the failure then Can die or get noisy or higher or lower than normal voltage Causes lost or corrupted data Human Error Tagging and deleting wrong files or more than you thought Improperly installing software Wrong Procedure or Installing without stopping running software Shutting the computer off while it is doing something- by power strip or not letting Windows shutdown completely Installing a driver with the wrong procedure: Drivers install several ways: Running setup Detecting while booting and directing to driver, or Going to the device in the Control Panel and selecting a driver You have to know what that vendor wants In certain cases of installing Zip drives and Scanners and other similar USB devices, software is installed before that device is first plugged in. Power Problems Data can be changed or erased; change of voltage on a brownout while a HDD is writing can cause the write to be in the wrong place on the hard drive and even on top of another file Can cause a file to be erased Can cause a file in memory totally lost before it is saved Conflicts Very Common A lot of poorly written software Driver of new device over writes device driver of another device Shared DLL and VXD files Examples; AOL, CDRW, Imaging USB, Parallel devices Easy CD Creater and Scan Wizzard software were know common problems Hard to determine because vendors do not want to admit Software Installation Failure Scratched CDs are very common One bit missing or changed on a CD can change meaning of the data One bit missing on a music CD is a note that your ear doesn't miss Downloaded file from Internet that is corrupted Interruption of installation Done while other software is running Removing Programs A no no Uninstalling usually takes shared file from another program or device Special Utilities are NO better that Windows removal and many times are worse It can be done if you are prepared to deal with it: By having other disks available to reinstall affected programs or drivers Should be done only if you run out of hard drive space or if it was the last program or driver installed Removing or Uninstalling is editing the registry to remove calls to those files and also removing actual Files for the programs being removed Corrupted Software Installation Again: Scratched CD you are unaware of Downloaded File File corrupted by Virus Hacker In your Office: Janitor or another employee Your Kids Over the Internet Terrorists are targeting your computer - you as an individual By email or simply getting in over your full time connection; DSL or Cable or Satellite It is important to know what you did last such as Adding or Removing Hardware or Software You must also determine whether your failure is hardware related or software related or both Fixing Windows Part 3 Review from Last week before we start Where to Begin Determination Hardware or Software If hardware: modem, display card, memory, hard drive, motherboard, NIC, sound card If it appears to be software, could hardware be the root cause? Don't discount hardware if you think its Windows and start after the problem Start with the Basics, No Matter What the Problem What was last done? Make a List on paper and continue on below ... List Statistics of Computer to get the Picture of what you are operating on Take a piece of paper and make a list: SHOW LIST Processor Amount of Memory Hard Drive Size Operating System version SHOW: Control Panel, System Display Card Type including chipset name and number Sound Card Modem Do you know where your disks are? You will probably need them. Windows, Restore, All Drivers Important How much free space is left on the hard drive? SHOW Problems caused by totally full or near full hdd Are you seeing the proper amount of memory-What you expected? Loose memory or memory that counts different at different times causes trouble Are you seeing all the devices you thought you had? Look in device manager (Control Panel, System, Device Manager) Was anybody in CMOS & could have anything changed?? Look if that was possible Your kids? Another employee, etc? Determine Problem - usually falls into one of following: Not booting, How far does it go? Beyond DOS?, No DOS, Windows Spalsh Screen, Error messages in early boot process before Desktop, Desktop: Then Error Messages Strange Behavior, Slow?, Erratic? Freezing, Is problem only with a certain program? While more than one program is running? Is a certain device not working (modem, sound, NIC, hdd secondary controller) Extremely Important!!! Check Fans First for Dust & Clean before tearing into Windows and drivers If it doesn't boot up or has errors, TRY DOS (F8) Look around SHOW Root of C: C:\Windows\temp Look at date of CHKs, then DELETE *.CHK SHOW DOS Commands (important to learn): DIR DIR/p EXIT SCANDISK DEL CD CD\ CD.. Scanreg Copy REN Next, Try SAFE Mode What is safe mode? Can you do a Tune Up in safe mode ScanDisk Disk Cleanup IE Cleanup: Temp Internet Files SHOW Manual Cleanup CHK, FILEXXXX.XXX, DIRXXXXX, TMPS, _XXXX C:\ C:\Windows\TEMP MSCONFIG (95) manual stopping in menu, registry, win.ini, config, autoexec DEFRAG is important ScanReg SHOW Record SN Get 25 digit letter number from registry if you do not have it (also numeric number) SHOW DIAGNOSTICS If you have access to diagnostics and suspect hardware problems, get hold of CHECKIT Hardware usually is last choice unless there was a surge or something else to make you suspect hardware Actions Clean dust Statistics Boot Screen, Stickers, CMOS, Device Manager, FDISK, SHOW Getting into CMOS Memory, HDD type-Size, FDD, Boot Order, Date-Time, Timing (default settings) MSCONFIG (stop everything) Replace missing files Tuneup: Cleanup, ScanDisk, Defrag SN from registry - side of case Reinstall missing or non functioning drivers Look for later driver from Internet - advantage of another computer or friend w/computer to help Secondary HDD Controller (show in Device Manager) SHOW Saving Drivers for another installation (INF,System, Help) copy to c:\Drivers SHOW Non functioning software: Look for Virus First; then Reinstall Uninstalling " " (Windows Control Panel or Own Uninstall) SHOW Removing McAfee or Norton from Registry SHOW Scanreg: checking registry, restoring previous version before problem SHOW Reinstall Windows on top of Windows SHOW Reinstall Windows beside Windows Demonstrate SHOW Pick off files, test hardware, msdos.sys (edit) SHOW Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com Reinstall Windows Clean or Restore working Image Windows XP Different but similar Show if time File system: FAT, FAT32, NTFS recommend FAT32 if home user Statistics just as important Look in Control Panel: Devices Update Windows if you can Update Drivers if you can Uninstall and Reinstall Software Run Repair off CD Different Boot Files Emergency Boot Disk XP CD CMOS to Boot from CD Install or REPAIR may be updated in future