When facing a system crash or startup up problems on Windows Computers, troubleshooting the problem can be difficult to resolve. The first step with recovery is to use Windows Safe Mode option during startup. One Safe Mode option that will help troubleshoot boot problems is to enable Boot Logging which will create a log and help identify the device or driver that is causing the problem during startup.

When Boot Logging is enable, Windows boots normally, until the device or driver that is causing the problem either crashes the system or completes starting up but causes an error message in the Event Log. While booting, Windows creates a log file that lists every step processed that is attempted and completed.

You can then reboot in to Safe Mode and review the log file named ntbootlog.txt. The log is stored in the %SYSTEMROOT% directory (normally C:\Windows or C:\WINNT folder). Below is an example of ntbootlog.txt log file on Windows XP (Vista log is similar):

Service Pack 2 5  4 2007 10:45:44.500
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\ntkrnlpa.exe
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\KDCOM.DLL
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\BOOTVID.dll
Loaded driver ACPI.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\WMILIB.SYS
Loaded driver pci.sys
Loaded driver isapnp.sys
Loaded driver compbatt.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\BATTC.SYS
Loaded driver intelide.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\PCIIDEX.SYS
Loaded driver MountMgr.sys
Loaded driver ftdisk.sys
Loaded driver dmload.sys
Loaded driver dmio.sys
Loaded driver PartMgr.sys
Loaded driver VolSnap.sys
Loaded driver atapi.sys
Loaded driver vmscsi.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\SCSIPORT.SYS
Loaded driver disk.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\CLASSPNP.SYS
Loaded driver fltmgr.sys
Loaded driver sr.sys

To enable Boot Logging on Windows XP and Vista, boot your Computer, and during startup continually press F8 until the menu screen appears:

NOTE: screen shot is from XP. Vista menu will look slightly different than XP.

Press F8 to display the Advanced Menu screen and select Enable Boot Logging

You will be returned to the menu screen and you should see Enable Boot Logging in blue displayed at the bottom of the screen (don't worry if this screen is not displayed and Windows starts to boot):

If the problem does not cause Windows to crash, and after startup has completed, you can review the ntbootlog.txt file. Look for any signs of problems loading device drivers. If you find problems, go into Device Manager and disable the device or uninstall the program, then reboot again. If the problem does not occur then you know it was that device and you should check the vendor website for new drivers or known issues.

If your problem does cause Windows to crash, reboot into Safe mode by selecting Safe Mode from the Advanced Menu screen. When reviewing ntbootlog.txt file, look for events that were attempted to load but not completed. More than likely the problem will be toward the end of the file (since that was the last item logged before crashing). When you identify the problem, either uninstall the application or go in to Device Manager and disable the device. Reboot your Computer and see if the problem still exist. If it boots without crashing, check the vendor website for new drivers or known issues.

If you are still having problems, enable Boot Logging again to see if new events are logged after you have disabled the device or uninstalled the program. If you are unable to fix the problem, you may need to have a Computer shop troubleshoot the problem for you.

Notes on Boot Logging:

• Boot Logging can only be enabled from Safe Mode. Once it is enabled, it only logs during the current boot. It will not log during the next reboot unless you enable it again from Safe Mode.
• If an existing ntbootlog.txt files exist, the next time Boot Logging is enabled, Windows will append to the existing log file.
• It is a good idea to have Windows create a new log when there are no problems or after you have added new devices. This will allow full logging to occur and will let you compare with a log when problems exists.

The Internet Explorer icon does not appear on your desktop. When you try to use the Desktop Items dialog box in Windows XP or the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box in Windows Vista to add the Internet Explorer icon, there is no Internet Explorer check box.

To add an Internet Explorer icon to your desktop, you can use the following method:

For Windows 7 users:

Important Windows 7 no longer supports the ability to modify the registry to get the special Internet Explorer icon to appear on your desktop. This change was made to ensure Internet Explorer could be removed easily for compliance reasons. The only way to add the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop in Windows 7 is to create a shortcut. To create a shortcut to Internet Explorer on your desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu. If you do not see the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, look in the Programs or the All Programs folders on the Start menu.

2. Right-click and drag the Internet Explorer icon from the Start menu to your desktop, and then click Create Shortcuts Here, or click Copy Here.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.


Note To create a desktop shortcut to Internet Explorer for other users, log on to your computer as another user, and then repeat this method for each user.

Note If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, follow these alternative steps:

1. Carefully select and then copy the following command:

Important Make sure that you select the quotation marks (“) at the beginning and end of this command.

2. Right-click a blank space on your desktop, point to New, and then click Shortcut.

3. In the Create Shortcut Wizard, right-click the Type the location of the item box, and then click Paste to paste the command that you copied in step 1.

