TROUBLESHOOTING

IS A FORM OFPROBLEM
SOLVING
IT IS A LOGICAL, SYSTEMATIC
SEARCH FOR THE SOURCE OF A
PROBLEM SO THAT IT CAN BE
SOLVED
IS THE PROCESS OF DIAGNOSING
THE SOURCE OF A PROBLEM.
 PRINCIPLE IN
TROUBLESHOOTING
START FROM
THE SIMPLEST
AND THE MOST
PROBABLE
POSSIBLE
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Personal Protective Equipment
PROPER PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO
A SUCCESSFUL WORK. BEFORE YOU
BEGIN, MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE
THE TOOLS YOU WILL NEED, AND
SECURE A CLEAR WELL-LIT
WORKPLACE. GATHER ALL THE
COMPONENTS YOULL BE USING AND
UNPACK THEM AT THE SAME TIME.
ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT
PERSONAL PROTECTION IS ONE OF
 Types of personal protective
devices
1. Anti-static devices
2. Power surge protectors
3. Personal equipment
ELECTRO-STATIC DISCHARGE
(ESD) TOOLS
ANTI-
STATIC
WRIST
STRAP
USED TO
PREVENT
ESD
DAMAGE
TO
COMPUTE
ELECTRO-STATIC DISCHARGE
(ESD) TOOLS
ANTI-
STATIC
MAT
USED TO
STAND ON
OR PLACE
HARDWAR
E ON TO
PREVENT
STATIC
ELECTRICIT
Y FROM
POWER SURGE PROTECTOR
AVR (Automatic
Voltage Regulator) a
device that regulates
the voltage
POWER SURGE PROTECTOR

UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
TROUBLESHOOTIN
G STEPS
 STEP 1. PREPARATION
a) FAMILIARIZE THE SAFETY
RULES AND PROCEDURES
FOR WORKING ON
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.
b) GATHER INFORMATION
REGARDING THE EQUIPMENT
AND THE PROBLEM.
c) UNDERSTAND HOW THE
EQUIPMENT IS DESIGN TO
OPERATE. IT IS MUCH EASIER
 STEP 2. OBSERVATION
a) THROUGH CAREFUL
OBSERVATION AND A LITTLE
BIT OF REASONING, MOST
FAULTS CAN BE IDENTIFIED AS
TO THE ACTUAL COMPONENT
WITH VERY LITTLE TESTING.
b) USE YOUR SENSES: SMELL,
SIGHT, HEARING, FEELING.
c) DO NOT TAKE REPORTED
PROBLEMS AS FACT, ALWAYS
 STEP 3. DEFINE PROBLEM AREA
a) APPLY LOGIC AND
REASONING TO YOUR
OBSERVATIONS TO DETERMINE
THE PROBLEM AREA OF THE
MALFUNCTIONING EQUIPMENT.
b) RULE OUT PARTS OF THE
EQUIPMENT OR CIRCUITRY
THAT ARE OPERATING
PROPERLY AND NOT
CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAUSE
 STEP 3. DEFINE PROBLEM AREA
c) YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO DO
THIS UNTIL YOU ARE LEFT
WITH ONLY THE PART(S)
THAT, IF FAULTY, COULD
CAUSE THE SYMPTOMS THAT
THE EQUIPMENT IS
EXPERIENCING.
 STEP 4. IDENTIFY POSSIBLE CAUSE
a) ONCE THE PROBLEM AREA HAVE
BEEN DEFINED, IT IS NECESSARY TO
IDENTIFY ALL THE POSSIBLE
CAUSES OF THE MALFUNCTION.
THIS TYPICALLY INVOLVES EVERY
COMPONENT IN THE PROBLEM
AREA.
b) DURING THE NEXT STEP YOU WILL
ELIMINATE THOSE WHICH ARE NOT
LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
 STEP 5. DETERMINE MOST
PROBABLE CAUSE
a) IT IS NECESSARY TO
PRIORITIZE EACH ITEM AS TO
THE PROBABILITY OF IT BEING
THE CAUSE OF THE
MALFUNCTION.
b)START BY LOOKING FOR ONE
FAULTY COMPONENT AS THE
CULPRIT.
 STEP 5. DETERMINE MOST
PROBABLE CAUSE
c) FIRST LOOK FOR COMPONENTS
WHICH BURN OUT OR HAVE A
TENDENCY TO WEAR OUT. THE
NEXT MOST LIKELY CAUSES OF
FAILURE ARE COILS, MOTORS,
TRANSFORMERS AND OTHER
DEVICES WITH WINDINGS. THESE
USUALLY GENERATE HEAT AND,
WITH TIME, CAN MALFUNCTION.
 STEP 5. DETERMINE MOST PROBABLE CAUSE

