Solve the Weirdest PC Mysteries

40 top-secret methods for ridding your hardware and software of alien phenomena. The truth is in here.

Do you ever wonder if your PC was manufactured in Roswell, New Mexico? If it had been, that would explain an awful lot--such as all those close encounters with paranormal crashes, extraterrestrial error messages, and strange hardware phenomena. They're enough to leave even the most rational PC user ranting about insidious conspiracies.

That's where we come in--the problem-solving team of software wizard and Home Office columnist Steve Bass, and hardware maven and Hardware Tips host Kirk Steers. Our mission: to solve the mysterious glitches and techno-riddles that can cause your work to grind to a halt. Call us the PC Repairmen in Black.

For this, our second annual troubleshooting extravaganza, we scoured the Web, polled PC World readers, and grappled with our own PCs to find the most aggravating, inexplicable errors. Then we looked for clues and came up with ways to eradicate these pesky PC problems. So when computing disaster strikes, don't get paranoid. Start troubleshooting--with our help.

Steve Bass and Kirk Steers are contributing editors for PC World. Visit our Downloads library to download any of the programs mentioned in this article, and go to " Tune Up Your OS" for other troubleshooting and tune-up tools.

Windows Demystified

What frightens psychic investigators and makes UFO experts tremble? The disturbances that Windows is known to cause: Things disappear, make strange noises, and start acting abnormally. Here are the mysteries I've encountered and solved.

File Association Snatchers

Mystery: The MP3 player you installed has taken over all your media files--video, photos, music, and even.wav files.

Solved: Pod people are bad enough--but pod files? >>TIP Open the application you don't want to associate with the files, check its Options menu, and look for a setting to disassociate the files. Repeat with the app you do want associated with the files. Or try this: In Windows Explorer, select View, Folder Options or Tools, Folder Options. Choose File Types, scroll to the type whose association you want to change, and select it. In Windows 98, click Edit twice, and enter the path of the program that should open the file (or browse to it, if you prefer). Then click OK. In Windows Me, 2000, or XP, use the Change button.

Need to look up an extension? Do it at File Extension Search Engine. >>TIP Make associations permanent by right-clicking a file in Explorer and selecting Open With ( Open With, Choose Program in XP). Select the desired program and check the Always...box.

Uninstall Headaches

Mystery: You try to uninstall a program with Windows' Add/Remove Programs, and get this error message: "The log file DEISL1.ISU is not valid or the data has been corrupted." Or the Add/Remove applet lists programs no longer on your PC. Maybe your HAL 9000 just doesn't want you uninstalling anything.

Solved: >>TIP Find the program's folder (it should be nested in the Program Files folder), and delete the DEISL1.ISU (or UNINST.ISU) file (it may be in a subfolder). Reinstall and then uninstall the program using Add/Remove Programs. If that doesn't work, use brute force: Delete the program's folder, click Start, Run, type RegEdit, select File, Export to save a copy, and then delete the program's keys in both HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

An easier way? You could purchase the $20 Ashampoo UnInstaller 2000, a utility that guides you through the process. Ashampoo UnInstaller also eliminates the names of long-gone programs in Add/Remove. So does Tweak UI, a freebie available at PC World.com downloads area; download the one for your version of Windows.

If your system crashes midway through a Microsoft Office 2000 installation, you may not be able to uninstall (or reinstall) Office. To do that you'll need Eraser2k.exe, a Microsoft utility that removes Office files and Registry settings. Visit Microsoft Product Support Services for instructions on using it.

Not So Normal.dot

Mystery: You click the Word icon, but it doesn't load. Instead, an error appears. After trying again and scanning for alien life-forms, you get a blue screen. Reinstalling Word doesn't help, nor does uninstalling and then reinstalling it.

Solved: Somehow the mother ship corrupted Word's normal.dot template file. >>TIP Use Windows' Find function to locate Normal.dot; then delete the file. Once the file is gone, Word will create a new Normal.dot file, and your PC will be fine.

CD-RW Secrets

I remember when flying-disc sightings led to frantic calls to the FBI. Today, silvery circular objects hurtling through the air typically come from angry music fans frustrated by balky CD-RW drives. Here are my fixes.

