Hacking For Beginners – Manthan Desai

2. Bad RAM -

2010

RAM-(random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal ExceptionError. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will needreplacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ramwith 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run the entire Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash themachine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it morestable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or takesome of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch thegold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best notto mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to freememory problems often linked to old Dos-based programs.

3. BIOS settings -

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are the factory. A common way to accessthese settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea down on a piece of paper all the settings thatappear on the screen. That way, if you change something and becomes more unstable, you will know whatsettings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CASlatency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze thecomputer's display.

Microsoft Windows is better at allocating numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS.This will allow Windows to allocate the numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes'to allow Windows to do this.).

4. Hard disk drives -

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea todefragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting,so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimization.This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

www.hackingtech.co.tv

Page 196