Windows

Disable Problem Add-On
1. Start Internet Explorer on your computer. Click the 'Gear' icon in the top right corner of the program and select 'Manage add-ons.' A new window appears.
2. Click 'Toolbars and Extensions' on the left side of the window. A list of all add-ons installed on Internet Explorer appears.

3. Click on each of the add-ons, clicking the 'Disable' button in the lower right corner of the window for each one. Restart Internet Explorer.
4. Browse the Internet to see if you continue receiving the Unhandled Exception error. If so, move on to the next section. If not, re-open the Manage Add-ons window, select one add-on and click the 'Enable' button in the lower right corner. Restart Internet Explorer.
5. Repeat Step 4 until you receive the Unhandled Exception error again. Disable the most recently enabled add-on and leave it disabled. Alternatively, search online for an updated version of the add-on.
Reset Internet Explorer
6. Start Internet Explorer. Click the 'Gear' icon in the top right corner of the program and select 'Internet Options.'
7. Click the 'Advanced' tab, then click the 'Reset' button at the bottom of the window. A warning dialog box appears.
8. Place a check mark next to 'Delete personal settings' and click the 'Reset' button. Allow the browser to reset, then click the 'Close' button. Restart Internet Explorer.

1. Stop Windows from automatically restarting upon system failure; this will enable you to read the contents of the Blue Screen. First open the Control Panel, and select System (System Maintenance in Vista). Next select 'Advanced System Settings' (skip to the next step for Windows XP) and open the Startup and Recovery tab, and uncheck the box labeled “Automatically Restart” found beneath the System Failure heading.
2. Record the error when next presented with a Blue Screen. For example, “DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL”–in this instance it indicates that the error was caused by a hardware driver. After recording the error, restart your computer. You can find a list of STOP codes and their meaning in the references at the end of this article.

3. Start Windows, should Windows fail to load on restarting, press F8 during the boot process, and select “Load Last Known Good Configuration.” Once Windows has loaded, you should reinstall or update your device drivers. The most common causes of a Blue Screen are outdated or corrupt drivers for audio, LAN and video cards. First open the Device Manager located in the Control Panel in order to find out what drivers you need. Download the latest drivers from the manufacturers’ website, uninstall the existing drivers, and then install the latest versions of each driver.
4. Scan your system with an anti-virus program. In some instances, Blue Screens are caused by malicious software, if you suspect this is the case, perform a complete system scan, and remove said software. If this is the case, reformat your hard drive and reinstall Windows.
5. Reset Your BIOS to Default settings. You can do this by entering the BIOS menu during the boot process. To do so, press the delete key early in the process (the key may differ between manufacturers, consult your motherboard manual or the BIOS startup screen). When in the BIOS menu, select the load defaults option then press F10 to save and exit the BIOS.
6. Replace the memory. Blue Screen errors may stem from defective RAM, which may mean replacing the system RAM, processor RAM (in which case the entire processor must be replaced) and video RAM. (This step should be the very last you try, as it will cost you money.) If you must replace components, replace the components in ascending order of price.

1. Download the Faultrep.dll file (see 'Resources').
2. Right-click the saved DLL file and click 'Copy.' Go to the 'Start' menu, click 'Computer,' double-click the 'C:' drive, double-click the 'Windows' folder and then the 'System32' folder. Right-click anywhere in a blank space and click 'Paste.'

3. Go to the 'Start' menu, type 'run' in the 'Start Search' box and press 'Enter.' Type Regsvr32 'C:\Windows\System32\faultrep.dll' in the search field and hit 'Enter' to register the DLL. Click 'Yes' in the pop-up to confirm the registration.
4. Restart your computer.

1. Open the 'Start' menu.
2. Click 'Run' and type 'msiexec /unreg.' Press 'Enter' to uninstall Windows Installer.

3. Click 'Start' and click 'Run.'
4. Type 'msiexec /regserver' to reinstall Windows Installer.
5. Restart your computer.

1. Launch your anti-virus program and perform a full-system scan to remove any malicious files that could be causing Win32 application errors. If you do not have an anti-virus program, download a free program such as AVG Anti-Virus (see 'Additional Resources,' below).
2. Launch your program after it has installed, then click the 'Update' button to install the latest virus and spyware definitions. Perform a full-system scan and delete all detected malicious files.