Musical Malady

Mystery: You can play mind-blowing audio CDs on your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive but not your CD-RW drive.

Solved: The audio signal from the drive playing a music CD passes through your sound card via a small cable. Chances are, your CD-RW drive doesn't have one of these cables. Also, your sound card may have only one connector for audio input. >>TIP To play audio CDs from either drive, you'll need a Y-cable (available at consumer electronics stores) that splits a single line into two, as a telephone-line splitter does, so that you can connect both drives' sound cables to the sound card. Or you can get a sound card with two ports.

CD-RWs Are From Mars...

Mystery: Your CD-RW drive stops halfway though a recording session, displays a "buffer underrun" error message, and leaves you with a useless CD. What's the matter? Doesn't that blankity-blank drive like Slim Whitman's music?

Solved: Many older CD-RW drives need an uninterrupted flow of data to write to CD-R discs. If the data stream runs dry even for a second, the process terminates and the target CD becomes unusable.

The easy but expensive solution is to buy a new CD-RW drive armed with technology that protects discs from buffer underrun errors. >>TIP Or follow my cheap method: Lower the drive's write speed in your CD-burning software. The drive will work at a slower pace, but you'll eliminate buffer underruns.

>>TIPAnother approach is to maximize data flow to the CD-RW drive by reducing the CPU workload. Log off your network and close all open applications. If you're moving data from your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive to your CD-RW drive, consider copying the data to the hard drive first; hard drives move data faster than CD-ROM drives do. To optimize the hard drive, run Windows' ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter; both utilities are in Start, Programs ( All Programs in XP), Accessories, System Tools.

>>TIP If your CD-RW drive is connected to your PC via the EIDE bus (as most internal drives are), make sure it's not attached to the same IDE cable as your hard drive. Most PCs come with two IDE channels. Each channel can have its own cable that supports two drives.

Web Weirdness

It happens all the time: I'm breezing along on the Internet, grabbing downloads and saving favorites, when my connection goes dead, Internet Explorer deals me a deadly page fault error, or I suffer from some other perturbation in the Force. Here's how I get myself back into hyperspace.

Jinxed Java

Mystery: On some Web pages, boxes pop up--with neato movies, time-consuming games, and funny animations. Yet on other sites, even though you know similar boxes should appear, they don't. Is a Romulan cloaking device responsible?

Solved: Perplexing, isn't it? Java programs and Flash animations should work perfectly, unless you--or some diagnostic utility you used--fiddled with your browser's settings. >>TIP Make sure Java is enabled. In IE, select Tools, Internet Options, Advanced; under 'Microsoft VM', check Java logging enabled and JIT compiler for virtual machine enabled. In Netscape, select Edit, Preferences, Advanced, and check Enable Java and Enable Java Script. If you use an ad-blocking program such as AdSubtract, uninstall it temporarily, clear your browser's cache, and then check to see if those sites work. If they do, configure the ad blocker to permit Java to run (on those selected sites, at least).

Online's Offline

Mystery: Yesterday you were browsing at warp speed. But today Internet Explorer tells you that your connection is gone.

Solved: If you can send and receive e-mail but you can't browse the Web (or vice versa), there's a good chance your ISP's Web (or mail) server isn't working. If you can't access either one, call your ISP and ask if its servers are down.

My good buddy Kirk (Steers, that is, not James T.) recommends: Before blaming your ISP--or space invaders--check to make sure that all cables are plugged in. If you're a DSL or cable modem user, resync your connection by turning the modem off and then back on again, and do the same with your PC.

>>TIP If your ISP seems to be working okay, check your browser options and make sure that they're set to 'no proxies'. If your browser still won't work, try using the operating system's Repair tool ( Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Add/Remove, Repair Internet Explorer) in Windows 98 and Me. Advanced users have yet another option at their disposal: Remove the Winsock keys from the Registry, uninstall the TCP/IP protocol (non-XP PCs only) from the network configuration, and reinstall TCP/IP (Windows will reinstall Winsock). Here's how to begin: Click Start, Run, type RegEdit, make a full backup of the Registry ( File, Export), and find and delete the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock key, as well as the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinSock2 key.

