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virtual edge
12/14/1998
System Hangs or Locks Up
One of the most difficult problems to solve for any computer system is a random system hang up or lock up. Unless you're willing to invest a few hours of troubleshooting, there's no quick and easy way to determine the problem. Typically, lock up problems should be approached as software related first and hardware second. (Unless it's something really obvious; such as you've recently had a power spike or blackout in your area, in which case you should check out the hardware components first.)
If it turns out to be hardware related, then the only sure way to find the defective item is to have spare parts (i.e., a known good set of memory, another video card, etc.); which, if you're an end user, is not always possible.
SOFTWARE RELATED PROBLEMS
The point is, first determine if the cause is a software/driver problem. If so, try rolling the system back to its most recent stable state; either by uninstalling application or device drivers. A common problem is the installation of some games, which will automatically install its version of Microsoft DirectX. If a game asks if you wish to install DirectX, always say NO! The latest version of DirectX as of 08/03/2000 is version 7.0a, which you can download here (6.3MB).
If all else fails, then you may have to bite the bullet and reinstall your operating system. It may seem a big hassle to reload all your drivers and applications, and then reconfigure the system exactly the way you like it. But sometimes it's easier (and possibly faster) to start over from scratch, rather than spend a few hours trying to figure out which driver or application is causing the system lock up. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to reinstall Windows 9x from scratch.
HARDWARE RELATED PROBLEMS
Computer
equipment may go bad for no reason. There are times when a video card will be working perfectly a few minutes ago, but then you powered down the system and on the next power up you get no video. When troubleshooting a system, always keep this fact in mind: computer parts may fail for no reason whatsoever and at any time.
The
main cause for hardware related lock up problems is due either to your system memory and/or the system board. Replace the memory first, if you have a spare set of good memory. If that wasn't the cause of the problem, replace the system board. If your PC continues to experience problems, then you may want to strip the system down to the video card. The next items you'll want to replace is: power supply, hard drive, and the processor as the very last resort.
If
all else fails, contact your reseller or PREMIO product support.
The best way to approach a software related problem is to examine the history of the system. That is, was the system working before you added a new piece of hardware, installed a new driver, or application? For example, if you're getting random lock ups just after updating your video driver, then chances are good that it's somehow caused by the new display driver. To test your theory, simply reinstall the previous version of the driver and see what happens. This may apply if your experience similar problems after installing a new application. Go into Control Panel / Add/Remove Program and uninstall the offending application.
If you find out that it may not be a software problem, then you'll have to see if it's caused by faulty hardware. Go for the obvious causes first: did your area have a blackout or power outage recently? Or was there a recent storm in your area? Any of these events may damage a computer system (or possibly any electrical equipment for that matter).