4. Click Next.

5. In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type Internet Explorer.

6. Click Finish.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

For non-Windows 7 users:

Important Windows 7 no longer supports the ability to modify the registry to get the special Internet Explorer icon to appear on your desktop. This change was made to ensure Internet Explorer could be removed easily for compliance reasons. The only way to add the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop in Windows 7 is to create a shortcut as shown in 'For Windows 7 users' section.

To create a shortcut to Internet Explorer on your desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu. If you do not see the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, look in the Programs or the All Programs folders on the Start menu.

2. Right-click and drag the Internet Explorer icon from the Start menu to your desktop, and then click Create Shortcuts Here, or click Copy Here.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

Note If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu or if you want to add a special Internet explorer icon on your desktop, follow these alternative steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run. Or, click Start Search if it is available.

2. In the Open box or in the Start Search box, type Notepad, and then press ENTER.

3. Carefully copy and paste the following text into Notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
"{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000

4. On the File menu, click Save As.

5. In the File name box, type Ie.reg, and then save the file to your desktop.

6. Exit Notepad.

7. Double-click the Ie.reg file on the desktop.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

8. In the Registry Editor dialog box that appears, click Yes, and then click OK.

The special Internet Explorer icon is added to your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

To open Internet Options, right-click this icon, and then click Properties. To start Internet Explorer without add-ons, right-click this icon, and then click Start Without Add-ons.

Very often, when you buy new hardware you usually obtain a CD with drivers for that device. In case, if you lose the CD you can always download drivers from the manufacturer' official web-site. But this approach will not work if you do not know the exact manufacturer of the hardware or the exact device model. This article is intended to show you how to figure out with this problem.

Each device has a Vendor and Device ID associated with it. If you can find this ID, then you can easily find appropriate drivers for this device in Windows environment.

Following steps are required to be done to get the device ID:

1. Open Device Manager. Go to Start > right click on My Computer and choose Manage option. In the opened window on the left pane find Device Manager item. Click on it. All the connected devices are listed on the right pane of the window.

Note: all the devices that haven't been recognized by Windows or Windows has not found needed drivers for the unknown device is marked with the yellow question mark.

2. Choose the Unknown device (usually it appears with such name) and then right lick on it. Choose Properties.

3. Go to Details tab and select Device Instance ID or Hardware ID.

4. On the screen above Hardware ID is: PCI\VEN_1186&DEV_1300&SUBSYS_13031186&REV_10.

 Vendor ID: 1186.

 Device ID: 1300.

5. After you've got these IDs, go to PCI Database. Enter proper Vendor or Device ID to identify the device. Continue with the drivers download from the manufacturer' site.

The problem is that when you insert any usb device: memory card, HDD, usb-stick, mouse or keyboard ,- the PC freezes. Nothing can be done to unfreeze it, except manually rebooting PC by pressing reset button on the case. The problem is very common and spread among Windows users, and it can be fixed in few approaches.

I. Enable/(Start) Universal Plug & Play Device Host service in Windows services.

II. The second approach is to remove and reinstall all USB controllers.

1.Go to Start > Run > type in: 'sysdm.cpl' without quotation marks and press Enter.

2. Navigate to Hardware tab and click on Device Manager button.

3. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

4. Right click every device under Universal Serial Bus controllers node, and then click Uninstall to remove one at a time.

5. Restart the PC and then reinstall the USB controllers.

6. Plug in USB storage device into USB-port, make sure the issue is resolved.

III. The third approach relies on a registry fix (this fix will also work if the usb-device doesn't show up in My Computer):

1. Go to Start > Run > type in: 'regedit' without quotation marks. Press Enter.

2. In the opened window navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

2. On the right pane, find and locate the problem device letter, which corresponds to problem device, delete this registry entry:

Note: The registry key should have the name that resembles the format of \DosDevice\X: where X can be any alphabet letter which corresponding to your physical system drive letter. 

In Windows OSs you can face with the problem that you do not have sound: no system sounds, no sound when playing audio/video files and no sound watching video on YouTube and similar resources. The first problem is usually fixed by installing correct audio drivers for the audio adapter. If the audio adapter is integrated into Mother Board, just go to the official Mother Board manufacturer' site, choose correct model, OS and download audio drivers.

Sometimes, even after installing the latest drivers and following the recommendations on YouTube how to solve the problem with sound, you may still not have sound on YouTube.

To Fix This Issue, you need to perform next steps:

1. Install latest Adobe Flash Player. Click here to go to download page.

2. Download fix sound.reg. Click on fix sound.reg to download fix sound.reg (1.70 kb) .

3. After the file has been downloaded, run it, when it prompts you whether you want to add this info to the registry, click Yes.

