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As a CompTIA A+ professional, having strong troubleshooting skills is essential to effectively address common PC issues. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of troubleshooting and provide you with valuable techniques to become a master troubleshooter. From hardware and software problems to network connectivity and user-related issues, we will cover it all.

Understanding the Troubleshooting Process:

To begin, it is crucial to approach troubleshooting systematically. We emphasize the significance of documentation and tracking to streamline future troubleshooting efforts.  Each organization should be using some sort of expert database, to document and share knowledge gained from past troubleshooting for future troubleshooting, and to share knowledge between technicians.

Basic Hardware Troubleshooting Techniques:

Hardware issues can often disrupt PC functionality. We will discuss common hardware problems such as power supply failure, RAM issues, and connectivity problems. By using diagnostic tools and techniques, you can effectively diagnose and resolve hardware-related issues. 

If a device won’t power on, a great small item that can be used to test if the socket is providing power is an electrician's wiring tester.  These are found in all home stores, and are small and durable.  The power for them is provided from the outlet itself.

You can also purchase a power supply tester that will confirm that the motherboard is getting all the correct voltages.  Example Device This will help you know if the power supply is out of spec even if it is turning on.

At this point you’ll want to check for beep codes/numeric error codes on the mother board.  This will allow you identify any reported errors and resolve them.  This may require an internet search to find the beep/numeric codes for that specific motherboard, but these are often standard for manufacturers. 

Once you are able to power up the device, it’s good to ensure that devices are running properly.  RAM tests are often built into the operating system, and most major PC manufacturers have diagnostic utilities that are free to use. 

You’ll also want to make sure that you are using the most current device drivers, and update bios where needed.

A loopback tool (Example Device) can be used to confirm that network ports and cables are operating properly.

Software and Operating System Troubleshooting:

Software-related issues, such as slow performance, software crashes, and driver problems, can significantly impact PC usability.  Over time we’ve found there is a good way to find and resolve any software issues on your windows device. 

The first step we typically take is going through the basic hardware checklist.  Make sure that hardware is functioning properly. 

The next step is to ensure that there has been no damage to your hard drive file system.  This is done with a simple chkdsk /scan from an administrative command prompt.  If damage is detected, you’ll need to  occasionally run a chkdsk /scan /f to fix the device the next time it is rebooted. 

Once you’ve managed to repair your file system, it is time to make sure that your operating system repository is healthy.  Again from the administrative command prompt you’ll want to run dism /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth.  It is interesting to note that there are three levels to the DISM command:  Checkhealth – this only looks in the event log for damage,  Scanhealth – this checks for, but does not repair any damage found, and restorehealth.  Each of them is slower than the last.  We always select scan, so that we know as quickly as possible if a restore is required.

Once the repository is healthy, you’ll want to make sure that any operating system files that weren’t repaired by the restore function are fixed.  Typically we reboot after the restore function, but we have found in some cases running the restore, and then immediately running the sfc /scannow command can repair damage that corrupts the operating system repository on shutdown.  One of these two approaches should allow you to get your operating system healthy.

At this point you’ll want to shift your focus to the device drivers.  Sometimes a damaged device driver will be fixed by a reinstall of the driver.  Sometimes, you’ll need an updated driver.

If the damage is too extensive, it may be faster to simply reimage/reset the device.  Remember your time is money, you want to provide the best value, and often that is a device reset in more challenging to identify situations.  However before a complete reset our final step will be to check the event viewer to see if there is something obvious that is causing the problem.  For servers or other multi-user devices, we’ll often drill down into the event log in detail to make every effort to avoid effecting the end users. For a workstation however, that rarely makes sense.  Better to have a spare device you can deploy temporarily to the end user to get them up and running quickly and then run the maintenance on the device at your leisure. 

In some cases spinning up a cloud PC and testing software there can be used to eliminate software issues, as you know in the cloud pc you won’t have driver or hardware issues to deal with.  That can be left running until a new device that is confirmed to work can be provided to the end user.

Network Connectivity and Internet Troubleshooting:

Network connectivity issues and internet problems can cause frustration for users. NIC cards are so cheap for workstations now days, it is a good idea to have a few low profile NIC cards you can use to troubleshoot these sorts of situations.  If you drop the new NIC in and have a perfect connection, you know that the issue is likely related to the NIC card.  If it still has the issues, you know it is likely operating system software or network related. 

If you are working with a work from home user, you’ll want them to power cycle their home router.  It’s widely known that almost all consumer grade routers have known security flaws and are easily hacked.  Power cycling a router will clear any undesirable items that only live in memory, and deal with any potential cosmic ray issues or memory leaks. 

While network troubleshooting can be very involved now days with VLANS, managed switches, routers, and the array of security layers now involved, it is beyond the scope of this blog post to delve into more complex networking troubleshooting.  But the phrase “it’s always DNS”, is part of the meme universe for IT for a reason.

Malware and Security Issues:

In today's digital landscape, addressing malware and security-related problems is vital. But it is also a large part of the complexity and challenges we face in IT.  When dealing with any issues that appears to be software or network related, it can be a helpful troubleshooting step to shut down any client level security software briefly to determine if it is causing the undesirable behavior. Especially if the issue is related to a specific workstation.

User-Related Issues and Customer Service Skills:

User-related issues, including errors and misunderstandings, are common challenges faced by IT professionals.  Often as IT professionals we make assumptions about basic knowledge and skills that don’t hold true.  Make sure that things are plugged in, and the sockets have power.  Make sure that the monitor is on.  These are part of the troubleshooting process for a reason.  While it is true that user issues can be some of the most time consuming and frustrating items to troubleshoot, a well-trained user is the best tool in our belt.  Part of working with users should be helping them to be a well trained user.  IT is no longer a single department game, it is a company game.  And the sooner we realize that these end users are part of our team, the more effective the entire company becomes. 

Mastering troubleshooting techniques is paramount for CompTIA A+ professionals. By following a systematic approach, understanding hardware and software troubleshooting, resolving network and internet connectivity issues, addressing malware and security concerns, and refining user-related skills, you can become a proficient troubleshooter. Remember to practice and apply these techniques in real-world scenarios to continuously improve your troubleshooting abilities. Your expertise will prove invaluable in providing effective IT support and ensuring smooth operations for your organization or clients.