Niall is getting the above error message when trying to login on XP startup. The user account or folders may have become corrupt or been deleted for some reason so best bet is to create a new user account in safe mode then restart the computer and see if the old folder and files are still there. You can then copy them over. See below for more info:

answers.microsoft.com

Christine’s pc turns off during Windows XP installation.

There are many possible reasons for this so not sure where to start. Computers turning off automatically regardless of what you’re doing is normally a sign of an overheating CPU. The CPU turns itself off to avoid damage. It may have started to overheat due to a fan failure, dust build up in the vents or heat sink failure.

Also try resetting settings in your BIOS to default and take out the CMOS batter for a few seconds first. Check your windows install DVD/CD is not scratched or corrupt.

Subash’s PC is running slow all of a sudden having been fine before.

There are so many possible causes for slowing computers. Here’s a few:

• Lack of space on hard drive,
• CPU overheating,
• Viruses,
• Corrupt registry,
• Hardware ageing.

Try some of these fixes:

• Clear unused files and programs,
• Run Disc Cleanup,
• Delete Restore Points,
• Run a virus scan,
• Run a system maintenance utility.

A good virus scanner and registry cleaner is Bullguard Internet Security.

Bimalendu often gets the error “A Runtime Error has occoured, do you wish to Debug? Yes or No” while browing the net.

I’m going to presume you’re using Internet Explorer and this error is most common with that browser. Try upgrading to the latest version or try another browser like Firefox or Chrome at least to test.

You can also turn off this script debugging in Internet Explorer. More info HERE.

Jimon has an overclocked PC and was in the middle of gaming when the computer turned itself off. Now it turns on but goes off again automatically after a few mins.

It kinda sounds obvious to me that your overclocked CPU is struggling to cope and is overheating and turning off the computer to protect itself. It could have been damaged during an overheat too. Other possible issues are the graphics card and power supply so try swapping these out if possible.

To deal with an overheating CPU, you might need to go into the BIOS/Setup screen on boot and revert to default values.

Kieran needed to print out something quickly only to find both installed printers missing from the list of printers. He hadn’t disconnected them or uninstalled so it was a mystery.

Trying to add the printers again via the Control Panel brought up the error “Print spooler service not running” but when we tried to start that service we got another error “Windows could not start the Print Spooler service on Local Computer”. Typing this into Start – Run fixed the issue and all printers re-appeared magically: “CMD /K SC CONFIG SPOOLER DEPEND= RPCSS”

More info here.

Henry is getting the error message above and is unable to connect to the net or any networks.

Seemingly, this problem relates to a corrupt file. For detailed instructions on how to try to fix it, see here:

http://www.consideritfixed.com/2009/02/the-dependency.html

To be quicker, you could try un-install/re-install the network card but if that and the above fails you may need to do an “in place upgrade install” or re-install your system completely.

Robert’s Windows 7 PC can’t see any other computers on the network only itself.

Running the network setup wizard should set everything up properly for you but Windows 7 won’t necessarily connect to computers running different operating systems such as XP. If you’ve done everything correctly and enabled Network Discovery, you could try searching for connected computers by name.

Conor has installed a new power supply unit but there are issues with power buttons, fans and led’s flashing.

Presuming you’ve connected everything right and leads aren’t loose or faulty, I would say the initial problem may have been the motherboard and not the previous PSU? Or the new PSU may be faulty and may have damaged the motherboard. Sometimes the blinking LED’s can give you a clue as to the issue. If you google blinking codes for your particular computer you may get a clue.

I’d try another PSU first before doing anything with the motherboard.

Randy’s computer turns itself on automatically every night at midnight.

I’d guess that the computer is in standby or sleep mode and there is some scheduled task set to run at this time, perhaps a virus scan or backup. See what’s running when it starts. Alternatively, the computer may be set to come on in the BIOS/Setup for some reason.

Do a  virus scan to make sure there’s nothing of malice going on.

Ray is getting 4 beeps as the computer starts up.

Beep codes on startup can tell you a lot about what’s going on. Normally 1 beep tells you everything is ok while anything else will give you a clue as to what’s wrong with the PC. Unfortunately all computers beep codes may have different meanings. Yours may mean there is a “System Timer Failure” but google beep codes for your particular PC BIOS version.

