Stuart Cowan  

‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2 40006204‌ ‌

Installation‌‌and‌‌Maintenance‌‌Plan‌ ‌
P2‌‌-‌‌Client‌‌requirements‌ ‌
The client has asked for the system to be upgraded to support some new functionality. They would like to be
able to create professional promotional graphics and enhance their scanned artwork. They would like to speed
up the whole system and perform some general maintenance.

This work will need to be completed in a timely fashion (2-3 days).

Their budget for this initial work is between £150 and £200.

P3‌‌-‌‌Purpose‌‌of‌‌installation‌‌and‌‌maintenance
The purpose of maintenance given the situation our client has described, is to generally bring the
system up to a functional level of operation, i.e. fix it. This process will be achieved as described
below:

Firstly, the client must have an ESD (Electrostatic discharge) mat so all the static inside your body
won’t go through any of your sensitive electrical equipment causing an ESD, damaging it. Ensuring
there isn’t any loose parts or loose cables throughout the system; loose cables and parts would
interrupt the connections throughout system. You can fix this by pressing gently and then slightly
adding more pressure on all the different components and connecting all cables to the proper
locations securely. A dust free system including good cable management is essential for the system
so you can run it more efficiently by reducing the temperatures; using cable ties for the cables will
achieve this, maximising air flow keeping the temperatures at a decent range so the CPU can operate
smoothly. Using compressed air can help remove all the dust, using microfiber clothes to clean every
component individually; replacing the old thermal compounds by using alcohol rub with a new
thermal compound for the CPU will help support heat dispersal between the CPU and heatsink
which will increase efficiency. Overall, you will achieve increased hardware lifespan and
performance.

The purpose of installation in the case of this project is to facilitate the client’s requirement to
enable new functionality for the system itself. The client has indicated that the system is slow and
often crashes, I believe the following two upgrades will facilitate the client requirements. RAM will
increase the system performance overall by enabling larger or more frequent queues for the CPU.
The introduction of a GPU will relieve pressure from the CPU and RAM, enabling them to focus
entirely on running the operating system. The GPU will then handle all the graphical processing for
this system.
 Stuart Cowan  ‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2
40006204‌P3‌-‌ ‌L‌ ist‌‌of‌‌installation/maintenance‌‌activities‌ ‌
Activity‌‌No.‌ ‌ Steps‌ ‌ Health‌‌&‌‌Safety‌ ‌ Notes‌ ‌

 ‌01 Followed ESD protocols, i.e. used Prevents further damage to  ‌

electrostatic mat to secure the the system; increasing costs.
system from further damage.

02 Remove the screws if included to If the system utilises a glass

take the side panel off which will
allow you to access all the
components inside; carefully
placing it down securely if it’s a
glass panel.
panel, not handling it with
care will potentially break
the glass; requiring a new
panel including increased
costs.

03 Gently press against each

component to check if it’s loose and
connected securely, adding slightly
more pressure to each component
as you go along.

04 Ensure that all cables are connected Inserting cables in different

to the right slots securely.
slots where they aren’t
supposed to go could
damage the USB port and
the cable head itself; detach
and attach all cables
carefully.

05 Clean all the internal components Cleaning the dust will reduce
and removing all the dust. the temperature range and
allow the fans and the
system to run more
efficiently.

 ‌
P3‌‌-‌‌Required‌‌resources‌ ‌
Hardware‌‌components‌ ‌ ‌ Software‌r‌ esources‌ ‌ Tools/equipment‌ ‌

RAM sticks Benchmarks ESD Mat

GPU ESD Wrist Strap
Screwdriver
Screw tray (to hold the loose screws)
Stuart Cowan  ‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2 40006204‌‌

P3‌‌-‌‌Fault-finding‌‌tools‌‌and‌‌techniques
- Microsoft Troubleshooting Solutions
Microsoft troubleshoot can help find & resolve issues within the system that could cause
further damage or prevent you from using the system.

- Problem Steps Recorder

The Problem steps recorder, (psr.exe) which is hidden away in Windows 7+ and
Windows 2008+, will record the step-by-step interactions that occur while the user
replicates the problem, taking screenshots of every action. It bundles all this into a
report with detailed information and any relevant error logs.

- Reliability Monitor
Windows Vista+ and 2008+ include this tool which provides an overview of overall
system stability and details about events that can impact reliability. The idea is to
pinpoint any troublesome areas and take steps to improve system reliability based on
what you learn; e.g. you might identify a trend in a certain application crashing when
opening a certain file type.

- Henrypp Error Lookup

When troubleshooting issues, you might come across error codes such as Win32;
HRESULT, NTSTATUS, BSOD, or HTTP. Immediately needing to find out what that error
means in plain English and what it relates to. You will be required to copy/paste or type
your error code in and it will bring up a description for the error and the modules that
are associated with it.

- PowerShell Troubleshooting
Windows PowerShell (bundled with Windows 7/2008 and above) has a collection of
scripts that can be utilised to diagnose different aspects of your servers, clients or
network. Different packages are available to troubleshoot printers, networks,
performance, power, Windows Update, etc.

