Troubleshooting and maintenance fundamentals

Troubleshooting and

Maintenance Fundamentals

Learning objectives:1. Make a checklist for

troubleshooting the pc2. List common problems

and solutions

Common Trouble ChecklistProblems with computers can usually

come from mistakes done by people. If the hardware and software was used

previously, the problem may come from you or PEOPLEWARE! So, start checking fist to make sure hardware and software and even people are all working before

calling for a technician.

When troubleshooting your computer, have the following in mind and check it

first before calling help. These are common faults which anyone of us could have done. Checking this will save you a

lot of money and time too.

Is your computer plugged in? Sometimes, simple checking if the

power cord is plugged to a power source or just tightening a loose cord will already do the trick of fixing the computer. Sometimes, the automatic voltage regulator (AVR) or uninterruptable power supple (UPS) or power strip/surge protector is just turned off.

Have you checked all the cords? The power cord may be working well but

the monitor or keyboard of mouse cords are not well placed. Check it out too. Tighten its connection again.

How about other connections? Okay, the computer turns on, the

monitor, keyboard and mouse works but you do not have network connection. Check out, if the Ethernet cable is plugged to its correct sockets or the modem/router or network switch is plugged correctly and turned on. You may have to unplug and re-plug this again to make sure and refresh the connection.

Unseated cards Yes, you may have Ethernet cables,

routers, modems and switches working. Still there is no connection. Have you checked if the network card wiggles? It may have been unseated from its slot. You have to open the computer to properly seat it in the slot for it. Screw it in again on the proper position if needed.

Is the phone working with dial tone?

Is the phone jack working? Check out if an ordinary phone has dial tone to ensure that you are connected with a telephone service provider. If a dial tone is not available, then it is your telephone connection that has a problem.

Do you have ink toner on the printer? You may have just ran out of these

supplies. Just put it in and the problem is solved.

Have you changed a configuration or installed some

software or device lately? If so, check out your installation, this

may be causing the fault. A simple uninstall and reinstall may be the solution unless this installation has destroyed a lot in your computer.

USB insertion does not work Simply unplug and re-plug your USB

device to the USB socket or another USB socket to verify whether the plug to the device is not working.

Boot sequence problem What is your setting for boot sequence?

Is it from the hard disk, floppy disk or CD ROM? This may be the improper start of your computer. Check the settings for this to fix the problem.

Reboot The most common solution to all

problems in the computer is rebooting. Most of the time, rebooting cures a lot of problems.

Common Problems and

Solutions

My monitor is blacked out Make sure the monitor is turned on. Try

pressing the power button on the monitor again.

Check to see if it’s in sleep mode. Wiggle the mouse around or press the enter key.

If the green light is not on in front, check the power cord connecting the monitor into the outlet

My monitor is blacked out (cont.)

If the green light is on, check the brightness level by using the buttons on the monitor.

Check the cable connection from the monitor into the computer or the equipment that links your computer to the TV monitor

If you still have some problems, call your help desk.

I don’t have any sound Check the cord in the back of the

computer to see if the speakers are plugged into the computer. Plug in your speaker cable and then try adjusting the volume control (the speaker icon) on the task bar. Make sure it is not set to mute. Clicking on the sliding tab should make a sound.

I don’t have any sound (cont.) Some speakers have a power plug.

Check to see if the power cord to the speakers is plugged in and the power light on the speakers is on.

Double click on the volume icon on the task bar and the volume control box appears. Make sure the mute button at the bottom is not checked.

My machine is stuck and won’t do anything!

Hold down the ctrl key and the alt key at the same time and then tap on the delete key. You will be given a dialog box. Look and see if you see in parenthesis by the application you are working on the following words:

If you see this, then click on the name of the application and then select END TASK from the choices in the box below. It may take a few minutes to comply. You may see another box saying the application isn’t responding. Click on END TASK and it will shit down that particular application.

My machine is stuck and won’t do anything! (cont.)

If the ctrl-alt-del combination doesn’t work, then press the power button on your machine for a few seconds until the power is off. Wait until the green light on your monitor turns amber (usual setting when CPU is off) before turning it on again. This will take about 10-15 seconds. When you reboot, windows should be working well again.

