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Handling Errors and Aborts
- If the screen freezes and the mouse does not work, press
CONTROL-ALT-DELETE (i.e., hold the CONTROL and ALT keys down,
and then press the DELETE key). This usually displays a menu
with a list of processes, some of which you explicitly created
and some of which are created by the system. It then asks you
to highlight the process you wish to terminate and click on a
button to end it. You may have to do this for several processes
until you select the right one. Usually there are less than a
dozen such processes to choose from, so it does not take long
to select the right one, and selecting the wrong one usually
does not do any damage.
- If you restart your PC after an error you may be placed in DOS
mode, as opposed to Windows 98 (DOS stands for Disk Operating System
and is an old system that underlies Windows 98). In this mode the
mouse will not work. However, it displays menus which contain
options where the important letters are highlighted, such
as Start (S), Continue (C), or eXit (X). Press one of the highlighted
letters to go to the next step. Usually, the system will correct
the problem for you.
- If you cannot gain control of your PC at all, turn the entire
machine off, wait 20 seconds, then turn it back on again. Usually
you will be placed in DOS mode and it will guide you through menus
which you activate with the keyboard (not the mouse), such as
ScanDisk, until you are up and running.
- If that doesn't work, then turn the machine off, and unplug and replug every connection in the back of the machine, and then start it up again. If that doesn't work, then you need to call for help.
Handling errors is one of the more unpleasant aspects of PCs. The screen may flash with an error message (typically a message on a gray background which contains a small red "X"). Here are some of the ways to handle errors:
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