NOTE: This will work in Windows XP, Vista, Se7en.

The easiest way to set up printer is to attach it directly to a computer wich will automatically become print server. This is the best option if you have one computer. But if you have several PCs in your network then using some computer as print server will require it to be turned on all the time in order for other computers to be able to print. The best solution in this case is to install network printer (printer with network interface or printer connected to the print server device).

In order to install a network printer, you must know your printer's Manufacturer, Model Name, and IP Address. 

• The Manufacturer and Model Name can be found on the printer case, an example is HP LaserJet 4000N .
• The IP Address can be found on a label attached to the printer or in the print server specifications. An example of the IP Address is 192.168.0.10

To set up network printer in Windows XP do the following:

1. Click on the Start button, then click Control Panel, then click Printers and Faxes, then click Add Printer.

2. A new Add Printer Wizard window opens. Click Next to start.

3. Select Local printer attached to this computer. Make sure Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is NOT checked. Then click Next to continue.

4. We will create a new port for your network printer. Select Create a new port. Beside Type of Port, click on the down arrow, then click on Standard TCP/IP Port. Click Next to continue.

5. A new Add Printer Port Wizard will open. Click Next to continue.

6.  Now type your printer's IP Address in the Printer Name or IP Address field. The Port Name will automatically be filled when you enter the IP Address. Do not change the Port Name. Click Next to continue.

7. Windows XP will scan the network to find your printer's IP Address. This may take a few seconds. Select Finish to continue.

8. Now select the printer's manufacturer and model. Windows XP will automatically select the detected manufacturer and printer driver. Normally, you will not have to change this selection.

OPTIONAL: If your printer is listed but you have more than one printer model to choose from, please select the model with PS, if available. IF your network printer is NOT automatically detected, select the Windows Update button to find the proper software drivers.

9. Finish the wizard with the default settings.

Print spooler is a connecting section between your PC and printing equipment. You can print absolutelu nothing without print spooler. It is responsible for the adjust printing queue and consecutive printing of your papers. Sometimes some third party driver may block print spooer service. For example Lexmark drivers can install LexBce Server service, that can start before printer spooler and this may become a source of conflict.

There are a couple of problems that this article may help to solve:

• you cannot add new printer
• when you try to print, system fails
• printer is added, but there are no entries in Printers and Faxes
• following error appears: "Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close."
• Print Spooler service doesn't start or stop

Important make sure you tried all other ways to solve your problem, like reinstalling and updating printer drivers, performed full virus scan before attempting to make following steps.

If you have a Lexmark printer installed, start with the "Turn off Lexmark print service" section and then, if it is necessary, follow the remaining steps in the order presented to resolve this issue. If you do not have a Lexmark printer installed, go to the "Start computer in safe mode" section, and then follow the remaining steps in the order in which they are presented to resolve this issue.

Step 0. Turn off Lexmark print service

If the Lexmark print service is installed on your computer, turn off the LexBce Server service. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3. In the details pane, right-click LexBce Server, and then click Properties.
4. On the General tab in the Startup type list, click Disabled.
5. Under Service status, click Stop, and then click OK.
6. Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start (if it is stopped).
7. Exit Computer Management.

Test whether the issue is resolved. If the issue is resolved, you do not have to follow the remaining steps. If the issue is not resolved, go to the "Start computer in safe mode" section, and then follow the remaining steps.

Step 1. Start computer in safe mode

Start the computer in safe mode so that you can remove spool files. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. On a computer that is configured to start multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot menu appears.
2. Select Safe Mode when the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, and then press ENTER.
3. If the Boot menu appears again and you are prompted to select the operating system on the computer, use the arrow keys to select the operating system, and then press ENTER.
   
   

Step 2. Delete spool printer and driver files

In safe mode, delete the spool printer and driver files. To do this, start Microsoft Windows Explorer, and then delete all the files and the folders in the following two folders (where C: is the drive where you have Windows XP installed):

• C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers
• C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\w32x86

Step 3. Edit the registry

First, remove Windows NT subkeys

Important serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

Remove the potentially problematic registry entries for Windows NT x86 service subkeys. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs and may be interfering with the print spool service. Use the following steps to keep the drivers, print spools, and registry entries that came with Windows on your computer and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86
   View the list of subkeys (subfolders). There should only be the following subkeys:
   • Drivers
   • Print Processors
3. If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as WindowsNTx86regkey, and then click Save.
      
