Error Messages; Device Drivers; Memory-Resident Programs - Dell Precision 330 User Manual

Error Messages

Error messages are produced by the operating system, an application
program, or the computer. "Messages and Codes" discusses error messages
that are generated by the operating system. If you receive an error message
that is not listed in "Messages and Codes," check your computer or
application program documentation.

Device Drivers

Programs that use specialized subroutines called device drivers can also
cause problems with your system. For example, a variation in the way the
data is sent to the monitor may require a special screen driver program that
expects a certain kind of video mode or monitor. In such cases, you may
have to develop an alternative method of running that particular program—
the creation of a boot file made especially for that program, for example.
Call the support service for the software you are using to help you with this
problem.

Memory-Resident Programs

Many utilities and supplementary programs load either when the computer
boots or from an operating system prompt. These programs are designed to
stay resident in system memory and thus always be available for use.
Because they remain in the computer's memory, memory conflicts and
errors can result when other programs require use of all or part of the
memory already occupied by these TSR programs.
Typically, your operating system's start-up files (such as config.sys and
autoexec.bat) contain commands to start TSR programs when you boot
your system. If you suspect that one of these TSR programs is causing a
memory conflict, remove the commands that start them from the start-up
file. If the problem you were experiencing does not recur, one of the TSR
programs probably created the conflict. Add the TSR commands back into
the start-up files one at a time until you identify which TSR program is
creating the conflict.
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