ICAS2010A Apply problem solving techniques to routine malfunctions

Troubleshoot routine problems
Overview
This topic is about detecting problems in a computer. In particular, it focuses on the process of troubleshooting, rather than on the use of diagnostic tools. First you'll learn about some of the indicators of normal behaviour in a computer. You'll then look at some potential sources of damage to hardware devices and software.
The remainder of the topic then looks at identifying and rectifying faults systematically and logically.
The problems you might encounter can be generally categorised as either related to hardware or the installed operating system driving the software.
Before you do this topic
Before you do this topic you should be able to:
Determine maintenance requirements.
Have you already done this topic?
This topic applies to a range of study areas, and you may have met it before while studying a different module.
If you think you may have done it before, browse through the contents list, and revise any sections that are particularly relevant to the module you are currently studying. You may also find there is practice activity for you to do in this particular module.
If you have not done it before, work through the material carefully. It contains some fundamental skills which you'll need to demonstrate repeatedly in your future career.
Related topics
This topic is related to:
Provide advice and information on common IT problems
Use system diagnostic tools
Optimise an operating system.
Inside this topic
Normal operation of a personal computer Potential sources of damage to computer hardware and software The first steps towards troubleshooting Some general guidelines for troubleshooting a computer Flow charts A hardware fault finding checklist Toolkit equipment Using diagnostic software Operating system repair Summary


Troubleshoot routine problems
Overview
This topic is about detecting problems in a computer. In particular, it focuses on the process of troubleshooting, rather than on the use of diagnostic tools. First you'll learn about some of the indicators of normal behaviour in a computer. You'll then look at some potential sources of damage to hardware devices and software.
The remainder of the topic then looks at identifying and rectifying faults systematically and logically.
The problems you might encounter can be generally categorised as either related to hardware or the installed operating system driving the software.
Before you do this topic
Before you do this topic you should be able to:
Determine maintenance requirements.
Have you already done this topic?
This topic applies to a range of study areas, and you may have met it before while studying a different module.
If you think you may have done it before, browse through the contents list, and revise any sections that are particularly relevant to the module you are currently studying. You may also find there is practice activity for you to do in this particular module.
If you have not done it before, work through the material carefully. It contains some fundamental skills which you'll need to demonstrate repeatedly in your future career.
Related topics
This topic is related to:
Provide advice and information on common IT problems
Use system diagnostic tools
Optimise an operating system.
Inside this topic
Normal operation of a personal computer Potential sources of damage to computer hardware and software The first steps towards troubleshooting Some general guidelines for troubleshooting a computer Flow charts A hardware fault finding checklist Toolkit equipment Using diagnostic software Operating system repair Summary


Normal operation of a personal computer
There are several ways to identify the normal operation of a personal computer. Most people use diagnostic software packages like PC Tools, Norton Utilities and/or Check It to test a computer. Those diagnostic packages provide user-friendly operations to perform testing of a computer.
However, you can initially make measurable observations of sights and sounds to identify the normal operation of the computer. The table shown below suggests some indications of normal behaviour in a PC.
Device
Sights
Sounds
System Unit
Floppy disk drive activity indicator (light)
Front panel indicators
Power on
Hard disk drive activity
Floppy disk drive mechanisms
Speaker (beep)
Fan
Display Unit (Monitor)
Power on indicator
Screen
Keyboard
Num lock indicator
Caps lock indicator
Scroll lock indicator
Printer
Power on indicator
Online/Ready indicator
Busy indicator
Message display indicator
Tractor feed
Printer head
Laser printer mechanisms
Mouse
When software is loaded, mouse pointer appears on a screen that reflects a correct positioning of a pointer, or other operations of a mouse


Potential sources of damage to computer hardware and software
There are several things that can lead to damage of a computer. These are:

