Chapter Three Introduction to Computer Troubleshooting
Welcome to the Machine
Introduction to Computer Troubleshooting
What are the three steps in the computer troubleshooting process?
What do you do if the three steps does not solve your problem?
DON’T PANIC!” When things go wrong remain calm, as most computer problems are a simple fix. Even if it is the rare serious problem, usually your data is still there waiting for you. The computer troubleshooting process at its most basic is gathering information about what is going on, drawing conclusions about the information gathered, and acting on those conclusions to solve the problem. If that does not solve the problem, then we return to the gathering information stage and go through the steps again. You might think of it as a loop which we exit when the problem is solved. At the top of the paragraph, I said that most computer problems are a simple fix and I would like you to keep that in mind as we go through this chapter.
Important Words in this Chapter Cables Memory Simple-to-Complex Connectors Monitor Surge Protector CPU Motherboard System HD (Hard Drive) NIC (Network Card) Troubleshooting Input Devices Power Supply Video Card
Main Troubleshooting Principle
What is the principle on which we base all efficient and effective
troubleshooting?
All efficient and effective
troubleshooting is based on
the principle of proceeding
from the simple-to-the-
complex. Why is this true?
Starting with complex items
first, can cause you to draw
the wrong conclusions. The
complex parts of a computer depend on the simpler things. Drawing wrong conclusions means that you waste time trying to fix and troubleshoot something that is not even the problem. Troubleshooting in a haphazard (i.e. a random, unplanned approach) way often creates additional problems. You can forget what you have examined and what remains to be checked.
What is Simple?
When troubleshooting, what is the simplest or most basic level in a
computer?
Read the green sidebar. Has something similar ever happened to
you?
What two concerns do you have when using a Surge Protector?
When should you replace a surge protector?
What is a simple and safe way to check, or verify, that an electrical
outlet is providing power?
Simple means starting at the most basic level in troubleshooting the system with which you are experiencing problems. The most basic level is cables, connectors, and electrical power. Check to make sure that all cables (i.e. power,
Ethernet, printer, mouse, keyboard, and any other external devices) are plugged securely into their respective ports. Don’t just look at the cables; push on them to make sure that they are pushed completely into the proper jack or socket.
Once when I was still troubleshooting and repairing computers for the RC school system, a teacher had me come to look at her printer, which had quit working.
It would have been easy to go into the printer settings on the computer to try to solve the problem; however, I started at the simple end of things. I checked the printer and power cables. I found the printer cable connected at both ends; however, the power cable was unplugged. I plugged it in and the printer began to work again.
The teacher was plugging several things into a power strip run to the center of the room via an extension cord. Due to a full power strip, she had unplugged the printer and plugged in an overhead projector. When she finished with the overhead projector, she forgot to plug the printer back into the power strip.
With respect to Figure 1 Surge Protector/Power Strip electricity, there are some other considerations. If you plug your computer into a surge protector, “Is the surge protector on?”
Remember too, that surge protectors, by design, protect your computer by sacrificing themselves.
After protecting your computer from one or more surges, the surge protector will cease to work. Many surge protectors have a light in the switch to indicate if they are working. If checking a surge protector that has an indicator light, “Is the indicator light working?” When the light ceases to work (telling you that it is no longer providing surge protection), you should replace the surge protector to continue providing protection to your computer.
When troubleshooting at the local grade schools, the counter on which computers were placed would have stuff stored underneath. Sometimes you needed to know if a computer or monitor was getting power, or if it was just dead. Faced with moving all the stuff under the counter and stirring up dust, I came up with a shortcut.
You have a computer tower and monitor setting on the counter. Plugged into each one is a computer power cable. Suppose the monitor is getting power
(i.e. power light works) and the computer is doing nothing. I would shut the monitor off and exchange the power cables. Unplug the power cable from the back of the computer, unplug the power cable from the back of the monitor, plug the monitor power cable into the computer, and press the computer’s power button. If the computer did come on, I knew that the problem was with power and not the computer itself. That meant
I had to move stuff to get to the power outlet or surge protector under the counter. If changing the cables didn’t make any difference, then you know you have something more than a simple problem.
Note that sometimes you may Figure 2 Wall Power Outlet have a bad power outlet. It can be worthwhile to find something easily movable, for example an electric pencil sharpener or a plug-in calculator, to plug into the wall outlet and insure that the outlet is getting power.
An Introduction to Computer Hardware
What are the four categories, or types, or computer hardware?
Computer hardware is everything that is not software. You might think of hardware as the things that you can physically touch. In this chapter, we break computer hardware into four categories: cabling, input devices, monitors, and the system itself. We discussed cabling earlier in this chapter.
1. Input Devices –
What are the most common computer input devices?