More in-depth checking of peripherals

Keyboard (things to check when your keyboard doesn’t respond)

If your machine when booting, gives off a constant beeping noise, it is telling you that your keyboard is not connected or not working. Check the plug to make sure it’s connected securely. Try unplugging it and re-plugging it again.

If there is no response, check the indicator light on the keyboard. Is it on? Do the lights respond when you press the caps lock or the num lock key? If not, maybe your keyboard is broken.

Is there a key stuck? Gently pry off the cover and clean it with alcohol. Make sure it is not connected to your machine when you are cleaning it.

Mouse If your mouse starts acting erratic, it

could be an insufficient memory problem. Reboot and see if that corrects the problem.

If your mouse will only move one way, either vertically or horizontally, your mouse may need cleaning.

Optical mice need cleaning of its bottom every now and then.

Printer Check the cables first. Unplug and re-

plug the printer into the computers. Be sure the power cable is plugged in and the outlet works.

Check to make sure the correct printer is selected in the print dialog box. If you are on a network, you could be sending the output to a printer in someone else’s room

Printer (cont.) Can you print a test page directly from the

printer with it unconnected to the computer? Each manufacturer has a special series of buttons to hold down for this self-test. Usually the series will be in the user’s manual

Can you print from a different application? Does it only occur with a certain application or is it not working with anything?

Reinstall the software. Delete the old drivers first.

A Dead PC First check the cable. Unplug it from the outlet.

Re-plug in both sides and try booting it again. Check the wall outlet. Plug something else into

the outlet see if it works. Turn the system off and wait 30 seconds and

then try again. Reach behind the machine and see if you feel

air blowing out of the power supply. If you do, then you know the machine is getting some power.

A Dead PC (cont.) Look at the keyboard for the indicator lights being lit

up as the machine boots. Report observance to the technical help.

Sometimes the monitor has something to do with the system acting up. Unplug the power cord from the monitor and the wall and re-plug it. Unplug the cable from the computer to the monitor and re-plug it into the monitor. Try rebooting.

Listen to identify a beeping series if there is one, take note of the kind of beep and report it to the technician.

Turn in all observations to the technician who will service the unit.

Networking First check to see if the cable connecting the network

card into the network drop is connected to the drop and to the computer.

Check the back of the computer to see of the network card light is on.

Check to see if the site you are trying to pull up is at fault by typing in a common URL to see if it will make it out to that site.

Check to see if anyone else’s machine is having problems. If everyone is, then it could be the entire office of household block having difficulties. Call the corresponding helpdesk to check the status of the internet

Networking (cont.) If the internet connection is off on a particular

hallway only, a hub connection could be down or bad.

If there is only one machine having problems and the light on the network card is not on, try plugging another machine that works into that drop. It could be that particular drop is bad, or plug the machine that doesn’t seem to work into a different drop to see if it would work there.

Record all data and call technical assistance.

Problems with Internet If the browser says that the DNS cannot find your page,

check if you have typed it incorrectly or if you clicked on a working link. If all is in order, try again as least twice. It may be that there is just a break in your connection for a while. If it does not work, then the DNS may be really be non-existent or not in operation.

Sometimes instead of a DNS problem, you have a “Not Found” message. This may mean that the page may be missing or the link is not working. Try some other time or some other day. Try also the main homepage of the site. If you are diligent enough, you can email the webmaster of the said page and ask why the page is inactive.

Problems with Internet (cont.) There are times when you get surprised that the page you

request loads very fast. Sometimes, the pages you request even load even if you are not connected to the internet. This can be a cached page and loads from memory. If you wonder why the page is not updated, try clicking on the reload button on your browser’s toolbar to make sure that you are getting the latest of this page from the website.

If you cannot connect with the ISP, make sure your modem is switched and connected to a phone line. Check if the configuration is correct and the same as originally configured. If apparently connected, check if there is limited or no connectivity by right-clicking by right-clicking on the two networked computer picture on near the clock at the lower right portion of the screen.

Problems with Internet (cont.) Surfing takes a long time. Sometimes, there is a peak

demand on the internet because there are too many users. This will slow down the connections since the requests come simultaneously and use a main pipe at the same time altogether. Slower modem speed can also be a cause of slow connection. Too many graphics on a website also takes time to load.

Some features on the site do not show or function properly. There may be plugins, scripts or controls that are needed on the site. Some browsers have this be default. Sometimes, they have to be downloaded. Check if your browser supports this function.

