Some Basic PC/Laptop Troubleshooting tips

Para po sa mga shop owners para po hindi tayo need mag tawag para sa mga simple PC problems natin.

- Sometimes a good restart is all it needs to get it magically fixed. Turn it off, then turn it back on.

-Isolate the problem by ensuring it is either from the hardware side or software side

- Note that most software problems will only persist after POST. Meaning, if you can enter the bios and you are detecting every hardware components, the problem is likely to be software sided. However, this is not always 100% of the case as certain hardware like storage devices/memory problems might let you boot successfully with problems persisting upon boot up.

- On the contrary, most hardware problems on the other hand will persist even before POST. One common example is a line on your monitor. If it persist even during POST or even inside bios setup, you most likely have a defective monitor/screen.

-Once isolated, you have to figure out what is causing the particular software/hardware problem through the process of elimination. Here are some things to do:

*Hardware
a. Check if all cables are properly connected.
b. Try reseating components/parts
c. If you are able to boot to windows, look at your device manager to see any misbehaving components. Most of them will have a yellow ? beside them if windows found some errors for the particular part.
d.Some problems can be narrowed down further as different parts have different functions such as a garbage image most likely mean a defective graphic card or screen, a distorted sound might mean a failing speaker, random crashes with error messages might mean a bad RAM.
PROTIP: A system which have a combination of many different symptoms doesnt necessarily mean all parts are either broken or defective, it most likely have a defective power supply.
e. Once you are sure about the particular defective part, select your best option whether to have the part repaired of get it replaced.

*Software
a. The most common software problem that you may encounter will most likely be one of the following
- Unsuccessful/Broken windows update
- Misbehaving driver
- Virus/Malware

b. Try booting to windows. If you arent able to boot to windows, the problem might be because your OS broke. Windows 10 has a built in feature to reset your windows without affecting your files. It will automatically ask you to try to reset windows after failing to boot 3 times. Select the option which is best for you, either to complety erase everything or keep your files intact.

c. If you are able to boot to windows, before trying to update any drivers, check your newly installed programs. What were your recently installed programs before the problems happened? If you have forgotten what you've installed, check your control panel and check for newly added programs. It will list all your recent installations. Uninstall those you might suspect to be the culprit.

d. If you dont have any recent installation, it might be possible that there was a recent windows update that was not completed successfully messing up your drivers. Run windows update and let it do its thing.

e. If the problem persist even after updating windows, check your device manager and look for the particular hardware that might correspond to your problem. Try updating the drivers here, or rolling it back if it has been updated recently.

f. System slow downs and crashes might also be caused by a virus. There are many ways to remove viruses and I would let you choose how you deal with it. I personally use either ESET NOD32 or Malwarebytes (free)

g. If all else fails, a windows refresh/reformat should be your last call. Before proceeding with this, ask yourself if you have done everything else!

- Write down the steps that you have already taken. This prevents you for repeating troubleshooting steps and makes it easier to isolate problems. Take note of the system behavior for every step you make.

- Lastly, Google is your friend. Error messages, general faulty behavior, weird unintended operation, Search for them over the web. google them out as there would likely be someone having the same problem and most of the time, solutions are already posted.

-If the problem you are having is not answered, or for some reason you already did tried everything and everything else fails, that might be the proper time to post your problems.
 

amadjo01

Member
Para po sa mga shop owners para po hindi tayo need mag tawag para sa mga simple PC problems natin.

- Sometimes a good restart is all it needs to get it magically fixed. Turn it off, then turn it back on.

-Isolate the problem by ensuring it is either from the hardware side or software side

- Note that most software problems will only persist after POST. Meaning, if you can enter the bios and you are detecting every hardware components, the problem is likely to be software sided. However, this is not always 100% of the case as certain hardware like storage devices/memory problems might let you boot successfully with problems persisting upon boot up.

- On the contrary, most hardware problems on the other hand will persist even before POST. One common example is a line on your monitor. If it persist even during POST or even inside bios setup, you most likely have a defective monitor/screen.

-Once isolated, you have to figure out what is causing the particular software/hardware problem through the process of elimination. Here are some things to do:

*Hardware
a. Check if all cables are properly connected.
b. Try reseating components/parts
c. If you are able to boot to windows, look at your device manager to see any misbehaving components. Most of them will have a yellow ? beside them if windows found some errors for the particular part.
d.Some problems can be narrowed down further as different parts have different functions such as a garbage image most likely mean a defective graphic card or screen, a distorted sound might mean a failing speaker, random crashes with error messages might mean a bad RAM.
PROTIP: A system which have a combination of many different symptoms doesnt necessarily mean all parts are either broken or defective, it most likely have a defective power supply.
e. Once you are sure about the particular defective part, select your best option whether to have the part repaired of get it replaced.

*Software
a. The most common software problem that you may encounter will most likely be one of the following
- Unsuccessful/Broken windows update
- Misbehaving driver
- Virus/Malware

b. Try booting to windows. If you arent able to boot to windows, the problem might be because your OS broke. Windows 10 has a built in feature to reset your windows without affecting your files. It will automatically ask you to try to reset windows after failing to boot 3 times. Select the option which is best for you, either to complety erase everything or keep your files intact.

c. If you are able to boot to windows, before trying to update any drivers, check your newly installed programs. What were your recently installed programs before the problems happened? If you have forgotten what you've installed, check your control panel and check for newly added programs. It will list all your recent installations. Uninstall those you might suspect to be the culprit.

d. If you dont have any recent installation, it might be possible that there was a recent windows update that was not completed successfully messing up your drivers. Run windows update and let it do its thing.

e. If the problem persist even after updating windows, check your device manager and look for the particular hardware that might correspond to your problem. Try updating the drivers here, or rolling it back if it has been updated recently.

f. System slow downs and crashes might also be caused by a virus. There are many ways to remove viruses and I would let you choose how you deal with it. I personally use either ESET NOD32 or Malwarebytes (free)

g. If all else fails, a windows refresh/reformat should be your last call. Before proceeding with this, ask yourself if you have done everything else!

- Write down the steps that you have already taken. This prevents you for repeating troubleshooting steps and makes it easier to isolate problems. Take note of the system behavior for every step you make.

- Lastly, Google is your friend. Error messages, general faulty behavior, weird unintended operation, Search for them over the web. google them out as there would likely be someone having the same problem and most of the time, solutions are already posted.

-If the problem you are having is not answered, or for some reason you already did tried everything and everything else fails, that might be the proper time to post your problems.

Something worth sharing....
 
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