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Showing posts with label Windows. Show all posts

How to solve Windows 8 crashes ?

Posted by Joshua Nesh 0 comments



Windows 8 has been out for a while, featuring an interface that's as cool as it is annoying . . . until you get the hang of it. But, like any computer operating system, it can fall over. Luckily, there is an easy way to solve the cause of most crashes; just call up WinDbg, the Windows debugger; a free tool to diagnose the most common causes of Windows crashes -- misbehaved third party drivers.
In W8, the Blue Screen of Death/BSOD has been modified to include a large, simple : ( emoticon and a short message in human (if not very informative) language. (Watch a slideshow version that walks you through any crash.]
Windows 8
The Windows 8 Blue Screen of Death has become the frown of frustration.
Also, Microsoft has made advancements in the dump file creation and management process. While this article focuses on W8, the information applies to both RT and Server 2012. For earlier operating systems, see Solve Windows 7 crashes in minutes or, for XP and 2000, see How to solve Windows crashes in minutes.

About Windows crashes

Operating system crashes are quite different from applications crashes, system hangs or other problems. In most cases, operating systems crash as a protective measure. When the OS discovers that critical devices are failing or that an internal operating system state has been identified as inconsistent because of possible viruses, bad device drivers or even RAM failures, it is generally safer to stop immediately. Otherwise, continuing operations would allow far more serious damage, such as application data corruption or loss.

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Two out of three system crashes are caused by third party drivers taking inappropriate actions (such as writing to non-existent memory) in Kernel mode where they have direct access to the OS kernel and to the hardware.
In contrast, drivers operating in User Mode, with only indirect access to the OS kernel, cannot directly cause a crash. A small percentage of crashes are caused by hardware issues such as bad memory, even less by faults in the OS itself. And some causes are simply unknown.
Thanks for the memory dump
A memory dump is the ugliest best friend you'll ever have. It is a snapshot of the state of the computer system at the point in time that the operating system stopped. And, of the vast amount of not-very-friendly looking data that a dump file contains, you will usually only need a few items that are easy to grasp and use. With the introduction of Windows 8, the OS now creates four different memory dumps; Complete, Kernel, and Minidumps and the new Automatic memory dump.
1. Automatic memory dump
Location: %SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp
Size: ≈size of OS kernel
The Automatic memory dump is the default option selected when you install Windows 8. It was created to support the "System Managed" page file configuration which has been updated to reduce the page file size on disk. The Automatic memory dump option produces a Kernel memory dump, the difference is when you select Automatic, it allows the SMSS process to reduce the page file smaller than the size of RAM.
2. Complete memory dump
Location: %SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp
Size: ≈size of installed RAM plus 1MB
A complete (or full) memory dump is about equal to the amount of installed RAM. With many systems having multiple GBs, this can quickly become a storage issue, especially if you are having more than the occasional crash. Normally I do not advise saving a full memory dump because they take so much space and are generally unneeded. However, there are cases when working with Microsoft (or another vendor) to find the cause of a very complex problem that the full memory dump would be very helpful. Therefore, stick to the automatic dump, but be prepared to switch the setting to generate a full dump on rare occasions.
3. Kernel memory dump
Location: %SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp
Size: ≈size of physical memory "owned" by kernel-mode components
Kernel dumps are roughly equal in size to the RAM occupied by the Windows 8 kernel. On my test system with 4GB RAM running Windows 8 on a 64-bit processor the kernel dump was about 336MB. Since, on occasion, dump files have to be transported, I compressed it, which brought it down to 80MB. One advantage to a kernel dump is that it contains the binaries which are needed for analysis. The Automatic dump setting creates a kernel dump file by default, saving only the most recent, as well as a minidump for each event.



4. Small or minidump

Location: %SystemRoot%\Minidump
Size: At least 64K on x86 and 128k on x64 (279K on my W8 test PC)
Minidumps include memory pages pointed to them by registers given their values at the point of the fault, as well as the stack of the faulting thread. What makes them small is that they do not contain any of the binary or executable files that were in memory at the time of the failure.
However, those files are critically important for subsequent analysis by the debugger. As long as you are debugging on the machine that created the dump file, WinDbg can find them in the System Root folders (unless the binaries were changed by a system update after the dump file was created). Alternatively the debugger should be able to locate them automatically through SymServ, Microsoft's online store of symbol files. Windows 8 creates and saves a minidump for every crash event, essentially providing a historical record of all events for the life of the system.

