Basic Troubleshooting in the PC

Computer Troubleshooting is a somewhat complicated process, especially if you arent standing right in front of the computer, reading the error messages. Writing a web page about how to troubleshoot a computer brings to mind all of the possible causes of computer problems, and it seems to be an overwhelming task where do I start? Possible issues can be eliminated one by one if the computer is in front of you, giving you feedback while you try to determine the problem. But its not so easy when you are trying to imagine the computer and the problems. This is the reason, I think, for the computer troubleshooting websites Ive seen where every possible problem and resolution is listed in the hopes that the shotgun approach will help. And Im sure that it does help in many cases. But it also makes finding the solution more difficult for the novice because there is so much unfamiliar computer information to wade through. I hesitated to even write this page, because there are so many computer troubleshooting pages out there on the web, each much more comprehensive than I could hope to produce. But in the end, I DO know how to troubleshoot a computer and in my 15 years experience, I've found that most computer troubleshooting can be done by anyone, if they have the right information. So I decided to share my way of computer troubleshooting here, in the hope that it helps someone in some way. Over the years, I have found that most causes of computer trouble fall into one or more of three specific categories: Hardware issues: Problems in the hardware area cover the hard components of the computer; the power supply, the motherboard, the memory chips, the cpu, the cpu sink, the various cards and parts that make up the actual physical presence of the computer. Because the first thing a computer does when it is turned on is check out its hardware, issues in this area tend to show up immediately upon powering up. However, sometimes hardware issues dont show up until the computer has been running for a while. If that happens, the cause of the problem will have something to do with the computer overheating and the heat causing the malfunction. Operating System Issues: For our purposes here, the operating system we will look at is Windows XP. Problems with Windows XP usually arise when some process or event has corrupted or deleted settings or files that Windows depends upon to run smoothly.

At the core level, the method that Windows uses to track what is installed and removed is through the Windows registry. This registry file is quite often the source of Windows problems. You might see errors about dll files missing, or cab files being overwritten, or you might see that Windows just wont start, or it will start, but then crash with the blue screen of death, a not so happy term for a the blue screen that is associated with Windows physical memory dumps. There are some good programs on the Internet that are written to fix registry errors, so some self help solutions are available. I personally use CCleaner. Windows issues can also be traced to the user profiles that are set up for each individual user who logs on to a particular computer. These profiles can get corrupted, and cause weird behavior. At that point, the offending profile may need to be deleted and a new profile created to fix the problem. Software problems: Software issues are the main cause of most computer problems. There are so many different software programs, all written in different code, all trying to talk to each other and work together without having conflicts. Inevitably, just as in human interactions, there are conflicts, and these can cause overall computer issues. The best way to avoid these types of problems is to keep track of what you install on your computer. Watch how your computer behaves after you install a new program. If your computer begins to slow down or act strangely, you can troubleshoot the issue by uninstalling that program and seeing if the problem is resolved. Thats really the best way to view computer troubleshooting, in my opinion. Know your computer, and keep track of anything new you do with it. Then when a problem shows up, ask yourself, "Since the last time my computer was working fine, what changes were made?" In this way, you can quickly narrow down the possible causes to the most likely culprit. Computer troubleshooting is easier I think, if you know how the computer works, and especially what happens when you turn it on. If you have that information, then you can use it to troubleshoot most Windows problems. For example, lets say our problem computer wont start. It gets to the Windows splash screen and just stops. Because we know what a computer does when it first starts, and how it gets to that Windows screen, and what it is supposed to do once it gets there, we know immediately where to go to look for the problem. So then, lets first learn how a computer works, and more specifically how it boots up, since this is where most Windows trouble will begin and end. On the page I linked to above, you read about what happens when a computer starts. Let's get back to our computer troubleshooting and go on to what happens when Windows starts: Windows Overview and Troubleshooting

