Sooner or later, it seems to happen to all of us—you turn on the computer and it greets you with problems or maybe it won't turn on at all. An article at Microsoft (link here) gives some tips on what to do when this happens to a Windows XP system.
Here are the situations that are discussed in the article:
You log on by clicking your user accounts, but then you can't open any programsYour computer displays the Windows logo, but fails before you can log onYou see "Non-system disk or disk error," or a similar messageYour computer stops immediately after you turn it on or displays nothing on your monitorYour computer does not turn onYou need to perform a repair installation of Windows XPSome of the suggestions in the tips are simple things like check if you have a loose connector. But don't sneer. You might be surprised by how often the simple stuff works.
Related tip: How to Prepare for Boot or System Problems by Creating a Windows 7 Repair Disk
Get your own favorite tip published! Know a neat tech tip or trick? Then why not have it published here and receive full credit? Click here to tell us your tip.
This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs several websites with Windows how-to's and tutorials, including a computer education website and a site for learning about the command line.
Click here for more items like this. Better still, get Tech Tips delivered via your RSS feeder or alternatively, have the RSS feed sent as email direct to your in-box.