Computer Troubleshooting

The first step in troubleshooting is to get as much information as possible. I don't care if you think it's relevant or not. The more information you have, the better you'll be able to narrow the problem down, and the more you can narrow the problem down, the faster you can fix it.
One of the first questions you need to ask is, "has this ever worked"? If it worked in the past but not now, then the question is "what has changed"? Was anything added to the computer recently, hardware or software? Any changes made to software recently? What software was being used or what function was being performed when the failure occurred?
Standalone PC
• Hardware
o Connections
 External - When performing hardware troubleshooting always and I mean always start with the obvious. I don't care how stupid you think it is, start with the obvious. If the computer is dead, check and see, is the computer plugged into the wall? Is the computer turned on? Is the monitor turned on? In my 15 years of computer troubleshooting I couldn't begin to tell you how many dead computer problems I fixed by plugging it in, turning it on, or turning on the monitor. This is especially important if you're working in a help desk type environment were you can't actually get your hands on the hardware yourself. Remember, that client on the other end of the phone may not, and probably isn't as computer savy as you. They could easily be missing the obvious.
 Internal - Pop the cover and check all internal connections. Remember, unless you are a trained professional, do not open the power supply. They're is enough power in there to kill you even if it's unplugged. Check all your ribbon cable connections and make sure they are snug. Check all pins and make sure none are bent. Check all your cards and make sure they are seated properly.
Cards inside a computer have a tendency to work their way out of their slots. When things heat up, they expand, when they cool down, they contract. When you turn your computer on, the hardware heats up. When you turn your computer off, the hardware contracts. This constant heating up and cooling down, expanding and contracting, tends to make cards work their way up out of their slots. Also in recent history, I've seen chassis manufacturers who are getting a little sloppy about staying within specs when they manufacture the computer chassis. This causes extra pressure to be placed on the card at the front end where it screws into the chassis and tends to make the back end of the card pop out over time.
Take the memory out and reseat it. Check your CPU fan. If the CPU fan is dead, a CPU can overhead in less time than it takes to boot up. If the CPU does overheat, serious damage can occur. Not only look for a dead CPU fan, look for a CPU fan that is barely turning or is spinning irregularly. This can be a sign it's wearing out and if the fan isn't turning fast enough, the CPU can overheat.
o Modems
o DVD - Troubleshooting DVD problems is like troubleshooting any other kind of problem. First you must determine what is causing the problem. DVD problems can be caused by hardware, software, and/or bad discs.
 Disks Skip - Try cleaning the discs. Use a soft cloth and wipe back and forth, not around and around.
 Tray Does Not Open - If this only happens occasionally and with the same disk, the disk is probably defective. If it happens regularly the drive is probably defective. If the tray will not open at all, turn off the system and look for a tiny hole in the front of the DVD tray. Straighten out a paper clip and insert it into the hole. This should manually eject the tray.
o Hard Drives
• Software
o Operating Systems
 Troubleshooting Windows ME
 Troubleshooting Windows 95
 Troubleshooting Windows 98
o Applications
Printers
Networks
• Hardware
o Printers
o DVD - Troubleshooting DVD problems is like troubleshooting any other kind of problem. First you must determine what is causing the problem. DVD problems can be caused by hardware, software, and/or bad discs.
 Disks Skip
 Tray Does Not Open
o Hard Drives
• Software
o Operating Systems
 Troubleshooting Windows NT
 Troubleshooting Windows 2000
o Applications
o TCP/IP
 Utilities for Troubleshooting TCP/IP
 Testing the TCP/IP Configuration
 Finding Computer Names
 Finding the MAC Address




Troubleshooting Windows 98
Unless otherwise noted all troubleshooting proceedures in this section apply to both Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition. If any proceedure is specific to only Windows 98 Second Edition it will be noted.
What Kind of Problem?
• Hangs during Shutdown Troubleshooting
I. Computer hangs when shutting down Windows 98.
A. Display adapter or driver may not be compatible with Windows 98 or may not be working correctly.
To check this:
1. Click on Start/Run.
2. Type msconfig, then click OK.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Select VGA 640 x 480 x 16.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK to restart computer.
