When you need to flip-flop data in an Excel worksheet, don’t waste time doing it manually. Excel offers a handy Transpose option that will quickly take care of the task.

Here’s a tip that eliminates the need to rekey data. Suppose you’ve entered your data with three column headings running across Row 1 and four row headings running down Column A, like the ones shown in Figure A.

Figure A

After working with the data for a while, you decide you’d rather have the current set of row labels (months) running across the columns. Whatever you do, don’t even think about rekeying the data.

You’ll find the best solution on the Paste Special menu. Start by selecting and copying your entire data range. Click on a new location in your sheet, then go to Edit | Paste Special and select the Transpose check box, as shown in Figure B. Click OK, and Excel will transpose the column and row labels and data, as shown in Figure C.

Figure B

Figure C

Note

You aren’t limited to using the Paste Special | Transpose option to rearrange multiple rows and columns of data. It works just as well when you need to turn a single row of labels into a column, or vice propecia generic online versa.

Deciphering the information displayed on the dreaded BSOD will expedite your troubleshooting efforts.

——————————————————————————————

Microsoft Windows XP systems are notorious for crashing for any number of reasons and in a number of ways. Some of these crashes are mild and can easily be overcome simply by closing a nonresponding application or by rebooting the system. However, others are more serious and can bring the entire system to its knees. Microsoft calls these types of crashes “Stop errors” because the operating system stops responding. When a Stop error occurs, the GUI is replaced by a DOS-like blue screen with a cryptic error message followed by a code number. This screen is affectionately referred to as the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD for short.

I’m going to show you how to analyze BSODs and extract the relevant troubleshooting information. I’ll then take a look at some of the more common Windows XP BSOD errors. I’ll also provide a link to an article in Microsoft’s Knowledge Base that describes the troubleshooting steps and possible solutions in detail. To view screen shots of these BSOD error messages, along with an explanation of each one, check out this photo gallery.

This blog post is also available in the PDF format as a TechRepublic Download.

Dissecting a BSOD

Although Stop errors can be caused by both hardware and software malfunctions, the most typical cause is a hardware malfunction. Each Stop error is accompanied by a specific error description and an eight-digit hexadecimal number error code. It may not be immediately apparent when you see a BSOD (mostly due to the shock factor that hits you when a BSOD occurs), but you can use the description and code to identify the type of error that is occurring. You just need to be able to identify the key parts of the message so you’ll have a direction and focus for your troubleshooting expedition. The trick is in finding the relevant information on the BSOD.

Let’s suppose that you encounter the BSOD shown in Figure A.

Figure A

This Stop error indicates that requested data was not in memory.

At the top of the Windows XP BSOD, you’ll find the error description, which will be in all uppercase letters with multiple words tied together with underscore characters. In the following BSOD excerpt, the text KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED is the error description:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Immediately following the error description, you’ll find some general troubleshooting steps. In some cases, following these steps will lead you to a solution. (Keep in mind that this same information appears in just about every BSOD.)

If this is the first time you've seen this error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps: Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need. If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

After the general troubleshooting information, you’ll find the Technical Information section, which contains the eight-digit hexadecimal number error code. The code is usually accompanied by four error-dependent values enclosed in parentheses. (These values typically aren’t necessary information, but you may want to take note of them.) If a file was directly associated with the problem that caused the BSOD, it will also be listed here. In this case, you can see that the file ati3diag.dll is tied to the problem:

Technical information: *** STOP: 0x00000050 (0x8872A990, 0x00000001, 0x804F35D7, 0x00000000)*** ati3diag.dll – Address ED80AC55 base at ED88F000, Date Stamp 3dcb24d0

Following the Technical Information section, you’ll see another generic section. This one alerts you to the fact that Windows XP has dumped the contents of system memory to a file on the hard disk:

Beginning dump of physical memory Physical memory dump complete. Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.

Armed with these details, you can visit Microsoft’s online Help and Support page and search the Knowledge Base for more detailed troubleshooting and solution information.

Common BSODs in Windows XP

Now that you have a good idea of how to dissect a BSOD and pull out the relevant pieces of information from all the gibberish on the screen, let’s look at some of the more common BSODs in Windows XP. I’ll cover just a few of the BSOD conditions, but there are lots of possible Stop errors. For each BSOD I discuss, I’ll provide a link to an article on the Microsoft Knowledge Base that covers that particular Stop error. (Since more than one article might address a Stop error, you may want to search the Knowledge Base if you discover that you need more information.)

