- 1). Log on to your computer and click on the "Start" button. Choose "Control Panel" from the menu. Double-click the "Administrative Tools" icon and choose "Event Viewer" from the list.
- 2). Review the items listed in Event Viewer for any hardware and software issues. If you see repeated errors caused by a particular piece of hardware or software, removing and reinstalling the software, or replacing the hardware's driver, can resolve the issue.
- 3). Check the amount of memory you have installed. Microsoft Vista requires a great deal of memory to operate properly and while the absolute minimum required by Microsoft is only 512KB, running Windows Vista with less than 1GB of RAM can cause problems. To check the amount of memory in your computer, right-click on the "My Computer" icon and choose "Properties" from the list. Go to the "General" tab and look at the amount of memory installed. If you have less than 1GB of RAM, upgrading your memory should help your computer run more smoothly.
- 4). Click the "Start" button and choose "Control Panel" from the menu. Double-click on the "System and Maintenance" icon and choose "Device Manager" from the list.
- 5). Expand the plus sign next to each piece of hardware on your computer and look for any yellow question marks or red exclamation points. These are indications that the hardware is not functioning properly. Right-click on the problem hardware and choose "Update driver" to update a fresh driver for that device.
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