B. Corrupted Shutdown Sound File
1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Doule click the Sound icon.
3. Change the sound you are using for Shutdown.
C. Disable Fast Shutdown
1. Click Start/Run
2. Type msconfig
3. Click OK.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Select Disable fast shutdown.
6. Click OK.
7. Restart Computer
D. Advanced Power Management (APM) could be the problem
To determine if APM is causing the problem.
1. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel
2. Double-click System.
3. Click on the Device Manager.
4. Double-click System Devices.
5. Double-click Advanced Power Management.
6. Click the Settings tab.
7. Click Enable Power Management to clear it.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Close.
10. Restart the computer
II. Dangerously Low on System Resources - Slow performance, error messages when you start a program, applications hanging, or the entire system locking up or crashing can all be symptoms of low system resources. This is most likely caused by a poorly programmed application not releasing memory like it's suppose to. The short-term fix is to reboot. When you reboot, all system resources are cleared. The long term fix is to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Windows 2000 and Windows XP use a much more sophisticated method of controlling memory.
III. Troubleshooting Corrupted Desktop Icons - To fix corrupted desktop icons, delete the hidden file "ShellIconCache".
IV. Windows 98 Second Edition Hangs during Suspend
 Cause: Bug that happens when the path specified for the swapfile includes a lowercase drive letter in the [386Enh] section of the System.ini.
 Fix:
Windows 98 Second Edition Hangs During Suspend Fix
1. Open System.ini in notepad
2. Go to the [386Enh] section
3. Find "PagingFile="
4. Change the lowercase drive letter to uppercase
Troubleshooting Windows NT
Troubleshooting Email
• Outlook
o 2000
 Can't Copy or Open a File - When you can't copy or open a file in Outlook 2000, the first thing to try is recreate the user's NT Profile.
Troubleshooting Network Printing
• The Spooler
o Spooler Service will not Start - When the spooler service does not start, it is usually caused by a corrupt job in the spooler. Delete the corrupt job.
Troubleshooting Windows 2000
Troubleshooting with Device Manager
Device Manager is one of the tools you can use when troubleshooting Windows 2000. Device Manager is one of the snap-ins located under System Tools in Computer Management. Device Manager provides you with a view of the hardware installed on your computer, in a graphical format. You use Device Manager to disable, uninstall, and update device drivers.
Finding Your IP Address
Click on Start/Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt and type in "ipconfig", without the quotes. For more information type "ipconfig /all", without the quotes.
Troubleshooting Internet Communications Problems
Any of the following reasons could cause a problem communicating with an internet server:
1. The server is not functioning
2. Improper configuration of your internet browser
3. Incorrect TCP/IP configuration for your dial-up connection
4. Your ISP's Domain Name Service (DNS) server is not working
• Try a Known Good Server - If you can't get to a specific server on the internet, try connecting to http://www.barnettcomputerservices.com or http://www.karenscountrykitchen.com. If you can connect to any one of these servers but can't connect to the original server you were trying, chances are the first server you were trying is down. Your TCP/IP configuration is ok.
Server Won't Boot
Providing the problem isn't hardware you can always reformat the hard drive and reload the operating system. But let's face it, that's rarely going to be the practical solution. Always start by working from the simplest solutions to the more complex solutions.
The first question you should be asking is "what changed recently". If everything was working fine, someone changed something and now the server won't boot up, chances are whatever the changes were, killed the server.
Server Boots to a Blank Screen
If the server boots to a blank screen, you have a video driver problem. The video driver has become corrupt, an incorrect video driver is being used, or the video driver is set to the wrong resolution.
Utilites for Troubleshooting TCP/IP
• Ping: Tests connections
• ARP: Displays locally resolved IP addresses as physical addresses
• Ipconfig: Displays the current TCP/IP configuration
• Nbtstat: Displays statistics and connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP
• Netstat: Displays TCP/IP protocol statistics and connections
• Route: Displays or modifies local routing table
• Hostname: Returns the local computer's host name
• Tracert: Checks the route to a remote system
All of the above utilities are executed from a command prompt. For more information on any of these commands, except Hostname and Tracert, go to a command prompt and type the command followed by /? then press Enter. For example Ping /? then press Enter.
