PC101-Personal
Computer 101
What are the
basic steps in troubleshooting a HW
or SW problem?
(1) First of all, if you receive any error(s)
messages you need to
write-down the error message(s) and any numbers exactly as it is displayed.
Without this you will make the job of troubleshooting the problem for
yourself or someone else much more difficult! To copy an error message, highlight it
if you can with the left mouse button down, press down the Ctrl key and then C. To paste the
message in a text file, email or ?, hold down the Ctrl key and hit V (if those keys do not work,
use the same letters with the Alt
key).
If the problem was an invalid exception or illegal function
you may
want to just reboot and see if the problem goes away, as the system to
some extent will correct for some errors the first time they occur.
Generally, you may not want to consider you have a
problem unless
the
error occurs 3 times repeatedly. So backup your
critical
user files, and shutdown the system and power it off for a couple
minutes, then reboot and see if the problem has gone (While
the
system is down and powered-off, it would be a good time to open the
case and make sure all the cables and connectors are still connected
properly).
You can use the error message and/or error code number to search vendor databases for known
problems and resolutions. e.g. If suddenly your system
displays an error message that an OS service has unexpectedly
terminated and the system is going to shutdown, there will probably be
an error code number with the message. You could use that number
to search the MS database for what that message means and how to fix
the problem. Your system (XP) comes with a great support utility
called Help and Support Center(click
Start), check it out for considerable
troubleshooting support, specific to your system.
You need to collect as much information specific to the problem
as you can:
- any error messages exactly
as
displayed when displayed (use Scroll Lock or Pause keys
to key message displayed)
- record what you were doing
at
the time, i.e. what program were you
in, and what command you just entered
- what programs you had open at the time
as they might have conflicted
- have you installed any new HW or SW recently?
(could be the cause)
- the system records errors
and you can view them in the Control
Panel / Administrative Tools / Event Viewer. You can
look at the System, Security, Application and AntiVirus log files for
errors
- Look at the Control Panel / System / Hardware /
Device Manager for HW problems
(they will be tagged with a red X or ! mark)
- You can use the Event Viewer
(see below) and System
Monitor (see below) to check
for System and Application warnings and errors, and use the monitor to
view graphically in real-time the usage of your system resources for
problems.
- If the cause is an
application crash, then the XP Dr Watson
utility will display any application crashes and the cause( more on Dr Watson).
If the problem shows up in the Event Viewer then you can click on
the option to search the MS database for the problem. It will
display the cause and what you can do to correct it.
(2) Only make ONE change at a
time and see what that does, otherwise you may never figure out
the cause and/or make the problem worse. Write down what you've
done in detail for future reference.
If you discover a HW problem
in the Device
Manager you can double left click on it and look for the
problem, usually under the General or Resources
tab. Go to the HW vendor for help with resolving the problem with
that device, or the computer vendor if you have support. Vendors
often have Problem/Resolution databases you can search for your
specific problem. Also the built-in MS System
Configuration Utility to help you with HW problems you find
in the Device Manager. Remember, XP keeps track of the prior installed drivers for
all your HW, so you do have the option in the Device Manager to rollback to the
prior device driver.
If its an application
problem,
then it could be in conflict with another application, or maybe its not
compatible with your system HW and/or SW. Make sure the
program is meant to run on your version of the OS. Check the
application installation manual (or box) for
system
requirements for that application to run properly.
If your system is really
hosed,
then remember you can always boot to what is called Safe Mode to uninstall HW or SW
causing a problem or run diagnostics or try fixes. You enter Safe
Mode by Shutting Down with the Restart option and holding down the F8 key while the
system is booting up. Safe Mode starts the system minimally so it
gives you a good chance of getting to the desktop without starting
whatever is causing you problems. Try and remember what you did
last to the system, and that maybe the cause.
Another way to speed troubleshooting is not to allow your
Startup
programs to start with the desktop. You prevent them from
starting by holding down the Shift key
when either the desktop first appears or the display says Loading your
Personal Settings.
