Computer stability explained: why your computer crashes, and what you can do about it
Does your computer crash? Do you want to know why? Here’s a guide which will help you understand why this happens, and (hopefully) lead you on to a better computing experience.
“Computer stability” is somewhat of a misnomer. The term “stability” is related to the physical properties of an object, meaning “it won’t tip or fall down”. In the computing world, the term “stability” is used (by analogy, and rather liberally) to any situation involving a computer crash (or “downfall”).
So what causes computer crashes? On a single computer system (and most computer systems are as different between each other as snowflakes), there can be a gazillion latent reasons for crashes, as well as different types of crashes. You see, having a computer up and running is (at least for Intel x86-based computers, also known as PCs) practically a miracle of modern technology: layers and layers of (mostly legacy) tech piled atop each other, starting from the computer hardware, passing through the BIOS, into the operating system and running applications. Fortunately, due to the high predictability of computer chips (they tend to repeat what they did before with more accuracy than, say, people), once the tower’s up, it’s kind of hard to make it topple.
Okay, let’s list the two major categories of crashes:
- hardware-related crashes
- software-related crashes
And without further ado, let’s investigate each one of them. We’ll start with the hardware part of the problem — read the next page to find out about it.
May 9th, 2006 at 13:20
Very Good. Really Good.
May 9th, 2006 at 13:35
Gracias broder
May 10th, 2006 at 4:05
Excellent. Well-written article.
I’m just a year behind you!
Keep up the good work.
May 10th, 2006 at 5:58
Outstanding! This is an article that everyone should send to the {aunt, uncle, dad, mom, friend, …} that asks “can you fix my computer?” My answer always is “Yes! As soon as I delete Windows and install Linux, everything will be much better.” Great job explaining everyting. I was a little ahead of you (1994). Made the change and never looked back. Thanks!
May 10th, 2006 at 6:35
W007!! Youza for t3h win! I couldn’t agree more.
Feel the power of the penguin!
May 10th, 2006 at 18:40
I must try that non-hot pluggable trick with my system sometime! Very Awsome! And checking my logs, my longest uptime was 33 days and 10 hours. And I don’t own a UPS!
April 23rd, 2007 at 16:53
I really think that there is one mayor reason why computers all over the world crash:
MICROSOFT.
My 2c.