Configure W8 to get the right memory dumps

While the default configuration for W8 sets the OS to generate the memory dump format you will most likely need, take a quick look to be sure. From the W8 Style Menu simply type "control panel" (or only the first few letters in many cases) which will auto-magically take you to the Apps page where you should see a white box surrounding "Control Panel"; hitting Enter will take you to that familiar interface.
Windows 8
Make your way to Control Panel in W8.
The path to check Windows 8 Memory Dump Settings, beginning at Control Panel, follows:
Control Panel | System and Security | System | Advanced system settings | Startup and Recovery | Settings
Once at the Startup and Recovery dialogue box ensure that "Automatic memory dump" is checked. You will probably also want to ensure that both "Write an event to the system log" and "Automatically restart" (which should also be on by default) are checked.
Install WinDbg
System Requirements
To set your PC up for WinDbg-based crash analysis, you will need the following:
• 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 8/R2/Server 2012/Windows 7/Server 2008
Depending on the processor you are running the debugger on, you can use either the 32-bit or the 64-bit debugging tools. Note that it is not important whether the dump file was made on an x86-based or an x64-based platform.
• The Debugging Tools for Windows portion of the Windows SDK for Windows 8, which you can download for free from Microsoft.
• Approximately 103MB of hard disk space (not including storage space for dump files or for symbol files)
• Live Internet connection
Download WinDbg
First download sdksetup.exe, a small file (969KB) that launches the Web setup, from which you select what components to install.
• Standard download.
• Automated download (the download will start on its own):
Space required
Ignore the disk space required of 1.2GB; you will only be installing a small portion of the kit. On my test machine the installation process predicted 256.2MB but only needed 103MB according to File Explorer following installation.
Run skdsetup.exe
Install the Software Development Kit (SDK) to the machine that you will use to view memory dump files.
A. Launch sdksetup.exe.
B. Specify location:
The suggested installation path follows:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.0\
If you are downloading to install on a separate computer, choose the second option and set the appropriate path.
C. Accept the License Agreement
D. Remove the check marks for all but Debugging Tools for Windows

What are symbols and why do I need them?

Now that the debugger is installed and before calling up a dump file you have to make sure it has access to the symbol files. Symbol tables are a byproduct of compilation. When a program is compiled, the source code is translated from a high-level language into machine code. At the same time, the compiler creates a symbol file with a list of identifiers, their locations in the program, and their attributes. Since programs don't need this information to execute, it can be taken out and stored in another file. This reduces the size of the final executable so it takes up less disk space and loads faster into memory. But, when a program causes a problem, the OS only knows the hex address at which the problem occurred, not who was there and what the person was doing. Symbol tables, available through the use of SymServe, provide that information.
SymServ (SymSrv)
Windows 8
From the Windows 8 UI, right-click on WinDbg then select "Run as administrator" from the bar that pops up from the bottom of the screen.
SymServ (also spelled SymSrv) is a critically important utility provided by Microsoft that manages the identification of the correct symbol tables to be retrieved for use by WinDbg. There is no charge for its use and it functions automatically in the background as long as the debugger is properly configured, and has unfettered access to the symbol store at Microsoft.


10 geek tips to up your Windows 8 experience

Posted by Joshua Nesh 0 comments

If you buy a new notebook or desktop PC today, you're likely to get it with Windows 8 preinstalled. It's no secret that this new operating system is radically different from Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, what with its tile-based app interface, the absence of a Start button, the new Charms menu, et al. But there's no reason to fret. Here are five tips that will help you to customize your OS into something you're more familiar with - and five other tricks that will help you get more out of this new system.
One-click shut down
To shut down a Windows 8 PC, you have to bring up the Charms menu click on Settings, click on Power and then select Shut down. You can avoid this roundabout process by creating a shortcut for 'Shut down' and pinning it to the taskbar.

