Things might make the computer crash

You’re not off the hook!
Rarely in my travels have I found someone who has somehow influenced the computer to go wacky. In fact, only a few things have been known to be
directly related to human problems. These causes are covered in this section.

You did something new to the computer

Computers are very conservative; they don’t like change. The most stable computer I have in my office has only Microsoft Word installed on it. Nothing else is used on that computer — not the Internet, no games, no nothing! The computer still crashes, but not as often as other systems in my office.
The key to having a more stable computer is not to install new software or hardware. Unfortunately, this advice is nearly impossible to follow. It’s not
that the mere act of installing something new causes the computer to crash. No, it’s just that installing something new introduces another combination into the system — a new potion into the elixir, so to speak — and an incompatibility or conflict may come from that. It’s what I call the it-was-working- yesterday syndrome. Use Mac photo recovery to save your photo when your computer crashed.
For example, one of my readers writes in and says, “The sound is gone from my computer! I had sound yesterday, but today it’s all gone!” The first thing I ask is whether the person installed any new hardware or software. The answer is generally “Yes,” and that’s what prompted the problem.
Sometimes, you can forget that you have installed new stuff, which makes the problem seem random. After all, the computer is acting goofy, and it’s easy to overlook that you downloaded some corny animation from the Internet yesterday. Yet that one change was enough to alter the system. Yes, if you had one computer for every program, you would probably live a relatively crashfree high-tech existence. But I don’t recommend spending your money that way.
Try to keep track of the times that you add, update, or change the hardware and software in your computer system. If possible, do research to determine the new stuff’s compatibility with your existing computer system. Do that before you install. The manufacturer’s or developer’s Web page lists known technical issues. These types of new hardware and software installations are why utilities such as System Restore are so popular. For more information, see the section in Chapter 4 about using System Restore.

You were bad and deleted files you shouldn’t have deleted

Delete only those files you created yourself. It’s when people go on file-hunting expeditions that they can get into trouble. In fact, deleting a swath of files is typically the only reason I recommend reinstalling Windows. After all, if you surgically remove a great portion of your operating system, reinstalling is the only way to get it back. (For all other problems, you generally have a solution other than reinstalling Windows.)
Here is what’s okay to delete: Use picture recovery tool to save your photo when your computer crashed.

>>Files (icons) in the My Documents folder
>>Files in any folders in the My Documents folder
>>Any folders created in the My Documents folder or its subfolders
>>Zip files you have downloaded and installed

That’s it!
Never, ever, delete any other files anywhere else on your computer. I know that you may want to! The urge may be irresistible! You may go on a “cleaning” binge and yearn to mow down files like some crazed gardener with a high-speed weed whacker. Don’t!

>>Oh, and you can delete any shortcut icons you may find. Deleting a shortcut icon doesn’t delete the original file.
>>You can delete any icon on the desktop. Most are shortcuts anyway.
>>You can also delete items from the Start menu, though I recommend against it. Zip files are also known as compressed folders in Windows.
>>Most programs you download come in zip file archives. After you extract the files, you can delete the zip file archive.
>>I create a special folder, called Downloads, in the My Documents folder. (I suppose that I should call it My Downloads, just to fit in with every-
thing else.) That’s where I store all my downloaded files, zip files, and e-mail attachments. It’s also a great folder to clean out to free up some
space on the hard drive.
>>No, I don’t ever recommend reinstalling Windows. See Chapter 20 for the reasons.