An
isolated incident is often just that, and, if nothing else, is a good
reminder to save your work often. On the other hand, if a given error
message or crash occurs repeatedly at the same time, in the same place,
or as a result of the same mouse click, you need to isolate the trigger
mechanism if you hope to solve the problem.
When did the problem start happening?
Sudden changes in your computer??™s behavior are almost never spontaneous;
if something suddenly stops working, you can bet that there??™s a
culprit. If the day the problem surfaced is the same day you installed a
new application, or the day you asked Windows Update to install a new
driver, then you??™ve got yourself a prime suspect.
Is the problem with a specific application or hardware device, or is it
Windows??™ fault?
You can rule out a specific application if the problem occurs in more
than one program. You can rule out devices by unplugging them or disabling
their drivers in Device Manager. And if you??™re really motivated,
you can rule out your specific Windows installation by installing a second
copy of the operating system on a different drive, as described in
Chapter 1.
But don??™t forget that software products are a lot like pharmaceuticals:
interactions can cause problems when the products by themselves are
harmless.
276 | Chapter 6: Troubleshooting
Am I using the latest version?
Software and hardware manufacturers frequently release updates and
fixes, so it??™s always a good idea to check their web sites for the latest
versions of all applications and drivers.
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