Temperature fluctuations
Cause
Temperature variations (expansion and contraction of components from temperature change) can lead to serious problems.
Damages
Chip creep
Signal traces on circuit boards can be cracked and separated
Solder joints can be broken
Contacts undergo accelerated corrosion
Solid-state components can be damaged
Read and write problems on hard disk drive (expansion and contraction of the platter of hard disk, then data may be written at a different location relative to the track centre
Advice
Ensure a computer operates in correct ambient temperature (refer to User's Manual).
System on: 60-90 °F (15-32 °C)
System off: 50-110 °F (10-40 °C)
Power cycling
Cause
Turning on a cold computer subjects it to the greatest possible internal temperature variations.
Damages
Same as temperature fluctuations
Advice
Power on a computer only once daily. Don't turn a computer on and off several times every day.
Static electricity
Cause
This problem usually appears during winter months when humidity is low or in extremely dry climates where the humidity is low year-round.
Some static-sensitivity problems are caused by improper grounding of computer power.
Damages
Electronic components
Advice
Always use a three-prong, grounded power cord plugged into a properly grounded outlet (an outlet tester can be used to check that it is properly grounded).
Use a grounded static mat underneath a computer, then touch the mat before touching the computer.
Power line noise
Cause
This problem is caused by poor quality power being supplied to a computer system, which creates some spikes and transients (short transient signals of sometimes 1000 V or more).
It can also be caused by sharing a power source with other higher power consuming equipment, such as coffee makers, copy machines or laser printer.
Wire size and length will increase a resistance of a power circuit.
Damages
All system components
Advice
A computer system should be on its own circuit with its own circuit breaker.
A three-wire circuit is a necessity.
To decrease resistance, avoid extension cords unless absolutely necessary and then use only heavy-duty extension cords.
Avoid using too many items on a single outlet.
Radio frequency interference
Cause
Mobile phones, cordless phones, fax machines and any radio transmission equipment
Effects
Sporadic random keystrokes will appear, as though an invisible entity were typing on the keyboard
White spots and lines appears on a screen
Advice
Install specially shielded cables (built-in toroid core cables) outside a system unit.
Phosphor burn on a monitor
Cause
The phosphor on a cathode ray tube can be burned if a stationary image is left on a screen continuously for long time
Damages
Reduces the life of monitor (cathode ray tube)
Advice
Turn both brightness and contrast levels to the minimum.
Use a screen saver which displays different patterns on a screen.
Dust and pollutants
Cause
A power supply fan carries airborne particles through a computer
Food crumbs are attracted by magnetic media, while cigarette ash and smoke are drawn toward disk drives.
Damages
Floppy disk heads
Electronic components (dust on the surface of components prevents necessary heat loss)
Advice
Use power supply unit with air filter (filter must be cleaned and changed periodically)

Water
Cause
On a desktop, coffee/tea spills over a keyboard or into a monitor.
Damages
Keyboard malfunction
Monitor explosion (if a monitor is on)
Advice
Never eat, drink or smoke inside computer room.


The first steps towards troubleshooting

Reflect
Here is a typical scenario reported to the help desk.
A client phones the help desk and reports that the computer hangs each time they try to run a particular application.
What might be the source of the problem?
What steps will you take to find out?
This is the troubleshooter's challenge!

Feedback
Feedback
In all cases where you are trying to troubleshoot a problem, you need to use a logical step-by-step approach. For example, two questions that you would always ask in this situation are:
When did the problem begin?
Has any new hardware or software been added between the time that the problem appeared and when the system was last working correctly?
Here is a list of reasons why a computer might hang each time a specific software application is run. It could indicate:
a corrupted file
an incorrect installation
hard disk failure
a virus
a new application causing conflict
new hardware causing conflict
new device drivers causing a conflict with older software.


Some general guidelines for troubleshooting a computer

Here's a good general list that you can use when a computer develops a fault.
Don't panic
Observe
What are the symptoms?
What conditions existed at the time of failure?
What actions were in progress?
What program was running?
What was on a display screen?
Was there an error message?
What functions are still working?
Use your senses (sight, hearing, smell and touch)
Is there any odour present?
Does any part of system feel hot?
Retry
Is the plug inserted snugly into the computer?
Is the power cord plugged into an appropriate wall power outlet?
Is the wall power outlet working?
Documentation (fill in a pre-designed check list)
What is the computer doing?
What is the computer not doing?
What is being displayed on the screen?
Is there any error message?
What is still operating with everything connected?
Is power still operating on each part of a computer?
Assume one problem
Use correct data and resources
Use relevant technical manuals and information
Use proper test equipment
Diagnose to a section
If a system worked when all peripherals were disconnected, turn power off and reconnect one of the peripherals. Power on and test. If that unit works, turn the power off and reconnect another peripheral. Again, power up and test. Follow this procedure until a unit fails.
Consult your index of symptoms
Using your logbook or any relevant flowcharts in reference books and manuals:
Localise to a stage
Isolate to the failed part
Test and verify proper operation
After diagnosing and rectifying the fault, you need to document it in the logbook for reference in the future.