3. Run Disk Defragmentor to fix file errors. Many times, Win32 application errors can be caused when program files are scattered on your computer. When files are scattered, the programs that use them have slow launch speeds and occasionally freeze. Disk defragmenter helps put the files back to a central location. To defragment your hard disk, click the Windows 'Start' button and choose 'All Programs.' Scroll up and select 'Accessories.' Select 'System Tools' and then click 'Disk Defragmenter.'
4. Click your hard drive under 'Volume' to highlight it and choose 'Defragment.' The process may take a couple of hours depending on your computer use.
5. Uninstall and reinstall a program if it has become corrupt. To uninstall the program, click the Windows 'Start' button and choose 'Control Panel.' Double-click 'Add or Remove Programs' to open programs window.
6. Locate the program that is corrupt and click 'Remove/Uninstall' to uninstall it from your computer. Insert your installation disk into the CD-ROM drive to reinstall the program. If you originally installed the program from a website, navigate to the website and click 'Download' to reinstall the program.
7. Check for compatibility before downloading certain programs. If the program you are attempting to download requires more RAM or processing speed than your computer offers, it may be best not to download it.

1. Click the 'Start' button, right-click on 'My Computer,' select 'Properties' and then click on the 'Advanced' tab.
2. Click on the 'Settings' button in the 'Performance' section. Click the 'Advanced tab.'

3. Click the 'Change' button under the 'Virtual memory' section.
4. Click on the 'Initial size' section and change the value to a higher value. Do the same thing for the 'Maximum size' section and then click the 'Set' and 'OK' buttons once you have made the changes.
5. Click the 'OK' button two times and restart your computer to apply the settings changes that you made.

1. Start up your computer and put your Windows installation disc into the disc drive on your computer after you finish booting.
2. Click 'Start,' 'All Programs,' 'Accessories' and 'Run.' In Windows XP, simply click 'Start' and 'Run.'

3. Type the following command (without quotation marks) in the Run dialog box: 'expand d:\i386\logonui.ex_ %windir%\system32\logonui.exe.' This inflates the 'LogonUI' file and copies it to your system repository on the directory specified by your Windows installation. Replace 'd' with the letter designating your optical drive if it has another letter.

1. Turn on your computer.
2. Insert your Ubuntu LiveCD into the CD drive.

3. Restart the computer. It should boot directly from the CD drive after about 30 seconds. Wait for the Ubuntu desktop to load on your screen.
4. Click on the terminal window icon and wait for it to load. The icon looks like a black rectangle.
5. Type the following commands at the terminal prompt one line at a time, pressing the 'Enter' button on the keyboard after each line you enter:$ sudo fdisk --l$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt$ sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/boot$ sudo mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/var$ sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev$ sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc$ sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys$ sudo chroot /mnt
6. Select the drive that you have Ubuntu installed on by using the arrow buttons on your keyboard and pressing the spacebar.
7. Type the following command exactly as you see it written here, and then press the 'Enter' button on the keyboard:$ dpkg-reconfigure grub-pc
8. Hit the 'Ctrl' key and the 'D' key on the keyboard at the same time. Only hold them down for a second or two, no longer.
9. Type the following commands at the terminal prompt one line at a time, pressing the 'Enter' button on the keyboard after each line you enter:$ sudo umount /mnt/dev$ sudo umount /mnt/proc$ sudo umount /mnt/sys$ sudo umount /mntEXIT
10. Remove the LiveCD and reboot your computer.

1. Open “My Computer” and navigate to the “Windows/System32” folder on your root drive.
2. Click the 'Tools' menu and open 'Folder options.' Click the 'View' tab and clear the 'hide extensions for known files types' box in the 'Advanced Settings” section. Click 'OK' to save changes.

3. Rename the following files: “WgaLogon.dll” to “WgaLogon.old,” and “WgaTray.exe” to “WgaTray.old.”
4. Restart the computer to save changes.

1. Navigate to the 'Resources' section of this article and download the 'RemoveWGA 1.2 program.' (It's free.)
2. Double click on the program (no installation required) and it will tell you WGA is running and ask if you want to remove it. Click 'Yes.'

3. The program will ask you to reboot your computer. Click 'Yes.' When the computer reboots, after you log in, you will see a prompt from Windows asking if you want to run RemoveWGA. Click on 'Run' and it will remove all traces of the Illegal Error Message in just a few seconds. Enjoy an illegal-error-messages-free screen!