Newark Star-Ledger Uses RESCUECOM List of Top Five Computer Problems

If your personal computer screen turned a frightening shade of blue last year, you weren't alone.

Problems with Windows, including the ominous "blue screen of death" that denotes a major problem with the operating system, once again topped the list of computer users' complaints in 2006, according to a survey of 5,000 customers of RESCUECOM, a computer repair company.

The rest of the year's top five PC woes were: hardware problems (including dropped laptops), computer speed, Internet connectivity problems and data transfer failures.

About 22 percent of the company's calls were from frustrated Windows users, up 12 percent from last year. Company officials attribute the increase to aging and poorly maintained Windows systems running in many homes and offices.

"Certainly the blue screen of death is one of the most panic-inducing things people can see," says Josh Kaplan, owner of the company's Belleville location. "Windows really is the backbone of everything."

The repair company is waiting to see if the debut later this month of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system leads to blue-alert calls to its 24-hour-a-day hotline.

--Kelly Heyboer