Flow charts
The most logical process for faultfinding is to construct step-by-step flow charts. They are also useful tools for targeting areas of poor performance and identifying solutions and fixes. Flowcharts graphically represent a process, identifying various inputs and outputs, and this makes them useful tools for those engaged in providing technical support.
The time invested in building flowcharts will give you long-term, cost effective benefits. The flowcharts can be built upon as new types of devices and faults are uncovered and after a while, the charts will become a comprehensive archive of faults and remedies through different service calls.
Flowchart symbols
Traditional program flowcharting involves the use of simple geometric symbols to represent:
the beginning or end of a program (an oval)
a process (a rectangle)
a decision (a diamond)
an I/O process (a parallelogram).

Practise
Microsoft Office has a simple drawing facility with inbuilt flowchart symbols. Have a look at these symbols:
Start Microsoft Word, for example.
Make sure that the Drawing toolbar is turned on
Select Autoshapes
View the Flowchart symbols
Use Word's inbuilt help to investigate the purpose the tools

Practise
Using the general troubleshooting guidelines we've given to design a simple flow chart that you can use as a check list to help you isolate some potential problems with equipment.


A hardware fault finding checklist
Here's a useful checklist that you can use to help you diagnose faults in hardware.
First, consult service level agreements to ascertain if or clarify response time obligations and internal/external responsibilities. Are there any other organisational guidelines you need to follow?
Consult documentation logged from previous related or similar situations. What questions can you ask the user, your colleagues and your supervisor that might assist you in finding a solution.
Observe occupational health and safety precautions eg take anti-static precautions
Check the power supply. Ensure it is working and that it is powering the motherboard.
Try swapping the monitor with a known good one.
Remove all expansion cards. If the machine boots, replace the cards one by one until it doesn't.
Check motherboard for signs of blow components.
Try swapping the CPU with a known good one.
If the video controller is built in, disable it and try another known working video card.
Buy or borrow a POST (power on self test) card.
Check the CPU fan.
Check the RAM chips by swapping them with known good ones.
Disable external cache.
Remember to document everything you do according to organisational guidelines.
Remember to keep safety as your highest priority.


Toolkit equipment
What equipment are you likely to need when carrying out the fault finding? Generally, your toolkit would include the following:
screwdrivers
a range of testing software
serial and parallel loopback connectors
multimeter
known good components
anti-static strap.


Using diagnostic software
There is a wide range of diagnostic tools that can help you with all sorts of computer problems. You will learn more about these tools in the topic Use system diagnostic tools.
The testing of system components and/or performance falls into two categories:
generic.
proprietary
Generic packages and their limitations
The generic tools available to the general public are usually sold as software packages and are very limited. To assess the usefulness of generic software you have to assume that the software supplier has tested their software with all OEM (original equipment manufacturer) hardware and software you may want to test. This is hardly possible, so the user should not be surprised when the results of such packages fail to live up to expectations.
This is not to say the providers of these packages are supplying a defective product - just that they can really only test the functionality of devices and systems functions known to the program writers and this will exclude many proprietary devices. A good example of this would be network interface cards (NICs).
Most of the generic diagnostic packages will probably be able to determine that the NIC is installed in the system, however, if the exact functionality instructions of the NIC are not built into the diagnostic software, an accurate result will probably not be achieved.
This is better understood when considering that the same NIC OEM may provide a different diagnostics utility with each of many similar NICs. If the wrong version of the diagnostics utility is tried with the wrong NIC, even the most basic loop-back test will often fail. This highlights the need to pay close attention to the software provided by OEMs.
Common diagnostic tools
The most common diagnostic tools are the built-in tools such as scandisk, defrag and port loop back tests. When using any of the diagnostic tools, especially the disk checking utilities, the operator and other system users must be considered. As hard drives have become larger in size, the time taken to check them has also increased, to the point where it can take hours to fully complete some of the diagnostics. These checks do need to be carried out regularly but should be programmed to be done at a time outside usual working hours or by arrangement with the users.
The main consideration is to record and/or document all changes made and when they happened. It should be understood that the job was not finished if the documentation was not done. This should be done in accordance with standard organisational guidelines.

