If an error message occurs, write it down very carefully so that a computer technician can suggest a cure. You could research the message yourself by typing the message into a search engine such as Yahoo, MSN search or Google.
Many error messages are one off, they may never occur again. The problem may go away after a shut down and restart.
If a Microsoft panel pops up and suggests you send a report on the error message don't bother, click Don't Send. The emailed reply you will get from Microsoft is rarely useful.
Illegal operation. This very common error message, though frightening for
beginners, it can be safely ignored. The Illegal operation was caused by the
program itself, not by anything you did (so you won't be arrested).
Also your computer is not developing a fault. Poor programming is the most
likely cause, so blame Microsoft or whoever designed the program you were
using at the time.
Generic host process Win 32 Services encountered a
problem and needs to close.
This can occur if you failed to update your Windows XP to SP2 (Service Pack
2). This pack was released in 2004 with a great deal of publicity so you
only have yourself to blame if you did not update. If the first screen for XP shows a blue
caterpillar under the XP logo when starting up, you have loaded SP2.
If you have a green caterpillar, you failed to install SP2. To solve this
problem load SP2. If you have this error message despite installing SP2 then
scan with anti-spy programs. If you have Windows Defender, scan the
computer with it. Though not very good at catching spies, Defender is
excellent for restoring the computer's host process to normal.
A typical Stop error would take a form as follows:-
STOP 0x0000000A- IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
One cause of this error would be an unsuitable driver or out-dated driver. The driver does not match the version of Windows on the computer.
Stop error messages usually contain a clue to the reason for the crash. For instance, the error message STOP 0x0000002E - NTFS _FILE_ SYSTEM indicates that there is a problem with your NTFS formatted hard drive such as a serious amount of fragmentation.
In another instance, the error message STOP0x0000008E gave the name of a
faulty file in amongst its string of gobbledygook, the file was
ati2dvag.dll.
This indicated that the driver for the Ati graphics card was incorrect. On
checking I found that the drivers for a Windows 2000 computer had been
installed instead of drivers for Windows XP. Installing the correct drivers
solved the problem.
Some Stop error messages are very obscure. for instance:- STOP 0xC0000221
- unknown hardware error.
This message usually means that a Windows system file has been corrupted.
The file must be corrected or, if it can't be located, Windows will have to
be re-installed.
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