Troubleshooting Tools
Contents
1. If you are working away from your base a copy should be given to the com pany you are carrying out work for and a second copy should be returned to base This ensures that each PC has a full history Records can be tracked and evaluated to find out any recurring problems Information gathering Always investigate the problem before carrying out any actions Ask questions of the user to find out what was happening when the problem occurred You may get some clues from this information As you become more experienced you will learn which questions to ask and how to follow up questions with further questions Often open questions are best because they allow the customer to give more informa tion but sometimes it may be necessary to confirm details by asking a closed ques tion Use diplomacy when asking questions and make no assumptions Could the PC have been dropped is much better than Did you drop the PC Open questions An open question is likely to receive a long answer You are in fact inviting the cus tomer to give a personal record of events leading up to the fault Open questions often begin with such as what why how describe An example of an open question is What were you doing when the problem first occurred I know this often invites the answer Nothing or I didn t touch it but it is quite possible that you will get a full description of exactly what happened A possible answer to this question could be2. I had just booted up and the screen went blue and I couldn t do anything at all with the PC If this is the case the next question could be Was there an error message on the screen This is a closed question because the customer is likely to answer this with a Yes No or Don t know Closed Questions a A closed question can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase A closed question can often be used to confirm details following the answer given to an open question Sometimes this is called a confirmatory question An example of a confirmatory question is So as you mentioned earlier when you right clicked the mouse the screen went black Examples of closed questions are Is the computer plugged in or Have you installed the driver Anne Watson 2 Interacting with Users When working at the user s workspace consider yourself a guest Don t patronise the user Don t assume the user has little or no knowledge about PCs Don t use technical language Don t take over the mouse or keyboard without asking the user first Remember that the user has other work to do and may have to break off a conversa tion to answer the phone Wait quietly until the call is completed Put your tools away from the customers work books papers etc Protect any confidentiality of data on the PC Do not put down the users choice of computer manufacturer Don t take any drastic action e g formatting a hard drive be
3. Troubleshooting Tools The tools required by a PC support technician are Bootable rescue disks for each Operating System A bootable rescue disk is an essential tool for troubleshooting It can boot the PC even when the hard disk has failed and provides a clean boot meaning that the boot does not load any software drivers or TSR pro grams which might load from a hard drive A boot disk should always be made Read Only Windows 98 me boot disk A Windows 98 ME boot disk can be created using Start gt Control Panel gt Add Remove Software gt Create StartUp Disk option You will need your Windows 98 installation CD Windows NT Emergency Repair Disk From the Start button select Run Type rdisk in the Run dialog box then click OK Click Update Repair Info Insert a floppy disk into the A drive After you answer Yes to a series of queries in the message box the system will create or update your disk You will need your installation CD to carry out repairs Windows 2000 xp Emergency Repair Disk The Emergency Repair Disk should be created immediately after you have in stalled Windows 2000 or xp Use the Backup wizard found in Acessories gt System Tools to create the ERD Choose the option for Emergency Repair Disk You will need your installation CD to carry out repairs Anti static kit ground bracelet and ground mat Assorted screwdrivers flat head and cross head Philips Tweezers Chip extractor Extra
4. ctor for picking up dropped screws Blue tack to allow screw to adhere to screwdriver Multimeter Needlenose pliers Torch Antistatic bags to store unused parts Diagnostic card Although a POST card might not be essential it can be helpful It is important to make sure that the POST card is suitable for the PCs you will be working on The POST card is inserted into an expansion slot on the motherboard and the PC is switched on The card will monitor the boot process and report errors The errors are usually reported as coded numbers on a LED panel The number is then matched with the documentation to get information about the problem Anne Watson 1 m Diagnostic software Diagnostic software can be used to identify hardware problems The most effective diagnostic software runs independently of the operating system installed on the computer Most diagnostic software has its own operating system which loads on bootup then relocates when memory tests are run The software runs many tests such as disk drives memory cpu input and output In order to test parallel and serial ports loopback connectors are used in conjunction with the software Bootable diagnostics disks should not be confused with utility software which requires an operating system to run and is used to diagnose and repair prob lems with software on a PC m Virus detection software E Pen paper record forms Records should be kept detailing any work carried out on PCs
5. fore you ask if any data requires backing up Do not make decisions for users Give them the options and let them make up their own minds First Steps Ask the user to explain exactly what happened when the computer first showed the fault or stopped working What procedure was taking place at the time What had just happened Has the user made any recent changes When did the computer last work Has the user tried anything in the meantime What error messages did the user see Try to recreate the situation when the computer first stopped Make no assumptions If the user made a mistake and caused the problem take time to explain what hap pened so that the problem does not occur again Troubleshooting hardware installations If the computer is refusing to boot it is probably a hardware problem or a problem with the system boot files This is when you should use your ears and eyes Can you hear the PSU fan Can you hear the cooling fan Can you hear the floopy drive read Is the floppy drive light coming on as soon as the power is applied Is the light staying on Is the light not coming on at all Can you hear the hard drive spinning Is the hard drive read light coming on Is the CDRom drive light coming on Are there any audible beeps Are there any messages on screen At which point does the PC seem to stop reacting What is the final message on screen if any Anne Watson 3 What should I do Open the com
6. ing Systems have an assortment of Bootup Options for trouble shooting One of the best known is Safe Mode which loads the operating system with the mini mum amount of drivers allowing you to troubleshoot system settings Sometimes the mouse will not work in this mode so it is wise to aquaint yourself with keyboard shortcuts Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 98 me can be found at http support microsoft com default aspx scid kb en us 126449 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows xp can be found at http support microsoft com default aspx scid kb en us 301583 To access Safe Mode Press F8 after the POST messages but before the Windows Logo Screen appears Each Operating System has a variety of modes in which you can start your computer Any good technician will make sure he or she knows the options available on each system Anne Watson 4 System Restore Windows me and xp both contain the System Restore option Any good technician will utilise this facility as it can save many situations Before any installation software or hardware make sure you set up a Restore Point System Restore can be found in the System Tools option If everything on the computer is working correctly create a Restore Point Date it and name it something sensible Record the restore point details on your records for that particular computer If an installation of software or hardware causes the computer to have problems you can use the restore point to
7. puter and check all connections Are cables the right way round Are there any bent pins Are jumpers or DIP switches set correctly Check the manual or the information on the drives Is RAM seated correctly Are expansion cards seated correctly If the problem appears to be an expansion card or RAM replace with a tried and tested component of the same specifications to see if the original component is faulty Do not use a new component Access the CMOS setup program and check that hard drives are set to Autodetect Boot with a startup disk and use the fdisk mbr command to overwrite a corrupted Master Boot Record FAT systems Use the Recovery Console for NTFS systems and fixboot c assuming the bootable drive is the C drive Other troubleshooting techniques Strip the installation back to the bare essentials motherboard processor and fan RAM and video card Boot to see if those components are passed on the POST checks If not check the motherboard manual to see if configuration options jumpers DIP switches or CMOS setup options for processor have been set up correctly Add other components one at a time reboot in between each addition Check for error messages sounds beeps and lights If a component has been connected incorrectly this may be the point at which you notice If a component is damaged this will be the point at which you will become aware Safe Mode and other Bootup options All Microsoft Operat
8. return the computer to the state it was in before the upgrade or change Anne Watson 5
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search