Questions
Use of diagnostic tools is covered in another topic. However, you should at least know some of the standard maintenance tools incorporated into Windows operating systems. What are the main ones and what is their general function?

Feedback
Feedback
This depends on the particular version of Windows. However, for a particular operating system, you should find tools such as:
Disk Defragmenter (Defrag) can be run to counter the effects of the uneconomical way Windows accesses and saves data. It allows fragmented files to be consolidated and written to the hard disk
Disk Cleanup is a tool that allows you to test a workstation's hard disk and identify redundant files that may be deleted.
ScanDisk is a utility intended to detect and repair minor disk problems.
...as well as many other tools.

Research
Carry out an Internet search for diagnostic tools that can be used to troubleshoot PCs. Create a reference table that you can refer to later on. Include headings such as the name of the tool, a general description, platform (operating system), price (if available) and so on. You may want to download one or more of these for the next exercise.
Certain well known websites offer these sorts of utilities and many others. Tucows is one such site. (http://www.tucows.com). Search for others or find them listed in popular magazines.

Practise
For this practice, you will need to locate one or more OEM diagnostics tools. Refer to the associated documentation, and design an implementation guide for their use.
If you don't have access to any OEM diagnostic tools, locate some third party tools that will allow the OEM recommendations to be followed.

Practise
A user fault report states that sometimes, the network connection to a printer does not work. Design a test procedure that could be implemented to diagnose this problem. Once the fault has been identified, list the steps you would take to repair the fault with a minimum of disruption to the user.


Operating system repair
If a computer's problem is damage to a system or boot partition, generally you'll need to have on hand:
an emergency repair disk
the operating system disks
recently created backups
Emergency Repair Disk utility - NT/2000
Windows NT and Windows 2000 have a utility called Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). This is a miniature first aid kit! By creating an ERD, you should have a floppy containing all the files needed to repair system partition and many boot partition problems. The ERD is most often used to repair or replace files that are critical to NT's boot process.
An ERD is normally created following setup, to store information about your original system settings. However, you should update it whenever you install new hardware, software or drivers. This section discusses creating an ERD under Windows NT. To recover from an emergency, you would usually also need your Windows Setup disks.
Creating an Emergency Repair Disk (Windows NT)
An ERD is usually created during installation, but additional and updated ERDs can be created using the RDISK.EXE utility.
At the Run command, RDISK/S forces NT to save all current registry settings in memory to \Winnt\System32\Config.

Files contained within an Emergency Repair Disk
You are then prompted for a preformatted disk. The ERD contains the following files:
File
Contents
SYSTEM._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM compressed
SOFTWARE._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE compressed
SECURITY._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY compressed
SAM._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM compressed
NTUSER.DA_
Default profile, compressed
AUTOEXEC.NT
%winntroot%\system32\autoexec.nt
CONFIG.NT
%winntroot%\system32\config.nt
SETUP.LOG
List of installed files and their checksums
Recovering with the ERD
The ERD does not contain the entire registry, but just enough of it to fix the most common errors. To use the ERD to make repairs, you need the three setup disks used to install NT. The repair process is contained in the following steps.
Reboot the computer using the Windows NT setup disks 1 and 2.
Select R for Repair. A menu appears containing the following options: inspect registry files; inspect startup environment; verify Windows NT system files; inspect boot sector.
Deselect any options you do not wish to use, then continue.
Insert disk 3 and the ERD when prompted.

Research
Find out more about the Emergency Repair Disk facility from the Microsoft site. Enter 'Emergency Repair Disk' in the search window of the site: http://microsoft.com.


Summary
You should now be able to identify features of normal operation of a personal computer and potential sources of damage to hardware devices and software. You have seen how to identify and rectify routine faults systematically and logically.
The problems identified in this topic distinguish those related to the hardware and those related to the operating system driving the software.
Self assessment
Can you answer 'yes' to the following questions? If not, return to the topic for further study.
Can you state some general guidelines for troubleshooting a problem on a personal computer?
Can you state some steps in detecting hardware faults?
Can you list some potential sources of damage to a computer?
Have you learned how to use a logical step by step process for finding a fault?
Can you list some common diagnostic tools and their purpose?





