Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Demophobe]

Dunno if this should be a sticky or what, but it seems this stuff is always neglected when it comes time for some help.

These things should be included with every call for help:

~ The OS. WinXP, 2000, ME, etc... as well as which service packs have been installed. Also, if it's a legit or pirated copy would be useful to know.

~ System specs. Any computer owner would benefit from this knowledge. Download a free program like Sisoft Sandra and run the modules to find out the following: Mainboard make and model, amount of system RAM and type, any PCI card information, Graphics card, etc... Try to include as much as possible about whats inside the box.

~ Error messages. The messages that Windows displays before it crashes or before the fault occurs are vital. Make an attempt to get these messages as exact as possible.

~ System behavior prior to the problem, as well as what the user was doing when the problem came about.

~ Time since last format or fresh install of Windows.

~ Type of Anti-virus and firewall software being used.

~ Periodically in Windows, press CTRL+ALT+DEL simultaneously and check out what processes are running. If one is familiar with these, its easy to see when something new is suddenly running. This is important in many virus/worm/trojan problems.

Dare I say that with this information and Google, one could most likely solve the problem themselves. Try to make the box less of a mystery, and the problems that pop up will also become less mysterious.

This whole list would probably take 30 minutes to compile and save hours in down-time, as well as helping others to help you when all goes wrong.

I hope that other people add to this list, but I think this covers most of what is needed to properly diagnose a problem.

[SuperHero]

[TECO]

Careful with that...