There are a variety of issues that can occur with a PC running windows. Knowing that the normal behavior of applications and the operating system sometimes give errors and being able to identify these errors is important. In many cases, an application you run will use Windows itself to generate text or Windows will generate it's own text if the application doesn't report an error. There are a variety of issues that can occur with a PC running windows. In many cases, an application you run will use Windows itself to generate text or Windows will generate it's own text if the application fails or cannot be run letting you know exactly what has occurred. These error messages are classified as Windows Error Reports and usually are quite specific about what problem has occurred, how it affects the operating of the computer and sometimes documentation or wizards that are a component of Windows are available to assist in troubleshooting and addressing the issue, resolving the performance problem.

The way that these messages are formatted usually gives detailed information into the failure and more often than not, a series of numbers, letters and sometimes words are shown. The combination of characters displayed are known as System Error Codes or Windows Error Report Codes. By looking up the Error Report Code exactly as it is shown in the error dialog window(s), a user will often be able to track down the exact problem and also a likely solution. Microsoft's Knowledge Base and technical support website is available at support.microsoft.com though for more detailed tutorials dealing with the topic of your problem a user might find other helpful resources. By typing an error code or a description of your issue or issues into a popular search engine such as Bing, Yahoo or Google positive results can be found. Though there might be conflicting information or intentionally misleading information from the search engines, a user might find tutorials written by other users, blog posts, forum messages and more which can often provide the information that will cause their frustrations to end and the problem to yield to the solutions provided.

Being careful when encountering a error is a paramount rule when approaching these problems. Don't download software that you are unsure of or that promises a "magical fix" unless it is directly from your computer's manufacturer or Microsoft themselves. The information you gain from web pages found with search engines would be better described as "research" rather than "possible fixes". Finding out that you've done the made a bad decision or that the software "fix" you thought applied to your issues has damaged your computer or made it inoperable is not an experience that anyone should have to have. If the Windows error occurs before Windows starts or if the error makes your computer inoperable seek out the user of another, Internet-connected computer to find the problem. Even a computer at your local library will enable you to seek out the information you need. Finding out how serious the error could be, what might be a solution and what steps are necessary to take to prevent the error from occurring again is your focus. If you can't resolve the issue yourself or find that is is serious, seeking a professional to repair the problem must be considered and weighed heavily as the best solution.