|
Handling Crashes or Freezes Properly
 You are working on a program and all of a sudden it dumps you out of the program or freezes. Of course you saved no more than five minutes ago, so you won't lose much work, but what to do you do now?
If you got booted out of the program, what you DON'T do is start the program again (or take action similar to the picture).Whatever the problem was, it didn't go away. The first course of action is to shut down the computer properly and reboot. If the problem persists, make note of when it happens. Usually it happens under the same or similar circumstances. Providing tech support with accurate, complete information will help them diagnose and treat the problem.
Telling tech support that the computer isn't working properly, is about as help as walking into your doctor's office saying, "Doc, I'm sick." You know the doctor is going to need more information to help you and he will prompt you for the questions, but guess what? You are right there to answer his questions. You may not be in the room when tech support comes to visit.
Defrosting a Frozen Computer
If a computer is frozen, you have to defrost it to shut down properly. The first step in unfreezing a frozen computer is what is affectionately known as a three-fingered salute. Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys with your left hand and strike the Delete key one time. This will bring up a window with six buttons. (Lock Workstation, Logoff, Shut Down, Change Password, Task Manager, Cancel)
Avoid the Lock Workstation button. If you accidentally click on that, the only way someone can use the computer is by entering your password or the administrator's password.
 In most cases, you will want to click on Task Manager. When you do, you will see a screen that has three tabs labelled Applications, Processes, and Performance. You want Applications. There you will see a list of applications that are running. If you look in the right hand column, you will see either Running or Not Responding. Click on any program that says Not Responding and then click on the End Task button. It will then do one of three types of things.
1) End the program and unfreeze the computer so you can shutdown and reboot.
2) Bring up another window that tells you the program isn't responding and asking if you want to end it. Answering affirmatively should end the program and unfreeze the computer so you can shut it down and reboot.
3) Not do 1) or 2) and leave you in the same boat you were in before the three-fingered salute. If that happens, try the three-fingered salute again, go to Task Manager and click on Shut Down.
If that doesn't work, try holding down Ctrl and Alt and hitting the Delete key three or four times in rapid succession. That should restart the computer.
As a last resort, you can hold in the power button until the computer shuts off.
[ Contents ] [ Previous ] [ Next ]
|
