GCF: 15 Basic Troubleshooting Techniques

What is one of the most effective troubleshooting techniques with computers?

• Clicking the mouse many times
• Restarting the computer
• Changing several connections at once to see if the problem disappears
• Calling someone knowledgeable before you attempt anything yourself

Which is NOT a good reason to write down the steps you take in your troubleshooting?

• To provide information to inform the helpdesk if you have to escalate
• To prove to someone that you are tech savvy
• Provide a record in case the same thing happens again
• To undo certain steps in case you made the problem worse

Why would you check the cables as an early step in troubleshooting?

• Cables are very sensitive to damage and have a high failure rate
• Cables are the most expensive parts of the computer system
• Cable connections can become loose over time with movement/use.
• It takes a long time and high expertise to check cables

Why would you take a photo of, or write down, a typical error message?

• You can generally decipher the meaning if you just read them carefully
• You can impress your friends and parents with your expertise
• You shouldn't bother because most of them don't make any sense to the average user
• You might be able to Google it and get some help

What is meant by "the process of elimination"?

• Randomly changing multiple things until the problem goes away
• Systematically changing one thing at a time or swapping with "known good" setups
• Rebooting the computer or powering off/on
• Calling the help desk in the process to eliminate frustration

If there suddenly are no lights on the computer and monitor, what is the most likely cause?

• The surge protector is off or not plugged in
• The monitor is not turned on
• The computer power supply is burned out
• The monitor and computer are both not plugged in

What would you not see via the Task Manager (Ctl+Alt+Delete) when checking for a slow or frozen application?

• The number of processes running on the computer.
• The names of the processes running on the computer.
• The amount of memory and cpu being used by the processes.
• Amount of free disc space available on your hard drive.

On the Apple Mac computers, one way to unfreeze a computer would be:

• Enter Windows Task Manger and cancel various programs.
• Open the Force Quit Applications & Relaunch Finder
• Reformat your disc drive.
• Hold down the Apple Mac Command key and disconnect the network.

If everything else is OK, but there is no image on the monitor, what is probably the problem?

• The keyboard and mouse have been disconnected.
• The computer has a hard disc crash.
• Your software isn't updated.
• The monitor cable or power cable has worked loose.

Under most circumstances, of the following, what's the worst thing you could do?

• Unplug the computer without shutting it down?
• Format the hard drive without a backup?
• Download a virus or malware?
• Drop the computer on the carpet about 1/2 inche?