One set of computer problems that you can fix yourself is EXE errors. These errors are related to executable files of various computer applications and are known to occur on most computers at some point in time. You will need to learn the methods to prevent as well as troubleshoot EXE errors in order to tackle this problem. You will also need to employ certain software tools that will help you solve this problem.

For Windows users, Microsoft has made things easy as it provides hotfixes for errors related to various Microsoft applications on their website. For instance, if you are experiencing mmc.exe problems on your computer then you can visit the Microsoft Support website for a remedy to this problem.

There are many processes related to Microsoft applications, such as msmpeng.exe that by default run all the time on your PC. However, these processes can, at times, consume a huge amount of your system’s resources and may cause your computer to function at a snail’s pace. You can fix the problem by changing the setting of the program that is eating your resources to Manual from the Services management console window. Also, if you do not use the application then you may choose to disable the concerned process. For instance, you may safely disable the consent.exe process if you are not using this application but suspect it of causing trouble on your machine. You may disable startup programs by using the System Configuration Utility or a third-party startup program manager.

You may also receive exe errors if the driver files are outdated or corrupt. You can fix this by downloading and installing updates from the driver manufacturer’s website. Exe errors may also arise if there is any physical problem with your hardware components or its related driver. We recommend you use an efficient PC diagnostics tool to ensure your hardware components are devoid of any physical problems.

As all your programs reside on a hard disk, any problem with your hard disk may also cause exe errors. If you suspect this is the reason behind exe errors on your system then you may run the chkdsk command to ensure that your hard disk is in good condition. Next, remove the unused programs using the Add or Remove Programs utility and delete the unwanted files with the help of the Disk Cleanup tool. Finally, defrag the hard disk using the Disk Defragmenter tool to make the hard disk contiguous.

You may receive exe errors if your program files are infected with a virus. To prevent and remove viruses from your computer, it is important that you use advanced virus and spyware scanner tools. Also, keep these tools updated with the latest virus definitions and security updates and schedule regular scans to ensure no virus remains on your computer.

For a healthy and error-free computer, it is essential that you maintain a clean, compact and error-free Windows registry. You can ensure this by regularly scanning and cleaning the registry using an advanced registry cleaning tool.

If you have been working with computers for a while now, you may have had the misfortune of experiencing PC startup problems. These errors can be quite scary as one is not sure of the cause of the problem. Startup problems can be of various kinds and show different symptoms. You could encounter some error messages including exe file errors while booting. Some users may find that their computer keeps rebooting after every few minutes or even shutdown while starting. All in all, startup problems can be very annoying for users.

PC startup problems usually indicate the presence of a virus but there are a host of other reasons that can be behind these problems too. Other reasons, although not very common, include problems with the power connection, dust inside the CPU and malfunctioning memory chips. You need to cover all the possibilities while troubleshooting for startup problems before rushing to a computer expert for rescue.

Many programs load automatically when you start your system, consuming important system resources. Therefore, it is imperative that you keep only the essential programs in your system startup sequence. Non-essential programs, such as qttask.exe hamper the system startup process, especially when the files are corrupt or outdated. For instance, qttask.exe problems may display various error messages at system startup. You may use the System Configuration Utility that comes built-in with Windows to disable non-essential programs at system startup. If you find this utility confusing then you may use a third-party startup program manager tool to manage your startup programs.

You may also encounter startup problems if your software contains outdated or corrupt files. For instance, you may experience svchost.exe errors at system startup if the files of the Automatic Update utility on your computer are corrupt or some of the dependent services are unable to start. You can fix this problem by replacing the bad Automatic Update files on your system with healthy files on your CD.

Virus infections may also cause startup errors. It is important that you use an efficient security tool to shield your computer from malicious programs, such as viruses, spywares, and adwares. Also, schedule regular full system scans, and keep your security tool updated with the latest virus definitions and security updates to protect your computer from the latest malware.

You may also face system startup issues due to bad drivers. You may use the Device Manager utility, which is a built-in feature in Windows to identify the hardware that is causing the trouble. After you have identified the hardware, uninstall its driver and reinstall it to replace the damaged files. If outdated driver files are causing the error then you can download and install the latest updates from the driver manufacturer’s website to repair the error. Alternately, you can use a good driver scanner tool to ensure your drivers are always up-to-date.

Registry problems may also cause startup errors. In fact, a severely damaged or corrupt registry may even prevent your computer from booting. To prevent this situation, you may use an advanced registry cleaning utility to keep your system registry compact and error-free.

Now that you have seen some of the common causes of application errors, let’s have a look at some of the tips that you can use to prevent them.

Tip # 1: You must install only legitimate versions of software on your computer and stay away from pirated versions. Pirated software, especially the ones you download from the Internet can be infected with malware. If you frequently download freeware and shareware applications, you must do it only from reliable web sites.

Tip # 2: Check your installation files and the external media from which you are installing to ensure that there are no problems with it. Scratched CD/DVDs and bad downloads may cause problems with your applications.

Tip # 3: Before installing a program, ensure that your PC meets the minimum requirements for that program to run. If your PC fails to meet these requirements the application may fail to run and generate errors.

Tip # 4: Many times, when you install programs, such as instant messengers, some additional packages, such as Internet Explorer toolbar may come packaged with it. If you are not careful while selecting your options, these packages may install and unnecessarily put an extra load on your PC. So, when you install anything, be careful and select only those options that you need.

