Caption here caption here caption hereca

q+a My computer suddenly restarts with messages such as “memory dump…” or “memory mismatching something about BIOS”. I use Windows XP Professional. Please help.

— Ram Sewak

These “Blue Screens of Death”, as they are popularly called on the Net, are usually caused by an error in a Windows driver. It can be a program error or a hardware failure. Windows creates a memory dump file that has a snapshot of your current file. This file will help you understand the problem. Minidumps are created in the C:\Windows\Minidump folder, the file with a random name and a “.dmp” extension. Full memory dump is in the file C:\Windows\Memory.DMP.

Also, configure your computer so that it does not keep restarting automatically in the middle of your work. Go to Control Panel, click on the Advanced tab, and then go to Startup and Recovery. Under System Failure remove the tick mark for Automatically Restart. But make sure the “write an event to the system log” and “send an administrative alert” boxes are ticked.

If you use Avast anti-virus, upload your complete memory dump file to ftp://ftp.avast.com/incoming.

Checking F

q+a Every time I boot my computer, it automatically starts checking a particular partition (F:) of my hard disk for “consistency” by the programme “Chkdsk”. I have noticed no warning at the end of the process. Everything seems to be working normally.

— Supriyo Ghatak

Your scheduler is creating the problem. To rectify it, go Start—Programs—Accessories—Scheduled Tasks. Remove the item for checking your F drive from the dialog box. Just right click and delete.

Laptop configuration

q+a I want to buy a laptop in the Rs 30,000-to-Rs 36,000 range. Please let me know the configuration and the model number as well as the names of the best companies.

— Buddhadeb Karmakar

I would suggest a configuration of Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic, 14.1” TFT Display, 2GB Dual-channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, and a 160GB SATA Hard Drive. If you go in for just 1 GB RAM, it will be within your budget. But I strongly suggest you upgrade to at least 2GB RAM. The Dell Vostro 1400 will be within your budget. There are others like Acer, Sony, Toshiba, HCL and Amar PC too. But these are either too heavy or lack the proper specs for the money your fork out. For Acer I would suggest Aspire5583 Series, but you must upgrade the RAM to 2 GB. My personal favourite is the MacBook. The prices have come down, and right now it is the best laptop around.

Upgrade for games

q+a I installed a game called SIM CITY 4. and when I ran it, the screen went black with a message saying: “Sync.out of range”. My system is Pentium 3 with 1.14 Ghz processor and 256 MB RAM.

— Bharadwaj Q

You have not mentioned the operating system you use. Second, you machine is severely underpowered. To run such games, you need to have at least 1 GB of RAM, although 2GB is preferable. Also, you must have a separate graphics card with at least 128 MB RAM. Never go in for a graphics card that shares resources with your computer’s main memory. It is about time you upgraded your machine to an Intel Core2 Duo processor and 2 GB RAM. Or else, you will not be able to run your favourite games at all.

Pop-up menace

q+a Everytime I open a webpage, more than 60 pop-up pages open automatically. This is most irritating. Finally, whenever I start my PC I get a prompt to send an “i-explorer.exe” error-report to Microsoft.

— Ujjwal Rai

You browser is being hijacked by a malicious program. Get hold of an anti-spyware like Ad-Aware 2007 from www.lavasoft.de. Install it, and immediately update the defination files. Next, run a full system scan. This will eradicate your problem. Internet Explorer has a pop-up blocker. Turn it on before you start downloading Ad-Aware.

Send in your computer- related problems to askdoss@abpmail.com The solutions will appear soon