When critical Windows system files are missing or corrupted, your operating system may begin to malfunction. Common symptoms include Windows features not working properly, system errors, or Windows becoming unresponsive or freezing.

In this article, we will help you find your error code and suggest what you might try to correct the error. Follow the recommended resolutions for that error code. You may also click the specific error code to get more detail information. Note: This article doesn't contain all error codes generated by Device Manager.

Use this tool to find and remove specific prevalent threats and reverse the changes that they made (see Covered malware families). For comprehensive malware detection and removal, consider using Windows Defender Offline or Microsoft Safety Scanner.

Update drivers through Device Manager in Windows. Tip: The best way to get driver updates in Windows is automatically using Windows Update. For more information, see Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware.

Provides step-by-step instructions on how resolve program compatibility issues in Windows 7.

Learn about the recovery options in Windows.

A hotfix is available for various issues that prevent successful product installation or upgrade by using Windows Installer on computers that are running Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008.

To find information about restoring your device in this scenario, please visit the article, Windows Recovery Environment. These steps might look complicated at first glance, but following them in order, step-by-step, will help get you back on track. Sign in to the computer as an administrator.

Use this tool to find and remove specific prevalent threats and reverse the changes that they made (see the "Covered malware families" list in the "Release information" section of KB 890830). For comprehensive malware detection and removal, consider using Windows Defender Offline or Microsoft Safety Scanner.

Describes the Windows Installer 3.1 v2 download that is available as a redistributable system component for Windows 2000 SP3, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP, Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003.