General Troubleshooting

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In addition to all the specific troubleshooting points listed in the appendix, there are a number that always apply to Windows programs.

• Check for viruses. Viruses can cause almost any kind of strange behavior.
• Check your disks for hardware problems. The most thorough way of doing this is using the CHKDSK command. In a command prompt window, type
  
  chkdsk /r /f
  
  Then reboot your computer. The boot process will do a lengthy but thorough check to find disk errors and recover from them.
• Check your event logs. You do this starting with the Control Panel. Go to Administrative Tools, then select Event Viewer. Check especially for errors and warnings—these may indicate problems with your computer (e.g. hardware errors or viruses).
  
  If you expand Window Logs in the left-hand panel and then click System, the center panel will list recent events for your computer. Any marked with red error signs are particularly serious and may indicate critical problems with your hardware or software. Remember, use Google to look up any error messages.

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