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Why Is My PC Acting Up?

I get a lot of variations on this question: "How come such-and-such hasn't loaded since I updated my whatsit driver?" or "Why is my [brand name and model number] crashing every time I run [name of program]?" No matter the symptoms, certain diagnostic tricks are bound to help.

Before you do anything, back up your Windows Registry. If one of these fixes makes things worse (always a possibility), you'll be glad you took this step. Windows XP's System Restore automatically backs up the Registry and other important Windows files, but the program is famously unreliable (and Windows 2000 lacks the utility altogether).

A safer approach than relying on System Restore is to use Lars Hederer's free Emergency Recovery Utility NT, or (ERUNT). After downloading and installing the program, XP users should create an initial ERUNT backup when their PC is running just the way they want it. Windows 2000 users should put a link to ERUNT in their Startup menu so that the utility loads every time they boot Windows.

Check for malware: It's always a good idea to make sure you have a clean machine. For cleanup instructions, see these earlier columns:

• "How Can I Tell If My PC Has Caught a Virus?"
• "Why Is My Hard Drive Slowing Down My PC?"
• "Prevent Viruses From Disabling Your Protection"

Update your drivers: I don't believe in updating drivers as a part of regular maintenance. I figure, if it ain't broke, why fix it? Still, if something is broke--er, broken--a driver update can be a free and relatively easy solution.

The best place I've found for checking your drivers is TouchStone Software's Driver Updates page at www.driveragent.com. The site, which requires Internet Explorer, scans your hard drive and gives you a reasonably accurate list of your outdated drivers (see FIGURE 1).

Once you know that a driver needs updating, look for it on the vendor's Web site; every hardware manufacturer offers driver updates as free downloads. Or you can subscribe to TouchStone's $30-a-year service and download the drivers directly from the scan-result list.

Stop the autoloaders: Autoloading programs, which start every time you boot Windows, cause much PC trouble. After you start Windows, take a look at the line of tiny icons in your system tray, which is on the right end of your taskbar (next to the clock). Those icons represent your autoloading apps, which suck up resources and can really gum up the works. Even worse, some problem autoloaders may not advertise their presence.

To see all of your autoloading programs, and turn them off, select Start, \Run, type msconfig, press <Enter>, and click the Startup tab. (Windows 2000 lacks msconfig; Mike Lin's free Startup Control Panel is a good alternative. Download it here.)

Note which programs in your startup list are checked and which are not (you'll want to return to these settings after you've found the troublemaker). Then uncheck them all, reboot, and see if the problem persists. This setting disables your security software, so if your PC has a working Internet connection, don't leave all the programs unchecked for very long, and be extremely careful about the sites you browse to.

If the problem disappears, one of the autoloaders is at fault. Use trial and error to find the miscreant: Check all but the first entry, reboot, and if the problem persists, recheck it, uncheck the next entry, reboot again, and so on. If the culprit is your firewall, antivirus, antispyware, or other security program, recheck it, and then complain to the vendor or consider a competing product. You can leave other apps unchecked.

There is a way to get more information about the programs appearing on this list: Visit Sysinfo.org's Startup Applications List. (see FIGURE 2). Or go to any search engine and enter the program name plus msconfig.

Like the monster in a bad horror movie, some unchecked autoloaders keep rising from the grave. The software "corrects" your "mistake" of turning off the autoloading module. To insert the virtual wooden stake, search the program's menus for an option to load at startup. When you find it, turn it off. If you find no such option, once again, inquire with the vendor or consider the competition.

It might not be Windows: The problem could be with your hardware. An easy way to take Windows out of the loop so that you can test your hardware is to boot from another operating system.

Yes, I just used "easy way" and "boot from another operating system" in the same sentence. Booting the small, free Puppy Linux from a CD involves little hassle. See "Boot Without Windows" for details (scroll down the page to find the tip). If the problem persists in Linux, then it's likely to be something hardware-related. Read Kirk Steers's "Five-Minute Fixes."