Finding Software Solutions 4-1Chapter 4Finding Software SolutionsBecause most computers have several application pro-grams installed in addition to the operating system,isolating a software problem can be confusing. Softwareerrors can also appear to be hardware malfunctions atfirst.Software problems can result from the followingcircumstances:• Improper installation or configuration of a program• Input errors• Device drivers that may conflict with certain appli-cation programs• Interrupt conflicts between devicesYou can confirm that a computer problem is caused bysoftware by running the System Set Test Group asdescribed in Chapter 5, “Running the System Diagnos-tics.” If all tests in the test group complete successfully,the error condition is most likely caused by software.This chapter provides some general guidelines for ana-lyzing software problems. For detailed troubleshootinginformation on a particular program, see the documenta-tion that accompanied the software or consult the supportservice for the software.Installing and ConfiguringSoftwareYou should use virus-scanning software to check newlyacquired programs and files for viruses before installingthe programs on the computer’s hard-disk drive. Viruses,which are pieces of code that can replicate themselves,can quickly use all available system memory, damageand/or destroy data stored on the hard-disk drive, andpermanently affect the performance of the programs theyinfect. Several commercial virus-scanning programs areavailable for purchase, and most bulletin board services(BBSs) archive freely distributed virus-scanning pro-grams that you can download with a modem.Before installing a program, you should read itsdocumentation to learn how the program works, whathardware it requires, and what its defaults are. A programusually includes installation instructions in its accompa-nying documentation and a software installation routineon its program diskettes.The software installation routine assists users in transfer-ring the appropriate program files to the computer’shard-disk drive. Installation instructions may providedetails about how to configure the operating system tosuccessfully run the program. You should always read theinstallation instructions before running a program’sinstallation routine.When you run the installation routine, you should be pre-pared to respond to prompts for information about howthe computer’s operating system is configured, what typeof computer you have, and what peripherals are con-nected to the computer.Using SoftwareThe following subsections discuss errors that can occuras a result of software operation or configuration.Error MessagesError messages can be produced by an application pro-gram, the operating system, or the computer. Chapter 3,“Messages and Codes,” discusses the error messages thatare generated by the system. If you receive an error
