Most experienced computer technicians will tell you that troubleshooting is a combination of skill and art. Troubleshooting is a skill, in that it can be learned as a process. It is an art, in that it also requires intuition, imagination , and even plain old dumb luck. Regardless of those factors, however, the more experience you gain, the better your troubleshooting ability becomes. Troubleshooting can be a frustrating, anxiety-filled process, particularly if you are working on a mission-critical system, or if it is your personal machine that is malfunctioning. However, it is important to remain patient and objective when trying to resolve an issue and don't forget that the cause may not be related to Windows at all, but rather your hardware. Although I offer some basic guidelines here, I cover hardware problems in much more detail in Upgrading and Repairing PCs and Upgrading and Repairing Laptops . Regardless of the source of your problems, it is crucial that you follow an organized method of troubleshooting rather than fiddling with things at random, hoping to get lucky. To troubleshoot a problem with Windows, you need to follow a deductive process. You are like Sherlock Holmes, eliminating the impossible until all that is left, however improbable, must be the cause of the problem. As you gain more experience troubleshooting Windows, you will begin to recognize problems that you have encountered before, which enables you to go straight to the root cause and apply a solution. In this chapter, you will look at some of the more common errors encountered with Windows, and examine the tools that the Windows operating system provides to help solve these problems. Before we dive into these topics, here are some general tips for improving and refining your basic troubleshooting skills.
Finally, if you ever get so frustrated that you want to take a sledgehammer to your PC, here's one last piece of troubleshooting advice from Confucius: "Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito." What You'll Find in This ChapterIn this chapter, you will look at a variety of different Windows problems and solutions. Specifically , you will split these problems into three categories:
You'll also look at additional tools and resources that can be used to find solutions to problems, such as the Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) and the Windows Support Tools located on the Windows XP installation CD. Note This chapter deals specifically with troubleshooting problems with the Windows XP operating system. If you are looking for more detailed information on PC hardware, check out Upgrading and Repairing PCs (ISBN 0-7897-3173-8) or Upgrading and Repairing Laptops (0-7897-2800-1) from Que Publishing. These are the definitive guides to everything that can be plugged into a tower case or crammed into a portable PC. For a no-holds barred troubleshooting book, check out Leo LaPorte's PC Help Desk , (0-7897-3394-3), also from Que. A Word About Viruses and SpywareIf the top cardinal rule of troubleshooting is check the physical first , the next cardinal rule is check for viruses or spyware second . There are two key reasons for this. The first is that both viruses and spyware can introduce several different behavioral variables into a Windows-based PC. Plainly speaking, viruses and spyware can cause more than one kind of problem behavior to appear. This can be incredibly misleading when you are trying to isolate the cause of the problem. More often than not, if you try to troubleshoot a malfunctioning Windows PC without first checking whether there is a virus or spyware present, you will end up chasing your tail. The second reason is that if you make repairs to a malfunctioning Windows installation where the problem is attributable to a virus or spyware, you are only treating the symptom, not the disease. In fact, there is a good chance that the virus or spyware will undo the repairs you have made as soon as you restart the system, which will send you running down another false trail. After you have verified that there are no physical problems with a sick computer, your second step should always be to scan the system for viruses and spyware. There are a number of free and commercially available programs you can use to find and eliminate viruses and spyware. Ideally, you should have two variations of such programs: one version that is used on a system while Windows is up-and-running, and another version that is "bootable"; that is, that you can use from system startup to scan the machine before Windows is loaded. You'll find more information an antivirus and antispyware programs in Chapter 8, "Protecting and Securing Windows." Windows "Sickbed" SymptomsGenerally speaking, Windows XP will exhibit one of five major symptoms when it encounters a problem that causes a core component of the operating system to malfunction:
These five symptoms can occur during different stages of Windows operation, including during installation, during startup, and during normal operation. Table 12.1 lists when each symptom may occur: Table 12.1. Windows Error Symptoms
If any of these symptoms occur, they indicate that there is a hardware or software problem that is interfering with the normal functioning of Windows. The troubleshooting methods and tools you use to discover and correct the problem will often be determined by what stage Windows is in when symptom occurs. |