- WinAudit
WinAudit scans your computer and gathers a whole raft of information about installed
software, TCP/IP settings, drives, error logs, etc.
 ‌
 Stuart Cowan  ‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2 40006204‌‌
P3‌‌-‌‌Test‌‌plan‌ ‌
Test‌ Description‌ ‌ Action‌ ‌ Expected‌r‌ esult‌ ‌ Actual‌‌result‌ ‌
‌No.‌ ‌
01 Test to see if the system works. Turn the system on. It turns on. Turns on.

02 Upgrade the ram to see if it Upgrading ram from Faster performance Dodgy RAM stick
brings any effect to the system in 2GB to 4GB. queues. installed; fans kept
performance. speeding up getting
louder. Utilised a
different RAM stick
and it worked.

03 Upgrade the GPU. Upgrade the GPU. Improvements to image Worked completely
quality; image fine; the screen still
modification, video displayed everything
editing and playing high- whilst utilising this
resolution video. new GPU upgrade.

04 Stress test the RAM and the CPU. Run benchmarks on Pressure on the
Leave the RAM running for a few the RAM and CPU. components,
minutes; if the CPU/RAM slows performance will drop
down then it’s dodgy. slightly with
temperatures increasing
but can still run smoothly
and efficient.

05 Test the printer to ensure that it Print while the printer Will be able to print
works with the system; checking is connected without any issues via
if wireless connectivity works wirelessly; printing wireless/wired
and wired. again the 2nd time connections.
wired.
 ‌ ‌ ‌
M2‌‌-‌‌Alternative‌‌ideas‌‌for‌‌installation‌‌and‌m
‌ aintenance‌ ‌
Well we have a solution in mind for our client, fix the system, improve the system to
facilitate the client’s upgrade requirements (Additional RAM and a dedicated GPU), these
should allow our client to achieve their desired outcome based upon the information they
have given us and including the constraints, namely PRICE.

An alternate idea for maintenance/installation might be:

1. Consider installing an SSD (solid state drive)

2. Installing/updating anti-virus and anti-spyware/anti-malware software.

 3. Removing unwanted junk and clearing recycle bin afterwards (best done with a
cleaning software such as CCleaner).

Stuart Cowan  ‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2 40006204‌‌

4. Disk and application/software clean-up; Windows will have a tool built into the
system which can be found by heading over to Start>All
Programs>Accessories>System Tools. You can also uninstall programs from the
control panel.

5. Ensure that your system is up to date; as well as all the applications installed.

6. Defragmenting the system.

The reason for the SSD installation not being included in the original plan might be because
it being expensive despite the tremendous performance boost, would not facilitate the
clients whole list of requirements; i.e. the ability to edit graphics professionally using
software such as Photoshop, ensuring that we stay at reasonable price range utilising the
budget we have stated by the client. Keeping the budget in mind, an alternate upgrade is a
great idea as it would bring a huge effect to the system; bringing a huge performance boost
when reading or writing data, overall enabling great speed whilst accessing to operating
system functionality. Whilst considering to install a new SSD to the system, you would need
to majorly consider transferring applications, drivers, and data generally to this new SSD.
 
D2‌‌-‌‌Justification‌‌of‌‌installation‌‌and‌m
‌ aintenance‌ ‌ 
1. Following ESD protocols to ensure that you don’t further damage any component in
the client’s system provided. Not doing so will involve higher costs and a poor
reputation for this company.

2. If the system utilises a glass panel for the sides, carefully place the panel once taken
off; handling without care will potentially cause an accident, leaving you with no
panel.

3. Gently pressing each component to check if any component is loose to ensure it’s
connected to where it belongs, adding more pressure if required to securely connect
a component. If any component isn’t connected properly, this will cause the system
to malfunction and possibly stopping it from turning on.

4. Ensuring all cables are connected so the system can turn on and enable other
features such as the Wi-Fi cable to allow wired Wi-Fi connectivity, etc

5. Clean all the internal components and removing all dust so the fans can run more
efficiently; therefore, ensuring that the temperature stays as low as. This will allow
the system’s hardware to last longer and run more efficiently.
Stuart Cowan  ‌Assignment‌1‌ 4.2 40006204‌‌
Client Feedback:
RAM Installation – I have received feedback from the client. n see the screen clearly now.
However, the system still takes a while to scan images and open files/applications.

GPU Installation – After installing a new upgraded dedicated GPU for the system, the client
has given me feedback saying the graphics card is great and colours is much truer to life.

Installation Accident:
RAM Upgrade –
Installed a RAM stick in the system to upgrade the RAM from 4GB to 8GB; resulting the fans
to increase in speed, getting louder. Due to this issue, I ripped the power cord out the
system to shut it down before it does further damage. Ensuring everything was turned off
and the power cable was disconnected, I removed the RAM stick that I’d just installed,
connected the power cord and turned the system on. The system then worked perfectly fine
giving me information that the reason why this issue occurred was the dodgy RAM stick that
I’d just installed.

Finally, I then installed a new RAM stick after turning the system back off; ensuring that the
RAM is properly connected to the motherboard. The system turned on without any issues
giving me a black screen with info on it explaining that the RAM has changed, I press f1 to
continue.