PC Troubleshooting

Adult Ed 2009
 Outline
„ Session I OMG – What Just Happened?
„ Session II Minor Issues & Annoyances
„ Session
S i III P
Preventative
i Maintenance
M i
„ Session IV Final Words

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 Going to the Doctor/Mechanic
1
1. Prevent
2. Diagnose
3. Treat
T
4. Prognosis
5. Go to step 1

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 OMG!! – What Happened?
„ Somethingg Happened
pp
„ People tend to blame themselves “what did I do?”

„ Why it may NOT be your Fault!

„ Programming Error
(Possible but unikely)
„ Program/Application error
„ Conflict
„ Hardware/Configuration
g Error
„ Virus, Malware et al…
„ Social Networking/engineering

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 We need to know the
‘Nature of the Beast’
„ Let’ss look at a typical machine
Let
Look Outside
Hardware

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Look inside
Hardware

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Look inside
Motherboard

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What Goes Where

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More Stuff

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Why it could be your fault…

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Is It Any Wonder?

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Is It Any Wonder?

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Is It Any Wonder?

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Is It Any Wonder?

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 How Old is Your PC
Age against Crash
„ Tired
„ Business – 3 years worth the $$
„ Home –many years
„ What ill go 1st ???
Wh will
HD
L ik e lih o o d

„ Mouse
„ Keyboard
„ Monitor
„ Who knows???
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 „ Economies of scale
Years

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Hard Drive Issues
„ How it works
„ Odd effects
„ System crashes
„ Programs
Crash
„ Noises
„ Backup
„ Check the Drive
„ Replace ASAP

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 HD made simple
„ Partition
„ MBR
Master Boot Record
„ FAT
„ Fat32 works like a book
„ NTFS works like a bigger book

„ Sectors & Segments

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 Cosmic Rays

"Cosmic ray induced computer crashes have occurred and are

expected
p to increase with frequency
q as devices (for example,
p
transistors) decrease in size in chips. This problem is
projected to become a major limiter of computer reliability in
the next decade.
decade " Intel 2007
 PEBKAK
(basically it IS your fault)

„ Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair

„ YOU Installed something
„ You did something different/New These add
„ Installed software/virus/malware/etc… complexity to a
„ Installed hardware… (adding Hardware complex system
installs Software
„ Or uninstalled hardware/software
„ Location/heat/environment
„ Etc…
„ There could be an incompatibility
„ win 9x, win XP, win ME, Vista etc….
„ Soft are - updates
Software pdates
„ Always make a note of what you do…. (use notepad)
„ Research the software/hardware BEFORE you install
„ Restoring your machine…

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 Still could be your Fault…
„ Did you Deleted something…
„ Only delete files that you create
„ Use the Application’s
pp uninstall routine
„ Use the Control Panel’s Add/Remove option

„ To Recover…. ‘tech-
‘tech
tech-speak
speak’
„ “May have to reinstall the OS” LAST RESORT
„ “Restore the Partition”

„ Did you NOT do something…

„ Updates

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 Things you can
delete safely
„ All Files in My Documents
„ All files that YOU create
„ C
Create a ffolder
ld called
ll d Download
D l d fil
files
„ Internet files

„ Cookies & Temporary Internet files

„ Temp Files, Wall paper, media, old programs (using

add
dd remove))

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Session Two

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Recap
 So…What can you do?
„ Backup - Backup - Backup - Backup - Backup
„ DON’T PANIC

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Recent Survey
Users fail to spot
p fake p
pop-ups
p p

Internet users are unable to distinguish between genuine pop-up warnings messages and false
ones, a study at North Carolina State University has found.

The study examined the responses of undergraduates to messages which popped up while they
did other tasks on a PC. Seeing the pop-ups as a mere annoyance the majority clicked 'OK'.

Fake pop-ups are a well-known vehicle for cyber-criminals to install harmful software on PCs.

"This study demonstrates how easy it is to fool people on the web," said co-author Michael
Wogalter professor of psychology at North Carolina State University
Wogalter, University.

