Troubleshooting and Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies. Dan Gookin
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Название: Troubleshooting and Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies
Автор: Dan Gookin
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
Жанр: Зарубежная образовательная литература
isbn: 9781119378372
isbn:
Software covers the gamut, from the PC’s operating system to programs you install. It also includes the software that controls specific pieces of hardware, which are referred to as drivers.
The best way to avoid issues caused by installing new software is to create a restore point. That way, should problems arise, you can uninstall the software and use the restore point to recover the system’s previous configuration.
❯❯ The good news: Windows automatically creates a restore point whenever you install new software.
❯❯ The bad news: Some older programs may not prompt Windows to create a restore point. And, when you modify settings, a restore point isn’t created.
❯❯ Refer to Book 3, Chapter 5 for details on System Restore. That chapter explains how to manually set a restore point and how to use the System Restore utility to recover from software installation boo-boos.
Major hardware changes most definitely affect a computer system, but keep in mind that when you attach or remove a USB device, you’re also adding and removing hardware. This process may trigger an issue that could occur right away or surface later, but the hardware change is probably the source.
❯❯ Create a restore point before you make hardware changes. Unlike with software installation, you must manually create a restore point before installing new hardware. Refer to Book 3, Chapter 5.
❯❯ The quick fix for bad hardware is to remove it. Sometimes, detaching the bum device fixes the problem, and sometimes not. If software (driver) was installed when you attached the hardware, the software must be uninstalled as well.
❯❯ Ensure that you read the hardware installation directions (or flimsy pamphlet) before you install the device. The directions describe whether you must first install special software. Sometimes, new hardware screws up because you omit that step.
❯❯ If hardware is going to fail, it usually does so within 30 days of installation, which is why most hardware warranties are for 90 days or less. In my experience, hardware that fails generally does so within 72 hours.
❯❯ A power supply (hardware) might fail when overloaded, which goes against the “hardware fails quickly” rule. See Book 2, Chapter 4 for details on the power supply.
❯❯ Unlike software errors, which are consistent, hardware problems can be intermittent. See the later section “Hardware versus Software Problems.”
If you’re like me, you might change settings so often that you forget you do it. The settings could be subtle, from accessing a new Wi-Fi network to changing screen resolution. Any time you change a setting, you alter the computer’s behavior, which could lead to something unusual or unexpected happening.
Most importantly, be on the lookout for User Account Control (UAC) warnings. Any time you change a setting that can affect the entire system, you see such a warning, similar to what’s shown in Figure 1-1.
FIGURE 1-1: A typical UAC warning.
As long as you are making the change, click the Yes button to proceed. If you’re not aware of why the UAC warning would appear, click No. And, if you have a standard-level user account, you must input an administrator password, as shown in the figure.
The point of the UAC is to pay attention! Changing settings can lead to PC trouble. For example, changing the text color to bright green and the text background color to bright green renders text unreadable. The solution is to undo the change.
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❯❯ The best way to undo settings is to run System Restore, though a restore point may not be handy enough to affect the change. See Book 3, Chapter 5 for details.
❯❯ By the way, green-on-green text is a horrid problem that’s difficult to fix. You can select text to view it; selecting highlights the text and makes it readable. For a long-term solution, reboot into safe mode to undo the text setting. See Book 3, Chapter 4 for details on safe mode.
Hardware versus Software Problems
Because a computer system is a combination of hardware and software, any problems you’re going to have will be related to either hardware or software. Yet determining the specific source is an art form. People who troubleshoot computers for a living follow three general rules to diagnose such errors:
❯❯ If the problem is consistent, it’s probably software.
❯❯ If the problem is inconsistent, it’s probably hardware.
❯❯ If the problem is with the PC’s firmware – good luck!
You’re probably used to such ambiguity when it comes to technology, though these three axioms are worthy to follow.
Software problems are predictable. If the Backup program won’t run as scheduled, that’s a consistent issue and the program itself (or the task scheduler) is to blame. If Word always crashes when you try to print, that’s a software issue, not anything to do with the printer.
❯❯ Software issues with a program – bugs – are fixed by the software developer. You can check the developer’s web page for updates and support information, but you cannot resolve the problem on your own, other than to avoid the feature that doesn’t work.
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❯❯ Also refer to Book 2, Chapter 7 for various software solutions.
The most obvious sign that hardware is to blame occurs when the device doesn’t work. In that case, replace it. All hardware on a PC is component-replaceable, so if you need a new power supply, you buy a new one. You can even install it yourself, if you’re handy with a screwdriver and don’t mind risking death by opening the PC case.
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