Computer constantly crashes when I use my documents

Let's start with a file system check: right click on the c drive in explorer (hope it doesn't crash?), goto properties / tools and run the error checking. That requires a restart for the c drive.

emmahhcee,

1> Yes, when a HD has less than 10% free space there is no room for swap files and can become obstinate. I'll wager that your computer won't write a CD/DVD either. In addition to the error checking mentioned earlier- a very good idea, again go to Windows Explorer and right click on C: > Properties > and in that menu click on "Disk Cleanup". Then follow the prompts through to deleting these files. I do this a couple of times per month because of the build up of temporary files, error log, and so on. Only a moment ago, on my computer, I was surprised that this deleted 226MB from the drive (my C: drive has 115GB in a 152GB partition). At my brother's office, I ran disk Cleanup on a computer that had not had it done within memory and it removed 5GB!

2> Following the disk cleanup, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Defragmentation, click on Drive C: and > Defragment. This may take some time if it hasn't been done recently, and it will put files that have been cut into pieces back into one piece and removes the space between them.

3> If the above do not cure the problem, then consider the possibility of a large number of Registry errors. The system I mentioned in my brother's office was almost not running- would not download in Internet Explorer and a registry test claimed there were over 2,500 errors. There is registry error detection and repair software, but I've never had luck with those and always ended up reloading everything- getting a clean start. Perhaps others will comment on a good automatic registry repair program if needed.

Sorry if this is very elementary to you, but I like to try the simplest, no fuss things first.

As you're starting college soon, it may be a good point to have a new, larger HD- $50 to $90 , and freshly reloading everything- you wouldn't need the pressure of having computer problems or terrible performance. If your HD is found to have substantial errors, and/or bad sectors, or registery errors in the 1000's, it would probably be wise to reload everything- after backing up all files of course.


Cheers,

BambiBoom

P.S. >The "Good ol' Days" > Speaking of running out of HD space, my first computer,and Apple II had no HD- everything ran off 5.25" inch floppy disks. The second , a 1993 IBM 486 running at 50MHz arrived with 2MB RAM -that's Mega and not Giga, the HD was 85 MB and the system with 14" monitor cost about $2,100. CD-R did not exist and everything was read / written to 3.5" 1.44MB floppy discs. I ran DOS 6, Windows 3.1, AutoCad 10 DOS, Corel Graphics Suite 3, and WordPerfect 6. It took 6 months to fill the 85MB drive and I bought a 540MB drive- the largest drive DOS 6 could see was 528MB- for $570, so this cost a bit over $1 per MB. At that rate a 1 TB drive would cost over $1,000,000! The "Good ol' Days"?