Modern keyboards are all based upon the typewriter. How old is the
typewriter?
For whom are punched cards named?
The most common input devices are keyboards and mice. The idea of a keyboard dates to the time of the American Civil War (i.e. 1860) with the creation of the typewriter. Keyboards were adapted to computer use from the teletype machines used with the telegraph. Around 1930, IBM adapted the Figure 3 Old-Style keyboard to control a keypunch to punch the cards (See Mechanical Typewriter
Figure 4, next page) used as input for early computers. In the 1960s, computers began to appear that could have more than one user at a time. VDTs (i.e. Video
Display Terminals), combining a monochrome monitor and a keyboard, were developed to act as an interface with these computers. There have been many Figure 4 Hollerith Punched Card unsuccessful attempts to replace the keyboard as an input device. I have trouble envisioning a successful replacement for the keyboard or mouse.
As we developed graphically orientated operating systems, the mouse replaced some of the functions of the keyboard. The trackball is actually older than the mouse. It dates back to the early 1950s, developed as part of a top- secret Canadian Navy project. The first trackball used a five-pin bowling ball as the ball! In a sense, a trackball is just a mouse turned on its back. The mouse came along in the early 1960s, in the form of a block of wood with two gear wheels perpendicular to one another. (Douglas Engelbart, the creator of the computer mouse died in July 2013.) It is thought that the name mouse came from the size and the tail (i.e. cable) connecting it to the computer. Xerox refined the mouse and began offering it with their 8010 Information System in 1981. However, this system had few buyers as it sold for over $20,000.
Apple adopted the mouse for its 1983
Lisa computer and computers have Figure 5 Keyboard and Mice Controllers never been the same. There are other, alternate, input devices; however, we will not cover them. If you are interested in knowing more about alternative input devices, ask your teacher or google it.
2. Monitor – What is a monitor? What do users sometimes call their monitor? Figure 6 Flat Screen Monitor
If your computer is an all-in-one or a laptop, then your display is built-in. However, even with the laptop, you usually have the option to add an external monitor. Just as a television displays a signal obtained from satellite, cable, or a I have heard people refer to the monitor as a television. That is not far from the truth. Early personal computers, using a RF modulator as an interface, connected to a television and used it as a monitor. Even now, there are people using a flat-screen television as their monitor.
DVD/VHS player, a computer monitor displays the signal output by a computer’s graphic card.
How much you need to spend for a monitor depends upon your intended use. It is possible to spend over $5,000 for a monitor, but most of us are just fine with something under $300.
3. System -
What does a computer power supply do? What are the three common voltages output by a computer power supply? What is a NIC? What does it do? What does a graphics card do? Who might want to replace their graphics card with a better one? What does the motherboard do? How long does the information found in computer memory (RAM) remain there? How long does the information found in a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) remain there? Why does your teacher think the DVD/CD drive will cease to be used? What is the CPU, what does it do, and why might gamers plan to replace them every couple of years?
a. Power Supply – The power supply is what modulates the electricity from the wall and converts it to 12 volts, 5 volts, and 3.3 volts D.C. for the various hardware components Figure 7 Computer Power Supply found inside the computer case. Electrical work, or capacity to do work, is measured in watts. A power supply has a rating showing how many watts of work it can do. If you start adding graphics cards, additional hard drives, etc. to your system, you should add their wattage together and check to ensure your current power supply can handle the demand. You may need to replace your power supply with one rated for more output. With many computers, you can see the blade of the cooling fan turning from outside the computer when it is on. If you press the computer’s power button and the fan blade does not try to start up, odds are that the power supply is bad. b. Network Cards -
Wired connections plug into the jack on a NIC
(i.e. Network Interface
Card, commonly called a network card). Formerly, the NIC was a separate card that you installed into the computer. Today Figure 9 Computer Network Card (NIC) we find, excepting some special computers, the NIC is an integral part of the computer’s motherboard. Figure 8 Computer Graphics/Video Card c. Graphics Card
(also known as a video card)– The graphics card converts what is going on in the computer to a form that can be displayed on a monitor. Most computers have the graphics processor built into the motherboard. Who might want to add an aftermarket graphics card to their computer? Those using their computer for the following purposes are the primary market for a new video card:
I. video editing, II. photo editing, III. CAD (computer aided design), and IV. gaming.
An after-market video card starts around
$30 and can run over
$1,000. As mentioned Figure 10 VGA Interface on a Video Card earlier, when you add a graphics card you need to make sure that your power supply has a sufficient wattage rating to handle all of the devices in the computer.
d. Motherboard – The motherboard is what brings all the hardware components together. You can think of the traces on the motherboard as roads connecting the various computer hardware parts. What is the difference between a cheap and an expensive motherboard? A more expensive motherboard has extra ports for additional hard drives, USB devices, etc.