When you are in desktop mode, right click and from the menu select New shortcut. A window will open.
In the location field, type shutdown /s /t 0. Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it 'Shutdown' or whatever else you fancy. Select an icon for the new shortcut and save it.
You can then click on this shortcut to shutdown the system. For easy access, drag the icon on to the taskbar to pin it there.
Boot directly into desktop
By default, Windows 8 requires you to go through a password screen during the boot process before you can access its Start screen/desktop. But there is a way to disable it.
When you are on the Start screen, type netplwiz and hit enter. Select your user account and follow the on-screen instructions to boot directly into the desktop.
Similarly, by default, Windows 8 has a lockscreen enabled. This is not only annoying but also needless. To disable it, when you are on the desktop, press the Windows Key+R. Now type gpedit.msc in the Run window and hit enter.
This will open the Local Group Policy Editor window. From the folder tree on the left, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization. In the right panel, click on User Accounts > Personalization and then do not display the lock screen and select enabled.
If you do not have the Professional version, you will have to edit the registry. Download this registry hack (see link below), unzip the file and double-click Disable Lockscreen.
cdn.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/DisableLockScreen.zip.
God mode
In video games, God Mode is a cheat code that gives a player each and every possible power there is, as well as unlimited 'lives' making him invincible in the game. In Windows 8, this mode puts hundreds of OS settings at your fingertips in one single location.
To turn on God Mode, create a new folder on Desktop and name it
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}.
Here, GodMode will be the name of the folder. But you can call it anything else that you might want. Just ensure that the text following it, including the curly brackets, is exactly the same.

After that, the folder you created will include each and every configurable option in Windows 8. Use these powers responsibly.
Troubleshoot problems
One of the best features in Windows 8 is its highly effective Troubleshooting feature. Now, whenever you face any problems with the OS, you don't necessarily need to search for an expert for help.
To access the Troubleshooting wizard, go to Control Panel > System and security > Find and fix problems.
In the screen that appears, click on View all to display all the automated packs in the OS.
From here, users can troubleshoot over 20 commonly occurring problems including hardware issues, network connections, performance matters, setting up a printer or a TV tuner - and even overall system maintenance. No need to call your techie friend ever again.

Modern start screen
The biggest grouse people have against Windows 8 is its new Start screen that's made up of large tiles. This interface works wonderfully with touch, but many mouse users would rather get to the desktop straight away. Of course, you can still access the desktop by clicking on its tile. But if you want to skip this extra step altogether, use Skip Metro Suit.
Run the app (no installation needed), and check the Skip Start Screen option, and you're done.
After this, your PC will boot directly to your desktop.
But that's not all. You can also use this tool to disable other Windows 8 touch features that are triggered when you hover your mouse. Namely, the top-left corner that activates the App Switcher; the top edge that activates Drag to Close; the bottom-left corner that brings up your Start Screen; and the bottom right action that brings out the Charms bar.

The five best Windows 8 touchscreen laptops

Posted by Joshua Nesh 0 comments


  The five best Windows 8 touchscreen laptops

Acer Aspire S7-391
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 1 April13
  • RRP: £1,250 inc. VAT
There's room for improvement in battery life, but the slim, light design of the S7 is hard to beat if you're looking for a really portable laptop that has enough power to handle some serious work when you're away from the mains.

Sony Vaio T13 Touch review
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 2 April 13
  • RRP: £739 inc. VAT
There’s no single feature of the T Series 13 that is particularly eye-catching or innovative. However, it does provide you with an ultraportable design with good performance and battery life for well under £800, which – regardless of what you think about touch-screens on laptops – still makes it good value for money when compared to many of its ultrabook rivals.

Dell XPS 12 convertible Ultrabook
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 2 April 13
  • RRP: £1,299 inc. VAT
Dell XPS 12 convertible Ultrabook, is supposed to be a laptop/tablet hybrid, but it's clutching at straws when claiming to be a tablet. Think of this more as a decent laptop, that can sort of be used as a tablet.

HP Envy x2
  • Rating: Rated 8 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 29 March 13
  • RRP: £905inc. VAT
We love the X2's design, but it's rather expensive given the modest performance on offer. Even so, it can still handle most basic computing tasks perfectly well, and its ingenious convertible design and impressive battery life mean that it will continue to earn its keep long after most laptops have run flat.

Asus VivoTab Smart ME400
  • Rating: Rated 6 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 29 March 13
  • RRP: £400 inc. VAT
Asus has done a good job with the VivoTab's design, producing a tablet that can compete with any of its Windows, Android or iOS rivals.

Toshiba Satellite P845t-101
  • Rating: Rated 7 out of 10
  • Reviewed on: 1 April 13
  • RRP: £749 inc. VAT
Mobility clearly isn't a strong point with the Toshiba Satellite P845t-101, and the touchscreen is likely to get only occasional use. However, the Satellite performs well enough for undemanding users and is a good choice for anyone that wants a versatile laptop for use at home or in the office.