      NoteYou can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86 registry key to restore the key if you experience any issues after you complete this procedure.
   3. Delete all the subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2. To do this, right-click each subkey that is not on the list, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Second, remove registry entries for printer drivers

Remove the potentially problematic printer driver subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the printer driver and registry entries that came with Windows on your computer and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers
   The registry entries for the printer drivers that are installed on the computer are stored in the Version-x subkey or subkeys, where x is a number (typically 2 or 3).
3. Export the Version-x subkey or subkeys. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as print driver, and then click Save.
4. Expand the Version-x subkey or subkeys, and then delete the printer driver entries. To do this, right-click each printer driver subkey, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Third, remove registry entries for default print monitors

Remove the potentially problematic print monitor subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed by third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the print monitors and registry entries that came with Windows and remove all others that may be causing issues.

1. Start Registry Editor if it is not open. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then expand the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
   View the list of subkeys. There should only be the following subkeys for the default print monitors:
   • BJ Language Monitor
   • Local Port
   • PJL Language Monitor
   • Standard TCP/IP Port
   • USB Monitor
3. If there are any subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 1, follow these steps:
   1. On the File menu, click Export.
   2. In the File Name box, type the name that you want to use for this key, such as MonitorsRegkey, and then click Save.
      
      NoteYou can use this backup of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors registry key to restore the key if you experience any issues after you complete this procedure.
   3. Delete all the subkeys other than the subkeys that are listed in step 2. To do this, right-click each subkey that is not on the list, and then click Delete. Click Yes when you are prompted to confirm the deletion.
4. Exit Registry Editor.
5. If you have a printer attached to the computer, disconnect the printer cable from the computer, and then restart the computer.

Now verify that the print spooler service is running

Verify that the print spooler service is running. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3. In the details pane, right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Start (if it is stopped).
4. Exit Computer Management.

Step 4. Add a printer and print a test page

If you have a printer attached, reconnect the printer cable to the computer, install the printer by adding it to the computer through the Add Printer Wizard, and then try to print a test page. To install the printer you want, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
2. Click Add a printer. The Add Printer Wizard starts.
3. Follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to install the printer that you want.
4. Print a test page to make sure that you can print.

Initial Problem:

User cannot boot into Windows. He was able to boot into Safe Mode. User said that video adapter configuring were made before the problem started.

Cause:

Video adapter chipset drivers failed to install and lead to system failure. Safe Mode option was available because in this mode system loads basic video drivers.

Solution:

To resolve this problem appropriate video adapter driver should be installed.

Here is the troubleshooting steps:

1. Boot Windows using VGA Mode (an option from Advanced Boot Menu). This mode is the best for this type of problem because it allows user to access the Internet (for driver updates) and support add-ons and ActiveX controls of web browser (some manufacturers' sites require additional add-ons and ActiveX controls to be enabled).

2. Go to manufacturer's web site and download drivers for your video adapter model.

3. Install the drivers.

4. Restart your computer.

Initial problem:

After installing a device driver, the device or the whole computer doesn't function properly.

Possible solutions:

 1. Driver rollback.

This cancels the last device driver installation. Use this if you run into small annoyances, or problems, that are related to a specific device functionality that doesn't prevent computer from working.

For example: after installing a new webcam driver, the picture became blurred or unrecognizable. Or, after installing a graphic card driver you are unable to change screen resolution or frequency.

You can roll back driver for a specific device by opening Device Manager:

Locating Device manager in management console:

Selecting a device, which you suspect to have problems with:

And clicking "Roll back driver" in drivers tab:

2. Last known good configuration/safe mode .

If you are not able to start Windows normally after installing a device driver,  you may need to start your computer in Safe Mode to follow instructions described in part 1. Or, you can use Last Known Good Configuration to boot up.

In order to access these functions, you have to push F8 key several times to get a boot menu. It will look like this:

3. System Restore.

While not being the best solution for solving driver problems, it may help if you installed some software package that came with drivers. Usually, printer/scanner manufacturers, as well as graphic card vendors provide additional software together with drivers. If you believe that these managers are causing the problem, system restore is the way to go.

System restore in Windows XP OS

System restore in Windows Vista OS 

1. Hit the Win+R keys together to open the run dialog. Type gpedit.msc to open the local groups policy editor.

2. Expand ‘Administrative Templates’ (it’s under ‘User Configuration’). Expand ‘System’. Click ‘Driver Installation’.

3. In the right panel, double click on ‘Code Signing for Device Drivers’.

4. Choose ‘Enabled’ in the window that appears. In the underlying options, choose ‘Ignore’. This disables drivers signing in Windows 7 or Vista, and now you can install unsigned drivers.

5. Click Apply, OK. Restart your computer to install unsigned drivers.