CorelDRAW Crash Prevention

Computer crashing while in CorelDRAW? Here are some tips to keep your computer lean and trim.

The F8 Fix - Repairing a corrupted workspace
While the ‘F8’ fix has been touted for fix everything from memory problems to the common cold, it does have some merit. All the Corel gurus (Foster Coburn, etc.) will quickly tell you that one of biggest issues with CorelDRAW is video cards/drivers. Always keep them updated.

I had 3 major ‘crashes’ when I tried to hook my laptop up to a video projector with a 50 ft. cable. One of them I got a ‘missing .DLL file, and the Dockers would come up but quit working. The reason for all of these errors turned out to be a corrupted workspace. The ‘F8’ fix is used to replace a corrupted workspace with the factory default. Here’s the procedure:

• Press the F8 key on your keyboard and launch CorelDRAW 12 simultaneously. A message dialog will appear showing "Are you sure you want to overwrite the current workspace with the factory default?" Select "Yes".

The workspace you last used will be replaced with the current factory default settings.

I spend much time getting my workspace just the way I want it. If it does get corrupted, then I want a back up, not a complete wipeout. After I have created my perfect workspace, I create a duplicate of it called ‘Laser Workspace-Backup’. If my ‘Laser Workspace’ gets corrupted, I will restart with the ‘F8’ fix. This replaces the values in this workspace to factory defaults. Then I will delete ‘Laser Workspace’, open ‘Laser Workspace-Backup and create a new ‘Laser Workspace’ using my backup settings. Be sure and change to ‘Laser Workspace’ as your default workspace.

CTRL+ALT+DEL
Task Manager -> Processes

Check the number of processes. New computers usually have 30-35 processes running. 40-50 is not out of range for a power user. However, anymore you need to examine what’s running and taking up your resources. My favorite resource to see what processes are running is:

http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/

Have a program that checks for adware. I like the free check at www. trendmicro . com

Most of the information below came for the Help option in Windows.

Windows XP provides tools and programs designed to keep your computer safe, manage your system, and perform regularly scheduled maintenance that keeps your computer running at optimum performance. Learn how to free up disk space, restore your system, create regularly scheduled tasks, and more.

Check your hard drive space

1. Open My Computer.
2. Point to the disk you want to check. The total disk capacity and the amount of free space will appear as a tool tip.

Remove unused programs

Disk Cleanup helps free up space on your hard drive. Disk Cleanup searches your drive, and then shows you temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete. You can direct Disk Cleanup to delete some or all of those files.

• To open Disk Cleanup, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup.

You can use the Error-checking tool to check for file system errors and bad sectors on your hard disk.

1. Open My Computer, and then select the local disk you want to check.
2. On the File menu, click Properties.
3. On the Tools tab, under Error-checking, click Check Now.
4. Under Check disk options, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box.

Notes

• To open My Computer, double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop.

• All files must be closed for this process to run. If the volume is currently in use, a message box will appear prompting you to indicate whether or not you want to reschedule the disk checking for the next time you restart your system. Then, the next time you restart your system, disk checking will run. Your volume will not be available to perform other tasks while this process is running.

You might need to be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to perform some tasks.

Disk Defragment consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk, so that each occupies a single, contiguous space on the volume. As a result, your system can gain access to your files and folders and save new ones more efficiently. By consolidating your files and folders, Disk Defragment also consolidates the volume's free space, making it less likely that new files will be fragmented.

You can also defragment disks from a command line using the defrag command. For more information, click Related Topics.

Open Disk Defragment.

• To open Disk Defragment, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragment.

When running an operating system as complex as Windows, you may not always know the significance of all the files on your computer. Sometimes Windows uses files for a specific purpose and then retains them in a folder designated for temporary files. Alternatively, you may have previously installed Windows components that you are no longer using. For a variety of reasons, including running out of space on your hard drive, you may want to reduce the number of files on your disk, or create more free space, if it can be done without harming any of your programs.

Use the Windows Disk Cleanup Wizard to perform all of the following tasks to clear space on your hard disk:

• Remove temporary Internet files.
• Remove any downloaded program files (ActiveX controls and Java applets downloaded from the Internet).
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Remove Windows temporary files.
• Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Note

• To start Disk Cleanup, click Start, click Run, and then type cleanmgr.

Note – if you haven’t ran Disk Cleanup recently, this can take some time.

You must be logged on as a computer administrator to complete this procedure.

1. Open System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.
    – or – 
   If you are running Windows 2000, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Automatic Updates.
2. Click Automatic (recommended).
3. Under Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them, select the day and time you want Windows to install updates.

Notes

• To open System, click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

• Automatic Updates provides high-priority updates, which include security and other critical updates that can help protect your computer. It's a good idea to visit the Windows Update Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/) on a regular basis to get optional updates, such as recommended software and hardware updates, that can help improve your computer's performance.

Use windows to schedule the above tasks at times when you are not using your computers