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Chapter 24

Chapter 24. Troubleshooting and Maintenance Fundamentals. You Will Learn…. About your role as a PC technician in troubleshooting and maintenance, and tools available to help you in those roles How to approach a troubleshooting problem

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Chapter 24

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  1. Chapter 24 Troubleshooting and Maintenance Fundamentals

  2. You Will Learn… • About your role as a PC technician in troubleshooting and maintenance, and tools available to help you in those roles • How to approach a troubleshooting problem • How to develop a preventive maintenance plan and what to include in it

  3. Troubleshooting Perspectives • PC support technician • PC service technician • Bench technician • Help-desk technician

  4. Essential Troubleshooting Tools • Bootable rescue disk for any OS you might work on (may need several) • Ground bracelet and/or ground mat • Screwdrivers (flat-head, Phillips-head or cross-head, Torx set, particularly size T15) • Tweezers, preferable insulated • Chip extractor and a spring-loaded extractor

  5. Multimeter Needle-nose pliers Flashlight AC outlet ground tester Small cups or bags Antistatic bags Pen and paper Diagnostic cards and software Utility software Virus detection software on disks Useful Troubleshooting Tools

  6. Bootable Rescue Disk • Can boot the PC even when the hard drive fails • Ensures cleanest boot possible

  7. Diagnostic Cards and Software • POST diagnostic cards • Diagnostic software • General-purpose utility software

  8. POST Diagnostic Cards • Discover and report computer errors and conflicts at POST • Examples: • Amber Debug Card (Phoenix Technologies) • PCI Error Testing/Debug Card (Trigen Industries) • POSTcard V3 (Unicore Software, Inc.) • Post Code Master (MSD, Inc.) • POSTmortem Diagnostics Card (System Optimization, Inc.)

  9. Diagnostic Software • Identifies hardware problems • Examples: • PC-Technician (Windsor Technologies, Inc.) • PC-Diagnosys (Windsor Technologies, Inc.)

  10. General-Purpose Utility Software • Diagnoses problems • Repairs and maintains software on a PC • Recovers corrupted or deleted data on hard drive or floppy disks • Provides security • Monitors system performance • Downloads software updates from Internet

  11. General-Purpose Utility Software

  12. Fundamental Rules for Troubleshooting • Make backups before making changes • Approach the problem systematically • Isolate the problem; eliminate unnecessary hardware and software • Don’t overlook the obvious • Check simple things first • Make no assumptions continued…

  13. Fundamental Rules for Troubleshooting • Become a researcher • Write things down • Reboot and start over • Establish priorities • Keep your cool and don’t rush • Don’t assume the worst • Know your starting point

  14. Gathering Information • Interacting with the user • Investigating the problem on the computer • Isolating the problem • Intermittent problems

  15. Interacting with the User • Ask questions with diplomacy • Find out exactly what happened when the computer stopped working • Consider yourself a guest when working at the user’s desk

  16. Guidelines for Workingwith a User • Don’t take drastic action before asking the user about data that may not be backed up • Provide alternatives before making decisions for the user • Protect confidentiality of data on the PC • Don’t disparage user’s choice of hardware or software • If you make a mistake or must pass the problem on to someone with more expertise, be honest

  17. Investigating the Problemon the Computer • What OS is installed? • What physical components are installed – processor, expansion cards, drives, peripheral devices? PC connected to network? • What is the nature of the problem – occur before or after boot? Any error messages? Does the system hang? • Can you duplicate the problem?

  18. Isolating the Problem • Consider the possibilities • Eliminate simple things first • Eliminate the unnecessary • Trade good for suspected bad • Trade suspected bad for good

  19. Intermittent Problems • More challenging • Look for patterns or clues • Keep a log of when problems occur and exactly what error messages appear

  20. Preventive Maintenance • Goals • Reduce likelihood that events that cause PC failures will occur • Lessen the damage if they do occur • Make and implement a preventive maintenance plan to help prevent failures and reduce repair costs and downtime • Develop a disaster recovery plan to manage failures when they occur

  21. When a PC Is Your Permanent Responsibility • Organize hard drive boot directory • Create rescue disks • Document all setup changes, problems, and solutions • Record setup data • Take practical precautions to protect software and data • Back up original software • Back up data on the hard drive

  22. A Preventive Maintenance Plan continued…

  23. A Preventive Maintenance Plan

  24. Moving Equipment • Back up hard drive • Remove removable disks, tape cartridges, or CDs from drives • Turn off power to PC and devices • Disconnect power cords and external devices • Label cable connections • Coil all cords and secure them • Pack in original shipping cartons • Purchase insurance

  25. Disposing of Used Equipment

  26. Disposing of Used Equipment

  27. Fire Extinguishers • Mount a fire extinguisher for Class C fires (ignited and heated by electricity) near your workbench, but not directly over it • Know how to use the fire extinguisher

  28. Chapter Summary • Common-sense guidelines to solving computer problems • Avoid making situation worse by damaging equipment, software, or data, or by placing undue stress on users • Follow safety precautions

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