Next, in Windows 98/2000/Me, choose Control Panel, Network (in 2000, you must then choose Network and Dial-up Connections, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties). Scroll to and double-click your TCP/IP component(s), record the information on each tab for later use, delete the TCP/IP protocol, and reboot. Return to the Network applet, click Install to add back the TCP/IP protocol, enter your recorded settings, reboot, and start browsing the Web.

Graphics Gremlins

Video abnormalities are as frequent a sighting in computer households as UFOs converging around a vortex in the Mojave Desert. But unlike the government's data on Area 51, my solutions aren't classified.

Display Disturbances

Mystery: When you launch a program or view an image, your PC may freeze--but there's no pattern and no error message. At other times, your icons mutate into forms weirder than a pupating alien.

Solved:Solved: Rule #1: If Sigourney Weaver is in your crew, put in for a transfer immediately. >>TIP Try reinstalling your graphics card's drivers. No help? >>TIP Experiment by deselecting visual effects (in XP) or incrementally reducing your hardware acceleration (in other Windows versions). If you're an XP user, right-click My Computer and select Properties to open System Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Performance area's Settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, deselect individual effects or choose Adjust for best performance to deselect all of Windows' special visual effects. For all other Windows versions except 2000, open System Properties, select the Performance tab, click the Graphics button, and use the 'Hardware acceleration' slider. (Acceleration reduction may help with mouse problems, too.) Alternatively, try decreasing color depth and/or screen resolution. If you use Windows 2000, select Start, Settings, Control Panel,and open Display. Click the Settings tab, the Advanced button, and then the Troubleshooting tab; use the 'Hardware acceleration' slider to change the settings. Another option for setting up or calibrating your monitor is to try the free DisplayMate tool.

My colleague Kirk reminds you not to forget about "card creep," either--no, not the guy who sells Magic: The Gathering cards at the flea market. Over time, all cards--graphics and otherwise--on your PC can slowly work their way out of their motherboard slots, leading to problems. Make sure they're seated properly.

Video Vexations

Mystery: Some videos--especially ones with an.asf or.asx extension--won't play.

Solved: My favorite Martian says that adjusting your antenna won't help. >>TIP If you don't have Windows Media Player version 7.1, get it--it has lots of current codecs. Have the player already? Reinstall it. >>TIP See if the video file is corrupt by running a different video with the same extension. Use File Investigator (free trial, $10 to keep) to identify the video's codec. Then see if you have the codec: Go to Control Panel and open Multimedia (Windows 98), Sounds and Multimedia (Me/2000), or Sounds and Audio Devices (XP). Click the Devices tab (98/Me) or the Hardware tab (2000/XP), and double-click Video Compression Codecs (98/Me) or Video Codecs (2000/XP, at the bottom of the Devices list). Don't have the codec? Visit our Downloads section or gonow.to/codeczone to find it.

Other Hardware Hassles

You've tried to troubleshoot your PC with everything from mind melds to phasers set on stun. Now try Windows' Device Manager. This powerful tool lets you reinstall drivers for hardware that has flaked out, force Windows to reexamine all of your PC's devices, and upgrade drivers as necessary.

Device Manager Magic

Mystery: You're still having weird problems--funny-looking icons, screen lockups, page fault errors, occasional mouse pointer freeze-ups, or scratchy audio.

Solved: Use Device Manager (in System Properties) to check the status of all the hardware installed on your PC. Before changing any settings, consider creating a shortcut to Device Manager. >>TIP Go to Control Panel (in XP Category View, select Performance and Maintenance), right-click System, and choose Create Shortcut.

>>TIP If you feel uneasy about making changes, print a record of the current settings. Open System Properties (see " Display Disturbances") and the Device Manager tab (in 2000 or XP, click the Hardware tab). Click Print (in 2000, select View, Print; in XP, select your PC on the top line and choose Action, Print), choose All devices and system summary, and print a copy for reference. Force your system to take a new inventory of installed devices: Click the Refresh button (in 98 or Me), or right-click your PC on the top line and select Scan for hardware changes.