Normal operation of a personal computer
There are several ways to identify the normal operation of a personal computer. Most people use diagnostic software packages like PC Tools, Norton Utilities and/or Check It to test a computer. Those diagnostic packages provide user-friendly operations to perform testing of a computer.
However, you can initially make measurable observations of sights and sounds to identify the normal operation of the computer. The table shown below suggests some indications of normal behaviour in a PC.
Device
Sights
Sounds
System Unit
Floppy disk drive activity indicator (light)
Front panel indicators
Power on
Hard disk drive activity
Floppy disk drive mechanisms
Speaker (beep)
Fan
Display Unit (Monitor)
Power on indicator
Screen
Keyboard
Num lock indicator
Caps lock indicator
Scroll lock indicator
Printer
Power on indicator
Online/Ready indicator
Busy indicator
Message display indicator
Tractor feed
Printer head
Laser printer mechanisms
Mouse
When software is loaded, mouse pointer appears on a screen that reflects a correct positioning of a pointer, or other operations of a mouse


Troubleshoot routine problems
Overview
This topic is about detecting problems in a computer. In particular, it focuses on the process of troubleshooting, rather than on the use of diagnostic tools. First you'll learn about some of the indicators of normal behaviour in a computer. You'll then look at some potential sources of damage to hardware devices and software.
The remainder of the topic then looks at identifying and rectifying faults systematically and logically.
The problems you might encounter can be generally categorised as either related to hardware or the installed operating system driving the software.
Before you do this topic
Before you do this topic you should be able to:
Determine maintenance requirements.
Have you already done this topic?
This topic applies to a range of study areas, and you may have met it before while studying a different module.
If you think you may have done it before, browse through the contents list, and revise any sections that are particularly relevant to the module you are currently studying. You may also find there is practice activity for you to do in this particular module.
If you have not done it before, work through the material carefully. It contains some fundamental skills which you'll need to demonstrate repeatedly in your future career.
Related topics
This topic is related to:
Provide advice and information on common IT problems
Use system diagnostic tools
Optimise an operating system.
Inside this topic
Normal operation of a personal computer Potential sources of damage to computer hardware and software The first steps towards troubleshooting Some general guidelines for troubleshooting a computer Flow charts A hardware fault finding checklist Toolkit equipment Using diagnostic software Operating system repair Summary


Normal operation of a personal computer
There are several ways to identify the normal operation of a personal computer. Most people use diagnostic software packages like PC Tools, Norton Utilities and/or Check It to test a computer. Those diagnostic packages provide user-friendly operations to perform testing of a computer.
However, you can initially make measurable observations of sights and sounds to identify the normal operation of the computer. The table shown below suggests some indications of normal behaviour in a PC.
Device
Sights
Sounds
System Unit
Floppy disk drive activity indicator (light)
Front panel indicators
Power on
Hard disk drive activity
Floppy disk drive mechanisms
Speaker (beep)
Fan
Display Unit (Monitor)
Power on indicator
Screen
Keyboard
Num lock indicator
Caps lock indicator
Scroll lock indicator
Printer
Power on indicator
Online/Ready indicator
Busy indicator
Message display indicator
Tractor feed
Printer head
Laser printer mechanisms
Mouse
When software is loaded, mouse pointer appears on a screen that reflects a correct positioning of a pointer, or other operations of a mouse


Potential sources of damage to computer hardware and software
There are several things that can lead to damage of a computer. These are:

