Troubleshooting Basics


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.

  • Always check the physical first. Before you start drilling into the core of the operating system, always check the physical components of a malfunctioning machine first. For example, if you are troubleshooting a machine that is freezing during Windows startup, check to see whether all internal hard drive cable connections are secure.

    It is astonishing how many errors occur due to a simple physical fault, and how many times these faults are overlooked by troubleshooters . Don't assume that just because a machine worked the last time you used it that nothing has changed. Hard drive cables can vibrate loose from their connectors; RAM modules can thermal creep out of their sockets if the socket clasps are faulty or have come undone due to vibration ; likewise power surges and overmatched power supplies can cause any number of obscure errors.

  • Never assume anything. Faulty assumptions will absolutely kill a troubleshooting session. Don't take anything for granted when working on a problem. Verify your assumptions about the hardware and software status of a system before moving forward.

  • Document everything. Before you begin to make changes to a malfunctioning system, you should record as much information about the problem as possible. Write down word for word any error messages that are being displayed. Sometimes, you only see an error message once, and chances are you won't remember exactly what it said if you don't write it down.

    Write notes detailing all of the symptoms of the problem. If troubleshooting an error that occurs repeatedly over a certain time interval, take note of the times when it occurs. If you are able to access Windows Event Viewer, copy down any pertinent error messages that appear in the logs.

    And, perhaps most important, create an ongoing record of any changes you make to the hardware and software while you are trying to solve the problem. It may seem absurd to think that you would forget a step you took during your troubleshooting process, but it happens more often than most technicians would care to admit.

  • If a change made to the system doesn't solve the problem, reverse it. If you change a Windows setting in order to try to solve a problem, and making the change doesn't work, remember to change the setting back. If you don't do this while working on a system, you introduce an increasing amount of changing variables that will make it extremely difficult to isolate the source of a problem.

  • Create a summary once the problem is solved . Once you have solved a problem, write down the details of the problem, the steps you took to solve the problem, and the appropriate dates and times. Don't leave these details solely dependent on your memory; a permanent record is much more reliable.

  • Know when to walk away. When any of us experiences a problem with a computer, especially if it is our personal system, we always want to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible. However, there comes a time when it's best to walk away from a malfunctioning system for a little while, and come back to it fresh after a break.

    Very few people can maintain peak concentration for hours at a time. Taking a break isn't "giving up"; it's a necessary part of the troubleshooting process that keeps you from becoming part of the problem. If it's the end of the day, pack it up and get a good night's sleep. That's likely to do far more for your ability to identify and fix a problem than bouncing off the walls all night long.

  • Y ou don't have to know everything in order to be a good troubleshooter. Part of being a top-class troubleshooter is being able to effectively use external information resources. Remember that it is not only acceptable, but also often required to draw upon the experience of others to help you to solve a problem. This experience can be found in books, web resources, knowledgeable friends and family members , and especially with representatives of the technical support departments of hardware and software manufacturers.

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 Chapter

In this chapter, you will look at a variety of different Windows problems and solutions. Specifically , you will split these problems into three categories:

  • Problems encountered during Windows installation.

  • Problems encountered during Windows startup.

  • Problems encountered while Windows is running.

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 Spyware

If 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" Symptoms

Generally 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:

1.
Windows will cease functioning, and the system will display a STOP Error screen, also known in more colorful terms as the Blue Screen of Death.

2.
Windows will terminate an open application and display a dialog box informing you of this action, and (if configured to do so) will offer you the opportunity to send an error report to Microsoft.

3.
Windows will stop and restart the EXPLORER.EXE service, also known as Windows Explorer. A dialog box ( essentially the same dialog box that is displayed with symptom #2) informs the user of this event.

4.
The computer will suddenly reboot while it is in operation.

5.
The system will lock up entirely, and can only be unlocked by pressing the reset button on the computer.

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

Windows Status

Symptoms That Can Occur

During installation

1, 4, 5

During startup

1, 4, 5

During normal operation

1, 2, 3, 4, 5


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.




Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows
Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0789736950
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 128

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