Now you're ready to solve the mystery. >>TIP Boot to Safe Mode (press F5 as your system starts up), open Device Manager, and trawl for long-gone devices, discarding references to those that are no longer in your computer. You'll likely find duplicates of modems, mice, and graphics cards; ridding your system of its lengthy and sordid history of abandoned devices will help to eliminate conflicts.

Of course, the problem may be right in front of your nose--your monitor! Often, pushing its degauss button or removing nearby sources of electromagnetic radiation (another monitor, a microwave, an intergalactic-navigation beacon) can remedy splotchy discoloration.

Noises Hard Drives Make

Mystery: Strange noises have begun to emanate from your hard drive, and you're beginning to worry. Should you start checking for tiny green men?

Solved: Chances are good it's not your hard drive (or even ectoplasmic energy). Usually, when a hard drive fails, it grinds to a halt. Play it safe by backing up your PC (or at least your critical data). >>TIP Investigate other noise sources--the power supply, case, and CPU fan are all common culprits. The fan might be hampered by some dirt, or it could have a bad bearing. Try a trick that car mechanics use: Open the case and listen to the components through a piece of hose to home in on the noise source. If the problem is your hard drive, stop using it at once. To recover your data, use SpinRite, an $89 hard drive disaster recovery tool from Gibson Research.

Windows Toolbox: Windows' Built-in Sleuths

Let's face it: Windows crashes so often it could be called the OS that fell to earth. Use these tools to help your system get back up and running.

Safe Mode: If Windows won't launch properly, start your PC in Safe Mode (a bare-bones version of Windows where you can access Device Manager and other troubleshooting tools). >>TIP Hold down the F8 key just before Windows boots, and select Safe Mode from the resulting menu.

System Configuration Utility:This invaluable tool lets you enable and disable software and configuration files for trial-and-error troubleshooting. >>TIP Click Start, Run and type msconfig, or click Start, Search to find it and then run it from the Results window. System Configuration is great for isolating and testing parts of Windows configuration files.

>>TIP Step-by-Step Confirmation: To identify trouble spots in the Windows launch process, use this tool on the Win 98/Me Startup Menu so drivers will load one at a time.

System Restore: Windows' restore capabilities have improved dramatically with each version. Windows 98 has a primitive Registry backup utility called ScanReg that saves five days' worth of backups. >>TIP To restore a backup, run ScanReg from the DOS prompt. Windows 2000 and Me let you restore the 'Last Known Good Configuration' from the Advanced Options Menu. Windows XP and Me have a more sophisticated restoration utility, System Restore: Select Start, Programs ( All Programs in XP), Accessories, System Tools.

--K.S.

Diagnostic Tips: How to Revive a Dead PC

I enjoy pondering the unexplained--crop circles, UFO sightings, the actual miracle behind Miracle Whip. But when my PC won't start, I don't have time for leisurely musing. I need practical answers quick. Here's my emergency checklist:

Stay calm. First take a deep breath. Catastrophic failures do happen, but fixable problems are likelier. >>TIP Turn off your PC, wait 10 seconds, and then turn it back on--it often works.

>>TIP Check the obvious. Make sure power cords, cables, and connectors are firmly connected. Check your surge protector for a blown fuse, or for damage from a power surge.

Look for clues. When a PC boots up, it runs a test of hardware components called POST (Power-On Self Test). >>TIP Watch your monitor for system warnings and error messages. (Press Pause to freeze the screen if the messages disappear too quickly.) After running POST, your PC initializes higher-level devices like the CD-ROM drive. Watch for warnings or note the last initialized device to appear before the PC locks up.

Listen for clues. Pay close attention as your PC starts up. >>TIP You should hear both the power supply fan and the hard disk rev up. If either one is quiet, it may be the culprit. You may also hear a series of beeps before your system freezes; that's a primitive error message. Note the number and the length (long or short) of the beeps. Your system manual or the computer manufacturer may tell you how to decode the PC's audio error message.