"Be suspicious when things pop up. Don't click OK - close the box instead," said Dr Wogalter.“

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Most Common Cause
of computer issues…
issues
 Things to do first
„ SIMPLE Precautions
„ Use IE7 and enable all features
„ Do not Disable options
„ Use protection Software
„ Scan for:
„ SpyWare/AdWare
„ Windows Defender
„ AVG--Spyware
AVG
„ Viruses
„ AVG
„ Symantec
y
„ Trend
„ Housecalls
„ Microsoft Online
 Things to Try
„ Hardware or Software „ Software
„ Hardware „ CTRL+Z (undo)
„ Check all connections - including Wireless „ ESC
„ Be at one with your machine – Listen to it „ Working without a mouse
„ Check the keyboard „ Don’t Let go of the mouse
„ Restart – Fixes MANY issues button make use of
„ Shut Down – save all open files No Entry
„ If mouse is dead CTRL+ESC „ Document
„ Power off – 5 sec (last resort)
„ When you restart you may get:
„ Windows did not shut down correctly
„ Check Disk
„ M start iin SSafe
May f MMode**
d **

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 Things to Try cont…
„ Depending on the problem:
„ Software
„ Update
„ Make sure you are updating ALL your apps
„ Antivirus
„ Microsoft Critical Updates
„ Driver Updates
„ Hardware
„ Check all connections – Moisture – Dust – Blocked
Vents – Heat – Fans – Environment - Bugsg

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Places to Look ~ Things to Try
„ Drive Properties
„ D i C:
Drive C
„ Task Manager
„ What’s going on NOW
„ D i manager
Device
„ What Hardware do I have
„ System Info
„ Everything you want to know
„ Computer Manager
„ Log files
„ Manufacturer’s Help/Support
„ Tray Icon
„ RegEdit
g – handle with care & ONLY if told to

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 Disk Properties
„ Open
p Myy Computer
p
„ Right Click Drive C: and click Properties

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 Task Manager
„ CTRL+Alt+Delete

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Device Manager

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 System Info
„ Office
„ Help about
System Info
„ Or Start -> Run
msinfo32

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Computer Manager

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Computer Manager cont…

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 Manufacturers Diagnostics
„ Your computer may come with tools

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 The 5 R
R’ss
„ Recycle – dig into the trash
„ Remove – hardware/software/drivers
„ R i
Reinstall
ll - hardware/software/drivers
h d / f /d i
(may need to uninstall first) Add-
Add-remove
„ Restore – Create a restore Point
Shadow Copy (Vista)
„ Recover – Recovery Console (for the pro or at least an informed geek)

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 Tech Support
„ Know when to call for help…
help
„ Who owns the problem?
„ Ask around – try some things

„ Can you replicate the issue?

„ Collect
C ll t iinfo
f – lots
l t off it – document
d t
„ Then Look for and/or Get Help

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 Tech Support cont…
„ Company
p y Websites
„ Tag #

„ Google
„ Web links Suggest a Fix & Techguy
„ Company Forums Dell Microsoft
„ Online Support Microsoft Infinisol
„ Online Chat/help (Better than you might think)
„ E-mail
„ support@infinisol.com or http://infinisol.com/support
„ Remote help – Meeting space in Vista

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 User Accounts
„ Create multiple accounts
„ Super administrator
„ Administrator

„ Restricted User

„ Guest
G t Account
A t

I
Important to lilimit
i access….
„ Troubleshooting Minor Annoyances
„ What’s Slowing My Machine?
„ Install
I ll & U
Uninstalling
i lli SStuff
ff C
Correctly
l
„ Programs to Help
„ Included (free)
„ 3rd Party(free
y( & $$))

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THE END
 Be aware…
Beware…
Be careful…
careful
Be secure…

Screen Captures showing what to look for….

Update & Protect

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Document

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BSOD

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Internet Files

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Add Remove Option

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Application Uninstall

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 Bad Day
„ Computer glitch affects L.A. teacher pay
„ Bad file leads to airport delays*
„ Computer glitches halt London trading
„ Netflix back on track after outage
„ C p t r woes slow
Computer l Mars
M r craft
r ft
„ Patient’s turned away after computer glitch
„ Students to retake online test due to glitches
„ Glitch billed Visa cardholder over and over
„ Computer glitches delay sales of new iPhone
„ Computer glitch delays online tax filing in Canada*
„ Microsoft's XP SP3 Patch Fixes
Fi es Anti-Virus
Anti Vir s Glitch*
„ E-Mail Hacked
„ Princeton students hack Diebold Voting Machine
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