Troubleshooting For Soft 3489

Programs running in the Background Sometimes you will run into the problem wheretwo programs that are installed on your PC conflict with each other and refuseto run at the same time. It can be tricky to find the culprit, because you thinkthat no other programs were running, so what could possibly conflict? You'd besurprised at how many programs are running on your PC right now.

Take a lookright now and be amazed. Push Control (Ctrl), Alternate (Alt) and Delete (Del)on your keyboard right now. You should now see a dialog box labeled ClosePrograms. In there is a list of some pretty funny looking names. Each one ofthose is a program running right now in the background.

Didn't expect to seethat many, did you? Two of the items listed here are always there, that isExplorer and Systray. Those are Windows components and they are supposed to bethere. But everything else is a program running right now that could be apossible culprit for your software conflict. They get loaded automatically everytime you start Windows.

How do they get loaded? There are several places whereyou can find out. Let's first look at your startup files. Go to Start/Run, andtype Sysedit. In the resulting window you'll see many cascading Windows.

In theAutoexec.bat window you might find a few lines to start a program. Or in theWin.ini file, look at the load= and run= lines.

Anything in those lines afterthe = sign is a program to be loaded. Windows also has a startup folder where itchecks every time Windows starts. If there are any programs listed, it willstart them automatically. You can find the contents of the startup folder bygoing to Start/Programs/Startup. Didn't realize you had those items in there,did you? Then there is another not so obvious place: the Windows Registry. Theregistry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunholds a list of programs to be loaded on Windows startup as well.

You probablythink how did they get in there since you didn't put them there. Some of themneed to be running in the background to function properly, such as a virusscanner. They put themselves into a startup menu automatically when you installthem. Others might not need to be there, but they load anyway to be availablewhen you need them. Now that you know how to find out what programs you haverunning in the background and how they got there, let's talk about how to dosome troubleshooting to find the culprit. Be systematic To find out whichapplication is the conflicting one, you need to take a systematic approach.

There are two ways to do this: You can shut down all other programs, make surethe conflict does not happen anymore, then turn them back on one by one, untilthe conflict happens again. Most likely the last program you turned on beforethe conflict reappeared is the culprit. The other option is to shut down oneprogram at a time, until the conflict disappears. Most likely, the one programyou just shut down is the culprit. Prevent them from loading The best approachis to make sure a possible suspect doesn't even load on startup.

Windows 98comes with a built-in utility that lets you control what loads when Windowsstarts. Start this utility by going to Start/Run, typing msconfig and clickingOK. You'll see a dialog with several tabs across the top. The last tab islabeled Startup. In here is a complete list of items that Windows loadsautomatically. Note the checkbox next to each item.

Uncheck the first item,reboot, see if the conflict persists. If so, go back to msconfig, re-check thatitem, uncheck the next item and reboot. Repeat this procedure until you foundthe culprit. Shut them down There is also a way to shut down a program that runsin the background of your current Windows session which does not require areboot. You can push Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up the Close Program window.

Nowhighlight the program you want to disable for now and click End Task. The CloseProgram window should disappear. Sometimes it can take a few seconds for theprogram to unload, so be patient. Other times, you might get another windowinforming you that the program is not responding. That window will have its ownEnd Task button that you should push to close it for good. Repeat this processfor every program that you want to shut down.

Be careful: Do not pushCtrl-Alt-Del while the Close Program window is still on the screen, it willreboot your PC, reload Windows and all those programs you were just trying toshut down and you'll have to start all over again. Also, remember not to shutdown Explorer. That's Windows running and it's supposed to be there. The mainadvantage of the first procedure is that it will completely prevent that itemfrom loading, and will not load that item again until you re-check its box. Thedisadvantages of the second procedure are that it will load all programs againas soon as you reboot and that it's not as thorough because it might notcompletely get rid of the program or unload all parts of it.

Either way, youshould be able to isolate the program that's causing your problem. With thatknowledge, you can take the necessary steps to correct it, e.g. uninstalling theprogram if it is no longer needed, upgrade it if there is an update, upgrade orpatch available from the manufacturer, or at least temporarily disable it toavoid the conflict when applicable. To take this one step further, you candownload a neat little program called Startup Cop at http://205.181.

