Hardware and Network Troubleshooting

Heating and cooling

Another thing to watch out for is system overheating. This can happen for several reasons: -Power supply fan failure - Auxiliary case fan failure - Inadequate number of fans - Missing or open slot covers - Case isn't tightly closed and screwed in - Location of computer

Network Troubleshooting

Local resources - You might find that a user can't browse the network or map network drives to network shares, or connect to network printers, or access an e-mail server on the LAN. There are lots of examples, but the bottom line is this: if a user can't access local resources, then you need to troubleshoot the network connection. Internet-based resources - If remote resources are not available to a user - for example, websites, VPN connections, and streaming media services - then it could be that the IP configuration (especially the gateway and DNS settings) needs to be inspected and possibly reconfigured. No connectivity - If a user complains of a problem connecting to the network and you verify that there is indeed a problem, check that patch cable first and verify there is a link light. - run ipconfig /all to check the settings Limited and intermittent connectivity - If the problem is limited connectivity, attempt some pings. - run ipconfig /all to check the rest of the IP settings - run an ipconfig /release and /renew if you suspect an issue with obtaining an address from a DHCP server - in a larger environment, if a person can access some networks but not others, you might want to try a tracert to inaccessible networks to see where the problem lies - the tracert program will basically show which router between you and the final destination has failed Slow transfer speeds - The type of Internet connection is going to be the biggest contributor to this. If a user had dial-up and complains about slow transfer speeds, it's time to upgrade! - run netstat -a to see which types of connections the local computer has to the Internet currently Low RF Signal - A low radio frequency signal spells doom for wireless users. The first thing to check is the distance of the computer from the WAP. Make sure the computer is within appropriate range. IP Conflict - An IP conflict message will pop up on the displays of both Windows computers causing the conflict. Usually, the first computer that used the IP address will continue to function, whereas the second computer will not be able to access the network. The second computer will have to be reconfigured to a different IP address and rebooted. Link-local/APIPA address - If a computer is showing an IPv4 link-local address such as 169.254.49.26 when you type ipconfig /all, it generally means that the computer is attempting to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server but is failing to do so. - consider using ipconfig /release and /renew