Now that Windows has started, and youve logged in (either by actual entry of your login information or by being logged in automatically), you are now working in your Windows profile. A user profile basically holds all of your Windows and software settings. Within your user profile are your desktop settings, your printers, your Internet bookmarks, and any other settings for the software that you use. If another person logs into your machine with a different name, Windows sets up a separate profile for them. All of the desktop, favorites, and other software settings can be completely different for this new user. That's how Windows handles different users on the same computer. You can see the various user profiles on your machine by opening Windows Explorer and looking at the C:Documents and Settings folder. Youll see several folders: a folder called Administrator, which is the default profile that Windows creates, a folder called All Users, which Windows uses to load software settings that all users have access to on the computer, a folder with your name or whatever name you gave to your login when you first set up the computer, and folders for anyone else who has logged into Windows on your computer. So how do we use all this information for computer troubleshooting? Well, we now know that: If the computer starts beeping at you when it first powers up, youve probably got a hardware problem. Check to make sure everything is plugged in correctly, at the least. If the problem persists, you may have to call a computer hardware service person. If the computer gets past all the hardware tests and begins loading Windows, but reboots and tries to load the Last Known Good Configuration, we know theres a problem with the Windows management modules, which means some Windows configuration files have either gotten corrupted or deleted. Choose to load the Last Known Good Configuration and see if the problem resolves itself. If the computer gets to the Windows login screen, but never loads the Windows desktop, more than likely, a Windows file has gotten corrupted. Boot the computer into safe mode with a command prompt, and run a check disk to try and fix the corrupted files.. If Windows boots up fine but then starts to act strangely once it is loaded, (slowing down, hanging, just not acting right, etc..) the cause might be a corrupted user profile, or it could be a trojan, a virus or spyware causing the problem. Run a spyware and virus scan. Make sure the anti-virus software has been updated with the latest engine and dat files.

If Windows crashes after it has loaded, and shows the "blue screen of death" (which is to say it does a physical memory dump), it could be a poorly written device driver, a corrupt registry, an incompatible Dynamic-link library file (DLL) or bugs in the Windows kernel.

Preferable PC Configuration
Depends on the product available in the Market ..

Maintaining PC for Long Life.

General Computer Maintenance Tips:
Keep all of your working files in one folder. The My Documents folder is offered by Windows expressly for this purpose. The benefits of keeping all your files in one place are multiple. One, you know where all your files are, two, it's easy to back them all up at once, and three, your machine will run faster. Don't put your personal files on the root of the C: drive. If you store a large number of files in the root folder, you could corrupt your disk file table which could lead to a "NTLDR is missing" error message when you boot the computer. Very bad. If you have personal files on the C: drive now, move them to the My Documents folder. Uninstall programs that you are not using. But dont just delete the program. Remove it correctly so you wont cause Windows errors. Go to Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs. Find the program you want to remove in the list, and click the Remove button. If you download a zip file and expand it, delete the original zip file when you are done. Store your hardware drivers and purchased software installer files off your hard drive. A flash drive works great for this purpose. If you arent already using one, get a good surge protector and plug your computer and peripherals into it. If you live in an area with bad lightening storms, unplug you computer and peripherals during the storm. Practice safe computing. Don't accept software or downloads for which you didnt ask. Delete any suspicious email without opening it. And even if the email came from your best friend, don't open any email attachments with the following extensions: * .exe, .com, .vbs, .bat, .mdb, .reg, and .js

Scheduled Computer Maintenance Tips:

Daily computer maintenance tips Update your anti-virus scan and anti-spyware definitions, if they arent being done automatically. Back up any critical files that you have changed today to your flash drive. Weekly computer maintenance tips: Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs have been updated with the latest definitions, and run a full scan from both programs. Reboot your computer. (If you shutdown your computer each night, disregard this tip). If you leave your computer on all the time, definitely do this. It will reset the RAM, and your computer will run much better and faster.

Monthly computer maintenance tips:

Clean up your temp files, your temporary internet files, and other junk files about once a month. To do this easily, you can either download my favorite program for cleaning, CCleaner. Or you can run the built-in Windows Disk Cleanup tool for XP or the Disk Cleanup for Windows 7. Ensure you have the latest Windows updates installed. Go to Internet Explorer, Tools, Windows Update. Click on the Custom button. (I always use the Custom button so I can check whats going to be installed before it gets installed). Windows update may ask you to download and install the latest version of itself. Go ahead and do that, then click Close when its finished, and then Continue. It will then check again for real updates and offer those. Choose which updates you want to install. Uncheck the ones you dont want to install. Clean out your email, paying special attention to your Inbox and Sent box. The easiest way Ive found is to sort your email box by size of the message, and delete the largest unneeded emails first.