112.65/pcmag/pctech/content/18/08/ut1808.001.html.It not only lets you prevent programs from loading when booting, it also letsyou create separate profiles so you can boot with only pre-defined applicationsrunning. This tool is especially helpful if you have Windows 95 which does notcome with the msconfig tool.

http://www.PCNineOneOne.comBibliographyTroubleshooting Software Conflicts Programs running in the Background Sometimesyou will run into the problem where two programs that are installed on your PCconflict with each other and refuse to run at the same time. It can be tricky tofind the culprit, because you think that no other programs were running, so whatcould possibly conflict? You'd be surprised at how many programs are running onyour PC right now.

Take a look right now and be amazed. Push Control (Ctrl),Alternate (Alt) and Delete (Del) on your keyboard right now. You should now seea dialog box labeled Close Programs. In there is a list of some pretty funnylooking names. Each one of those is a program running right now in thebackground.

Didn't expect to see that many, did you? Two of the items listedhere are always there, that is Explorer and Systray. Those are Windowscomponents and they are supposed to be there. But everything else is a programrunning right now that could be a possible culprit for your software conflict.They get loaded automatically every time you start Windows. How do they getloaded? There are several places where you can find out.

Let's first look atyour startup files. Go to Start/Run, and type Sysedit. In the resulting windowyou'll see many cascading Windows. In the Autoexec.bat window you might find afew lines to start a program. Or in the Win.

ini file, look at the load= and run=lines. Anything in those lines after the = sign is a program to be loaded.Windows also has a startup folder where it checks every time Windows starts. Ifthere are any programs listed, it will start them automatically. You can findthe contents of the startup folder by going to Start/Programs/Startup.

Didn'trealize you had those items in there, did you? Then there is another not soobvious place: the Windows Registry. The registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunholds a list of programs to be loaded on Windows startup as well. You probablythink how did they get in there since you didn't put them there. Some of themneed to be running in the background to function properly, such as a virusscanner.

They put themselves into a startup menu automatically when you installthem. Others might not need to be there, but they load anyway to be availablewhen you need them. Now that you know how to find out what programs you haverunning in the background and how they got there, let's talk about how to dosome troubleshooting to find the culprit. Be systematic To find out whichapplication is the conflicting one, you need to take a systematic approach.There are two ways to do this: You can shut down all other programs, make surethe conflict does not happen anymore, then turn them back on one by one, untilthe conflict happens again. Most likely the last program you turned on beforethe conflict reappeared is the culprit.

The other option is to shut down oneprogram at a time, until the conflict disappears. Most likely, the one programyou just shut down is the culprit. Prevent them from loading The best approachis to make sure a possible suspect doesn't even load on startup. Windows 98comes with a built-in utility that lets you control what loads when Windowsstarts.

Start this utility by going to Start/Run, typing msconfig and clickingOK. You'll see a dialog with several tabs across the top. The last tab islabeled Startup. In here is a complete list of items that Windows loadsautomatically.

Note the checkbox next to each item. Uncheck the first item,reboot, see if the conflict persists. If so, go back to msconfig, re-check thatitem, uncheck the next item and reboot. Repeat this procedure until you foundthe culprit.

Shut them down There is also a way to shut down a program that runsin the background of your current Windows session which does not require areboot. You can push Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up the Close Program window. Nowhighlight the program you want to disable for now and click End Task. The CloseProgram window should disappear. Sometimes it can take a few seconds for theprogram to unload, so be patient. Other times, you might get another windowinforming you that the program is not responding.

That window will have its ownEnd Task button that you should push to close it for good. Repeat this processfor every program that you want to shut down. Be careful: Do not pushCtrl-Alt-Del while the Close Program window is still on the screen, it willreboot your PC, reload Windows and all those programs you were just trying toshut down and you'll have to start all over again. Also, remember not to shutdown Explorer. That's Windows running and it's supposed to be there.

The mainadvantage of the first procedure is that it will completely prevent that itemfrom loading, and will not load that item again until you re-check its box. Thedisadvantages of the second procedure are that it will load all programs againas soon as you reboot and that it's not as thorough because it might notcompletely get rid of the program or unload all parts of it. Either way, youshould be able to isolate the program that's causing your problem. With thatknowledge, you can take the necessary steps to correct it, e.g.

uninstalling theprogram if it is no longer needed, upgrade it if there is an update, upgrade orpatch available from the manufacturer, or at least temporarily disable it toavoid the conflict when applicable. To take this one step further, you candownload a neat little program called Startup Cop at http://205.181.112.65/pcmag/pctech/content/18/08/ut1808.001.

html.It not only lets you prevent programs from loading when booting, it also letsyou create separate profiles so you can boot with only pre-defined applicationsrunning. This tool is especially helpful if you have Windows 95 which does notcome with the msconfig tool.