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Top 10 PC problems and solutions

Technology makes our lives easier, but only when it works perfectly. The moment when something has gone wrong, life becomes complicated. For the most of the users, these problems seem unsolvable and require a call to the customer service or someone that is more familiar with a technology.  However, the majority of problems actually are very simple and can be fixed in a few minutes. All you need is patience and some time. In the text bellow, you will see the most common PC problems and the possible solutions for all of them.

1

Blue screen of death

Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) is the name under which can suddenly appear on any version of Windows OS. The blue screen is an unpleasant error, because it causes an automatic restart of the operating system, with the loss of all data that are not stored on the hard drive. If you worked on a document and haven’t saved it just before the appearance of a blue screen, your data will be lost.

Why does the blue screen happen?

The blue screen is obviously a symptom of some big problem.

These are the circumstances in which the operating system is not able to solve the unexpected situation, which happened due to software or hardware issues. The blue screen doesn’t show one particular type of problem, but can occur as a result of a wide range of errors.

The reasons that lead to the blue screen may be different:

– Incompatible drivers

– Faulty RAM

– Hardware problem on the motherboard

– Inadequate or non-existent Windows Updates

– “Conflict” between devices or the hardware components

– Hard disk problems

– Damaged Registry

– Incorrect BIOS settings

– Problems in the relationship between software and the graphics card

– Problems with the power supply

– Malware

– Overheating

The most useful information for diagnose and the troubleshooting of the blue screen, you’ll get from the one free software, which you don’t even need to install.

It’s called “BlueScreenView” – http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html#DownloadLinks. BlueScreenView is a program by NirSoft. It is compatible with all operating systems (Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10). BlueScreenView scans and reads all “minidump” files created during the appearance of a blue screen. Blue Screen View is able to display the date and time of the crash, information displayed on a blue screen, details of the module or driver that caused the problem. The information display on the bottom panel and can be customized in three different modes in the Options menu > Lower panel mode: all drivers, only drivers found in stack and Blue Screen in XP style. The first option shows a list of all drivers that are loaded in the memory at the time of the crash; if the second selected, you can ask only to display modules and drivers that caused the problem; the third option displays a blue screen similar to the one that appeared on the screen at the time of the crash.

2

PC is slow

As much as you taking care of the computer, it will become slower over time. The main reason, but not the only, is outdated hardware. However, if your computer or laptop doesn’t have some critical problems such as damaged hard disk or a lack of memory, there are several ways to speed up its work.

Make sure that your computer fully updated

Maybe you don’t like to hear this, but install the latest software and orderly upgrade the operating system upgrade can really improve the performance of your device. In addition, your system will be safer. New patches typically include a safety upgrade that can prevent the hacker attacks on your computer. Because of this, do not delay or skip updates, patches, and upgrades.

Install and use CCleaner

The program is excellent and free. It will help in cleaning the garbage that has accumulated on the PC over the time. Besides the garbage, CCleaner cleans the registry, which enables the OS to load quickly after the boot. CCleaner will simply clean up your registry and remove all the unnecessary data from it.

Restart the computer

If your computer running all day, then restart it periodically. The same goes for laptops that are in the hibernation mode. Restarting the computer can solve some minor problems that related to the internet connection, graphics and the slow work of certain programs.

Free up the memory on a hard drive (or defragment it)

Unless you have several hard drives on your computer, it is wise to free up space on a single disk you have. When the main drive reaches 80 percent of capacity, it’s time to clean the old files. Uninstall programs you don’t use and transfer date that you really need to an external hard drive. In addition, it is important to defragment the disk, because in this way the data from a disk will be properly allocated, so the load on the computer will be much lower. A crowded disc may have the negative influence on the cache so it is important to keep clean the main hard drive.

Get rid of the viruses

Although this is not recommended, it is possible to avoid viruses without installing an antivirus program, because the cloud services offer a lot of security solutions. But regardless of all that is offered in the cloud, it is useful to install a program that will scan your system and probably identify and remove the malware you picked up somewhere on the internet without your knowledge.

3

Computer restarts itself randomly

It often happens that your computer restarts suddenly, without the warning? There are many reasons for these spontaneous, seemingly unprovoked restarts, but there are ways to find out what the problem is. If your computer restarts, check two things – if the reboot appears before Windows loading screen or after.

If the restart happens after the successful boot of Windows – it is related to updating the system. In fact, when Windows installs updates, it may restart the computer several times so that all updates were installed.

But if the restart repeats without any signs of updates (Windows usually informs that the installation of the ‘update’ is in progress), the problem might be a virus or adware that has infected your computer. Install a good antivirus and clean the malware.

If your computer during the restart produces strange noises like hissing, it may be a problem with overheating. When did you last time clean your computer? The dust that fans pull in during cooling of components, over time it accumulates inside your computer and cause problems in its work.

Clean your computer and if after the cleaning the situation gets better, probably that was the problem.

4

Browsing privacy problems

Did you know that your computer, specifically the program you use to browse the internet, monitors and remembers everything you do and see on the internet? You will do a big favor to yourself by learning how to save your privacy on the internet, i.e. how to surf on the internet, and no one would know what you were doing on the internet and which pages you visited. You just need to activate and use “Private Browsing Mode” in your internet browser.

Almost every modern internet browser has the built-in capability for browsing in private (incognito) mode. The way of enabling the private regime varies depending on the browser you use.

 

Additional Resource: How to fix vcruntime140_1.dll missing error ?

 

How to enable “Incognito” mode in Google Chrome browser

The Chrome browser is the most popular browser today. Google Chrome offers a private browsing regime since its first version, which was published in 2008. The private browsing mode can be activated in the following way:

Start Google Chrome. Click on “Menu” icon in the form of three lines, and select “New incognito window.”