Temperature fluctuations
Cause
Temperature variations (expansion and contraction of components from temperature change) can lead to serious problems.
Damages
Chip creep
Signal traces on circuit boards can be cracked and separated
Solder joints can be broken
Contacts undergo accelerated corrosion
Solid-state components can be damaged
Read and write problems on hard disk drive (expansion and contraction of the platter of hard disk, then data may be written at a different location relative to the track centre
Advice
Ensure a computer operates in correct ambient temperature (refer to User's Manual).
System on: 60-90 °F (15-32 °C)
System off: 50-110 °F (10-40 °C)
Power cycling
Cause
Turning on a cold computer subjects it to the greatest possible internal temperature variations.
Damages
Same as temperature fluctuations
Advice
Power on a computer only once daily. Don't turn a computer on and off several times every day.
Static electricity
Cause
This problem usually appears during winter months when humidity is low or in extremely dry climates where the humidity is low year-round.
Some static-sensitivity problems are caused by improper grounding of computer power.
Damages
Electronic components
Advice
Always use a three-prong, grounded power cord plugged into a properly grounded outlet (an outlet tester can be used to check that it is properly grounded).
Use a grounded static mat underneath a computer, then touch the mat before touching the computer.
Power line noise
Cause
This problem is caused by poor quality power being supplied to a computer system, which creates some spikes and transients (short transient signals of sometimes 1000 V or more).
It can also be caused by sharing a power source with other higher power consuming equipment, such as coffee makers, copy machines or laser printer.
Wire size and length will increase a resistance of a power circuit.
Damages
All system components
Advice
A computer system should be on its own circuit with its own circuit breaker.
A three-wire circuit is a necessity.
To decrease resistance, avoid extension cords unless absolutely necessary and then use only heavy-duty extension cords.
Avoid using too many items on a single outlet.
Radio frequency interference
Cause
Mobile phones, cordless phones, fax machines and any radio transmission equipment
Effects
Sporadic random keystrokes will appear, as though an invisible entity were typing on the keyboard
White spots and lines appears on a screen
Advice
Install specially shielded cables (built-in toroid core cables) outside a system unit.
Phosphor burn on a monitor
Cause
The phosphor on a cathode ray tube can be burned if a stationary image is left on a screen continuously for long time
Damages
Reduces the life of monitor (cathode ray tube)
Advice
Turn both brightness and contrast levels to the minimum.
Use a screen saver which displays different patterns on a screen.
Dust and pollutants
Cause
A power supply fan carries airborne particles through a computer
Food crumbs are attracted by magnetic media, while cigarette ash and smoke are drawn toward disk drives.
Damages
Floppy disk heads
Electronic components (dust on the surface of components prevents necessary heat loss)
Advice
Use power supply unit with air filter (filter must be cleaned and changed periodically)

Water
Cause
On a desktop, coffee/tea spills over a keyboard or into a monitor.
Damages
Keyboard malfunction
Monitor explosion (if a monitor is on)
Advice
Never eat, drink or smoke inside computer room.


The first steps towards troubleshooting

Reflect
Here is a typical scenario reported to the help desk.
A client phones the help desk and reports that the computer hangs each time they try to run a particular application.
What might be the source of the problem?
What steps will you take to find out?
This is the troubleshooter's challenge!

Feedback
Feedback
In all cases where you are trying to troubleshoot a problem, you need to use a logical step-by-step approach. For example, two questions that you would always ask in this situation are:
When did the problem begin?
Has any new hardware or software been added between the time that the problem appeared and when the system was last working correctly?
Here is a list of reasons why a computer might hang each time a specific software application is run. It could indicate:
a corrupted file
an incorrect installation
hard disk failure
a virus
a new application causing conflict
new hardware causing conflict
new device drivers causing a conflict with older software.


Some general guidelines for troubleshooting a computer

Here's a good general list that you can use when a computer develops a fault.
Don't panic
Observe
What are the symptoms?
What conditions existed at the time of failure?
What actions were in progress?
What program was running?
What was on a display screen?
Was there an error message?
What functions are still working?
Use your senses (sight, hearing, smell and touch)
Is there any odour present?
Does any part of system feel hot?
Retry
Is the plug inserted snugly into the computer?
Is the power cord plugged into an appropriate wall power outlet?
Is the wall power outlet working?
Documentation (fill in a pre-designed check list)
What is the computer doing?
What is the computer not doing?
What is being displayed on the screen?
Is there any error message?
What is still operating with everything connected?
Is power still operating on each part of a computer?
Assume one problem
Use correct data and resources
Use relevant technical manuals and information
Use proper test equipment
Diagnose to a section
If a system worked when all peripherals were disconnected, turn power off and reconnect one of the peripherals. Power on and test. If that unit works, turn the power off and reconnect another peripheral. Again, power up and test. Follow this procedure until a unit fails.
Consult your index of symptoms
Using your logbook or any relevant flowcharts in reference books and manuals:
Localise to a stage
Isolate to the failed part
Test and verify proper operation
After diagnosing and rectifying the fault, you need to document it in the logbook for reference in the future.


