Windows XP Troubleshooting Tutorial. Though Windows XP is Microsofts most popular desktop operating system, it is not without its challenges. Like. By submitting your personal information, you agree that Tech. Target and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers. You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy. OS or application, troubleshooting Windows XP can be frustrating for Windows administrators. Fortunately, with the right tips any admin can troubleshoot Windows XP desktop issues with relative ease, and our Windows XP Troubleshooting Tutorial is designed to help IT pros do just that. This tutorial provides troubleshooting tips that every admin should know, with advice on troubleshooting Windows XP startup problems and the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. Youll also find info on how to troubleshoot features such as Windows XP System Restore and Device Manager, network and printer problems and more. Choose Programs Load Startup Xp' title='Choose Programs Load Startup Xp' />Uncheck system startup unnecessary startup programs. When installing any new software, choose not to add the program to the startup folder. It often slows start up. Troubleshooting Windows XPTABLE OF CONTENTS How to troubleshoot Windows XP startup problems Techniques for troubleshooting slow startup issues Troubleshooting the Windows XP Blue Screen of Death Recovering from Windows XP configuration changes How to troubleshoot Windows XP hardware problems. How to troubleshoot Windows XP startup problems. One of the most common troubleshooting problems in Microsoft Windows XP involves the failure of a system to start up properly. These failures can be caused by a number of issues, including poorly written or malicious software, faulty device drivers, hardware incompatibilities, corrupt or missing system files and incorrect system configurations. Determining the source of the problem and fixing it is easier if you use a methodical, step by step approach. Where to start. The first question that should be asked when troubleshooting Windows XP startup problems is What changed If a user has just loaded new software, added new hardware, updated drivers or made a change to the Windows XP system configuration, you should assume this was the cause of the issue until you have ruled it out by undoing the change. The fortunetelling game MASH, kept alive over decades by gradeschoolers, requires nothing more than pencil, paper, and a friend. Heres how to play this little. System software is an essential part of a computer system. This chapter defines system software and discusses two types of system software operating systems and. Computer Freezes Up After Startup Fix, Clean, Repair COMPUTER FREEZES UP AFTER STARTUP Improve Its Performance SPEED Up Your PC Free Scan Now WiseFixer is a professional and advanced system optimizer tool to help users easily and conveniently fix system errors,clean registry,optimize system to speed up PC. Load the installer. Once your Boot Order is set, insert the Windows XP CD into your drive and Save and Exit from the BIOS. Your computer will reboot and you will be. This includes operating system updates from Microsoft, which have been known to cause an occasional issue. If a recent change is not a potential cause of the Windows XP startup failure, you should suspect hardware failure, viruses or malicious software or data corruption. Troubleshooting the issue will depend on the point at which startup fails. The further along in the startup process the failure occurs, the easier it is to troubleshoot and repair. If the workstation starts normally and fails after logon, then the problem may be related to a user profile, network logon script, application, driver or service. XPrepair/4.gif' alt='Choose Programs Load Startup Xp' title='Choose Programs Load Startup Xp' />If Windows XP produces an error message or blue screen, copy the message and check Microsofts Knowledge Base to see if it is a known issue and if a workaround or patch exists. If the issue is not in Microsofts database, try searching technical discussion groups, third party sites or Usenet. If you do not receive an error message, and the system simply hangs or continually restarts, there are several troubleshooting techniques you can try. For example, you can try logging in with a different account, or a local account. You can also perform a clean boot or try booting into Safe Mode. When troubleshooting Windows XP, if the system will not start in Normal Mode or Safe Mode its usually not a good sign. This may be the result of corrupt or missing system files, a corrupt registry, hardware drivers or failed services. Your first step is to press F8 during Windows XP Startup and select the Last Known Good Configuration option from the Windows Advanced Options Menu. If Windows XP boots normally, check the event logs and hardware manager for clues as to what may have caused the failure. You may also want to check the AddRemove Programs menu for any new applications that may have contributed to the failure. The Last Known Good Configuration and Chkdsk. If the Last Known Good Configuration fails, the next step is to start the Windows XP Recovery Console. The Windows XP Recovery Console is a command line utility that can be used to troubleshoot a number of issues in the event that Windows XP cannot start, including starting and stopping services and drivers. You can start the Recovery Console by booting from the Windows XP Startup CD and pressing R to repair when the Welcome to System Setup screen appears, then press C to start the Recovery Console. If you receive an error on startup stating that a system file is missing or corrupt, Recovery Console can be used to replace those files as well. If you are unable to determine if a driver or service is responsible for the Windows XP startup failure, you should run the Windows XP Checkdisk utility from the Recovery Console by typing CHKDSK at the command prompt. This utility scans your hard drive and checks for problems with the disk or file system, which may result in corrupt or missing system files. These Windows XP troubleshooting techniques should usually help you figure out the source of the startup problems. However, if you are still unable to determine the cause of startup failure at this point, you do have a few options left. If your Windows XP machine wont boot at all, you can try using your emergency Windows XP boot floppy. If your hard drives boot sector or Windows basic boot files have been corrupted, this disk will circumvent the problem and boot you into Windows XP. If you dont have an emergency boot floppy, you may be able to use one created on another PC running Windows XP, but theres no guarantee that it will boot your machine. Troubleshooting Windows XP slow startup issues. One way to troubleshoot Windows XP when the system is slow to startup is by disabling annoying and unnecessary Windows XP startup programs. By far the easiest way to temporarily disable startup programs is to boot the system into Safe Mode, as Safe Mode boots Windows XP using a bare configuration. It loads only the essential device drivers, and Windows does not load any startup programs. That way, if a particular device driver or startup program is causing problems, you can boot Windows XP without loading it. You are then free to disable or remove the driver, service or application that is causing the problem. You can access Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key just before Windows XP begins to boot you may have to press F8 repeatedly. Upon doing so, the Windows boot menu will be displayed, which gives you several different boot modes to choose from, such as Safe Mode with Networking, Safe Mode with Command Prompt and Directory Services Restore Mode. Using the Shift key. You can also prevent some Windows XP startup programs from running by simply using the Shift key. When you boot Windows XP, enter your username and password and click OK. Immediately after that, hold down on the Shift key until all of your desktop icons appear. However, be aware that this troubleshooting trick will not give you quite as clean of a boot as booting to Safe Mode, and all of the usual device drivers will be loaded. Download Oracle Abnormal Program Termination Windows 2008 more. Holding the Shift key down only prevents Windows XP applications from launching automatically from certain locations.