Crash Proof Your
Computer
Part 2
Many software companies sell
products that sound as though they'd make your PC crash-free.
Norton CrashGuard ($30) is probably the best-known example. The
thing is, none of these programs really make your PC crash less.
In fact, some people claim that they actually cause crashes.
What they will do is monitor
your system and warn of an impending crash and in many cases
automatically save your data when a crash occurs. Norton CrashGuard
can also give you a full report of just what went wrong when
your computer goes south. You can then act on this information--
fixing consistently problematic situations-- to decrease your
crash rate. Moreover, CrashGuard can help you recover from a
crash quickly. For example, if your Web browser crashes, the
software can take you directly back to the Web page you were
looking at when the crash occurred.
All in all, though, CrashGuard
and its ilk really won't prevent
crashes, and therefore I don't recommend it. If the features
highlighted above appeal to you, buy CrashGuard as part of the
Norton SystemWorks suite ($60). For not much more money, you'll
receive a boatload of excellent Norton products such as Utilities,
CleanSweep, Anti-Virus and Web Services alongside CrashGuard.
Feed the beast
Some people swear that a
legit way to avoid crashes is to use Microsoft products exclusively.
If you're running Windows 98, Word, Internet Explorer, and Outlook
98 simultaneously, you're less likely to experience a crash than
if you were running analogous applications from many different
software companies.
I should point out, however,
that this probably has nothing to do with
some shadowy Microsoft conspiracy to increase market share. It's
more like using shampoo and conditioner from the same manufacturers--
the formulas work well together because the same chemists produced
them.
Switch operating systems
or platforms
If crashes are seriously
bumming you out, you might consider switching to an alternative
operating system like Linux or BeOS. Both are nearly crash-proof,
but are also difficult to use and offer far fewer software options
than Windows or Macintosh computers do.
If you are considering a
move to one of these alternative operating
systems, it would behoove you to set up a multi-boot system--
one that can non-simultaneously run more than one OS-- before
switching completely. This way, you can choose whether you want
to practice using your new OS or run Windows whenever you boot
your computer. To set up a multi-boot system, buy a hard drive
partitioning utility such as PowerQuest's Partition Magic or
V-Communications Partition Commander.
Many Mac users swear that
their computers crash less than PCs, but many PC users claim
just the opposite. Anyway, straying from the PC platform might
be more of a hassle and a money pit than a crash solution. After
all, going the Mac route means that all the hardware and software
you've accumulated during your tenure as a PC user may as well
be donated to the church rummage sale. And rebuilding your computing
arsenal won't only be costly, but also fairly unexciting since
the Macintosh aisle at electronics stores is only somewhat more
extensive than the Iraqi cuisine section at a North Dakota supermarket.
If you hate to leave the
Windows world but can't stomach another crash, try Windows NT
Workstation (now called Windows 2000). NT crashes far less than
Windows 95 or 98 because it was built from the ground up without
being bolted on top of DOS. It's also a preemptive, multitasking
OS, meaning the operating system itself controls the allocation
of the CPU's power, not your applications. This prevents a single
application such as Microsoft Word from hanging the entire operating
system. Furthermore, NT is fault tolerant, meaning that each
32-bit application gets its own Virtual Memory space so that
one app can't invade the space of another.