Flow charts
The most logical process for faultfinding is to construct step-by-step flow charts. They are also useful tools for targeting areas of poor performance and identifying solutions and fixes. Flowcharts graphically represent a process, identifying various inputs and outputs, and this makes them useful tools for those engaged in providing technical support.
The time invested in building flowcharts will give you long-term, cost effective benefits. The flowcharts can be built upon as new types of devices and faults are uncovered and after a while, the charts will become a comprehensive archive of faults and remedies through different service calls.
Flowchart symbols
Traditional program flowcharting involves the use of simple geometric symbols to represent:
the beginning or end of a program (an oval)
a process (a rectangle)
a decision (a diamond)
an I/O process (a parallelogram).

Practise
Microsoft Office has a simple drawing facility with inbuilt flowchart symbols. Have a look at these symbols:
Start Microsoft Word, for example.
Make sure that the Drawing toolbar is turned on
Select Autoshapes
View the Flowchart symbols
Use Word's inbuilt help to investigate the purpose the tools

Practise
Using the general troubleshooting guidelines we've given to design a simple flow chart that you can use as a check list to help you isolate some potential problems with equipment.


A hardware fault finding checklist
Here's a useful checklist that you can use to help you diagnose faults in hardware.
First, consult service level agreements to ascertain if or clarify response time obligations and internal/external responsibilities. Are there any other organisational guidelines you need to follow?
Consult documentation logged from previous related or similar situations. What questions can you ask the user, your colleagues and your supervisor that might assist you in finding a solution.
Observe occupational health and safety precautions eg take anti-static precautions
Check the power supply. Ensure it is working and that it is powering the motherboard.
Try swapping the monitor with a known good one.
Remove all expansion cards. If the machine boots, replace the cards one by one until it doesn't.
Check motherboard for signs of blow components.
Try swapping the CPU with a known good one.
If the video controller is built in, disable it and try another known working video card.
Buy or borrow a POST (power on self test) card.
Check the CPU fan.
Check the RAM chips by swapping them with known good ones.
Disable external cache.
Remember to document everything you do according to organisational guidelines.
Remember to keep safety as your highest priority.


Toolkit equipment
What equipment are you likely to need when carrying out the fault finding? Generally, your toolkit would include the following:
screwdrivers
a range of testing software
serial and parallel loopback connectors
multimeter
known good components
anti-static strap.


Using diagnostic software
There is a wide range of diagnostic tools that can help you with all sorts of computer problems. You will learn more about these tools in the topic Use system diagnostic tools.
The testing of system components and/or performance falls into two categories:
generic.
proprietary
Generic packages and their limitations
The generic tools available to the general public are usually sold as software packages and are very limited. To assess the usefulness of generic software you have to assume that the software supplier has tested their software with all OEM (original equipment manufacturer) hardware and software you may want to test. This is hardly possible, so the user should not be surprised when the results of such packages fail to live up to expectations.
This is not to say the providers of these packages are supplying a defective product - just that they can really only test the functionality of devices and systems functions known to the program writers and this will exclude many proprietary devices. A good example of this would be network interface cards (NICs).
Most of the generic diagnostic packages will probably be able to determine that the NIC is installed in the system, however, if the exact functionality instructions of the NIC are not built into the diagnostic software, an accurate result will probably not be achieved.
This is better understood when considering that the same NIC OEM may provide a different diagnostics utility with each of many similar NICs. If the wrong version of the diagnostics utility is tried with the wrong NIC, even the most basic loop-back test will often fail. This highlights the need to pay close attention to the software provided by OEMs.
Common diagnostic tools
The most common diagnostic tools are the built-in tools such as scandisk, defrag and port loop back tests. When using any of the diagnostic tools, especially the disk checking utilities, the operator and other system users must be considered. As hard drives have become larger in size, the time taken to check them has also increased, to the point where it can take hours to fully complete some of the diagnostics. These checks do need to be carried out regularly but should be programmed to be done at a time outside usual working hours or by arrangement with the users.
The main consideration is to record and/or document all changes made and when they happened. It should be understood that the job was not finished if the documentation was not done. This should be done in accordance with standard organisational guidelines.