NOTE: “Incognito” mode in Google Chrome you can also activate via the keyboard shortcuts, by simultaneously pressing CTRL, ALT and N (Ctrl + Shift + N).

If you want to browse in complete incognito mode, you should use Tor Browser which you can download from here – https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en#downloads. It is the simplest way to hide your IP address. It allows you to access websites anonymously.

All the sites you visit with this browser, will not see your real IP address, but some randomly chosen. The usage is quite simple. In order not to jeopardize the anonymity, don’t download files. Use it only for browsing.

The browser will warn you if you’re doing something that might reveal your real IP address.

5

The internet connection is slow

Do you notice that your internet is slower? If so, it may be that for this problem there is a simple solution.

Follow these steps to learn how to speed up internet connection:

Step 1: Go to http://www.speedtest.net/ and check the current speed of your internet connection.

Step 2: Find out the speed which you pay to your Internet service provider. You may need to contact them by phone to get the answer to that. If you have been satisfied with the speed you paid for some time, maybe now is the time to increase the package that you pay. The internet offers more and more multimedia content for which you need the faster and more stable connection.

Step 3: Find out which internet packages are available in the area where you live.

Step 4: Then, when you know the speed you pay for, there are several things you can do to make your internet faster:

–    Make sure if you have exceeded the monthly amount of download. Some service providers reduce the speed of the Internet as a result of exceeding the monthly limit.

–    Check if some unnecessary applications running in the background? This can slow the browsing speed considerably, especially if you have a torrent client running in the background. You can find the torrent icon on the taskbar and turn it off by clicking on it with the right mouse button.

–    Make sure your antivirus software is updated regularly. Viruses and malicious software can significantly slow down your computer and the internet speed.

–    If you use Wi-Fi, make sure it is password protected. Otherwise, some of neighbors or passers-by, can use your internet for free.

–    If you use Wi-Fi on a laptop, try to use it in another room, or consider using a network cable to connect your laptop to the router.

6

Too much antivirus programs on a PC

Some users believe that more antivirus programs installed on the computer mean better security. However, if you have a few anti-virus programs installed on your computer and if they work at the same time, you surely will not have problems with viruses, but with everything that implies the normal work of the computer, certainly you will.

A good security means that you have permanently one antivirus program enabled and one firewall.

The anti-virus program checks every file that you download from the internet or files that you are trying to open. A firewall controls everything that comes to your computer from the internet. A good firewall also controls what goes from your computer to the Internet. Some programs combine both functions.

From category: How To

After these facts, it should be clear why the presence of more than one active antivirus software on the computer or more than one firewall, can cause the trouble. Only two of these programs, with the same function, working the same job at the same time, will slow down your system. But it could be worse – it can lead to conflict.

In addition to the regular protection, it’s not bad to have in the form of some adware scanners “on demand”. They are similar to antivirus programs, except that they don’t have the ability to work in the background. Instead, they scan the hard drive only on your demand.

One such program is ‘Malwarebytes Free Anti-Malware‘ which you can download from here https://www.malwarebytes.org/. The program will remove not only the ‘adware’, but also a whole string of ‘malware’ from your PC. Before starting, you have to deactivate your antivirus program in order the program can do its job properly.

If a specialized program that finds ‘adware’, identifies and delete it.

7

Computer freezes/program doesn’t work

As much as it may sound silly, but most of the computer problems can be solved by simply shutting down of the program, computer or by the restart.

Computer freeze problems can create outdated programs that aren’t updated for some time. Starting from the OS to the internet browser, all programs at some point will require an update.

Also, the problems can cause outdated drivers of the individual computer components.

When computer freezes, press the keyboard combination Ctrl + Alt + Del to open “Task Manager”. On the tab “Processes” all you need to do is to find the program which causes the problem, right click on it and close the program by clicking on “End task”.

8

There is a problem with this website’s security certificate

If you ever experienced this warning in your web browser, you probably didn’t know what to do. You can be even more confused if such a warning appears on the sites you regularly visit every day.

But the solution to this problem is very simple. In most cases, the problem is that the clock on the server on which is the website and the clock on your computer are not synchronized.

To fix this problem, click on the clock and date in the lower right corner of the screen and select “Date and time settings”. Then, select “Additional date, time &regional settings” and under the tab “Date and Time” click on “Set the time and date” < “Change date and time”, set the right time and confirm the action with “OK”.

9

The printer won’t print

Just when you need it most, the printer decided to refuse the cooperation. It has enough paper and ink, but just don’t print.

First, try the simplest solution – turn it off and on again.

If this didn’t help, see if the printer icon is on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Click on it twice to see which tasks your printer trying to do.

Be sure that you didn’t send more of the same documents to print and your printer is ready for the work. Select a document that is the first on the list, right-click on it and pause printing, then select to continue.

If this didn’t help, make sure that in the ‘Printer’ is selected ‘Use Printer Offline’.

As a last solution, turn off the printer from the power source for a few minutes and then turn it on again. This will erase its memory and may solve the problem.

10

My favorite game/program doesn’t work on a new PC

Before you begin to curse the computer and video game or program, make sure that these are compatible. Some older programs can’t run on newer computers. Also, the program that works smoothly on Windows, probably may not work on Mac.

Sometimes emulators can help, these are programs which can create an artificial environment in which the program can work as on the old computer, but they are mostly intended for games.

If it is a game that you are trying to run on the internet, you probably lack some of the add-ons on your internet browser. Newer versions of the browser, because of the past security problems, automatically disables Java and users must decide if they want to enable it. Flash player, which is required for many games on the internet, often requires updates, so maybe the problem is that you have an outdated version of it.

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