Quarterly computer maintenance tips:

Change your passwords. (Yes, I know this is a pain, I hear you groaning. But its really a good idea to do this). If you have a mouse with a roller ball (non-optical) clean it out. Use a Q-tip and some isopropyl alcohol to clean the ball and the internal rollers. Remove any caked on grease, oil, and dust that may have accumulated. Check to see if you need to defragment your computers hard drive. To do this in Windows XP, go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, Systems Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Run an analysis first by

clicking the Analyze button. Go do something else while it runs. Windows will tell you if it needs to be defragmented. If it does, click on the Defragment button, and again go do something else while your computer runs this. For Windows Vista, this computer maintenance tip is a little different: Go to Start, All Programs, and click on Accessories. Find Systems Tools, Disk Defragmenter and click on it. Vista will ask you for permission to continue. Click Continue. Vista doesn't give you the ability to choose to defragment, it just assumes you want to and presents a schedule to do so. You can stick with the suggested schedule, or modify it. If you want to kick off the defrag process immediately, click the Defragment Now button. It will then ask you which drive you want to defrag. Uncheck the drives you don't want to defrag, and then click OK. Check all your computer cables and make sure they are plugged in tight, and not being pinched or pulled in a way that is damaging them. Check your C: drive (hard disk) for disk errors. NOTE: please make sure you have a current backup of your files before you run a check disk command. (Also, do this immediately if you see a message stating that your Windows volume is dirty). To run a check disk manually on your C: drive, do this: Click Start, select Run. In the box, type cmd and click Ok. In the black DOS window, type: chkdsk c: /f (The /f command automatically fixes any errors encountered. Go to Start, Shutdown, and restart the computer. When the computer restarts, it will run chkdsk automatically. The Check Disk process could take over an hour, so schedule this when you have something else non-computer related to do. On rebooting the PC, you will see a window that shows the progress of the disk check. When it's finished,, it will boot back to the normal version of Windows. Disclaimer included below. Opening your computer case could void your warranty, and expose you to possible electric shock. Please be careful.

6 month computer maintenance tips:

Go on dust patrol. FIRST, TURN OFF and UNPLUG your computer from the electrical socket. Blow out your keyboard with a compressed air can, and then turn it over and tap it with your hand a few times to shake out any other junk. Brush off the dust bunnies from your PC fan (and any other parts in the back of the PC). Also, open the computer case and GENTLY blow or vacuum out any dust in there, especially around the CPU chip (the big square chip on the mother board).

MAKE SURE you touch something metal to ground yourself before you open the case and reach in there. Even the slightest static electricity zap can ruin a computer chip. This step is especially important if you live in a dusty place like Wyoming. Annual computer maintenance tips: Check to see if you have the latest hardware drivers loaded for your printer, monitor and other peripherals. I hope these computer maintenance tips help your computer run better and faster.

Blogs / community website related to Hardware.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

http://www.extremetech.com/ http://www.anandtech.com/ http://blogs.computerworld.com/hardware http://www.networkedblogs.com/topic/computer_hardware http://pchelp.blog.com/

Reference Books for study for practical understanding and troubleshooting.

1. 2. CompTIA A+ 220-701, 220-702 Cert Guide CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide

Certifications / Recognitions in hardware at National / International Level for the aspiring students.
CompTIA A+ CompTIA A+ certification validates foundation-level knowledge and skills necessary for a career in IT support. It is the starting point for a career. The international, vendorneutral certification proves competence in areas such as installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting. CompTIA A+ certified technicians also have excellent customer service and communication skills to work with clients. Two exams are necessary to be certified: CompTIA A+ Essentials, exam code 220-701; and CompTIA A+ Practical Application, exam code 220-702. CompTIA A+ Essentials measures the necessary competencies of an entry-level IT professional with a recommended 500 hours of hands-on experience in the lab or field. It tests for technical understanding of computer technology, networking and security, as well as the communication skills and professionalism now required of all entry-level IT professionals. CompTIA A+ Practical Application is an extension of the knowledge and skills identified in CompTIA A+ Essentials, with more of a "hands-on" orientation focused on scenarios in which troubleshooting and tools must be applied to resolve problems. Candidate job roles include technical support specialist, field service technician, IT support technician, IT support administrator and IT support specialist. CompTIA A+ is part of the certification track for corporations such as Microsoft, HP and Cisco. Other technology companies, including Dell, Intel, Lenovo and Ricoh, have made CompTIA A+ certification mandatory for their service technicians. The U.S. Department of Defense recognizes CompTIA A+ and the Department of Homeland Security requires it as part of their computer forensics program. The CompTIA A+ certification is accredited by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The CompTIA A+ certification may be kept current through the CompTIA Continuing Education program.

Test Details Required exams Number of questions Length of test CompTIA A+ Essentials CompTIA A+ Practical Application 100 for each exam 90 minutes each 675 for CompTIA A+ Essentials 700 for CompTIA A+ Practical Application (on a scale of 100-900) English, Spanish, German, Turkish, Japanese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Arabic 220-701 or JK0-701 for CompTIA A+ Essentials 220-702 or JK0-702 for CompTIA A+ Practical Application

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