Questions
Use of diagnostic tools is covered in another topic. However, you should at least know some of the standard maintenance tools incorporated into Windows operating systems. What are the main ones and what is their general function?

Feedback
Feedback
This depends on the particular version of Windows. However, for a particular operating system, you should find tools such as:
Disk Defragmenter (Defrag) can be run to counter the effects of the uneconomical way Windows accesses and saves data. It allows fragmented files to be consolidated and written to the hard disk
Disk Cleanup is a tool that allows you to test a workstation's hard disk and identify redundant files that may be deleted.
ScanDisk is a utility intended to detect and repair minor disk problems.
...as well as many other tools.

Research
Carry out an Internet search for diagnostic tools that can be used to troubleshoot PCs. Create a reference table that you can refer to later on. Include headings such as the name of the tool, a general description, platform (operating system), price (if available) and so on. You may want to download one or more of these for the next exercise.
Certain well known websites offer these sorts of utilities and many others. Tucows is one such site. (http://www.tucows.com). Search for others or find them listed in popular magazines.

Practise
For this practice, you will need to locate one or more OEM diagnostics tools. Refer to the associated documentation, and design an implementation guide for their use.
If you don't have access to any OEM diagnostic tools, locate some third party tools that will allow the OEM recommendations to be followed.

Practise
A user fault report states that sometimes, the network connection to a printer does not work. Design a test procedure that could be implemented to diagnose this problem. Once the fault has been identified, list the steps you would take to repair the fault with a minimum of disruption to the user.


Operating system repair
If a computer's problem is damage to a system or boot partition, generally you'll need to have on hand:
an emergency repair disk
the operating system disks
recently created backups
Emergency Repair Disk utility - NT/2000
Windows NT and Windows 2000 have a utility called Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). This is a miniature first aid kit! By creating an ERD, you should have a floppy containing all the files needed to repair system partition and many boot partition problems. The ERD is most often used to repair or replace files that are critical to NT's boot process.
An ERD is normally created following setup, to store information about your original system settings. However, you should update it whenever you install new hardware, software or drivers. This section discusses creating an ERD under Windows NT. To recover from an emergency, you would usually also need your Windows Setup disks.
Creating an Emergency Repair Disk (Windows NT)
An ERD is usually created during installation, but additional and updated ERDs can be created using the RDISK.EXE utility.
At the Run command, RDISK/S forces NT to save all current registry settings in memory to \Winnt\System32\Config.

Files contained within an Emergency Repair Disk
You are then prompted for a preformatted disk. The ERD contains the following files:
File
Contents
SYSTEM._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM compressed
SOFTWARE._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE compressed
SECURITY._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY compressed
SAM._
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM compressed
NTUSER.DA_
Default profile, compressed
AUTOEXEC.NT
%winntroot%\system32\autoexec.nt
CONFIG.NT
%winntroot%\system32\config.nt
SETUP.LOG
List of installed files and their checksums
Recovering with the ERD
The ERD does not contain the entire registry, but just enough of it to fix the most common errors. To use the ERD to make repairs, you need the three setup disks used to install NT. The repair process is contained in the following steps.
Reboot the computer using the Windows NT setup disks 1 and 2.
Select R for Repair. A menu appears containing the following options: inspect registry files; inspect startup environment; verify Windows NT system files; inspect boot sector.
Deselect any options you do not wish to use, then continue.
Insert disk 3 and the ERD when prompted.

Research
Find out more about the Emergency Repair Disk facility from the Microsoft site. Enter 'Emergency Repair Disk' in the search window of the site: http://microsoft.com.


Summary
You should now be able to identify features of normal operation of a personal computer and potential sources of damage to hardware devices and software. You have seen how to identify and rectify routine faults systematically and logically.
The problems identified in this topic distinguish those related to the hardware and those related to the operating system driving the software.
Self assessment
Can you answer 'yes' to the following questions? If not, return to the topic for further study.
Can you state some general guidelines for troubleshooting a problem on a personal computer?
Can you state some steps in detecting hardware faults?
Can you list some potential sources of damage to a computer?
Have you learned how to use a logical step by step process for finding a fault?
Can you list some common diagnostic tools and their purpose?