Troubleshooting and Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies. Dan Gookin
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СКАЧАТЬ choose Restart. And, if the problem persists after that, you can try choosing Shut Down instead of Restart, but at that point the solution most likely involves more troubleshooting than just restarting the system.

      ❯❯ The reason you wait a few seconds after turning off a computer (or any piece of technology) is to avoid a rapid off–on cycle. Turning the power off and then back on again immediately can damage the electronics.

      ❯❯ The restart is also the most common solution to fix Internet issues: Restart the modem, the router (or gateway), or both. See Book 2, Chapter 8 for details.

      ❯❯ To restart a USB peripheral, unplug the USB cable and then reconnect it. For USB-powered peripherals, disconnect both the power supply and USB cable, and then reconnect them in any order.

      ❯❯

Restarting a computer to fix a problem has become such a common metaphor that the technique frequently appears in media as a general solution to fix any problem. For example, “Turn off Congress and turn it on again.” This delightful development proves how worthy the simple trick can be.

Restarting a stubborn PC or laptop

      If the computer doesn’t obey your directions to sign out, restart, or shut down, you must resort to more drastic measures. Though it’s emotionally satisfying to yank the device’s power cord from the wall, I recommend a more reasoned approach.

      Follow these steps to turn off a stubborn computer, such as a laptop:

      1. Press and hold the power button.

      2. Keep holding the button until the device turns itself off.

      You might have to wait several seconds. Be patient.

      These steps are reliable; I’ve yet to encounter a gizmo that didn’t obey my forced shutdown command. If so, you have a few choices.

      If a desktop PC refuses to obey the press-and-hold technique, you can unplug the cord. Alternatively, you can use the secret power supply on–off switch, which is located behind most desktop model PCs.

      For a stubborn laptop, you can try evicting the battery from the case, though not every laptop features a removable battery. In that instance, you can continue to press and hold the power button or simply set aside the laptop and wait for the battery to die.

      ❯❯

You don’t need to press hard on the power button. The button isn’t touch-sensitive, so the electronics aren’t thinking, “Man! She’s pressing down hard. She must really want me to turn off now!”

      ❯❯ Normally, the press-and-hold technique fixes the problem. If not, you may want to check for an update to the computer’s firmware. Specifically, you’re looking for any issues with the power supply management driver, also called an Advanced Power Management (APM) driver.

      ❯❯ See Book 2, Chapter 4 for more information on power management issues; PC shutdown snags are covered in Book 2, Chapter 9.

Running a troubleshooter

      If Windows still has a pulse, you can get it to help you troubleshoot some common issues. And if Windows doesn’t have a pulse, you can keep reading the rest of this book, which covers specific pulse-less Windows issues.

      The key to getting Windows to help you is to locate one of several troubleshooters. These are software tools that help you discover problems and find solutions.

      To view the gamut of troubleshooters offered by Windows, obey these steps:

      1. Tap the Windows key on the keyboard.

      The Start menu pops up.

      2. Type troubleshooting

      You need to type only the first part of the word. As you type, matching programs appear. The one you’re looking for is Troubleshooting, Control Panel.

      3. Choose the top item: Troubleshooting, Control Panel.

      The Control Panel opens, displaying a list of troubleshooters.

      To proceed with troubleshooting, chose an item on the screen. For example, if your PC is having audio input issues, choose the item Troubleshoot Audio Recording. Then work through the steps presented in the troubleshooting wizard.

      ❯❯ If a troubleshooter fails, see Book 2 for information on troubleshooting specific hardware issues.

      ❯❯ I confess that the troubleshooters are effective only a small number of times. The most successful one I’ve used is the Connect to the Internet troubleshooter, which can reset the network adapter and often resolve some local network connection issues.

Repairing a program

      Some programs, such as the applications in the Microsoft Office suite, can fix themselves. So, whenever you have issues specific to a program, you can follow these steps to see whether the program has self-repair capabilities:

      1. Press Win+I to bring up the Settings app.

      2. Choose the System tile.

      3. On the left side of the window, choose Apps & Features.

      4. Select the app you want to repair.

      Scroll through the list, and then click on an app to select it.

      After clicking on the app, you see two buttons: Modify and Uninstall. The Modify button is enabled when you repair the program. If it’s disabled, you have to explore other troubleshooting options.

      5. Click the Modify button.

      6. If you see a User Account Control warning, click the Yes button to proceed.

      7. If prompted, choose the Repair option.

Some programs display the Application Maintenance dialog box, like the one shown in Figure 2-2. If you see such a dialog box, click Repair, as illustrated in the figure.

       FIGURE 2-2: Repairing a program.

      At this point, you continue running a version of the application’s installation or setup program. What happens next depends on the program.

      As an example, to repair Microsoft Office, you choose that item in the Settings app and click the Modify button, as described in this section’s steps. Choose Quick Repair and click the Repair button to proceed. Follow the steps on the screen as the repair utility does its job.

      ❯❯

Not every program features a repair utility. If so, the Modify button (refer to Step 5) is disabled.

      ❯❯ To repair a Microsoft Office application, such as Word or Excel, you choose the Microsoft Office item in the Settings app.

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