Windows Operating System Help

PillowPC.com is available 7 days a week to solve problems with your Windows Operating System and PC computer. Feel free to contact us any time you would like onsite help to fix a Windows problem.  We are available for onsite service in the anywhere within 35 miles of Brentwood, CA. Fixing Windows is our passion.  We'd love to hear from you!

Because not all Windows problems necessarily require an 'expert' to fix them, the page below details the most simple techniques I use to find solutions for Windows errors.

A search I just performed for 'Windows Error Messages' just yielded over 9 million hits on Google (performed 2/17/05).  Clearly the task of keeping Windows trouble-free can be daunting.  In my days as a Dell technician, I was presented with error messages I'd never heard of or read about, nearly every single day.  Yet, I managed to repair the computer 92% of the time (by internal statistics), on the very first contact.  Many other techs enjoyed similar success rates.

How did we'd do that?

Simple. 

'Google' the error messages.

Google's search engine is unmatched in the world.  Netscape, MSN and Yahoo are also excellent, but Google's search formula continues to produce the best results available. 

To 'Google' a windows error properly, you must put the search inside quotes.  Let's say you're getting this error message, when you first start your computer or open an internet browser:

Error loading winupd.dll

The specified module could not be found

To find the solution, you go to google.com and type in the most relevant part of the error message: "Error loading winupd.dll"

A little reading around the various help sites returned by google will show that this a 'remnant' of a spyware program, left over after a scan/cleaning with an anti-spyware program, such as Spybot.  Deeper reading will show that to fix the error, you need only manually remove all entries with the keyword 'Targetsoft' from your windows registry, , and remove the winupd.dll entry in your startup programs (accessed through Start | Run | msconfig), to stop the error message.

Alternatively, registry scanning programs will fix just about any File not found, missing .dll, winsock error, or internet explorer error.  Two leading examples of such programs are PCBugDoctor and ErrorNuker.  They both work extremely well against the types of errors listed above, and they are both priced less than the cost of typical service call.

Googling an error message will yield a solution (or at least a discussion of the topic) just about every time you search, if you do it properly.  It is very rare to be the first person to ever encounter an error message.  Solutions to thousands of error messages can be found all over the Net.

Troubleshooting Windows Errors

Anytime you get a Windows error, immediately consider what you've done on your computer, between the time it last worked properly and first time you saw the error message.  Consider these questions:

• Was anything new installed on this computer?  Anything downloaded?  Any new hardware?  New drivers? Did you update any software?
• Did anyone else use your computer?  What might they have installed or downloaded?  Begin your interrogations...
• Did you receive any odd emails in the past few days? Could this be a virus reaction?
• Do you have more than 4 or 5 icons in the lower right corner of your screen, next to the clock? Anything new there?
• Did you visit any 'less-than-mom-approved' websites in the past few days? Could this be spyware?
• Did you delete anything recently?  Anything at all?  Did you do it properly through the program's uninstaller, or did you simply delete the folder?
• Did you recently try to 'tweak' any settings?
• Was there a power outage or storm recently? (Important consideration, if you use a dial-up modem!)

Those are the exact questions I ask when users report odd errors on their computers.  If nothing else, that process can help determine what's going on, and where the troubleshooting should start.  If you can answer some of those questions above, you'll have better luck when you go Googling the error message; you'll recognize the source of the problem easier, and zero in on a solution much faster.

If you find a solution on Google, but can't understand the techno-babble, consider contacting the support staff for the application in question.  Most can be particularly helpful with their own products, and have probably seen an error message related to their product thousands of times. 

You might also investigate the product's online support solutions, if you are able to determine the source of the error (it's actually rarer for Windows itself to cause the error message).  The software developer's published solutions don't always show up in Google (for a variety of reasons), but fixing the problem is often quick and painless.

Brand New Hardware or Peripherals Not Working Properly

Sadly, brand new hardware rarely seems to work on the first try these days.  The changes to Windows and general computer hardware just come too fast for any one company to keep up.

If you just purchased a new piece of hardware (printer, scanner, video card, digital camera, or whatever) and the dang thing won't work, first triple check your connections, and make sure everything is wired-tight and powered up.

If everything is connected, then 90% of the time the problem will be with product's driver.  Yes, I know it's brand-new hardware, but the driver CDs were probably pressed a year or more ago.  Visit the hardware manufacturer's website, and locate their support center.  Find and download the updated drivers for your product, and carefully follow the installation instructions. 

You may have to unplug your hardware and uninstall the old driver, before the new install can be completed, or it may be simple update to the existing driver.  Read the readme.txt files, and any installation instructions several times.  Yes, I know I said that twice...it's that important.

If you don't have the patience to do any of the above, you can always contact a local computer tech and let them figure it out.  If you're within 35 miles of Brentwood, CA, call me directly and we can schedule an appointment for a visit.

Contact Information

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Our computer service area includes Brentwood, Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Byron and other cities within 35 miles of Brentwood, CA.

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925-584-6951

 

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