installing a DSL modem

There is a mistake which people make while installing the driver for a DSL broadband modem. let me describe the entire procedure here. first the connections are set up and the modem is connected to the pc using the usb cord to the usb port of the computer. after that windows detects the new hardware and the " found new hardware wizard" opens . put the cd rom inside and ask the wizard to automatically search and install the drivers. the wizard searches the cd rom and after finding the suitable software , the installation begins.the installation takes place in two steps. the first step is quite smooth . then the 2nd step begins. when the second step is going on , the " found new hardware wizard" appears again. the mistake which people make is that htey cancel this wizard. that is not the way . again u should ask the wizard to search for the suitable software while the 2nd step of the first installation is still going on . the wizard searches and starts to install. the 2nd step of the first installation gets completed 100%. the driver is ready and the computer has to be restarted before use. if the wizard is cancelled when it prompts again ( when the installation process is already going on ) , an error message is displayed which says that windows can not install the drivers for the modem . if u are still having a problem installing the driver , then i suggest the use of the ethernet port rather than the usb port because a modem working on an ethernet port does not require the installation of a driver.

unable to boot from windows cd ??

generally , when we want to reinstall or repair windows , we have to restart the system after putting the cd rom inside. but there are cases when we may not be able to get the message " press any key to boot from cd " after restarting and the computer simply restarts normally without entering the windows setup menu. in such cases we have to follow a simple procedure . after pressing restart , we have to enter the BIOS by pressing the right key (the key for entering the bios is generally shown automatically in the initial stages of starting the computer.) after entering the bios we have to enter the option of BOOT . here we have to disable all boot devices other than the cd drive in which the windows cd rom has been placed( only thta cd drive has to be left enabled). after that you have to exit the bios by SAVING THE CHANGES.
after exiting , the comp retarts on it's own and this time it will boot from the cd and enter the windows setup menu.

the windows media player errors

often you may find that for a particular file , though the video is playing , the audio may not play and also sometimes the video may not play. that is because the file which you are trying to paly may require some additional media player files known as CODECS . well i can't eactly tell wat a codec is but i can say that it is a file which can enables the media player to play files of a particular format . hence in such cases , one can try to download a codec pack . a codec pack contains several codecs which can enable the media player to play the files without a problem. good codec packs are found all over the internet . for example a mega codec pack can be downloaded from the website :
www.freecodecs.com
but be careful that the codec pack is compatible with the version of wmp being used.
a codec pack is also found with the setup file for divx player which can be easily downloaded from the internet.

the pack has to be simply installed using it's setup file and the codecs are automatically used by the media players after the installation is complete.

anti spyware and anti malware

Almost everyone who uses a computer knows about computer viruses and anti virus software but not many people are aware of spyware and malware. spyware is like a virus which generally reches your computer through the internet . spyware can track th information entered by the user in various forms and login areas of emails . it can also record credit card pin no.s which the user may enter online. it can also be used to track the activities of the user on the computer. Thus it is better to avoid spyware from entering the system . it should be removed from the system to avoid troubles. It can be removed by using a good anti spyware which can scan and destroy spyware and tracking cookies. many can be found over the net. a few good ones are :

1.spware doctor . available on http://www.pctools.com/ and http://www.download.com/
2.avg anti virus free edition . available on http://www.download.com/

the latest version can be downloaded and can be updated from time to time.
malware can cause harmful changes in the system registry which can slow down and crash the system. it can be removed by the above softwares.

the dr watson postmortem error

This error is related to the internet explorer and can be quite irritating. i suggest the use of a good registry mechanic to scan and solve the error but i'm not really sure. the last time i met this error , i could simply clean it up using a registry mechanic. the error may cause the internet explorer to shut down unexpectedly. all the web pages being viewed currently may be closed down.this error can also be solved by reinstalling the internet explorer or by upgrading to a newer version of the internet explorer . Other explorers like mozilla , google chrome , opera etc can be used if the problem persists. Microsoft has suggested the use of particular procedure on a particular web page which i'll be posting on the same post later.

the generic host process

generic host process for win32 services error is one of the most persistent errors and can not be solved that easily.it is a globally faced error and it is found that it may continue even after repairing windows. it is found on windows xp service pack 2 ( xp sp 2) . it may be caused because of the following reasons :
malware in the regisrty
using old drivers for printers and scanners
windows automatic update errors
microsoft has provided a hot fix for this error in one of their updates.if you have missed it , you can get the hot fix on th following web page :


the error disables certain hardware like audio device and modems. the internet won't work. and the taskbar and internet explorer may change in appearance.

the very useful website

i think download.com is the world's best website to download softwares for all purposes. almost all software needs are satisfied by the website. we can easily browse through the site to get the required software. if not sure which to choose, one can take the help of the user ratings , editor ratings , no. of downloads and also the editor's description of the software. the website not just provides software for windows but also for macintosh and mobiles etc. The various details such as license ,validity,cost etc are also displayed.