Application Errors

Application errors, or program errors, are errors that occur due to a problem with the particular application or program that you are running. For example, if you are running Microsoft Excel and you receive an error related to a component of the Excel program, that is an application error.

Whether it’s an Office program error, an error with your favorite image editing program, or an error related to your banking software, these application errors can be both annoying and troublesome. You may have trouble with a particular function such as printing or you may not be able to open the program at all.

Why do these application errors occur? Sometimes these errors are intermittent or occur under certain circumstances such as when your PC is running low on resources. In these cases, a simple reboot will refresh your computer’s resources and you may be able to use the application normally once again.

Other times, something may have happened to a vital file that the program requires in order to run. This can happen when your computer is experiencing file corruption. Corruption can occur due to failures on your hard drive itself, system crashes, unexpected shutdowns, and spyware or virus damage.

When you find yourself with program errors, you can perform troubleshooting steps and solve your problems. First, reboot the PC and see if that helps. Next, remove as many non-essential items from your Windows startup options. The more programs you have running at once, the more resources your PC needs. By limiting the number that startup with Windows, you should gain even more resources.

Go to the Start button, click Run, and type in: “msconfig”. The screen has several tabs, click the one that says, “startup”.

Make sure not to disable vital programs such as anti-spyware and anti-virus programs. You need these programs at all times!

Next, see if you can open the problem program free of errors. If so, your application errors were likely related to memory and system resources.

If not, try opening the program by navigating through Windows Explorer to the executable rather than relying on the desktop shortcut or the link in your Start menu. Sometimes these links can become corrupt and stop working.

In the example above, clicking the Excel executable file launches Microsoft Excel. If you need to create a new shortcut, right-click the file and choose “create shortcut” from the list. Delete your old shortcut.

If you still have errors with your program, check the software developer’s website for updates or patches to the software. If they have a knowledge base, search it for possible solutions to your specific application error.

Another step you can do is to run the disk error checking utility found in Microsoft Windows. This utility will check your disk for damage and may recover damaged files or move files out of damaged sectors. Go to my computer and right-click your hard drive. Choose Properties, Tools, and Check Now.

Next, run the latest anti-spyware and anti-virus programs to rule out interference from nasty and malicious programs. These programs can cause all kinds of errors on your computer including application errors.

If your application errors occur during specific processes such as when trying to print, you may have a DLL problem. DLLs are shared files that many programs access to perform certain processes such as printing. If you recently uninstalled a program or installed a new program, a required DLL may have been removed or overwritten. Sometimes reinstalling the program or uninstalling the program will solve this problem. Other times, you can search online for a replacement DLL or contact the software manufacturer.

Finally, consider a small investment in a registry cleaner. Oftentimes, application errors occur due to invalid instructions in the Windows registry including incorrect file associations, incorrect file paths, missing DLLs, invalid shortcuts, and more.

Another benefit of using a registry cleaner is that after cleaning out the junk and repairing the damage, your computer will run more efficiently. It’s like a tune up for your PC. The cleaning process eliminates thousands of potential error-causing entries – all invalid and all clogging up your system’s resources – and allows your computer to run at optimal performance.