Testing the TCP/IP Configuration
Use ipconfig and ping command-prompt utilities to test configuration and connections to other TCP/IP hosts and networks.
• Using Ipconfig - Use the ipconfig utility to verify the TCP/IP configuration on a host. This helps determine whether the configuration is initialized, or whether a duplicate IP address exists. Use ipconfig with the /all switch.
Type ipconfig /all | more to prevent scolling off of the screen.
The following is the result of the ipconfig /all command.
o If a configuration has initialized, the ipconfig utility displays the IP address and subnet mask, and, if it is assigned, the default gateway.
o If a duplicate IP address exists, the subnet mask is 0.0.0.0
Finding Computer Names
If you know the IP address of a workstation but don't know the computer name, you can find out the computer name two ways. The first is to run tracert. From a DOS prompt, type tracert (space) and then the ip address. Hit enter and it should resolve the computer name for you.
The other way is to ping it with the "-a" flag. In other words, ping (space) -a (space) ip address. This should also resolve the computer name for you
Introduction to Computer Cases
The case is the foundation of your computer. Build your foundation on a rock. Don't plan on building a great computer by starting with a cheap case.
Classifications of Computer Cases
Computer cases come in three basic classifications:
• Desktop - Available in AT, ATX, Flex ATX, and NLX form factors.
• Mini Tower - Available in Micro ATX and Flex ATX form factors.
• Medium/Mid Tower - Available in AT, Flex/Micro ATX, ATX, and Extended ATX form factors.
The full tower cases have 4 or 5 drive bays you can fill however you like. Because of its' size, a full tower case is designed to sit on the floor. They're the perfect height to set your coffee on. (That's a joke; don't try it.)
There are some sub-categories of cases. For the most part you should steer clear of these if you're building your own pc. Two of these sub-categories are "slim line" and "micro towers". Many times these cases use non-standard boards. Finding these boards and/or replacement parts could be difficult.
Computer Case Form Factor
Computer cases are built to use a specific type of motherboard. Two examples of types of motherboards are "ATX" and "Baby AT". The term used for describing the type of motherboard is "form factor". You'll see statements like "form factor ATX", which simply means the motherboard is an ATX motherboard.
ATX Computer Cases
The ATX computer case form factor was invented by Intel® in 1995.
ATX computer cases rotate the processor and the expansion slots 90 degrees. This gives more room to add cards.
Power supply's on an ATX computer case have a side mounted fan which does a better job cooling the computer system.
An ATX computer case has a double height aperture in the back where the keyboard, mouse, parallel and serial ports are located. These ports are stacked on top of each other.
A Baby AT computer motherboard will not necessarily fit in an ATX form factor case. An ATX motherboard will not necessarily fit in a Baby AT form factor case and so on, and so on.
Choosing a Computer Case
When choosing a computer case, make sure the power supply is mounted on the top. Remember, hot air rises, so let's drag as little hot air across the computer's components as possible. Make sure the frame that houses the hard drive is removable. This is important. Believe it or not, there was a design a few years ago that required all the boards be removed from the motherboard and the motherboard be tilted back in order to remove the hard drive.
When choosing which computer case you want to buy, think about the future. Do you want to be able to expand your computer in the future? Will you want to be able to upgrade this computer in the future? Your answer will most likely be "yes". If you're the type of person who is ambitious enough to build your own pc, then you're the type of person who will want to expand on your computer system somewhere down the road. So if expansion is in your future, you can forget about a desktop case right now. You want a mid tower or a full tower case. In order to save space, desktop cases just aren't built for expandability. And let's be honest here, they just plain look whimpy.
If you're limited on desktop space, (and hey, who isn't), a tower case can fit conveniently on the floor, freeing up precious desk space.