Basic Troubleshooting of your computer

Diy-Computer-Repair can help!

You will find more Troubleshooting techniques in the Self Computer Repair Unleashed! Manual.

Troubleshooting is an art, it is not an exact science.

Some experts will say that to trouble shoot a problem you have to have the education, training, and experience in the profession. Ummmm, no I don't think so. You can recognize a problem with your car, you air conditioning, the wife's washing machine, etc. You can tell if the impeller in the washing machine isn't turning, if it isn't turning it isn't agitating the clothes to clean them. So there is a problem between the motor and the impeller. You call an expert in washing machine repair and they fix it. Troubleshooting, you go through your day and do it all the time, troubleshooting is just problem resolving. The difference is that the problem resolving is with mechanical items not humans.

Troubleshooting (TS) is like a tree, at the top is the problem, each branch has a yes or  a no. Yes will take you in one direction, a no will take you in another.

So you need a few tools in that TS tool box.

Where to begin?

Before going off to find the bad part, think for a minute, did you change anything on the computer? Software? Hardware? If not then proceed. If you changed something try to put it back the way it was then if the problem persists proceed.

Well first is common sense, then there is the logical sequence, then there is the actual dang! I figured it out! So follow the sequence of TS down the tree.

So common sense stuff:

The first question is: Did you change anything since the last time it was running?

No - go to power problems.

Yes - go to installing devices.

Power problems:

Is there power to the receptacle that the compute uses?

Is the computer plugged in? Both the receptacle and the computer power supply, remember that the power cord is removable from the computer.

We have power, did it start?

Yes - Done!

No - go to other problems

Installing devices, have you installed any new hardware?

Yes -  go to installing new hardware.

No -  go to power supply Troubleshooting

Other problems:

If you have power and the computer powers up (the power led is glowing) but there is a lack of activity (i.e.: nothing on the screen) or you get a blinking cursor and nothing else then we move on to the No Start section.

No Start - Blank or Blue Screen

Or maybe you get the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSD) this is a diagnostic screen that Microsoft uses to tell you the general area of the problem that cause your computer to not start or crash.

BSD - Non System Disk Error

Or you see this "non system disk error" this could be a hard drive failure, a corrupt hard drive, or a virus infecting the hard drive.

HD failure -

These are the main problems you will run into, there are others that are caused by installing hardware or software. So with some common sense, a little logic, and a step by step sequence of events you can fix that computer!

Down load this Free Computer Repair Eight Part Checklist save it to your hard drive, print it out when you do your repair. Send your friends here for their copy!

XP Registry problems -Click Here!

If you have a piece of hardware and can not find a driver for it try this resource:

Q and A This site contains a lot of information. As with any publication not all information is available due to space, time, or subject constraints. If you have a question that you did not find the answer on this web site  you a can ask your question here and we will endeavor to get you the most up to date answer possible!

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