Smell for clues.Though rare, monitors have been known to spontaneously combust. And a fried hard disk can release smoke. >>TIP If you smell the delicate bouquet of burning circuitry, unplug your computer immediately and get help from a trained technician.

--K.S.

Setup Basics: Inside the BIOS

An unseen force controls your PC--its BIOS. The Basic Input/Output System manages the flow of data between the silicon synapses of your computer's hardware and the dysfunctional personality we know as Windows. Tweaking an imperfect setting can solve problems and improve performance.

>>TIP Access BIOS settings via the CMOS setup program. Watch your screen and press the named key--usually Delete or F1--as your PC starts up. You'll see a main menu screen and submenus leading to various hardware settings.

PCs are unforgiving of faulty CMOS settings. If you think you've accidentally changed the wrong setting, select the Exit without saving changes option, exit the setup program, and start over.

Sometimes new hardware won't work with an older BIOS. Most PCs have flash BIOS that you can upgrade via a downloadable program. Get the date and version number of your BIOS (usually displayed on the PC start-up screen) and check with your PC manufacturer for updates. If you upgrade, follow all the program's directions to the letter; a botched BIOS upgrade can turn your motherboard into space junk.

CMOS setting language may be down-to-earth or downright extraterrestrial, such as 'CAS# Width to PCI master write'. >>TIP Scan them all; you'll find many useful settings. For example: Does your modem wake your PC every time the phone rings? Check the power-savings and modem settings, and disable 'Wake PC on Ring'.

Slow printer? The parallel port may need optimizing. >>TIP Set Parallel Port Settings for high-speed ECP or EPP mode operations.

Another BIOS trick, from my pal Steve: Use BIOS Wizard, a freebie utility that checks and identifies the BIOS.

--K.S.

Take My Advice: Cure Win XP Incompatibilities

I love Windows XP, except for one thing: Too many programs are not compatible with XP. >>TIP If you try to install an older program only to be told that it's not compatible, follow these steps:

Open Windows Explorer to the folder holding the program's setup.exe file. Right-click the file, choose Properties, and then click the Compatibilitytab. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for, and select one of the Windows versions (95, 98/Me, NT, or 2000) in the drop-down list. Now install the program as usual. If you run into a problem, follow the same steps for the file that opens and runs the program.

I used this technique to install eight of my favorite games on my XP system--games that I otherwise would have had to scrap. I've also salvaged five other useful programs in the same way.

--James W. "Lad" Brunner, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Salt Lake City

Troubleshooting: Don't Try This at Home

Think PC World editors and readers never fall into troubleshooting traps? Four anonymous experts confess their blunders below.

The power switch? What power switch? >>TIP Don't even consider fiddling with the insides of your PC without turning it off. I ignored my own advice and fried my wife's PC when I replaced the case's cover.

Cable conundrum: Are the cables loose? I always forget to check--and half the time, that's the only thing wrong. >>TIP Turn off your PC before reconnecting cables (except USB).

The connector shuffle: Once you have disconnected the cables in your PC, it can be impossible to remember what goes where, and how. >>TIP Label each cable (fold a mailing label around each cable or wire) before disconnecting it. Mark the connector so you'll reconnect it in the right direction.

PC encounters of the shocking kind: Want to see how well a RAM module holds up against static electricity? Grab it without a wrist strap. I did and toasted a 128MB SIMM. >>TIP Take this advice from Stan Miastkowski, PC World's Step-By-Step upgrade columnist: Unplug your PC when you work on its insides, and don't touch it until you're electrically grounded. For more, read " Avoid Static Damage to Your PC."

--S.B.

More Troubleshooting Tips

>>TIP When recording at 8X speed and above, use CD-R media rated for high speeds.

>>TIP Check your sound functionality by using DirectX Diagnostic tool ( Start, Run, dxdiag).

>>TIP Got a flickery monitor? Check out www.xp-refresh.net, a site devoted to refresh rates.

>>TIP Use a can of compressed air to disperse dust from your PC's delicate innards.

>>TIP If you're plagued by misbehaving windows, press Alt- F4 to get rid of them.