Troubleshooting

Mr. McBrien
TEJ2O
Second Law of Thermodynamics

 Entropy increases in natural processes.

 Or, “disorder increases over time”.
 Or, “$#!@ Happens.”
Today

 What to do when things go wrong

Ontario Curriculum

 B1.1 connect and configure the hardware for a personal

computer system, and install an operating system;
Computers Fail

 … a lot.
Causes of Failures

 Hardware
 Wear and tear
 DUST
 Electricity issues
 Bumps
 Software
 Corrupted files
 MALWARE
The Biggest Key to Preventing Disasters
is Preparation
 Backups
 Backups
 Backups

Once we have a computer to back up, we’ll talk

about backups in detail.
 Diagnosing Problems

 Online, you can find diagnosis flowcharts.

 Sometimes things are easy to diagnose:
 The computer starts up, but the OS fails to load
 “Print Error”
 Sometimes it’s more complicated:
 Blank screen

The process we take to diagnose the issue involves collecting as

much data as possible, forming a hypothesis and then testing it.
The Role of the Internet

 Google searches are a powerful diagnostic tool

 Describe everything that you know about your situation
 Review advice carefully.

You need to collect data about your situation before a

search will help…
Fixing Hardware Issues
 Hardware failures are rare, with some exceptions
 Usually they’re easier to fix than software issues, if more
expensive.
 It’s easiest to confirm hardware problems by swapping
with a known-to-be-functional alternate.
Common Hardware Issues
 ?

 Cables
 Hard drives
 Dislodged cards (including RAM)
 Fans
 Power supplies

Where it might be the culprit, be sure to always check

cables before anything else.
BIOS: a Brilliant Teammate

 The BIOS checks all of the components that the computer needs
to boot the OS in the “Power On Self Test”.
 The BIOS does the POST on start-up
 Its report should be where you start if things are really bad.
 All key hardware components are checked during POST, and the
BIOS will tell you if any are malfunctioning.
 The BIOS also records any temperature issues…
Common Software Issues

 Drivers
 Corrupted Windows Files/Registry
 MALWARE
Restoring Functionality for Software Issues
 Sometimes we repair systems
 Drivers
 Registry
 Sometimes we restore the OS from backups
 (Worst case) sometimes we re-install everything.

Once we’ve diagnosed the issue, we can decide

what action to take.
Now is the Time…

 … to take advantage of preparation.

 If you retained:
 Original Windows ISO
 Windows System Image
 Drivers
 Backups of your files
 …you can restore your system very easily.
Key Points
 Things break.
 Prepare for problems – make backups!
 Use the scientific method – collect information and make
hypotheses.
 Check connections first.
 Review the BIOS
 Do Google searches
 Check for software updates
 “swap out” non-working parts for known-working
 Update drivers.
Activity – Hardware Failures

 Use your (working) build computer:

 Disableyour computer by “breaking” individual
hardware components.
 Power up the computer and write down the symptoms
that you see.
 “Fix” the issue, and try something else.
 How many different failures can you record?
References and Additional Reading

1. https://blog.hsb.com/2015/10/15/why-computer
s-fail
/
2. http://www.leoisaac.com/tec/main006.htm