Troubleshooting Printers

Paper jams or creased paper 1. Turn the printer on and off in the hopes that the printer will clear the jam. This is known as power-cycling the printer. Turn the printer off and unplug it before doing so. 2. Remove paper trays and inspect them for crumpled papers that can be removed by grabbing both ends of the paper firmly and pulling or rotating the rollers to remove it. In general, clear the paper path. 3. Verify that the right paper type is in the printer. If the paper is too thin or thick, it might cause a paper jam. Also, watch for paper that has been exposed to humidity. 4. Check for dirty or cracked rollers. A temporary fix for dirty rubber rollers is to clean them using isopropyl alcohol. A permanent fix is to replace the rollers. 5. Check whether the fusing assembly has overheated. Sometimes the printer just needs time to cool, or perhaps the printer is not in a well enough ventilated area. In uncommon cases, the fuser might have to be replaced. Be sure to unplug the printer and let the printer sit for an hour or so before doing so, due to the high temperatures of the fuser. The fusing assembly can usually be removed by removing a few screws. 6. Finally, check the entire paper path. Duplexing printers (ones that print on both sides of the paper) will have more complicated and longer paper paths, providing more chances for paper to get jammed. Printing blank pages 1. The toner cartridge is empty or has failed. Install a new one. Toner cartridge failures could be associated with the developing and transferring stages of the laser printing process, with the developing stage being more common. 2. The toner cartridge was installed without the sealing tape removed. 3. The transfer corona wire had failed. If the transfer corona wire fails, there will be no positive (opposite) voltage to pull the toner to the paper. Replace the wire. Paper not feeding - Check the type of condition of the paper. Check the rollers (raise humidity if possible). Clean the rollers. Reset the printer. Consider a maintenance kit. Multiple pages are fed in at once - Check whether the separation pad is getting enough traction; it might need to be cleaned. Also check whether paper is too thin; 20 lb. or heavier paper is usually recommended. Error codes - If a specific error is shown on the printer's LCD, read it. It might tell you exactly what the error os and how to fix it (or at least what the error is). On some printers, it displays an error number. Check you printer's documentation to find out what the error means. Out of memory error or low memory error message - Check whether the user's computer is spooling documents. The setting with the least chance of this error is the Start Printing Immediately spool setting. You might also need to restart the Print Spooling service. If a user tries to print a large image, he might need to change settings in the application in which the image was made. In some cases, the printer's RAM might need to be upgraded. Whenever installing RAM to a printer, take all the same precautions you would when working on a PC. No image on printer display - Check whether the printer is in sleep mode (or off altogether). Verify that the printer is plugged in. In rate cases, the internal connector that powers the display might be loose. Vertical lines on page, streaks, smearing, toner not fused to paper - Black lines or streaks (and sometimes faded print) can be caused by a scratch in the laser printer drum or a dirty primary corona wire. Usually, the toner cartridge needs to be replaced. White lines could be cause by a dirty transfer corona wire; this can be cleaned or replaced. Wide white vertical lines can occur when something is stuck to the drum. Smearing can occur if the fusing assembly has failed; in this case, you might also notice toner coming off of the paper easily. If it is an inkjet, one or more ink cartridges might need to be replaced or the printer might need to be calibrated. Faded prints - Replace the ink or toner. Clean ink cartridge head. Also, check the fuser, and increase humidity if necessary. Garbage printout or garbled characters on paper - This can occur due to an incorrect driver. Some technicians like to try "close" drivers. This is not a good ides. Use the exact driver for the exact model of the printer that corresponds to the appropriate version of the operating system. A bad formatter board or printer interface can also be the cause of a garbage printout. These can usually be replaced easily by removing two screws and a cover. Ghosted image - Ghosted images or blurry marks can be a sign that the drum has some king of imperfection or is dirty, especially if the image reappears at equal intervals. Replace the drum (or toner cartridge). Another possibility is that the fuser assembly has been damaged and needs to be replaced. No connectivity - If there is no connectivity, check the following: - The printer is plugged into an AC outlet and is "online." - The printer is securely connected to the local computer or to the network. - The computer has the correct print driver installed. - The printer is shared to the network. - The printer has a properly configured IP address. (This can be checked on the LCD of most networkable laser printers.) - Remote computers have a proper connection over the network to the printer. - The printer is set up as the default printer if necessary. Access denied - If an Access Denied message appears on the screen while attempting to print, the user doesn't have permission to use the printer. You (or the network administrator) will have to give the user account permissions for that particular printer. This message might also be displayed when a person attempts to install a printer without the proper administrative rights. Backed-up print queue - If your printer window shows several documents listed in the queue, but is not currently printing anything, then a document might have stalled and needs to be restarted. Also, the print spooler might need to be restarted within the Services console window, Task Manager, or in the Command Prompt. Color printouts are different (wrong) color from the screen - The printout will always be slightly different from the screen. But if the difference is more noticeable, check the ink or toner cartridges and make sure none of the colors are empty. Verify that the printer is a PostScript-capable printer that can do raster image processing (RIP). If this functionality is not built into the printer, then it might be available as a separate software solution. Multiple failed jobs in logs - Reset the printer, analyze the controlling operating system or print server, clear the print queue, and reconfigure the spooler. Unable to install printer - Check whether the printer is physically connected to the computer or network properly. Check whether it is getting an IP address. In Windows, start the Print Spooler service, and update the driver. (Advanced: Define new printer keys in the registry.)

Mobile Device Touchscreen

Sometimes the touchscreen of a mobile device may become nonresponsive. There are several potential reasons for this: - An application or the OS has failed - The system froze up - The display connection is loose - The display needs to be replaced - User error

Troubleshooting RAID Arrays

Sometimes, hardware RAID arrays will fail. They might stop working or the OS could have trouble finding them. If you see an issue like this, check whether the hard drives are securely connected to the motherboard. Also, if you use a RAID adapter card or external enclosure, and the motherboard also has built-in RAID functionality of its own, make sure you disable the motherboard RAID within the BIOS - it could cause a conflict. Verify that the driver for the RAID device is installed an updated. Finally, check in any of the hard drives or the RAID controller has failed. If a RAID controller built into a motherboard fails, you will have to purchase a RAID adapter card.

