DIAGNOSE AND TROUBLESHOOT COMPUTER SYSTEMS

LESSON 1: PLAN AND PREPARE FOR DIAGNOSIS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS ERRORS

Personal Protective Equipment

Proper preparation is the key to a successful work. Before you begin, make sure that you have the tools you will need,
and secure a clear well-lit workplace. Gather all the components you’ll be using and unpack them at the same time.
Always keep in mind that personal protection is one of the traits of a good computer technician

Types of personal protective devices

1. Anti-static devices
2. Power surge protectors
3. Personal equipment

Anti-static devices - Devices designed to protect the computer from static electricity.

Power surge protectors - devices designed to protect the computer from sudden power surges from intermittent power
sources. Ex. 1. AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) 2. UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

Personal Equipment
 small paint brush
 screw drivers
 pliers and tweezers
 compressed air
 handheld vacuum

DIAGNOSING COMPUTER SYSTEMS

• PC Diagnosing

Trial and error: When you find a faulty component in your computer, check it with the other computers so that you can
make sure whether the fault is in the component or not.

Check cables: In case of any device failure, check all the cables of your computer such as data cables, power cable,
internal circuitry cable and make sure that all these are plugged in and working fine.

Hardware settings: Check the hardware settings in the CMOS and in the device manager of the system and make all the
device drivers up to date and all the cards are plugged in properly.

Notice changes: When you notice a software or hardware error in your computer, determine what was changed before
the problem occurred.

Event viewer: In the event viewer, you will find the error or warning messages associated with any faulty hardware or
software.

Make notes: Troubleshooting is a useful skill and we can learn a lot when we face any kind of troubleshooting in our
computer. Make notes including the error messages and their solutions, so that you have a record on how a certain
problem occurred and how did you solve it.
Common PC Problems and Solutions
You are working away at your computer when suddenly, an error message – or worse, your computer comes to a
screeching halt. Here are the common computer problems and solutions that can help you.

STEPS

1. Check the POST. POST stands for Power On Self-Test. This is generally the first or second thing that appears on a
computer after turning on the power. This appears before the operating system begins to load. The POST will display any
problem found with the hardware that makes the computer unable to boot. POST may also display problems with
hardware that allow the computer to boot, but not operate at its full capacity during operation.

2. Notice the load time of the OS (operating system). A longer than usual load time may indicate errors in the hard
drive.

3. Notice any graphics problems once the OS has loaded. Reduced graphics may indicate driver failures or hardware
failures with graphic cards.
4. Perform an auditory test. An auditory test is a simple, but still effective way of judging how a computer is working.
With the computer on and running, play any decent length audio file (usually above 30 sec.) If the audio is choppy or
slow, it usually means that the processor is working at an elevated level, or there is not enough RAM to run all programs
loading. Changing the startup sound is a great way to apply this test. Another issue associated with choppy sounds is PIO
(Programmed Input/Output) Mode. This affects how the hard drive reads and writes data from a drive. Switching to
Direct Memory Access (DMA) allows for faster reads and writes, and can sometimes repair choppy audio.

5. Check any newly installed hardware. Many operating systems, especially Windows, can have conflicts with new
drivers. The driver may be badly written, or it may conflict with another process. Windows will usually notify you about
devices that can cause or have any problem. To check this use the Device Manager, this can be accessed by entering the
Control Panel, clicking the System icon, clicking the Hardware tab, and clicking on Device Manager. Use this to check
and arrange the properties of hardware.

6. Check any newly installed software. Software may require more resources than the system can provide. Chances are
that if a problem begins after software starts, the software is causing it. If the problem appears directly upon startup, it
may be caused by software that starts automatically on boot.

7. Check RAM and CPU consumption. A common problem is a choppy or sluggish system. If a system is choppy it is good
practice to see if a program is consuming more resources than the computer can provide. An easy way to check this is to
use the Task Manager, right click on the taskbar select Task Manager, and click the Processes tab. The CPU column
contains a number that indicates the percentage of CPU the process is consuming. The Memory Usage column indicates
how much memory a process is consuming.

8. Listen to the computer, if the hard drive is scratching or making loud noises, shut off the computer and have a
professional diagnose the hard drive. Listen to the CPU fan, this comes on a high speed when the CPU is working hard,
and can tell you when the computer is working beyond its capacity.
9. Run a virus and malware scan. Performance problems can be caused by malware on the computer. Running a virus
scan can find any problem. Use a commonly updated virus scanner (such as Norton Antivirus or Avast! Antivirus)

10. Check for the problem in safe mode. To enter safe mode, press F8 repeatedly during POST (this works on most
systems). If the problem persists in safe mode, it is a fair bet that the operating system itself is to blame.

Common Trouble shooting for Computer Units

1. Double check the power connections.
2. Voltage regulator and power supply could cause power failure in the computer unit.
3. Check the power cords and cable connectors in your computer unit.
4. Unseated card. Loose cards could cause malfunction.
5. Check the boot sequence configuration in the advance BIOS (Basic Input/Output Unit) setup.

Diagnosing Network Connection

Things to look for if a PC is connected to the internet or network:
1. check the cable connecting to the network card into the network hub.
2. Check the back of the computer to see if the network card light is on.
3. Check the network cable (use cable tester)
4. Check the network hub (use multi-tester)