Windows errors: why does this phrase fill the average PC user with dread? Probably because most of us know very little about the why and how of Windows errors, and so press panic buttons at the slightest hint of them. Truth is, the solution may be simpler than you think, and you need not be a mechanic to fix Windows errors.

When we say Windows errors, of course, we mean a whole group of errors that may take the form of Windows errors, or DLL errors, or Win32 errors. But whatever the root, the problem of Windows errors tends to mystify most users because they can’t imagine how to fix it. For example, what do you do when the following message pops up: “A fatal exception 13 has occurred at 00457:000040B1″? Well, fatal exceptions are generally associated with processor errors, and can indeed be fatal for your system if you leave it unattended.

Lindsey Marshall, a 35-year-old financial executive in Tampa, battled Windows errors for six months before she found a one-step solution to the problem. “Initially, I would ignore the error messages and go on, but they soon got so bad that my PC more or less stopped functioning,” she says. “I couldn’t figure out what to do because the support staff at Microsoft wasn’t terribly helpful, and no one I asked could tell me exactly what a few of those error messages meant.”

How about this: “Warning: Windows has detected a Registry/configuration error. Choose Safe mode to start Windows with a minimal set of drivers.” For even a lay user, this sort of message demands immediate attention because it indicates that something is wrong with Windows Registry, the all-important database within your computer that acts as a storehouse for all data related to every application on your PC, including Windows itself. Therefore, with a Registry error, you can take no chances.

In fact, cleaning Windows Registry can get rid of plenty of Windows errors. Lindsey found out how when she used RegCure (note: direct download link), a Registry cleaning tool that many, including I, have used to great effect. Most Windows errors are a result of a bloated or corrupt Registry, which in turn may be the outcome of improperly installed or uninstalled programs, deleted or missing files, or spyware that has sneaked in from a rogue web page. To be able to get rid of most of the problems using a Registry cleaner seems unreal, but it works, unless you’ve absolutely deleted the relevant files or components, in which case you need to reinstall them.

Of course, there will be Windows errors that will require help from the experts at Microsoft, provided the boys know what the Windows error messages mean!