Windows XP is the most widely used operating system in the world due to its stable and reliable reputation.  It is arguably rare that you need to repair Windows XP errors other than the occasional disk checkup and defragmentation.  However, programs that get caught up and hang happen to every operating system.

Microsoft released XP on October 25, 2001 and since then peaked at 85% of the market share for operating systems and remains the most widely used operating system in the world.  Fortunately, it is also a pretty easy system to troubleshoot.

This article provides you with a step-by-step approach to get your XP back in alignment when corrupt files are causing your computer to hang and crash.

How to Force a Program to Shutdown Using Task Manager

When you hit a pothole trying to shutdown an unresponsive program, try this:

1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete at the same time.  Task Manager should open.
2. Click on Applications tab.
3. Find the name of the unresponsive program and click.
4. At the bottom of Task Manager, click on End Task.
5. If it doesn’t close automatically, it will notify you that the program is unresponsive and ask you to click the End Now button.
6. If it still doesn’t respond, shut down the computer and restart.

It’s always a good idea to stay away from shutting down by holding down on the power button if you can avoid it.  This creates a plethora of registry errors.

How to Delete Corrupt Files when Windows XP Prevents You from Deleting It

When a file on your system is corrupted, Windows XP may prevent you from deleting it and present an error message that the program is still in use.  Even if you shutdown the computer, the same error keeps reappearing.  You can force Windows to delete the files, but this is not for the inexperienced computer user.  If you delete the wrong files, you will end up with an endless river of registry errors.

1. Restart your computer and press F8 on start up.
2. Put it in Safe Mode for Windows XP.
3. Log in to the administrator’s account.  Be prepared to provide a password if you have one.
4. You may now locate the undeletable files and try to delete them.
5. If it is successful, reboot the computer and return to regular mode.

Advanced Registry Care and Prevention

If you are not successful, you may need to seek the help of a computer professional or look into an advanced registry cleaning tool to help you solve this problem.  Even if you took it to a professional, the first thing they would do to repair Windows XP is run a registry cleaner and go from there.  This type of software has made what used to be expensive trips to the local computer technician almost obsolete.

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Windows XP essentially runs all of your Windows.  As such, Windows XP starts and runs a plethora of services every time you start up your computer system.  The thing about this is that while Windows XP starts a variety of services, the chances of you actually requiring of all of these services is slim to none.  Ultimately, Windows XP starts every service available, even though you may only need a slim portion of these services.

By running all of the available services, Windows XP uses a lot of your system’s operating capacities.  This means that there is less of your system available for you to accomplish what you set out to do on your computer.  The bottom line here is that this results in inefficiency.  And if you are anything like most computer users, efficiency is at the top of your priorities when it comes to using your computer system.

The solution here is to shut down the services ran by Windows XP that you do not need or intend to use.  There is more than one method of shutting down services you do not need.  One possible way is to use the tab Services from the page MSCONFIG and manually turn off the undesired services.  A better method of shutting down unused services is by using the Services Management Tool from your Control Panel.  With this tool you can more effectively manage which services you wish to keep on your system.

Even after shutting down services you do not require, Windows XP may not run as smoothly as you would like it to.  There is more you can do to ensure Windows XP is running at its full capacity. Download Regcure to optimize Windows XP in under two minutes!

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