Tip # 5: Get yourself good virus and spyware scanners tools. Keep these tools updated and schedule them to run regularly to ensure that your PC stays free from viruses. For better protection, choose tools that provide real-time protection. This way, your computer will always be ready to combat viruses and other malware that may damage you applications.

Tip # 6: To prevent application errors due to a damaged and corrupt registry, you must scan and clean your registry on a regular basis. A simple and efficient method to do this is to use a good registry cleaner tool.

Tip # 7: Make sure to install the latest updates and service packs to ensure that any bugs in the applications on your computer are patched up. Updates also help in incorporating new features and securing your PC from malware. Some of the tools that you can use to update software are Automatic Update—built-in Windows tool, update tool built into third-party applications, and third-party driver scanner tools that help update your drivers.

Adam

Today, one of my Ebay items I was selling was due to end after having been on sale for seven days, and literally a couple of hours before it was due to end I received an email from Ebay stating that the item had been removed from sale as a result of ‘keyword spamming’.

Apparently the use of the word ‘As New’ at any point in the title is considered  to be “using brand names or other inappropriate keywords in an item title or description for the purpose of gaining attention or diverting buyers to a listing”.

A couple of points:

• Why wasn’t this breach made more while going through the listing proceedure? Surely Ebay could invest in software which detects if these words are used, which could then automatically inform the user?
• Why wasn’t I informed earlier? This item has been on sale seven days and it had bids placed on it. They could have contacted me a long time ago which would have given me time to adjust the listing without effecting the bidders.

I know that Ebay have got to have rules and regulations and I’m sure it’s mentioned in their user agreements and policies, but when something so simple and unharmful can cost a user a sale,  instant removal of a listing with no prior warning is a poor method of managing the issue, on top of the bad usability to start with.

If you’re clearly taking the piss with a page title then fine, but I think lesser punishments and warnings would be more suitable for people who make a mistake for the first time. Read Ebay’s largely unknown keyword spamming tutorial here. I’ll not complain because believe it or not the 10p listing fee isn’t a big deal, but I thought people should know what Ebay considers ‘keyword spamming’.

Even the most well-thought-out products can have unforeseen design flaws, which can only be fixed after direct consumer testing of the product. Different from traditional market research, usability testing relies upon controlled experiments which, potentially, can be costly. If you are a small business or a larger firm on a tight budget, then you’ll want to consider the most effective way of testing the efficiency of your product’s design.

It is commonly assumed that a large sample size is needed to capture differences across segments of potential users. Recent research has suggested, however, that only a relatively small sample size of needed in order to capture the necessary usability data (see Usability Sample Size Research.) In fact, the research shows that effective usability testing can be carried out with as few as three subjects through proper experimental design, which is much more beneficial than running a less effective experiment with more participants. Therefore, whether you can designing your experiments in-house or working with a consultant, ensure that you limit the scope of the participants, which can save you on costs.

Rather than just deciding to invest in usability testing, the entire experiment should be designed with ROI factors in mind – after all, that is the essential reason for performing the tests in the first place.
These ROI factors can be directly traced to improved outcomes in terms of training and support expenditures, employee productivity, improved sales conversion rates and improvement in the release cycle for future releases (see ROI White Paper.) Since experimental costs can be estimated in advance, a strict budget should be set, along with a range of acceptable returns on the investment. In particular, companies have to factor in the costs of implementing the experimental recommendations, in addition to the costs of performing the test itself.

When seeking out a usability testing firm or consultant, be clear about your budgetary restrictions, along with your expected return on investment. You may have to limit the scope of your project, but, in the end, the results will allow you to scale and grow in the future. Additionally, you may consider more limited in-house tests using software packages, which will give you some initial data before you invest in a more comprehensive usability testing review.

This article was submitted by Maya Richard, who currently writes about dial up internet.

I may be a bit late on this one, but about bloody time. YouTube has finally switched from 4:3 ratio to 16:9 so the masses of people wanted to upload widescreen video clips - which most video uses these days - can finally have their contributions viewed properly online. It’s strange because the likes of Vimeo have been using widescreen for ages, so why did it take so long for a multi-million dollar company like YouTube / Google to make the switch? I mean, YouTube has been going for years…

I’ve noticed that YouTube has added many new features to ist service of late, such as the captions and subtitles, annotations and endless lists of recommendations, suggestions and promotions. It’s almost like being in an online shop sometimes - but it’s always nice to see a widescreen TV.

It turns out that the W3C Validator isn’t keen on <embed> tags appearing anywhere on the page, so I did a bit of research and cam across the following replacement code which works and is completely compliant with the standards:

<object type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425″ height=”350″ data=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yourcode“><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/yourcode” /></object>

The parts where it says your code need to be replaced with the extension that applies to the location of your YouTube video - this is present in the orginal embed code and can be just copied and pasted across.

Two of my videos that have been on YouTube for about two years now and had a combined viewing figure of over 7,000 views have recently been blocked from playback due to copyright issues.These two videos were both very popular and had recieved a lot of comments with praise.

It wouldn’t bother me but I have seen dozens of videos similar to mine which have used the same music and they remain online and untouched. Why should mine get blocked and theirs allowed to continue? I understand that copyrighs have to be protected so I won’t do anything about it and I accept that fact, but surely half the videos on YouTube are infringing those rights in exactly the same wa, yet they go unnoticed.