If you have a Windows OS then the MS
website can be a great help with troubleshooting and also
keeping your system current with both HW and SW updates, upgrades and
patches.
(3) The problem could be a virus or spyware.
Update
the programs, get off the internet (unplug your phone
connection) and
run the programs to check.
If the problem seems to be related to one specific
component, then it
is time to check the vendor's website for an updated driver.
(4) Bookmark in your browser important web pages (e.g.
MS
Driver download page) and also your HW and SW vendor Support
pages for quick reference (see Links
page)
Sources
of
Troubleshooting Information:
- The manuals that came with your HW and SW
- The Help and Troubleshooting tools in the OS
- The manufacturer of your computer
- The OS Help and Support Center
- The vendor of your HW and SW devices and applications
- Other computer troubleshooting websites like this one
- The Microsoft website
(5) This may sound strange, but try just shutting down, power off, and
wait a couple minutes. Sometimes this fixes problems
by
itself. While your system is powered off, it wouldn't hurt to
open the case and confirm that all the cables are plugged-in firmly.
(6) System
Performance Monitors:
You have built-in System Monitors (prior versions of Windows
have performance tools also) where you can view in
real-time
the usage of your system resources. So, for example, you
can start the System Monitor (Start
/ Settings / Control Panel / Administrative Tools/ Performance)
and then any programs, applications or HW devices that are causing you
problems and see if the cause is lack of available resources.
Something is obviously taking allot of resources when it starts in this
example: the disk usage is high but still OK, the program is
using so much memory it is required to use the disk for a backup (called
paging) which
the yellow
line indicates, and the CPU is at its max. while the program runs.
The other System Monitor is in the Task
Manager, the quickest way to it is to hold down the Shift and Ctrl keys and hit the Esc key.
As you can see the Task Manager
has many functions, including showing User Logins; Networking usage and
Processes and Applications currently running on the system.
However, we are concerned here with the Performance display which gives a quick
overview of the system resources. When you
first display Performance the graphs start displaying CPU and Page File
usage. Below that is shown: physical memory, Kernel (OS),
Commit memory usage and also application activity on the system via
Handles, Threads and total processes. Select the tab Help / Task Manager Help Topics
for information on what all the terms and values mean.
(7) Event Viewer:
Problems, errors and warnings for Applications,
AntiVirus program, Security and the System are stored in event logs for
you. Use Control Panel
/ Administrative Tools / Event Viewer to get the display
below:
From here you can click on the Event Log you want
to log at and see
event entries listed by the time they occurred. To view details
about that event double click on the entry. An example of an
entry is below:
Event
Type:
Error Event
Source:
VSS
Event Category: None
Event ID:
8193
Date:
8/2/2004
Time: 4:52:07 PM
User:
N/A
Computer: KULA1
Description:
Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Unexpected error calling routine
CoCreateInstance.
hr = 0x80040206.
For
more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:0000:
57 52 54 57 52 54 49 43 WRTWRTIC
0008: 32 31 31 33 00 00 00
00 2113....
0010: 57 52 54 57 52 54 49
43 WRTWRTIC
0018: 32 30 37 38 00 00 00
00 2078....
By clicking on the
Help and Support link you can get specific information about the
particular event you are looking at, including links to trying to
resolve errors.
(8) Remember, you can use the F8 Safe Mode option to boot
Safe Mode with a minimal set of drivers loaded. Another
option in the Advanced Options
menu is to boot using the Last
Known Good Configuration, which the last version of your system Registry that had a successful
start-up.
(9) If all else fails you can go back to a
prior Restore Point (XP) where
you did not
have the problem. To access the utility to check for all Restore
Points:
Start / Programs / Accessories /
System Tools / System Restore
You then have the option to look at all Restore Points and load
one. System Restore
is as its name implies, a restore of the System files only. You
need to regularly backup your data files somehow also.
TIP:
Keep records of important information about your
system, you will
thank me if you do it: for more info click here.
TIP:
As a rule (except with severe problems), it is
not a problem unless it has occurred repeatedly three times.
Got questions
you would like answered? Yes
keoni@isp.com