A+ Core 1 Troubleshooting: The Troubleshooting Process 5.1

Problems in computer systems generally occur in one (or more) of four areas...what are these four areas?

▪︎Hardware ▪︎Operating System (which is dependent on the hardware) ▪︎Application or Software Program ▪︎Computer user

What is one of the best questions that you can ask a user to aid in determining the problem?

"Can you show me the problem?"

When is it okay to read the manual when you're troubleshooting a problem?

"When all else fails, read the instructions!" When you can't figure out what's not working, and you have no idea why or what you can do to fix the problem

What are the six steps of the troubleshooting process?

1) IDENTIFY the problem 2) ESTABLISH A THEORY of probable cause (i.e., Question the obvious) 3) TEST THE THEORY to determine the cause 4) ESTABLISH A PLAN OF ACTION to resolve the problem and implement the solution 5) VERIFY full system functionality and, if applicable, implement PREVENTIVE MEASURES 6) DOCUMENT findings, actions, and outcomes

No matter how skilled you may be at troubleshooting, what very important things must you ALWAYS consider before doing anything?

Always consider corporate policies, procedures and impacts before implementing any changes

Why is "questioning the obvious" in developing a theory as to why a problem is happening important?

Because forgetting to question the obvious things can result in a long and unnecessary troubleshooting process

Why is it important to determine whether a problem is software- or hardware-related?

Because it determines the part of the computer on which you should focus your troubleshooting skills on

Why should you ALWAYS verify full system functionality after fixing a system?

Because some "solutions" may actually cause another problem on the system

Before you dive head first into the troubleshooting process, always remember that hardware components can be replaced, but data can't be. Therefore, what must you be sure to do to prevent data from being lost?

Create a backup; First, ALWAYS back up the data before making any changes to a system

What is the sixth, and final step of the troubleshooting process?

Document findings, actions, and outcomes

Everyone approaches troubleshooting from a different perspective. But no matter what issue you may encounter, what is perhaps the most important and most constant thing you must do?

Document your troubleshooting process—not just that there is a problem but also the solution that you found, the actions that you tried, and the outcome of each

If you've tried everything you can think of, or perhaps are in a tense situation that's time-sensitive and you feel in over your head, what must you do?

Don't be afraid to escalate the problem; Asking for help is great because sometimes getting a second opinion makes all the difference

After you test your theory to determine the cause of the problem, one of two things will happen, what are they?

Either 1) If the theory is confirmed, move on to resolving the problem 2) If the theory is not confirmed, then re-establish a new theory (Step 2) or escalate the problem

After successfully testing the theory and determining the cause of the problem, what must you do next?

Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution

What is the fourth step of the troubleshooting process?

Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution

What's the next step after you identify a problem?

Establish a theory about the cause of the problem

What is the second step of the troubleshooting process?

Establish a theory of probable cause (i.e., Question the obvious)

In some situations, you may encounter more than one user with their own problem. For example, one user may be unable to print to the printer of their choice while simultaneously there's a floor full of accountants who are unable to run payroll. When dealing with two troubleshooting jobs such as this, what must you do?

Establish priorities; Prioritize every job and escalate it (or de-escalate) as you need to

True or False: No matter what problem you may come across to troubleshoot, questioning the user is of little importance when trying to get to the root cause of the problem?

False; Many times, you can define the problem by asking the user questions

What is the very first step of the troubleshooting process?

Identify the problem

When trying solutions to fix the problem, why is it very important to make only one change at a time to the computer?

Making more than one change at a time is not recommended for two reasons: 1) You'll most likely never be sure which change actually worked 2) By making multiple changes at one time, you may actually cause additional problems

Why must you ALWAYS document your work when troubleshooting?

So that YOU or someone else can learn from the experience

Which step of the troubleshooting process includes conducting external or internal research based upon symptoms, if necessary?

Step 2: Establish a Theory of Probable Cause (i.e., Question the obvious)

In which step of the troubleshooting process should you implement preventive measures to ensure that a problem never happens again, if possible?

Step 5: Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventive measures

What is the third step of the troubleshooting process?

Testing your theory to determine the cause of the problem

In order to approach any computer problem from a logical standpoint, you MUST implement what type of process?

The troubleshooting process

When implementing the troubleshooting process, what happens if you can't identify the problem?

Then you can't begin to solve the problem

What must you do after you successfully fix the system, or all systems affected by the problem?

Then you verify full system functionality (i.e., verify if the computer works properly)

What is the main goal in the step of establishing a theory of probable cause?

To come up with a logical theory explaining the root cause of the problem

What is the main goal in the step of identifying the problem?

To find out EVERYTHING that you can that might be related to the problem

What is troubleshooting at its core?

Troubleshooting is simply assessing every problem systematically to try to isolate the root cause

True or False: In order to identify the problem, you'll have to gather information about the problem?

True

True or False: Theories can state either what can be true or what can't be true?

True

What is the fifth step of the troubleshooting process?

Verify full system functionality and, if applicable, implement preventative measures

How important is gathering specific information (and clues if the user isn't present) when trying to identify any problem?

Very important! The more specific you can be in identifying what's not working, the easier it will be for you to understand why it's not working and how to fix it