Most Common Error Codes and Messages on

the Internet

Error Message Meaning Solution

400 – Bad Request The uniform resource locator (URL) is not accepted or incorrect. The server may be non-existent or you are not allowed to access this page.

Make sure the URL you typed is correct (each letter or character whether upper or lower case including special characters, slashes, tildes and colons)

401 – Unauthorized These are sites that requires authority to enter. In the US, some .gov sites will only allow users coming from .gov or .edu to access it. Otherwise, no access will be granted.

If you have the authority to access a site i.e. if you have a password, then use it carefully and correctly type it to gain access. Otherwise, do no access it if you do not have any authority


403 – Forbidden This page or document is password protected or your domain is not allowed access

Solution is the same as error number 401

404 – Not found The server you are contacting cannot find the document or page you are looking for. It may no longer exist or you typed a wrong URL

Verify the URL that you typed (all characters). Try again. If it does not work, try other links on the site which are working just to check if the links do work at all.


550 – xxxxxx is not a known user

This means that you reached the site’s email server but unfortunately either the used is not connected there or there is no user under that name.

Check all characters to see if you typed it correctly. Try also email address finding tools to verify if the email address is correct.

Bad File Request The form requested is either not supported by your browser or there is an error

Try another browser to see if the problem is still there. Otherwise, send an email to the webmaster to notify him of this error.


Cannot add form submission to bookmark list

This error occurs when a save request is issued and try to bookmark the resulting form. This means that even though it is a valid URL, it cannot by reused to put in your bookmark list.

The Save As command to save a page may do the trick instead of bookmarking immediately. The saved form can be opened again after it is saved then you can add it to your bookmark list.

Connection refused by host

The host server does not permit your domain to enter. It may be password protected too.

If you have a password, try retyping if slowly again checking each character to try to enter the site.


Failed DNS lookup The URL you typed is not valid and cannot be resolved by the domain name system.

Retype the URL. Try also reloading the page. If both does not work, then maybe the DNS really does not exist.

File contains no data

The site does not have webpages on it. This may also show when you access the site as it is being uploaded.

Wait for a while as the page is being uploaded. Try again if it does not work now, try some other time.


Helper Application not found

Sound files, movie clips, graphics, ZIP archive files, or any other type of file you may be trying to download is not supported by your browser

Sometimes, there will be a dialog box indicating that a helper application is needed for this file to show up. Download this file to allow your browser to support this file

Host unavailable This may mean that the server is offline or down for maintenance

Try clicking the reload button. If it doesn’t work, try again another time.

Host Unknown The server you are contacting is not connected or has lost connection. The URL typed may also be incorrect

Try clicking on the reload button. Sometimes, there is a lapse in the internet connection.


Network connection was refused by the server

This is a generic message to say that the limit of the number of people allowed to connect to a server is too busy

Try clicking the Reload button and hope you can connect, If it is not possible, then try again some other time.

NNTP server error NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) is the predominant protocol used by computers (servers and clients) for managing the notes posted on newsgroups. An NNTP server is part of your ISP’s software, so if this error occurs, the software may be malfunctioning or the newsgroup does not exist

Try clicking the Reload button on the toolbar. If it does not work, try again some other time.


Permission denied

The site may be busy of FTP is not allowed when you are connected to an FTP site for uploading or downloading files

Observe correct procedure for uploading and downloading files. Keep trying to upload or download. Otherwise, contact the site’s webmaster to report this problem

Too many connections – try again later.

You may need to wait for your turn since the limit of the number of connections to this server has been exceeded

Try clicking the Reload button on the toolbar. If it does not work, try again some other time.


Too many users Webmasters may have set the number of users to a website. It may have reached the limit.

Keep trying. Try clicking the Reload button on the toolbar. If it does not work, try again some other time.

Unable to locate host or server

The site is either down or under maintenance. Connection to this server may have been lost too

The internet may have an intermittent problem. Check your internet connection too and try again. Check also if you have typed a correct URL


Viewer not found This file type cannot be viewed with your browser

Try getting the viewer or try loading the file using another browser

You can’t log on as an anonymous user

This is for connection to and FTP server. Anonymous access is not allowed as indicated.

Try again to connect. Make sure you have the correct username and password.

Troubleshooting and maintenance fundamentals

Technology

Transcript of Troubleshooting and maintenance fundamentals