A crash occurs when your PC stops working unexpectedly. It can happen in different ways: an application can quit without notice; the display can freeze and will not accept any input from the keyboard or mouse; or you can end up with a blue screen that is caused by a STOP error or an invalid page fault. (That last one is known as the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD.) Whatever way the crash shows itself, it helps to understand what caused it in the first place, so you can prevent it from happening again.
Problems with your equipment can cause your computer to fail. Bad memory can be responsible for freezes and blue screens, for example. Even if you thought that your RAM was in top condition, a crash that occurs seemingly without reason might be caused by faulty modules.
Most people use their PCs to accomplish similar tasks day in, day out. This could mean that you do not use all of your system memory over the course of a typical day. Consequently, an unusual task that pushes memory usage up to unusual levels could lead to a faulty RAM address being used for the first time. You should suspect memory in most cases of random crashes. Run a full set of memory tests and replace any RAM that tests faulty.
Hard drives are also prime suspects in the event of a random crash. They feature moving parts that are constantly in use, so it is not surprising that bad disk sectors develop over time, and that some of these moving parts start to fail. To help predict when a hard drive will fail, current drives feature technology called SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology), and with the right software your PC can keep you updated about the health of your drives. You can run a program such as Personal SmartCheck from URL Toy Software (www.ultoy.com) to continually check your SMART drives. This programs costs about $20.00, but you can use a 30-day free trial before buying.
Overheating processors and graphics cards can also cause crashes. Once their temperature rises above a certain level, these components cease to function properly, and you can end up with a frozen system. If you overclock your rig, you should invest in improved cooling via after-market fans for your videocard (or cards) and thermal air-cooling devices for your CPU. Noisy videocard, CPU, or motherboard fans can indicate that they are not cooling efficiently. Replace them and make sure that dust does not collect on the fins because this build-up leads to less-effective cooling, too.
Components can also be damaged by electrostatic discharge, which in turn could cause a crash. Whenever you open up your computer case, make sure that you take antistatic precautions, such as wearing an antistatic bracelet.
Software conflicts or poor programming could also make your PC give up on you. Spyware is often sloppily coded, causing a drag on performance while also triggering memory errors. When programs do not address memory properly or more than one process attempts to access the same piece of memory, a crash typically occurs.
To avoid crashes caused by software problems, only use software from reputable sources and regularly scan for spyware using a recognized utility. Keep your anti-virus program up-to-date and run regular scheduled scans at least once a week.
Unreliable device drivers can bring a PC to its knees, too. Your computer relies upon these drivers to assist in the communication between software and hardware. Many people rely on unreliable drivers on their PCs, risking crashes, system freezes, and data loss.
Drivers have access to protected areas of Windows and could lead to crashes and instabilities. That is why Microsoft introduced driver signing. Signed drivers have been tested and proved to work with Windows. They are certified to have not changed since the testing. The signature includes elements of the driver's binary code protected by strong encryption, making it nearly impossible to release an altered driver that has not passed Microsoft's rigorous testing. Hardware and software that has been given Microsoft approval is said to have passed logo testing. Manufacturers of such items can display a Windows XP logo on promotional material to show that these items bear Microsoft's seal of approval.
The idea is that if you stick to using only signed drivers, your chances of encountering a crash are greatly reduced. However, many hardware manufacturers do not participate in Microsoft's logo-testing scheme, which renders the system close to meaningless. Lots of hardware ships with instructions that tell users to ignore Windows' warnings about unsigned drivers. It is probably unrealistic to avoid all unsigned drivers but it is worth bearing in mind that poorly written drivers can cause crashes. Any crashes that occur just after a hardware installation are likely due to the new driver. Consider uninstalling the driver or rolling back to an older driver version that did not cause any conflicts.
Having an up-to-date driver is vital for many pieces of hardware, particularly videocards. The rate at which video and graphics adaptors develop is faster than any other area of the technology sector. Check your manufacturer's web site for updates and make sure you apply any that were developed to improve stability.
Problems such as power failure, electrostatic discharge, or inappropriate PC shutdown can cause the same problems as a crash, leading to data loss and system instability. It is worth planning for these issues in a similar way to preparing a strategy for dealing with crashes. After all, if your PC is unexpectedly unplugged, you'll get a result similar to a hardware failure.