Mobile Device Display Troubleshooting

The display might look dim. This could be because the brightness level is too low in the display settings. Or it could be that automatic brightness was enabled and perhaps it doesn't react will in highly lit areas. Or perhaps auto-brightness isn't calibrated properly; perhaps it was initially enabled in a very bright (or very dark) environment.

A user can do the following to increase the lifespan of their battery:

- Avoid draining the battery - Charge the device often, before it gets too low. The more the battery is discharged below 50 percent, and especially below 10 percent, the less shelf life it will have in general. - Conserve power - Set sleep mode to 1 minute or less. Decrease brightness. Disable or remove unnecessary functions and apps. Restart the phone at least once a day to stop any running apps (this is a big power saver). Consider putting the device into airplane mode at night. - Keep the device away from heat sources - Turn off the mobile device when not in use - Don't bang or throw the device - Select protective cases carefully - A protective case is a very good idea, but make sure it has good airflow. Sometimes these cases can envelop the battery, causing it to overheat.

Mobile Device Batteries

- No power, or if a battery won't charge, could be a sign that the battery needs to be replaced, either because it is simply too old and won't hold a charge anymore, or because it is damaged. - A battery issue could also cause a system to "freeze" or lock up, rendering it useless; though a frozen system could also be caused by faulty applications or a problem with the mobile OS or a driver

When troubleshooting video issues, there are a number of things to check, including the following:

Connections - If nothing is showing up on the display, first make sure that the monitor is plugged into the video card properly (and to the correct video port), and then verify whether the monitor is connected to the AC outlet and is powered on. Power cycle the computer, display, and any power protection equipment - Power cycling the equipment can fix all kinds of problems and is an easy solution to implement. Check for an onboard video setting in the UEFI/BIOS - If you install a new video card to a computer that previously used onboard video, always check that the onboard video setting is disabled in the UEFI or BIOS. It can conflict with the new video card. Resolution and refresh settings - If the resolution was set too high or was set to a resolution not supported by the monitor, you might get a distorted image or no image at all. Check the driver - Maybe the driver failed, or perhaps the wrong driver was installed during installation, or maybe an update is necessary. Check the version of DirectX - DirectX is a Windows technology that includes video, animation, and sound components. It helps a computer get more performance out of multimedia, games, and movies. Check the temperature threshold of the video card - High-end video cards are intensely used by gamers and designers, and they can be the hottest component in a computer. Use software to check and repair stuck or dead pixels - When a single pixel fails, it can be irritating. But there are third-party software programs that can be used to identify stuck pixels and possible dead pixels and attempt to fix them. Calibrate the monitor - If you see artifacts (image distortions) or you notice incorrect color patterns, or the display just doesn't seem to look quite as good as it used to, try calibrating the monitor either by resetting it with the OSD or by adjusting the contrast, brightness, and color levels. Use a filter on the monitor - Sometimes a user will complain of eye strain. This might not be a video issue at all; it could be due to glare. Consider using an antiglare filter. Check for newly installed applications - New applications could cause the display to malfunction or stop working altogether. Check the application manufacturer's website for any known hardware compatibility issues. Check inside the computer - I usually leave this for last because it is time- consuming to open the system, unless I have a sneaky suspicion that one of the connections inside the computer is loose.

Troubleshooting Power Supply Issues

Here are several of the issues you might encounter with power supplies: Fan failure - if the fan fails, the power supply needs to be replaced Fuse failure - the proper course of action is to replace the power supply Quick death - if the power supply dies a quick death and provides no power, it might be because of several reasons, ranging from an electrical spike to hardware malfunction - depending on what you sense about the problem, you might decide to just swap out the power supply with a known good one Slow death - if the power supply is dying a slow death and is causing intermittent errors or frequent failure of hard drives and other devices, it could be tough to troubleshoot - if you suspect intermittent issues, first make sure that the power cord is connect securely and then try swapping out the power supply with a known good one

