Chapter 13: Troubleshooting and Recovering from Problems


Overview

  • Determine the source of a problem.

  • Use general troubleshooting strategies to solve common problems.

  • Troubleshoot problems using Web sites and newsgroups.

  • Use Windows XP’s recovery tools: Last Known Good Configuration, System Restore, Recovery Console, and Automated System Recovery.

  • Reinstall Windows XP.

A long time ago, somebody proved mathematically that it is impossible to make any reasonably complex software program problem-free. As the number of variables increase, as the interactions of subroutines and objects become more complex, and as the underlying logic of a program grows beyond the ability of a single person to grasp all at once, errors inevitably creep into the code. Given Microsoft Windows XP’s status as one of the most complex software packages ever created, almost certainly problems are lurking in the weeds. (Actually, considering the richness, depth, and immense intricacy of Windows XP—its lines of code are numbered in the tens of millions—the fact that to date relatively few problems have been reported borders on miraculous.) And, the good news is that the great majority of these problems are extremely obscure and will appear only under rare circumstances.

However, this doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a glitch-free computing experience. Far from it. The majority of computer woes are caused by third- party programs and devices, either because they have inherent problems themselves or because they don’t get along well with Windows XP. Using software, devices, and device drivers designed for Windows XP can help tremendously, as can the maintenance program we outline in Chapter 12, “Maintaining Your System in 10 Easy Steps.” Nonetheless, you need to know how to troubleshoot and resolve the computer problems that invariably will come your way. In this chapter, we help you do just that by showing you our favorite techniques for determining problem sources, and by taking you through all of Windows XP’s recovery tools.

Note

Software glitches are traditionally called bugs, although many developers shun the term because it comes with too much negative baggage these days. However, there’s a popular and appealing tale of how this sense of the word bug came about. As the story goes, in 1947 an early computer pioneer named Grace Hopper was working on a system called the Mark II. While investigating a problem, she found a moth hiding out among the machine’s vacuum tubes, so from then on glitches were called bugs. A great story, to be sure, but this tale was not the source of the “computer glitch” sense of “bug.” In fact, engineers had already been referring to mechanical defects as “bugs” for at least 60 years before Ms. Hopper’s actual moth came on the scene. As proof, the Oxford English Dictionary offers the following quotation from an 1889 edition of the Pall Mall Gazette:

Mr. Edison, I was informed, had been up the two previous nights discovering “a bug” in his phonograph—an expression for solving a difficulty, and implying that some imaginary insect has secreted itself inside and is causing all the trouble.




Insider Power Techniques for Microsoft Windows XP
Insider Power Techniques for Microsoft Windows XP (Bpg-Other)
ISBN: 0735618968
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 126

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