This site should help further - http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

Fardeen can’t seem to get his microphone working with the Audacity Audio recording program but the sound card and speakers work fine.

Obvious things first. Make sure the microphone is in the right socket and the system sound settings are correct in the control panel. For programs like Audacity and Skype, etc, you need to go into the settings and tell the program which port the microphone is connected to.

Failing that, it is of course possible your microphone or card is faulty.

Sharon’s touchpad’s right button will only work in safe mode but not in normal operation.

I’d say the computer is loading the default touchpad driver in safe mode but it’s trying to use another faulty driver in normal mode. Try looking for the computer manufacturers website to download updated drivers.

Ciara is seeing a pile of 11111′s being typed automatically in things like the user login screen, search bars, web address fields etc..

I’d like to tell you that your computer is trying to talk to you in binary but that would be a cruel lie. The obvious answer to me is that there’s a key stuck down on your keyboard, probably the “1″ key! If it’s not that then try attaching a different keyboard and see if everything is ok.

Chris is seeing a blue screen on startup.

I’m not sure if it’s the dreaded Blue Screen of Death in which you’ll see a load of funny looking text/code followed by an automatic restart or whether it’s a continuous blank blue screen?

However, it may indicate either a faulty piece of hardware in your pc or faulty drivers. The fact your pc works in safe mode might indicate a driver/software issue so try going on to windows update or manufacturers websites and getting updated drivers for all your plugin cards like graphics cards, sound cards etc..

You could also try removing things like graphics cards, RAM sticks etc and see if the problem persists.

Sarah is getting the following error on startup:

“Windows cannot find C:Windows/eksplorasi.pif”

Her anti-virus software is not picking up anything.

First off, it’s a fairly serious virus you have, see here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=Worm%3AWin32%2FBrontok.A%40mm

Make sure your virus software is updated and decent! Try run a scan in “Safe Mode”. Google how to start a computer in safe mode for your particular system. You could also try installing and running the following virus cleaner programs:

CC Cleaner
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
HiJack This

Colm sees the wrong date and time on computer startup and also a message saying the battery is low.

This is an easy one. Every computer has a small CMOS battery on board that powers the storage of information like date and time, bootup and BIOS settings. Yours is obviously in need of replacement. They only last a few years. It’s not a difficult thing to replace. You’ll find easy step by step instructions in Google.

Pat has hooked up his TV to the Desktop PC via HDMI cable and there’s picture but no sound.

First of all I’d check that your graphics card supports audio through the HDMI socket. Have a look at the makers website. If you’re sure it does then check your sound settings and maybe set “digital” to be the default sound output. See here:

answers.microsoft.com

Every time Andrea plugs in her USB Flash drive to do a backup, it shuts down the computer with the message – “Your computer has just recovered from a critical error”. Removing the drive solves the issue. I’d say the drive is faulty in some way or may even contain a virus. Anti-virus software is capable of scanning these drives and fixing them so try that. Also try getting the latest drivers for the USB stick. Try using it in another pc too to see if it has the same effect. Worst case, the stick may be damaged in some way so try to get data onto a new one.

Just a quick one for Stephen! PC optical drive doors not opening is normally a quick fix. Stick an opened up paper clip in the hole in the front of the CD drawer and it should pop open. Alternatively, right-click on your CD Drive’s icon in My Computer or on the desktop and choose “Eject”. If neither of these work, your drive might not have power or be faulty and need replacing.

Susan is getting frustrated at Firefox crashing at the point of purchase repeatedly. A quick fix might be to update to the latest version of Firefox or even try another browser completely. Google Chrome is good and fast.

Keith gets a strange problem when he boots up his pc. The desktop shows briefly then the screen goes blank for a few minutes. Sometimes there are strange patterns on screen. What I would do is a quick check to see monitor cables and connection to the computer is sound. Also make sure the graphics card is seated properly inside the computer. You could try a different monitor briefly if available. Also try downloading the latest drivers for your graphic card. Worst case scenario might be a faulty graphics card but they are not expensive.

