Monday, April 29, 2002		Article

Hanging could be due to corrupt .dll files
Vipul Verma

COMPUTER learning has been broadly classified into two main parts, viz. application and programming. However, with the advancement in technologies and introduction of new software and operating systems, the horizon of computer learning has broadened further to include troubleshooting also. Troubleshooting is thus as important as learning any computer application or any programming application. There are many similarities between learning troubleshooting and learning computer software for application and programming. And the most prominent similarity between all these aspects of computer learning is that it is all based on logic. Just like one applies logic in any programming application, similarly logic is most important in troubleshooting the computer software and operating system related problems.

The software related task of troubleshooting begins with analysis of the problem first. Thus, under the first step, identify the problem and comprehend it properly. Normally, what happens is that the computer users do not understand the problem first and start searching the solutions. This leads to confusion and incorrect solutions, which often create further problems.

Therefore, first of all understand the problem correctly and in correct perspective. The solution for a complicated problem is often simple and lies in the problem itself. For example, if you're getting problems like illegal error message, then in a majority of the cases this problem could be associated with the memory of the system. The memory could be the RAM, cache memory and swap file. Now in case you get this type of message in a particular application or software, then it reflects that either some of your important files have become corrupt or the particular application is low on memory.

The first and the most basic step for troubleshooting this kind of the problem is to cleanup the computer of all clutter and other junk files, which are of no use but they still consume a lot of your precious system resources. Thus for troubleshooting illegal error message related problems, you should clear all temporarily Internet files and other *.tmp files present in the temporary directory in the Windows main directory. Also you should remove any other graphic files, which includes screensavers etc. You should also take care to remove the cookies, which are being stored on your system. Having removed all these junk files from the system, you will find this problem eliminated in a majority of cases. However if this problem still persists, then you should comprehend the error message and track down the memory module, which creates problems. Normally, the error message in itself reflects the source of the problem and if you have reasonably good idea about the Windows then the actual problem can be hunted down. But if you do not have fairly good idea about the Windows and other applications, then proper analysis of the problem could help the troubleshooter in solving the problem easily.

The second Windows or software-related problem could be associated with the sudden hanging of the system. This could happen in a particular application or in general in any application. If this problem of hanging occurs in a particular application, then most likely this problem could be associated with either corrupting.dll files or presence of any bad sectors in the hard disk. Since the chances of corruption of .dll files are more, so an effort should be made to track down the corrupt .dll file. It is worth mentioning here that that corrupt *.dll files could be restored by downloading it from the Internet or from the CD of the software or operating system.

All you need to do is locate the location of the file and then replace it with a new and error-free file. In all probability replacing the corrupt file would solve the problem. However if the problem still exists, then you should try to hunt down the bad sectors in the hard disk and mark them using utilities like Norton disk doctor, scan disk etc. Though, the presence of bad sectors in the hard disk are harmful as they have a tendency of growing further, therefore it is always better to take the necessary backups for preventing any data loss.

In the second situation, if the problem occurs in Windows in general, then the chances of having bad sectors in the hard disk are generally more. Therefore you should properly check bad sectors and should make due provision for that. Taking care of the bad sectors in the hard disk would lead to not just a solution of this problem but to lot many other problems.

The next common problem in the computers related to the software and operating system is slowing down of the computer. Though there are many reasons for slowing down of the computer yet one of the main reasons is the presence of a lot of memory based applications on your computer. These memory-based applications include high-end graphic games, fonts, unnecessary and multiple drivers, old and abandoned drivers etc. Since all these small applications consume big system resources, so eventually they make the system slow. You must also take care not to have too many programs in your system's start up directory. Since while starting the Windows, all programs, which represent in the start up directory gets loaded so it makes the process of starting the Windows slow. As far as possible remove all unimportant programs from the system tray to keep the system more healthy and fast.