Troubleshooting RAM

Here are some possible symptoms of a RAM issue and corresponding troubleshooting techniques: Computer will not boot/intermittently shuts down - If there is no RAM in the computer, or if the RAM is damaged or not installed securely, it can prevent the computer from doing anything at all. - make sure the RAM is compatible - try reseating the RAM before you attempt to troubleshoot a CPU or motherboard - add RAM if none exists BIOS indicates a memory error - The BIOS can indicate a memory error through a gray message on the screen and a flashing cursor or by beeping. - if the computer has a saved version of the BIOS settings, you can try reverting to them, or you can try loading the BIOS defaults - a BIOS update can be the cure Stop error, aka BSOD or Blue Screen of Death - most of the time, these are due to device driver errors, but they can be associated with a physical fault in memory - if the BSOD happens repeatedly, you want to write down the information you see on the screen and cross-reference it to the Microsoft Support website

Troubleshooting Motherboards

It is uncommon to see a motherboard fail, but if it does, it can be because of a few different things. - First and probably the most common of these rarities are the UEFI/BIOS firmware issues. - Remember that you might need to flash the motherboard's BIOS to the latest version. - Second are the electrostatic discharge (ESD) and other electrical issues. - If you find some intermittent issues (for example, the computer reboots out of nowhere) or you receive random stop errors, also known as Blue Screens of Death (BSODs), ESD could be the culprit. - Swap out the motherboard with a known good one to see of the issue happens again when running through the same processes. - If the issue doesn't recur, chances are the original motherboard is headed for the bit bucket. - And last are manufacturing defects and failed motherboard components. - Printed circuit boards (PCBs), such as motherboards, are mass-produced at high-speeds. - Problems might be found immediately when receiving a motherboard.

Mobile Device Sound

No sound from the speaker? Start with the easy stuff - is the volume muted or turned down? But this id not always easy for some users because of the built-in mixer in most of today's smartphones: there are separate volumes for voice calls, media, notifications, and so on. So even though one volume might be up, another might be down. Going further, perhaps the speaker has been blocked by a protective case that doesn't quite fit right. Or maybe an app simply isn't registering sound correctly or has its own volume or mute option. It's unlikely, but another possibility is that the speaker connection is loose - or the speaker has failed.

Troubleshooting CPUs

The most common issue with a CPU is when it isn't installed properly or securely. This could possibly cause a complete failure when trying to turn on the system. This failure might be accompanied by a series of beeps from the POST. If this happens, always check the power first, just in case- the main power connections and the 8- or 4-pin CPU power connection. Another possibility is that the system will turn on and power will be supplied to the system, but nothing else will happen: no POST, no display (blank screen), and no hard drive activity. In any of these situations, after checking the power, make sure to check the following: - Fan is connected and functional -Check other major components - Heat sink is connected properly - CPU is installed properly Following are a few more possible symptoms of a failing CPU: - Unexplained crashes (shutdowns) during bootup or during use - The system locks after only a short time of use - Voltage is near, at, or above the top end of the allowable range.

Troubleshooting Hard Drives

Ways to prevent hard drive failure: - Turn off the computer when not in use - Clean up the disk - Defragment the drive - Leave at least 10 percent of the drive free - Make sure that high-performance drives have good airflow - Scan the drive with anti-malware Problems you might encounter concerning hard drives: BIOS does not "see" the drive - first, make sure the power cable is firmly connected and oriented properly - next, make sure SATA data cables are sully seated in the ports, and weren't accidentally installed upside down - an OS Not Found error message, or other boot failure, could also be caused by improperly connected drives, or an erroneous BIOS boot order - finally, check if there is a motherboard BIOS update to see the drive Windows does not "see" a second drive - maybe a driver needs to be installed for the drive or for its controller - perhaps the secondary drive needs to be initialized within Disk Management - or it could be that the drive was not partitioned or formatted Slow reaction time - if the system runs slow, it can be because the drive has become fragmented or has been infected with a virus or spyware - analyze and defragment the drive - if you think the drive might be infected, scan the disk with your anti-malware program to quarantine any possible threats Missing files at startup - if you get a message such as BOOTMGR Is Missing, the file needs to be written back to the hard drive Other missing/corrupted files - missing files could be the result of hard drive failure, operating system failure, malware infection, user error, and so on - if this happens more than once, be sure to back up the rest of the data on the drive, and then use the preventive methods mentioned previously, especially defragmenting and scanning for malware Noisy drive/lockups - if your SATA magnetic disk drive starts getting noisy, it's a sure sign of impending drive failure - you can't wait in these situations; you need to connect the drive to another computer immediately and copy the data to a good drive