STOP: 0×0000000A
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
This Stop error, which can be caused by either software or hardware, indicates that a kernel-mode process or driver attempted to access a memory location it did not have permission to access or a memory location that exists at a kernel interrupt request level (IRQL) that was too high. A kernel-mode process can only access other processes that have an IRQL that’s equal to or lower than its own.
Troubleshooting a Stop 0×0000000A error in Windows XP

STOP: 0×0000001E
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
This Stop error indicates that the Windows XP kernel detected an illegal or unknown processor instruction. The problems that cause this Stop error can be either software or hardware related and result from invalid memory and access violations, which are intercepted by Windows’ default error handler if error-handling routines are not present in the code itself.
Possible Resolutions to STOP 0×0A, 0×01E, and 0×50 Errors

STOP: 0×00000050
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
This Stop error indicates that requested data was not in memory. The system generates an exception error when using a reference to an invalid system memory address. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop error.
Possible Resolutions to STOP 0×0A, 0×01E, and 0×50 Errors

STOP: 0×0000007B
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
This Stop error indicates that Windows XP has lost access to the system partition or boot volume during the startup process. Installing incorrect device drivers when installing or upgrading storage adapter hardware typically causes this Stop error. This error could also indicate a possible virus infection.
Troubleshooting Stop 0×0000007B or “0×4,0,0,0″ Error

STOP: 0×0000007F
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
This Stop error indicates a hardware problem resulting from mismatched memory, defective memory, a malfunctioning CPU, or a fan failure that’s causing overheating.
General causes of “STOP 0×0000007F” errors

STOP: 0×0000009F
DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
This Stop error indicates that a driver is in an inconsistent or invalid power state. This Stop error typically occurs during events that involve power state transitions, such as shutting down or moving in or out of standby or hibernate mode.
propecia generic 5mg color=”#003399″>Troubleshooting a Stop 0×9F Error in Windows XP

STOP: 0×000000D1
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
This Stop error indicates that the system attempted to access pageable memory using a kernel process IRQL that was too high. The most typical cause is a bad device driver (one that uses improper addresses). It can also be caused by faulty or mismatched RAM or a damaged pagefile.
Error Message with RAM Problems or Damaged Virtual Memory Manager

STOP: 0×000000EA
THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER
This Stop error indicates that a device driver problem is causing the system to pause indefinitely. Typically, this problem is caused by a display driver waiting for the video hardware to enter an idle state. This might indicate a hardware problem with the video adapter or a faulty video driver.
Error message: STOP 0×000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER

STOP: 0×00000024
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
This Stop error indicates that a problem occurred within Ntfs.sys, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to drives formatted with the NTFS file system. (A similar Stop message, 0×00000023, exists for the file allocation table [FAT16 or FAT32)] file systems.)
Troubleshooting Stop 0×24 or NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM Error Messages

STOP: 0xC0000218
UNKNOWN_HARD_ERROR
This Stop error indicates that a necessary registry hive file could not be loaded. The file may be corrupt or missing. The registry file may have been corrupted due to hard disk corruption or some other hardware problem. A driver may have corrupted the registry data while loading into memory or the memory where the registry is loading may have a parity error.
How to Troubleshoot a Stop 0xC0000218 Error Message

STOP: 0xC0000221
STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH
This Stop message indicates driver, system file, or disk corruption problems (such as a damaged paging file). Faulty memory hardware can also cause this Stop message to appear.
“STOP: C0000221 unknown hard error” or “STOP: C0000221 STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH” error message occurs

Optimizing the Microsoft Windows XP boot process is a continuous struggle.

————————————————————————————

Microsoft Windows XP was designed to optimize the boot process so that users can boot their machines and access the operating system as quickly as possible. For the most part, XP is successful. There is, however, almost always room for improvement, and BootVis.exe, a free Microsoft utility, can help you get the best boot performance possible from an XP system.

Editor’s note: BootVis.exe is no longer supported or available from Microsoft. However, you can download the application from the TechRepublic Downloads Library along with a PDF version of this blog post.

How the Windows XP boot process works

A main cause of slow boots with Windows NT/2000 was their method for loading drivers. Prior to XP, Windows versions loaded drivers sequentially. Windows XP, however, loads drivers concurrently. It also records which applications are launched during startup. This information is written to the C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch\Layout.ini file.

When the Layout.ini file is created, XP performs a partial defragmentation on the files listed in Layout.ini. This defrag process attempts to make the files listed in Layout.ini available in one contiguous area on the hard disk, allowing these files to be accessed, and the associated drivers to be loaded, more quickly. This process is run in the background approximately every three days.

There are four factors affecting the defrag process:

BootVis, which Microsoft describes as a “performance trace visualization tool,” actually performs the same tasks as the XP boot process, except that BootVis allows the information obtained during a single boot to be used for optimization, rather than monitoring the system over a period of several days.

Download the file and then extract the BootVis.exe utility by double-clicking the archive file, selecting a location for the Bootvis.exe file, and clicking OK.

Opening BootVis and running a trace

To run BootVis, simply double-click the BootVis.exe file and the BootVis screen, shown in Figure A, should appear.

Figure A

Here is the BootVis main window.

The first step in tweaking or troubleshooting your boot process is to run a boot trace. Click File | New | Next Boot + Drivers Trace. The Trace Repetitions window, shown in Figure B, will prompt you for the number of repetitions (reboots and traces) to run. Go with the defaults and click OK.

BootVis will now provide you with a 10-second countdown before it reboots the system and performs the trace, giving you time to cancel the reboot and close any applications you might have left running. Click Reboot Now to bypass the countdown or Cancel to cancel the reboot.

Figure B

Select the number of reboots and driver traces for BootVis to run.

