5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors
Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by
video card problems.
These can often be resolved easily by reducing the
resolution of the video display. Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings
Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take
a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops,
high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.
If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it
might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict.
Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager
Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text
describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press
properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for
a message that says No Conflicts.
If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it
here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you
make things worse.
The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use
Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching
for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.
Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics
Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the
left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is
old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer
to communicate with a device).
Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and
search for the most recent drivers for it.
If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it
might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict.
Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager
Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text
describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press
properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for
a message that says No Conflicts.
If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it
here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you
make things worse.
The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to unchecked the Use
Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching
for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.
Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics
Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the
left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is
old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer
to communicate with a device).
Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and
search for the most recent drivers for it.
6 Viruses
Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability.
Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to
start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to
* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs
Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection
requires constant vigilance.
A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order
to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT
files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software
manufacturer.
An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by
Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by
Symantec ( www.symantec.com).
