Reliability Monitor

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    Reliability Monitor

    Q:
    Do you have any information on the Reliability Monitor in Windows Vista? I think it's something I would be interested in using, but I don't know a lot about it yet. Anything you can tell me would be a big help. Thanks!

    A:
    As a matter of fact, I do have some information on that and I would be more than happy to share it with all of you! The Reliability Monitor is actually something we like to use quite often on our WorldStart Windows Vista computers. We have found it to be very helpful and we think it's probably one of the best tools that came along with Vista. Now, before I go on and rave about it some more, let me give you some information on it and you can then decide for yourself too. Here we go!

    First of all, the main function of the Reliability Monitor is to track down any malfunctions that may be occurring within your Vista computer system. It pinpoints any problems you may be having and it also helps you to fix them right away. Once you run the Reliability Monitor, it gives you a graph of all your software installs, uninstalls and any errors that have been recorded within those programs.

    To start the Reliability Monitor application, click on your Start button and in the search box that comes up under that, type in "reliability." Once your results show up, select the option of Reliability and Performance Monitor. Then click on Reliability Monitor.

    Once you have that open, you will see your Reliability Index value in the very top right hand corner. That value is set based on how smoothly Vista runs on your computer. It starts at 10, but it can decrease, depending on everything you have on your system. For example, if you try to install some older programs onto your Windows Vista computer, they might end up crashing if they cannot be supported by Vista. If that happens, your value will go down.

    Your Reliability Index is updated on a daily basis, which is very convenient. Since it is done that way, you can check your status one day, wait a week or two and then check it again. If some of the same applications or pieces of hardware are causing trouble on a regular basis, you'll know it right away and you can take the next steps in getting them fixed.

    So, what if the Reliability Monitor does find a few problems with some of your software or hardware? Well, once you find all of that out, you'll need to troubleshoot them. Then if you're not able to fix them properly, you may have to remove them from your Vista computer completely. Otherwise, your Vista computer will not run at its full capability. And if that happens, you're the only one losing out.

    Now, as I said earlier, the Reliability Monitor does try to give you some tips on getting your problems fixed. Whenever it finds a malfunction on your Vista computer, the Reliability Monitor will record the date on which it happened and it will give you examples of the events that led up to the point of when the problem actually started. All of that information will be displayed in the System Stability Chart within the Reliability Monitor application. The errors are then marked with a red circle with a small "x" inside.

    Once you get your report, you can go through the list of errors found on your computer and then look back through all the information given to see what might have caused the problems in the first place. For example, if your computer crashed at one time or another, you can go back through your report and see what might have caused it to happen. Often times, things that happened a few days (or even weeks) earlier can be the reason for a persistent problem. And that's exactly what the Reliability Monitor is here to show you.

    Go on and check it out. You might be surprised at what's going on inside your Vista computer, even now as we speak. Good luck, my Vista user friends!