Once the system reboots, BootVis restarts automatically and provides individual graphs for the following system activity areas (This can take a few minutes, so be patient.):

• Boot activity
• CPU usage
• Disk I/O
• Disk utilization
• Driver delay
• Process creates

Reading the boot activity graph

The Boot Activity graph (shown in Figure C) breaks the boot process down into the following components:

• Disk: The time required to detect all devices in the nonpageable device path. This entry can include any device from the CPU to the boot disk. This value should be around two seconds.
• Driver: The time required to initialize devices.
• Prefetching: The time required to read pages that are later used to initialize devices. This entry also includes Winlogon, services, the shell, and any applications loaded when the system boots.
• Registry + Page File: The time required to read the registry and initialize the page file.
• Video: The time spent setting the display mode and refresh rate. This time is affected by both the video BIOS and the video driver used.
• Logon + Services and Shell: The time required to startWinlogon, any services, the shell, and any applications, such as firewall or antivirus software, that are run when XP starts.

Figure C

Here is the BootVis boot activity graph.

The components are displayed in the order in which XP calls them and are read from the bottom up. Each component’s bar begins at the point in the boot sequence when the component was called and the bar’s length reflects the time in seconds required to load the component. To determine the time required for any individual component activity, place the cursor over the title for the component.

To get the most important number, the time used to boot the system, place the cursor over the vertical line that crosses through all the components. This line represents the time the system took to boot. In the example in Figure C, the system required 33.84 seconds to complete the boot process.

One item of note, this boot time is dependent on the time it takes the user to enter the logon password, if one is required. Make sure to enter the password as quickly as possible when testing a system.

Optimizing the boot process

Now that you have an indication of how well the boot process is going, the next step is to optimize the system. To optimize your system boot, click Trace | Optimize System, and BootVis will present you with a 10-second countdown before rebooting. When the system reboots, the window shown in Figure D will appear, indicating that BootVis is using information gained from the previous boot and the current boot to optimize the system.

Figure D

BootVis is optimizing the system.

The next window, shown in Figure E, appears when BootVis actually begins to place the files specified in the Layout.ini file in the area of contiguous disk space created during the defragmentation process run prior to using BootVis.

Figure E

This shows BootVis organizing files on the hard disk.

When the window shown in Figure E closes, restart BootVis and run another boot trace by clicking File | Next Boot + Driver Trace. This will allow you to see how much improvement was gained from the optimization process.

Figure F shows the results on my test machine. After running the optimization, the boot time was reduced to 30.85 seconds — a difference of almost three seconds. As I mentioned earlier, this value is affected by the time it takes to enter a logon password, so enter the password as quickly as possible. While three seconds may not seem like a lot, I have seen this value change by as much as 10 seconds. And in today’s world, where we expect instant-on computers, every second counts.

Figure F

BootVis reduced my test machine’s boot time by nearly three seconds.

Identifying driver problems

Now that you know how to optimize a machine’s boot process with BootVis, let’s look at how to troubleshoot boot issues involving problem drivers. BootVis can identify drivers that cause problems during the boot process and will indicate them on the Driver Delay graph, shown in Figure G, with a red bar.

Fortunately, my test machine does not have driver issues. If it did, I would check the manufacturer’s Web site for the latest drivers.

Figure G

BootVis reports no driver delays on my test machine. If it did, they would have appeared in red.

BootVis can only do so much

BootVis tries to optimize the XP boot process as much as possible, but it can’t work miracles. If a machine loads antivirus, firewall, and/or e-mail programs when booted, BootVis can only do so much. Remember the phrase “Your mileage may vary,” and use BootVis within the context of how you use your system. This will help you achieve a compromise between a fast boot and a system propecia frontal you can work with as soon as it boots to XP.

Sometimes, there may be variations in the appearance of your text, even if it carries the same style. Luckily, Word’s Reveal Formatting feature can help you ferret out any discrepancies.

Both of the headings on the page are formatted in the Heading 1 style, so why don’t they look alike? Rather than try to guess what the differences are, use Reveal Formatting and have Word figure it out for you. Follow these steps:

Figure A

1. Select the second heading.

Word will display the formatting differences in the task pane. In this example, the difference is that the second selection‘s propecia for women font size is slightly larger than the first (Figure B).

Figure B

Crowded slides are guaranteed to send your audience scrambling for the exits. Luckily, PowerPoint makes it easy to scoot excess text onto a new slide.

Sometimes, you just can’t fit everything you want one slide. If that text is in a placeholder, you don’t need to cut and paste part of the text into a new slide. In Outline mode, PowerPoint can push text along with just a few clicks.

First, display the Outlining toolbar by choosing Toolbars from the View menu and choosing Outlining. Next, click the Outline tab to display the presentation text in the Outline pane. Position the cursor at the end of the last line you want to keep on the current slide (Figure A).

Figure A

Then, press Enter and click Promote (the arrow at the top of the Outlining toolbar that’s pointing left). Doing so will insert a new slide for all the text you just split from the previous one (Figure B). Just enter a new title for the new slide and continue to adjust the text as necessary.

Figure propecia for receding hairline B

This method also works in PowerPoint 2007, but you don’t need the Outlining toolbar. Just press Enter at the appropriate spot to insert a new slide.