Power Point for Computer Service and Repair by

Power. Point for Computer Service and Repair by Jo. Anne Keltner Goodheart-Willcox Publisher 18604 West Creek Drive Tinley Park, IL 60477 www. g-w. com Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Chapter 15 PC Troubleshooting Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Troubleshooting n Troubleshooting a PC requires a combination of the technician’s knowledge, intuition, and experience. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Importance to the PC Technician When troubleshooting a PC, “time is money. ” n Therefore, it is important that you hone your knowledge and experience of common PC problems. n Doing so will strengthen your intuition and help you to make repairs more quickly. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Objectives State commonly practiced troubleshooting steps. n Identify the three stages of computer operation. n Recognize common startup problems and understand their causes. n Restart a PC in a variety of troubleshooting modes. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Objectives Identify the appropriate diagnostics utility to use given a specific problem. n Step through a PC’s boot sequence. n Explain basic data recovery methods. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Presentation Outline 1 Troubleshooting Procedures 2 Common Problems 3 4 5 Troubleshooting and Repair Tools Data Recovery Techniques System Maintenance Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

1 Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Troubleshooting Procedures Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Common Sense Practices 1. Determine the major area at fault. 2. Determine what action occurred just prior to failure or problem. 3. Write down settings before you change them. 4. Work slowly. 5. Think! Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Isolating the Problem n Determine at what stage the problem is occurring. Stage When It Occurs First POST to turning control Hardware failure. over to the OS. Second OS boot up progress bar Corrupt operating to system logon. system file or a driver. Third First appearance of desktop. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Most Likely Problem Corrupt or incompatible drivers and files, such as a DLL. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What are three major fault areas? Hardware failure n Software failure n User-generated problems n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What two lists should you make when troubleshooting a problem? What you know is not the problem. n Possible problems. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What are some resources you can check to troubleshoot a problem you have never encountered before? n n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Web site of the BIOS, PC, and operating system manufacturer. Fellow technicians. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n A computer tries to boot. There are two or more beeps and no video. At what stage of operation is the problem occurring? n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. First stage Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n After a user logs in, a blue screen error occurs. At what stage of operation is the problem occurring? n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Third stage Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n The operating system progress bar appears at the bottom of the screen; however, the system never boots to the desktop, but rather stalls. At what stage of operation is the problem occurring? n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Second stage Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

2 Common Problems Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Most Common Problems n n n Blue screen error. Startup problems. PC is dead. Power light on, but no activity. No video. System crashes or reboots. n n n Setup error displays. Mechanical hard drive failure. MBR failure. Problems after a hardware upgrade. Dust accumulation. Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Boot Sequence Review Windows 95/98/Me. n Windows 2000/XP. n Windows Vista. n Linux. n Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What are some causes of blue screen errors? n n n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Defective hardware. Corrupt files. System BIOS settings beyond the capability of the hardware. Third-party software containing bad code. Bad code in the Windows operating system. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What are some things to check and do if the PC appears dead? n n n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Check that the PC is plugged into a power source. Check the power source for power. Swap out the power supply and test the PC. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Reseat the _____ if the power light on the PC is on but there is no activity. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. CPU Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n If a computer shows normal activity but no video, reseat the _____ card or change it. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. video adapter Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

3 Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Troubleshooting and Repair Tools Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Windows Troubleshooting Tools n n n Microsoft System Information. Dr. Watson. System Configuration Utility. Direct. X Diagnostic Tool. System File Checker. Windows Report Tool. n n n Event Viewer. Registry Editor. Remote Assistance. Problem Reports and Solutions. Reliability and Performance. Memory Diagnostics Tool. Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Windows Boot Options When to use boot options. n Windows 98 Boot options. n Windows XP Boot options. n Windows Vista Boot options. n Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Repair Utilities System Restore. n Recovery Console. n Windows Recovery Environment (Win. RE). n Automated System Recovery. n Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Reinstalling the Operating System Reinstall OS if you cannot fix the problem with troubleshooting utilities. n First, try fixing the problem with an upgrade. n If upgrade does not fix the problem, completely reinstall the operating system. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following utilities is available only in Windows Vista and allows you to view a history of problems? A. B. C. D. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Event Viewer Microsoft System Information Reliability and Performance Problem Reports and Solutions Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following is a text-based utility used as a last resort? A. B. C. D. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Automated System Recovery Console System Restore Registry Editor Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following automatically restores critical files that were backed up by the Windows Backup utility? A. Automated System Recovery B. Recovery Console C. System Restore D. Windows Recovery Environment Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following creates backups of system settings and configurations? A. B. C. D. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Automated System Recovery Console System Restore Windows Recovery Environment Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n When may it be appropriate to use a boot option? n n n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. System boot stalls for an unusually long time. Printer problems (as a last resort only). Video display problem. Computer shuts down or locks up for no apparent reason. Intermittent error condition. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

4 Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Data Recovery Techniques Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Data Recovery with Software n Some third-party programs, such as Norton Disk Editor, can be used to recover data. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Fig. 15 -17 Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Data Recovery from a Failed Hard Drive Hard drive can be sent to a business that specializes in data recovery. n Electronic circuit board can be replaced or platters can be removed and installed in another drive. n Platter removal and installation must be done in a clean room. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n To recover data from a failed hard drive, the _____ can be replaced or the _____ can be removed and installed in another drive. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. electronic circuit board, platters Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Platter removal and installation must be done in a _____. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. clean room Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

5 System Maintenance Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Purpose Can help prevent future problems and improve system performance. n Some maintenance tasks can be scheduled to perform automatically. n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Common Maintenance n n n n System backups. Disk cleanup. Disk defragmentation. Scandisk and Chkdsk. Installing patches. Installing virus protection updates. Cleaning the physical system. Click each link for details. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n What is the purpose of PC maintenance? n Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. It can help prevent future problems and improve system performance. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following can be used to regain hard drive space? A. B. C. D. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Chkdsk Disk Cleanup Scan. Disk Defragmenter Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Which of the following can be used to rearrange files on your hard drive into a continuous series of clusters? A. B. C. D. Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Chkdsk Disk Cleanup Scan. Disk Defragmenter Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.

Review n Always _____ your system files before installing a patch. A. back up B. clean up C. defrag D. Scan. Disk Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational purposes only.