d) CONNECTIONS SHOULD BE YOUR

THIRD CHOICE, ESPECIALLY SCREW
TYPE OR BOLTED TYPE. OVER TIME
THESE CAN LOOSEN AND CAUSE A
HIGH RESISTANCE.
e) FINALLY, YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR IS
DEFECTIVE WIRING. PAY PARTICULAR
ATTENTION TO AREAS WHERE THE WIRE
INSULATION COULD BE DAMAGED
CAUSING SHORT CIRCUITS
 STEP 6. TEST AND REPAIR
a) ONCE YOU HAVE DETERMINED
THE MOST PROBABLE CAUSE,
YOU MUST EITHER PROVE IT TO
BE THE PROBLEM OR RULE IT
OUT.
b) TEST INSTRUMENTS CAN BE
USED TO HELP NARROW THE
PROBLEM AREA AND IDENTIFY
THE PROBLEM COMPONENT
 STEP 6. TEST AND REPAIR
c) ONCE YOU HAVE DETERMINED
THE CAUSE OF THE FAULTY
OPERATION OF THE CIRCUIT
YOU CAN PROCEED TO
REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE
COMPONENT
 STEP 6. TEST AND REPAIR
d) YOU MUST TEST OPERATE ALL
FEATURES OF THE CIRCUIT TO BE
SURE YOU HAVE REPLACED THE
PROPER COMPONENT AND THAT THERE
ARE NO OTHER FAULTS IN THE CIRCUIT.
e) IT CAN BE VERY EMBARRASSING TO
TELL THE CUSTOMER THAT YOU HAVE
REPAIRED THE PROBLEM ONLY TO HAVE
HIM FIND ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH
THE EQUIPMENT JUST AFTER YOU
LEAVE.
 HARDWARE
TROUBLESHOOTING
 COMMON COMPUTER
HARDWARE PROBLEMS
THE COMPUTER WONT START/NO POWER
THE SCREEN IS BLANK
STRANGE NOISES
OVERHEATING
DISK BOOT FAILURE/INSERT SYSTEM DISK
MOUSE DOESNT WORK
KEYBOARD DOESNT WORK
SPEAKER DOESNT WORK
PC UNABLE TO READ FLASH DRIVES
 COMMON COMPUTER
HARDWARE PROBLEMS

CABLES
DISK DRIVES
POWER PROBLEMS
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI)
ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE (ESD)
COMPUTER PARTS
REPLACEMENT
 REPLACING COMPUTER
PARTS AND PERIPHERALS
YOU NEED TO CONSIDER
THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:
COMPATIBILITY OF THE
COMPONENT OR PART
CONSIDER THE
COMPONENT
SPECIFICATION
COMPONENTS FORM
 COMPATIBILITY OF THE
COMPONENT
WHEN REPLACING COMPUTER
PARTS YOU SHOULD CHECK IF
IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR
UNIT. DOUBLE CHECK ON
YOUR COMPUTER MANUAL IF
THE COMPONENT YOU ARE
REPLACING IS COMPATIBLE
OR NOT WITH THE UNIT
BECAUSE THIS MAY LEAD TO
COMPONENT SPECIFICATION

THIS FOCUSES ON THE

SPECIFICATION OF THE
COMPONENT. CHECK IF
THE VOLTAGE RATING,
CURRENT RATING,
MEMORY SIZE AND
FREQUENCY MATCHES
 List of Components Commonly Replaced in a Computer System

FORM FACTOR
THE COMPONENTS
MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED. CHECK IF THE
UNIT YOU ARE TRYING TO
REPAIR OR UPGRADE IS
GENERIC OR BRANDED
UNITS. BRANDED UNITS
HAVE THEIR OWN SET OF
COMPONENTS COMPATIBLE
ONLY TO THEIR UNITS, WHILE
 LIST OF
COMPONENTS
COMMONLY
REPLACED IN A
COMPUTER
SYSTEM
 UPGRADING YOUR
COMPUTER
COMPONENTS
-TO UPGRADE MEANS
TO CHANGE SOME
PARTS WITH FASTER
AND BETTER
PERFORMING ONES.
THESE PARTS MAY
EVEN COST LESS AND
COMMONLY
UPGRADED
COMPUTER
PARTS
 MONITORS- REPLACED
OLD CRT MONITORS TO
NEW LCD or LED
MONITORS.
OPTICAL DRIVES - OLD CD-ROM DRIVES ARE
COMMONLY REPLACED WITH DVD WRITERS.
 HARD DRIVES- SMALL CAPACITY HARD DRIVES ARE
REPLACED WITH FASTER AND HIGH CAPACITY HARD DRIVES.
KEYBOARDS AND MOUSE - KEYBOARDS AND MOUSE ARE
COMMONLY REPLACED WITH OPTICAL MOUSE AND WIRELESS
KEYBOARDS.
 RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) - UPGRADING THE
COMPUTERS RAM SPEEDS UP THE PERFORMANCE OF THE
COMPUTER.