There’s an outside chance some kind of virus or startup program might be hijacking things so do a scan with decent software just in case. I use Bullguard.

Bram has a decent spec laptop that shuts itself down while playing games! The fairly obvious answer to this would seem to be ‘overheating’. A few things: make sure you’re not blocking any vents. Make sure vents are not dusty/dirty. Make sure your laptop CPU is not too overclocked. Install a temperature monitoring program and google normal operating temperatures for your CPU and see if they match.

When something goes wrong with a PC, often it is such a nuisance to get it fixed. You have to phone up a helpline, press countless buttons on the telephone just to get to speak to someone. Then, they may not even be able to help and you must make an appointment for somebody to come around to your house and look at it in person. How much easier would it be if you could skip these steps and get an answer quickly. That is what this site aims to do.

Imagine you ordered broadband from a site like www.o2.co.uk, but you have problems getting you computer to recognise it. There are a lot of things that you can do to try and fix this, such as resetting your router or restarting your computer. You may just need to wait for the internet service provider to connect your internet, sometimes this takes a bit of time.

Or you may be having problems because your PC is running slower than usual. This may simply be because there are too many other programs running in the background. This can slow down your system and be very frustrating. The sorts of programs that tend to do this are instant messengers, so they can be opened quickly when you require them.

Your hard drive may also need to be defragmented, to clear up system files which have become scattered around. If this is the case, you need to do some ‘defragging’, and this should sort it out.

Getting help from this site will often be a lot easier and a lot less time consuming than spending hours on the telephone. No-one has to come out to your house and your problem should be solved quickly. Also, the help which is given on this site is free of charge, cutting out the annoying costs that fixing PC Problems can incur.

Jackie asks how can she connect to her office computer from her home laptop. Presuming work don’t have some kind of Virtual Private Network connection they can set you up with, I’d say the best option might be to use the FREE version of LogMeIn which allows you to see and control the desktop of another computer via the Internet.

Nouman gets the message “NTLDR is missing” on starting up the computer. NTLDR is the boot loader for Windows NT systems including your XP so if it’s missing or corrupt you computer can’t start properly. First, check all hard drive cables. You could try updating your PC’s BIOS or resetting to default values. Otherwise you’ll need to boot from the XP installation disk and select R to repair the installation. When you reach the Recovery Console type the following commands to replace your corrupt versions:

copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

Where “d” is the drive letter assigned to your DVD/CD drive. When complete, take out the XP CD and restart.

Ravi is getting the message “A USB device has exceeded the power limits of its hub port.” This normally means that you have a USB device connected that is drawing more power than the hub can support. If all USB devices still work fine than you can safely ignore this message but if not you may need to get an external USB hub that has an external power supply so it’s not drawing power from the computer. You might also consider upgrading the Firmware/Drivers for your hub.

Andrew can’t seem to get online after playing the WOW game. There’s really too many possible reasons why you’ve no internet and since you’ve tried a few obvious things already like resetting the router, checking the connection, virus checking etc..Iwould suggest ringing your internet provider. They do go down regularly! Also, it’s possible you may have gone over your isp’s monthly bandwidth limit. Online gaming can do this easily!

Sherrie replaced the internal DVD writer in her PC and now the computer is telling here it cannot find the hardware device. It may sound obvious, but you need to double check you have everything connected correctly. A new DVD drive requires at least both a Data ribbon cable connection and a power connection. They may also require an audio connection. If you’re sure its installed correctly then the computer should either auto install a driver or ask you to supply one on a disk so if you’ve no disk you might need to download a driver from the manufacturers website.

On rare occasions, DVD drives just aren’t compatible with certain computers. This may be remedied by a firmware or bios update for your motherboard, available from the motherboard makers site.

Rajiv upgraded Vista to Windows 7 and is now having issues with his Laptop’s sound card. Unfortunately, there are quite a few drivers unavailable for Windows 7 but the best thing is to check your laptop, motherboard or sound card manufacturers websites to see what drivers they have. If you have more than one sound card installed try to switch to the other one in the sound properties section. You can also use the device manager to automatically try to find any available drivers online.