Quick Troubleshooting Techniques

The most common complaint

When I handle service calls, they end up with me training the user on how to work with the computer rather than actual repair jobs. That's because many beginners have problems due to a lack of training and immediately jump to the conclusion that the computer is broken. Here are a few of the most common complaints, which I try to handle over the phone on the first call:

* "What happened to my taskbar?" Often what happens, the user has accidentally resized the taskbar to where it's just a thin bar across the bottom of the screen. When I explain how to resize it, that usually corrects the situation.

* "Where's my program!" When I hear this complaint, I find out later the user has accidently deleted a shortcut from the desktop. I just walk the user through re-creating the shortcut.

* "My documents disappeared." The first thing I do is ask the user what program they were in when they noticed this. The usual answer is they are using Word. When they save files they normally see stored files in My Documents folder. Suddenly, they don't see that folder anymore. What apparently happened, someone may have changed the file location that appears in the Open dialog box. The user may not be aware of how to change folders so I give the user a quick lesson on how to change file and folder locations. This does the trick.

* "I unzipped files, now I can't find them." Here, the user used WinZip to extract files but didn't pay attention to the folder where the files were extracted. When this occurs, I merely suggest to the user to unzip the files again and note the location, or use the Search (or Find) command to locate the files if their names are known.

Startup problems

"Computer won't start" is a wide area. The cause can be anything from the monitor being turned off to a bad DLL. Here's a further breakdown with some ideas for troubleshooting each situation.

No video

One of the hardest problems to solve is when you turn your computer on but don't see anything on the screen. It's kind of hard to see error messages when there is no video to look at. Here are some things you can check when you're not getting any video at boot-up:

* Make sure the monitor is plugged in, connected to the PC, and turned on.

* Verify that the computer is plugged in and turned on. Also, make sure all connectors are in place.

* The PC's power supply fan should be working, and the drives should be spinning.

* Sometimes, a reversed hard disk cable or improper drive jumper can prevent video from appearing on-screen. Disconnect all the drives except the floppy and then add the other drives back in, one at a time, until you see something appear on the screen.

* Remove the cover. Is the CPU fan working? Can you tell if there is something definitely wrong, like burnt wires, or a burnt section of the board?

* Make sure the video card is firmly seated. If it's a PCI card, try placing it in a different slot.

* Remove all circuit boards, drives, etc. so you're left with only the motherboard, CPU (with fan), memory, keyboard, and video card. Restart the system to see if the video displays. If you see video, start adding pieces back in, until you find the problem.

Windows won't start

Suppose you get video, and your BIOS kicks in, but Windows won't start. The problem could be many things. To find the solution, check out these potential causes:

* Make sure the hard disk that contains the Windows OS is functional.

* If Windows is installed on a different drive than the boot drive, make sure the boot drive is functional too.

* If Windows begins to start but then hangs, a specific driver or DLL is probably causing the problem. Try starting Windows in Safe Mode. If Windows starts then, there is a driver that is faulty. Then re-start the computer and do a step-by-step confirmation. Make a note of the last line that appeared on-screen before the hang. Then, start in Safe Mode again and remove the program that is causing the problem or use MSCONFIG, the System Configuration Utility, to exclude that item from startup.

* If Windows locks up at the point where video mode kicks in - that is, after the splash screen but before you see the mouse pointer - an invalid video mode has probably been chosen. Start in Safe Mode and change the video to the default mode (VGA). Then re-boot the system.

Windows starts but with errors

Sometimes, an error will appear during Windows startup that allows you to press a key to continue. Then, startup completes normally. Some users ignore such error messages and that's certainly one option, but it's better to get rid of the error.

Such errors are typically caused by a corrupted or missing DLL. For example, suppose a user installed network drives but disabled the network. When Windows starts up, it will look for the network DLL files to load. If those files are not present, then the computer will stop showing the file that is causing the error. In this case, for some reason, the Registry never got the message to delete those DLL's and now it still tries to load them. To correct the problem, make a note of the missing or corrupt DLL file, go into the Registry, and delete those entries. Then re-boot the machine. .

Windows crashes, freezes, or show the blue screen of death

Suppose Windows starts normally but then starts crashing, freezing, or giving serious error messages shortly afterward. This can be most annoying when trying to get Windows to run properly. It can mean many different things. Try the following to diagnose and fix the problem:

* Run ScanDisk (or Check Disk in Windows XP). This will fix most problems end users have with Windows.

