3. žTrial and error: When you find a
faulty component in your computer,
check it with the other computers
so that you can make sure whether
the fault is in the component or
not.
4. Check cables: In case of any
device failure, check all the
cables of your computer such as
data cables, power cable,
internal circuitry cable and
make sure that all these are
plugged in and working fine.
5. žHardware settings: Check the hardware
settings in the CMOS and in the device
manager of the system and make all the
device drivers up to date and all the
cards are plugged in properly.
ž
6. Notice changes: When you notice
a software or hardware error in
your computer, determine what
was changed before the problem
occurred.
7. žžMake notes: Troubleshooting is a
useful skill and we can learn a lot
when we face any kind of
troubleshooting in our computer. Make
notes including the error messages
and their solutions, so that you have
a record on how a certain problem
occurred and how did you solve it.
8. Event viewer: In the event
viewer, you will find the error
or warning messages associated
with any faulty hardware or
software.
9. Check the POST. POST stands
for Power On Self Test.
This is generally the first
or second thing that
appears on a computer after
turning on the power. This
appears before the
operating system begins to
load. The POST will display
any problems found with
hardware that makes the
computer unable to boot.
10. Notice the load
time of the OS
(operating
system). A
longer than
usual load time
may indicate
seek errors (or
other errors) in
the hard drive.
11. Notice any
graphics problems
once the OS has
loaded. Reduced
graphics may
indicate driver
failures or
hardware failures
with graphic
cards.
12. Perform an auditory test. An
auditory test is an unorthodox, but
still effective way of judging how
hard a computer is working. With
the computer on and running, play
any decent length audio file
(usually above 30 secs). If the
audio is choppy or slow, it usually
means that the processor is working
at an elevated level, or there is
not enough RAM to run all programs
loading. Changing the startup sound
is a great way to apply this test.
13. Check any newly installed
hardware. The driver may be
badly written, or it may
conflict with another process.
Windows will usually notify
you about devices that are
causing a problem, or have a
problem. To check use the
Device Manager, it can be
accessed by entering the
Control Panel, then System
icon, then Hardwaretab, and
last on Device Manager. Use
this to check and arrange the
properties of hardware.
14. Check any newly
installed software.
Software may require
more resources than
the system can
provide. Chances are
that if a problem
begins after software
starts, the software
is causing it. If the
problem appears
directly upon startup,
it may be caused by
software that starts
automatically on boot.
15. Check RAM and CPU consumption.If a
system is choppy it is good
practice to see if a program is
consuming more resources than the
computer can provide. The way to
check this is to use the Task
Manager, right click on the taskbar
select Task Manager, and click the
Processestab. The CPU column
contains a number that indicates
the percentage of CPU the process
is consuming. The Memory Usage
column indicates how much memory a
process is consuming.
16. Listen to the computer, if
the hard drive is scratching
or making loud noises, shut
off the computer and have a
professional diagnose the
hard drive. Listen to the CPU
fan, this comes on a high
speed when the CPU is working
hard, and can tell you when
the computer is working
beyond its capacity.
17. Run a virus and malware
scan. Performance
problems can be caused
by malware on the
computer. Running a
virus scan can unearth
any problems. Use a
commonly updated virus
scanner (such as Norton
Antivirus or Avast!
Antivirus) and a
commonly updated
malware scanner (such
as Spybot Search &
Destroy).
18. Check for the problem in
safe mode. As a last
ditch effort, check the
problem in safe mode. To
enter safe mode, tap F8
repeatedly during POST
(this works on most
systems). If the problem
persists in safe mode,
it is a fair bet that
the operating system
itself is to blame.