By admin on Jan 26, 2009 | In Viruses and Spyware, Windows XP | No Comments »
You may have come across the following error message:
“The system is shutting down. Please save all work in progress and log off. Any unsaved changes will be lost. This shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System
Time before shutdown: 59,58,57,….
Windows must now restart because the RPC service terminated unexpectedly.”
Unfortunately, this is a sign that there is a virus or a bug in the system file. There has been an access violation in svchost.exe, which caused the error message to appear.
To fix this, install the latest service pack (Start, All Programs, Windows Update) and see this Microsoft support page. There is a hotfix at the top of the Microsoft article that you can install. This should take care of the problem. You should also scan your hard drive for virus and spyware threats and remove them if you find any.
Read the rest »
By admin on Jan 25, 2009 | In Viruses and Spyware, Windows XP | No Comments »
When you first turn on your PC and load your Windows system, several applications are set to start automatically. Besides essential system files, they can include antivirus programs, communicators, media players and file sharing programs. You can find these programs or taskbar icons in the lower right corner. Usually you want them there, especially the antivirus program, messenger or volume icon, because you use them all the time or it’s just the way they work. Some programs, however, don’t need to be there as they can take up resources (RAM) and slow down your computer.
This is why you should inspect all your taskbar icons and decide if you really need them there. Once you do this, you can use the System Configuration Utility and untick these programs from the startup menu. This is how it’s done: Go to the Start menu, click on Run, type msconfig and when the next window opens, go to the Startup tab. In the list you will see programs that you will recognise and some that you may not. If you know which program you are after, simply untick it and it won’t run at startup after the next reboot. If you are not sure, leave it or type the file name in Google and find out what it does first.
Read the rest »
By admin on Jan 23, 2009 | In Windows XP | No Comments »
Windows XP sometimes displays the following error message: “Windows Installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running in Safe Mode or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed.”
This was probably caused by a damaged registration service. To repair the registration service, follow these steps:
- Open cmd.exe by clicking Start, then Run and typing cmd. Alternatively, you can find cmd in Start, All Programs, Accessories and selecting Command Prompt.
- type msiexec /unregister and press Enter
- type msiexec /regserver and press Enter
- close cmd window
This should resolve the problem.
Read the rest »
By admin on Jan 22, 2009 | In Windows Vista | No Comments »
Just the other day one of my friends had trouble viewing videos in Windows Vista. When she clicked on a video file, she saw the following error message: COM surrogate has stopped working. This happened with every other video file. She asked me for help.
I did some research on the Internet and found out that this happens a lot in Windows Vista and it’s usually caused by NERO software or by some fault in the codec. I suggested to her to uninstall Nero and see whether the error still appears. She did this and later informed me that the error did not show up again. She could view video files without problems.
So, all you need to do is uninstall Nero (Control Panel, Remove a program, find Nero on the list and select Uninstall) or download and install the latest version. If this doesn’t help, try the same with the DivX software.
Read the rest »
By admin on Jan 20, 2009 | In Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »
Here are some very useful keyboard shortcuts, to help you perform your tasks quicker and easier. For a complete list of all shortcuts, please visit this Microsoft Web page.
Happy testing!
- ALT+TAB = switch between running programs (windows in taskbar)
- ALT+F4 = close running program or window
- ALT+down arrow = open drop down list box
- ALT+ENTER = open properties for the selected object
- F1 = help
- F5 = refresh current page
- SHIFT+DELETE = permanently delete
- SPACE = select radio button, checkbox or option
- CTRL+ENTER = opens a web site that ends with .com after typing the domain name (example: type CNN in the address bar of your browser, then press CTRL+ENTER and this will automatically add http://www in front and .com at the end) Read the rest »