* Check for signs of overheating. Random lockups that start several minutes after you start up the PC are often the result of the processor cooling fan not doing its job. Overheating can also result from missing back plates behind expansion slots or from operating the PC with the cover off.

* If you get a Blue Screen error that reports a problem with a specific memory address and it's the same every time, use a diagnostic program to check the RAM for errors. Bad memory could cause Windows problems. Also a virus program sometimes causes these types of errors by refusing to release memory after checking it.

* Try to determine whether the error is the result of a specific action, such as launching a particular program. If it is, see the following section on "Problems with a specific program."

* Check for viruses. It's worth the few minutes it takes to do this, but make sure you have updated the virus definitions first.

* If you can get to the Internet, try using Windows Update to see whether there are any new patches available.

* Check the Microsoft Knowledge Base to see whether there are any known issues that could be causing the problem.

* Reinstall Windows. The quickest way to do this is to reinstall over the top of the existing copy; then you don't have to reinstall any applications. If that doesn't solve the problem, try installing Windows into a different folder.

Difficulties with a specific program

If a problem occurs only when starting or using a specific program, here are some things to check:

* Verify that the shortcut you're using to start the program points to the correct file. If you have upgraded to a new version of the program, this may be where your problem lies. The shortcut might still point to the previous version.

* Run the Disk Defragmenter.

* Turn off any programs running in the background, particularly antivirus programs.

* Before launching the program you are experiencing problems with, use the Task Manager (or the End Program dialog box in Windows 9x/Me) to see whether there are any programs not responding.

* Disable as many of the programs that load at startup as possible and then restart the computer. Then, try running the application again. If that doesn't help, try running the application in Safe Mode. If it works, you at least know the program itself is okay and the problem is being caused by a conflict with something loading at startup.

* If the program doesn't work in Safe Mode, try uninstalling and reinstalling it.

Connection problems

I frequently see problems involving Internet connections. Modems seem to give end users a great deal of trouble. Here are some ideas for troubleshooting both modem and network-based connections:

Network connections

In an environment where Internet access is provided through the network, verify the following:

* Can this computer view other computers/servers on the network?

* Can other computers in the same workgroup or domain access the Internet? If so, you know the problem is localized to this PC only. Try running the Internet Connection Wizard in Windows to refresh the settings.

On a small-office-based PC, network Internet access might exist with a cable or DSL connection. In such situations, here's the best way t oresolve these problems:

* Check the documentation or setup kit for the cable or DSL service to see whether a specific IP address or computer name must be used. With my cable service, for example, it works only if I specify a certain computer name.

* Turn off the cable or DSL modem, wait a few seconds, and turn it back on again. It should reset itself. On most models, you can tell it has been reset because a row of lights will illuminate. If you can't get it to reset, the problem lies with the network, not with your PC.

* Run the Internet Connection Wizard in Windows (going through Internet Properties in the Control Panel is one way to do this) and make sure Windows knows you intend to connect through a LAN rather than through a dial-up.

* If you have both a dial-up connection and a LAN-based one and are plagued by constant Connect dialog boxes popping up when you are already connected via LAN, go to the Connection tab in Internet Properties and make sure Never Dial A Connection is selected.

Modem connections

Here are some tips for troubleshooting a modem problem:

* Check the modem. To do so, use the Diagnostics (or More Info) in the Modems properties of Control Panel.

* Make sure the correct driver is loaded for the modem. Remove the modem from the Modems properties or from the Device Manager and let Windows redetect it. Also, make sure the driver you are using was designed for your OS version.

* Check the phone line by plugging a telephone directly into it to see if you get a dial tone.

* Make sure that you don't have the line and phone cables reversed if the modem has two plugs in the back.

* If line noise is a problem or you experience slow connection speeds, have the phone company check the line.

* If the modem won't stay connected to your ISP or online service, wait 24 hours and try again. ISPs have intermittent connection problems that resolve themselves after awhile.

These are just some of the techniques I use to help resolve customer complaints. If you have similar problems this list may be of help to you. Use this lists as a quick reference tool to track down and fix some of the problems your users encounter.

Harry is a freelance writer, computer consultant, and Internet marketer. His writing projects include ghostwriting, copywriting, web site content, DTP, editing, and technical writing. His computer consulting work includes installation, setup, and troubleshooting computer systems. His credits include articles for Internet Day, Internet World, Advertising Today, Advertising Age, L-Advertising, Computer Edge, and a host of others. Harry recently published a book on computer repair and copywriting. You can check out his samples and what he offers at his site by going to http://www.writeformedia.com/portfolio.htm.

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