Has your computer gone haywire? Well, there are a hundred and one reasons your computer may be doing so. There are many causes that could originate from the user, whereas others may come from the software vendors and yet still, others come from unknown sources across the Internet.

We take a look at a number of reasons that may contribute to your computer crashing or even stalling. They include viruses, ad-ware, spy-ware and even executable software that run automatically. As a matter of fact, any computer will pick up useless files as it works and as you install or uninstall programs.  It is like a "rolling” stone. As it continues rolling, it keeps picking up dust, moss, etc along its way and so does your computer.One or two of the most important things to bear in mind as you plan on acquiring a computer are: what purpose do you intend to use that computer for and what programs do you intend to run on the system?  We have got lots of programs ranging from operating systems to application packages. These require different system capacity and settings. Do not simply install a program because you saw Tom, Dick or Harry with the program and you want to look informed!  As a matter of fact, we cause our own problems; there is this friend of mine who operates a wholesale shop in Kigali’s Mateus.  He approached me wanting to buy an Apple laptop because he happened to travel to Dubai and a friend of his who does Videography bought one  and so, he too was contemplating on buying one. The problem was that he did not even know the difference between Windows 2000 or XP or Windows 7; what difference was an Apple laptop going to do for him, save for the showing off!I have seen so many people in Kigali running to computer shops to have their computers upgraded to Windows 8 simply because it is the latest windows on the market!  Many of them do not even know the difference between Windows 7 and the Windows 8 because they have never used Windows 7!  First and foremost, one must understand the product before they embark on it.  I used Windows Vista in 2006 when it was just released but I bet, it was not easy, it had so many problems that many people abandoned it and I think even Microsoft eventually abandoned it and released an overhauled version of Windows 7.  Now that Windows 8 is here, I don’t want to discourage you from acquiring it but for God’s sake, first wait until the testing is over and the problems associated with new programs are fixed, then you can go for it.  As a matter of fact, many new software packages are released as trial or experimental versions. After a while of feedback from the users, the developers’ fine-tune them and after that, they are stable.  That is when you should go out for your copy. On the other hand, try to avoid spending on programs that you do not need. Save your computer’s resources by avoiding overloading the them with software that exceeds the computer’s capacity as this may slow down your computer and lead to occasional hanging or even crashes.