It may also have additional slots for memory, extra (or faster) slots for graphics cards, and the ability to handle multiple video cards. Figure 11 Computer Memory (RAM)
e. Memory – Many people compare a computer to the human brain.
Following that train of thought, the computer’s memory is similar to our short-term memory. When the computer memory is no longer receiving
Figure 12 Computer Hard Drive (HD) power, it forgets whatever was last
stored in it. Computer memory
is called RAM (Random Access
Memory).
f. Hard Drive – The HDD
(hard disk drive) is used to store
files and programs when the power to the computer is off. The HDD is like our long-term memories. As people age, our long-term memories begin to fade and we have trouble in bringing things to conscious memory. In a similar manner, after long usage computer HDDs experience problems in recovering what you have stored on them. Eventually they will fail. Thus, the information on a HDD will remain there until you delete it, or the drive fails.
If your hard drive begins making unusual noises, make backups of everything and consider buying a replacement. Common hard drive speeds are 5,200 rpm and 7,500 rpm. In general, a faster hard drive means less time waiting for your programs and data to load.
Up and coming technology in long-term memory is the Solid-State
Drive (SSD). The SSD, sometimes called a Solid State Disk, actually does not contain any disks or other moving parts. Figure 13 OCZ Solid State Drive (SSD) Most SSDs use flash memory. When compared to the HDD, SSDs are quieter, able to access information quicker, and highly resistant to physical shock.
However, multiple power outages more easily damage a SSD when contrasted with a HDD. As I write,
SSDs are more expensive per unit of storage than a HDD. Your author expects, as the use of online storage grows and the price of SSDs declines, that the HDD will disappear.
g. CD/DVD Drive – The CD/DVD drive replaced the floppy diskette.
Just like the diskette, the CD/DVD drive may disappear in a few years. With the drop in price of USB memory, the widespread availability of online storage, and fast download speeds making it feasible to download programs and music, DVD/CD drives are unneeded.
h. CPU – Alongside the memory and hard drive, the CPU is the rest of what makes up the equivalent of the human brain. Calculation takes place here. (If you have a graphics card in the computer, it may have memory and processors to take care of calculations for the graphics. This takes some of the load off the computer’s CPU and memory.) Upon the release of a faster
CPU, the price of prior models usually goes down. Gamers are aware of this and the fact that adding a faster CPU, or one with more cores, speeds
everything up. As result, many gamers will build a system with the idea of
upgrading the CPU in a few years when prices come down.
Conclusion
This chapter has examined basic computer troubleshooting. As you gather information and draw conclusions about how to fix the problem, you proceed from the simplest things to the more complex. We have also introduced the various hardware components of the computer. Our next chapter will introduce some basic concepts to illustrate how a computer network functions.
Appendix
Clip Art and Photo Sources
• Green planet w/ tongue found June 20 2014, at:
http://openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/118849/don_t_panic__da
n_gerhard_01.png • ABC blocks found June 20, 2014, at:
http://www.wpclipart.com/toys/blocks/abc_blocks.jpg
• Computer power supply photo found June 16, 2014 at:
http://www.hpq-parts.com/5188-2622?gclid=CMWhkKyu47sCFYg-
MgodAi0ApQ
• Hollerith Card found June 16, 2014, at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card .
• Font for this chapter is Open Dyslexic. It is available for download at:
http://www.dafont.com/open-dyslexic.font
• All other clipart found in Microsoft Office.
• All other photos supplied by author.
Chapter Questions
The chapter questions are listed below. Scan through them, making sure that you know the answers to each one. If you have problems with any of them, scan back through the chapter and find the answer before you leave.
What are the three steps in the computer troubleshooting process?
What do you do if the three steps does not solve your problem? What is the principle on which we base all efficient and effective troubleshooting?
When troubleshooting, what is the simplest or most basic level in a computer?
What two concerns do you have when using a Surge Protector?
When should you replace a surge protector?
What is a simple and safe way to check, or verify, that an electrical outlet is providing power?
What are the four categories, or types, or computer hardware?
What are the most common computer input devices?
Modern keyboards are all based upon the typewriter. How old is the typewriter?
For whom are punched cards named?
What is a monitor? What do users sometimes call their monitor? What does a computer power supply do? What are the three common voltages output by a computer power supply? What is a NIC? What does it do? What does a graphics card do? Who might want to replace their graphics card with a better one? What does the motherboard do? How long does the information found in computer memory (RAM) remain there? How long does the information found in a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) remain there? Why does your teacher think the DVD/CD drive will cease to be used? What is the CPU, what does it do, and why might gamers plan to replace them every couple of years?