512 2 GB
MB
VIDEO CARDS - UPGRADE COMPUTERS GRAPHICS CARD TO
IMPROVE THE COMPUTERS PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF
GRAPHICS AND GAMES.

512 2 GB
MB
PROCESSOR - REPLACING THE PROCESSORS
INCREASES THE DATA PROCESSING SPEED.
 SOFTWARE
TROUBLESHOOTING
 NTLDR is missing
NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to
restart
Boot: Couldn't find
NTLDR
Please insert another
disk
CAUSES
1.Computer is booting from a
non-bootable source.
(Booting from floppy disk or
non bootable CD/DVD)
2.Computer hard disk drive is
not properly setup in BIOS.
(BIOS misconfiguration due
to battery empty)
3.Corrupt NTLDR and/or
NTDETECT.COM file.
4. New hard disk drive
being added. (Make
sure the hard drive
has no operating
system, or the new
drive is not the 1st
boot device.
5.Corrupt boot sector /
master boot record.
6. Seriously corrupted
version of Windows 2000
or Windows XP.
(software was not
installed correctly, it
needs reinstallation of
WinXP.)
7.Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE
hard disk drive cable.
(make sure that the cable
COMPUTER IS RUNNING SLOW
CAUSES
1. HARD DISK DRIVE IS SHORT
ON AVAILABLE DISK SPACE.
2. DATA CORRUPTION.
(CAUSED BY VIRUS)
3. COMPUTER IS
OVERHEATING.
4. BAD HARDWARE.
WINDOWS RESTARTS
WITHOUT
WARNING
1.Software issue or
error.
2.Hardware issue or
error.
3.Heat related issue.
4.Computer virus.
 COMPUTER TURNS OFF WITHOUT
WARNING
1. Heat related issue.
2. Hardware issue or
error.
3. Computer virus.
4. Issue with operating
system.
5. Other failing
PROBLEMS IN WINDOWS AFTER
INSTALLING NEW SOFTWARE

1.Confliction with other

software installed on the
computer. (Installing a
program that is treated
by the antivirus as risky.
That program will not run
because some part of it is
being deleted by the
2. Issue with
program.
3. Improper
installation or
problems with
installation. (Disk
may be damage
 WHY DO WINDOWS
PROGRAMS STOP
RESPONDING?
1. As a confliction of
software or hardware
resources between two
programs. (Low memory)
2. Lack of system resources
3. Bug or error in the
software or drivers.
 WINDOWS FREEZES OR STOPS
RESPONDING FREQUENTLY
1.Software related issue.
2.Driver related issue.
3.Operating system related
issue.
4.Heat related issue.
5.Hardware issue.
6.Serious issue with
Windows
 WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN A
COMPUTER FREEZES?
This document contains
recommendations on what
to do if the computer
frequently freezes or
completely halts. An easy
way to determine if your
computer is in this
situation is by pressing
the Num Lock button on
 If you're able to get the
light to turn off and on
and are running Microsoft
Windows, press CTRL +
ALT + DEL and attempt to
end task the program.
 Make sure the computer
is really frozen
- Although the above Num
Lock trick is a good
indication on whether or
not the computer is really
frozen, it's still always a
good recommendation to
give the computer at least
 Reboot the computer
- After waiting a minute,
reboot the computer;
it's completely locked
and will not recover.
Keep in mind that all
work being worked on
is going to be lost and
cannot be recovered if
BASIC GAME TROUBLESHOOTING

1. Unable to install the game

2. Error during install
3. Game does not load or has
an error when it attempts
to load
4. Game crashes while being
played
1. Problems with video
2. Problems with sound
3. Problems connecting to
an online game server
In-game help, hints,
walkthroughs, and/or
advice
Other game issues
END
OF
SHO