Windows 8 touchscreen laptops: buying advice

Posted by Joshua Nesh 0 comments

Windows 8 touch-screen devices come in all shapes and sizes. Here we round up some of the best laptops and hybrids currently on offer.
As soon as you see the tiled Start screen, you realise that this is a giant step for Windows. That brightly coloured screen represents Microsoft's first real attempt to bring Windows in to the brave new world of touchscreen mobile computing.
But, of course, Windows 8 isn’t only designed for tablets. It also has to run on conventional PCs as well, which is why the traditional Windows desktop can still be found lurking just beneath the surface of the candy-coloured Start screen.
This split-personality approach is either a stroke of genius or a clumsy compromise, depending on your point of view. What is clear is that Windows 8 represents a real challenge for PC manufacturers as they attempt to develop new hardware designs that will tempt you into upgrading your existing ‘untouchable’ PC.

With that in mind we decided to take a look at some of the latest touch-screen devices that are designed to work best with Windows 8.
Some of the products take a cautious toe-in-the-water approach, simply bolting a touchscreen onto their existing laptop designs from last year. That’s hardly innovative, but it does provide a gentle introduction to the touch-controls of Windows 8 while still providing you with a good old-fashioned keyboard and touchpad for when you need to get down to some office work.
Inevitably, such devices suffer from varying degrees of 'screen wobble' when you prod their touchscreens. Most manufacturers fit extra-stiff hinges, but none eliminate the problem. It also mean you need two hands to open these laptops: one to hold the base down, and one to raise the lip.
Other products embrace Windows 8 more enthusiastically, using entirely new hardware designs that attempt to provide the best of both worlds: combining the performance and flexibility of a traditional laptop with the greater mobility and touchscreen of a modern tablet.
The result is a new breed of convertible (or hybrid) devices that can function as both a laptop and as a tablet. In tablet mode, most models let you rotate the screen and use it in either landscape or portrait mode - something you can't do with a traditional laptop design.
Some of these devices tend to lean more in one direction than the other, though. Dell’s XPS 12, for example, initially looks like a fairly conventional laptop, with a 12in screen and a powerful Intel Core i7 processor that provides near desktop PC levels of performance. But its rotating screen allows you to quickly flip the display and turn the entire unit into a tablet – albeit a rather large and heavy one.
Other companies, including Asus and HP, put the emphasis more on mobility. They start with a lightweight tablet design that can easily be used for web browsing or composing a quick email, but then provide the ability to connect a keyboard so that you can also fire up Microsoft Word or Excel when you need to.
There’s no right or wrong approach here, and we've included the various designs because everyone has their own list of priorities. A device that's ideal for one person may be inappropriate for someone else.
Business users may prefer a more conventional laptop design, while undemanding home users may find a lighter tablet device more suitable for casual web browsing or watching streaming video.
Alternatively, if you need a touchscreen laptop that has enough power for editing video or playing some games, you'll want to check out our benchmark results on page xxx. You'll also find the specifications of each machine there too.
Optical drives are making a decisive exit from the ultraportable scene, so bear this in mind if you know you'll need to read or write CDs or DVDs with your computer. USB DVD writers are inexpensive - you can pick one up for £25 - but they're not nearly as convenient as built-in drives for regular use.

Windows 8 touchscreen laptops: Conclusion

With such a range of features and designs, it’s hard to pick a clear winner from this group. If you just want a conventional laptop with a good size screen and keyboard for running Microsoft Office and other productivity apps then the touch-screen laptops from Sony and Toshiba are both good choices. But if you can afford it, the strong performance and ultra-lightweight design of the Acer Aspire S7 make it an outstanding ultrabook.

Even so, we’re still not convinced that touchscreens add much value to standard laptops. Most people will get more out of the more innovative designs offered by Dell, HP and Asus here.
The Atom-based HP Envy X2 and Asus VivoTab Smart offer rather modest performance but – like a more modern version of the netbook – are still capable of handling routine computing tasks perfectly well.
If you’re on a tight budget then the VivoTab Smart is the obvious choice. However, the brilliantly designed Envy X2 justifies its higher cost, not simply because of the excellent battery life but also because of its vastly superior keyboard. It's the better option if you’re looking for an ultra-portable convertible device that will really earn its keep when you’re on the move.
But if you want true laptop power combined with the convenience of a tablet, then it’s Dell’s XPS 12 that comes closest to providing the best of both worlds. It’s not cheap, but its price isn’t outrageous when compared to more conventional ultrabooks such as the Aspire S7. And don't forget you can opt for a less-powerful model to save a few hundred pounds.

Bear in mind that the XPS 12 is considerably larger and heavier than a conventional tablet and isn't meant to replace one (battery life isn't the best, either), but that ability to use the touchscreen as you would a tablet points the way forwards to the real future of Windows 8 devices.


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