TROUBLESHOOTING COMPUTERS

OBJECTIVES
 Common computer problems
 Causes of common computer
problems
 Solutions to common computer
problems
Definition of troubleshooting
computers
Troubleshooting is the process of diagnosing and
resolving computer problems

Types of computer problems

 Hardware computer problems
 Software computer problems
Common computer hardware problems

The following are the common computer hardware problems

1. No power

2. Power supply unit failure

3. Computer boot failure

4. Motherboard, or Processor failure

5. Overheating

6. Unexpected shutdown of computer

7. No display on monitor

8. Not recognizing peripheral devices or external storage devices

9. Keyboard and mouse failure

10. No sound output

No power
This is a situation whereby a computer is not receiving power

Indications
 No power light shown

 Computer fail turn own

Causes
 Loose connection

 Power supply failure

Troubleshooting
1. Check power outlet by connecting another device to verify if it working

2. Inspect power cable for damage

3. Ensure firm connection of power cable from power outlet to power supply

4. If the problem persist, Replace power supply with a good one

1. Power supply unit failure

Power supply is a device that receives electric current from

socket, convert it for usage .

Causes of Power supply failure

The failure of power supply is caused by

 Power surge

 Overheating
Ways of tracing power supply unit failure
The following are ways of tracing that power supply has a problem
 Computer not showing power light

 Computer not turning on

 Unexpected reboot or shutdown

Solutions to power supply failure

The following are some of the ways to resolve power supply problems

1. Check if power supply is properly connected to socket or UPS

2. Check if power supply is set to the right power rating

3. Check if the power supply is properly connected to the

motherboard and other components

4. Replace the power supply with a new one if the problem persists
NOTE: Do not repair the power supply because it may cause serious body harm
2. Computer boot failure
This is a situation where by the computer is unable to load
Operating System

Causes of boot failure

 Improper BIOS/UEFI configuration such as boot order
priority, Secure boot and Storage controller (AHCI/IDE)
 BIOS Power on Self-Test (POST) error. This checks healthy
status of all hardware components, if one has a problem
boot process stop or terminated
 Hardware connection problems such as RAM,
Ways of tracing boot failure
The following are some of the indications computer boot
failure
 The computer emits series of beeps on boot up

 Computer turn on but display nothing

 Failure of the computer to load Operating System

 Hanging process on booting up OS

 Display error message such as Disk boot failure for HDD

error or Memory not detected for RAM
 Display error codes like code 120 for Motherboard problem,
162 for Processor, error code starting with 2 indicate RAM
problems and those that start with 3 indicate Keyboard
 Disconnect new devices from the computer like printer,
Flash disk etc
 Replace dead hardware devices like HDD, RAM, CPU, Power
supply etc
 Ensure that hardware components are well connected to
the motherboard like Power supply and hard disk drive
Solutions to boot failure
Improper BIOS configuration

1. Enter the BIOS an make necessary changes to solve the issue like priotise the drive with

OS in boot order

2. Reset the BIOS to default settings

3. Clear the CMOS if BIOS is not accessible

POST errors

 Pay attention to error message displayed or beeps produced then fix as suggested below
BEEP CODES
ERROR MESSAGES No Beeps:
CMOS Battery Failure  Power supply or motherboard failure.
 Replace the CMOS battery.
One Short Beep:
No Boot Device Found  System is booting correctly (varies by manufacturer).
 Check and reseat storage devices,
Continuous Beeps:
 ensure correct boot order.
 Power supply, motherboard, or RAM issue.
Memory Error
One Long, Two Short Beeps:
 Check and reseat RAM,
 Graphics card problem.
 Test with known good modules.
One Long, Three Short Beeps:
CPU Error
 Keyboard error.
 Ensure CPU is properly installed,
 Other Patterns:
check for bent pins
 Refer to the motherboard manual for specific beep codes
 Motherboard, or Processor failure

Motherboard coordinates all components of a computer while

Processor tell all components what do. Failure of one of them is a

serious problem.

Causes

Overheating, short circuit, electric surge

Ways of tracing them

Incomplete POST

Displaying red light instead of green light

Shutdown few seconds after being turned on

Ways of Resolving it

Replace bad motherboard or Processor with a new one

 Computer Overheat

This is a situation where by a computer become too hot to affect its

operations

Causes

Dust, fun failure, lack of enough ventilation

Indication

Feeling hot, computer slow down, unexpected shutdown

Ways of resolving overheating

 Make sure computers are free from dust by covering them when not

in use and the room should be always clean.

 Remove the dust with a blower

 Replace the faulty fun with new one

 Ensure that heat sink is working well by putting new heat paste on
 Unexpected shutdown
This is a situation whereby a computer turn off without user
attention

Causes

Overheating and power supply problem

Indication

Turning off

Ways of resolving it
 Diagnoses the problem in POST

 Ensure that heat sink system is work fine

 No Display
This is a situation whereby a monitor is unable to display things

Indication of no display
Monitor display nothing

Causes of no display problem

Faulty cable, Loose connection, RAM failure, Display drivers issues, Graphic card

failure, Dead monitor

Ways of troubleshooting no display

1. Move the mouse or click any keyboard button to wake it from sleep

2. Make sure the monitor is plugged in power outlet cable and turned on

3. Check whether the monitor is properly plugged to the VGA or HDMI port

4. Reset and reseat the RAM

5. Connect to an external or another monitor to see if there's a display output

6. Try booting into safe mode to address potential driver issues

7. Perform a static discharge by holding the power button for 30 seconds with the
Not recognizing peripheral devices or external
storage devices
This is the situation whereby external connected devices are not

recognized by the computer.

Causes

 Loose connection

 Incompatible drivers

 Faulty device

Indications

 Failure of the device to function

Solutions

1. Ensure proper connection

2. Install relevant drivers

3. Update drivers
 No sound output
Components that make up a computer audio system are Sound controller, Speakers

and device derivers.

Causes
 Muted sound or low volume

 Improper connection

 Corrupt or outdated sound drivers

 Faulty speakers

 Dead or missing sound card

Solutions
1. Ensure that the speakers are properly connected to power outlet and to sound

interface card

2. Unmute or adjust the system volume

3. Update sound adapter drivers

4. Open the computer to inspect if the sound adapter card is properly plugged
 Computer software problems

1. Operating System missing

2. Operating System crashes (BSOD)

3. Computer system slowdown

4. Corrupted System registry

5. Windows protection error

6. System hanging
 Operating System missing

This is a problem whereby the POST detects that the computer do not have Operating
system.

Indications
• Error message “missing operating system”
• Failure to load OS

Causes
• Incorrect boot order in BIOS
• OS not installed

Ways of troubleshooting
• Proper boot order configuration in BIOS
• Install the Operating System (OS) using the OS recovery disk.
• If the OS is installed, then there may be a problem with the boot sector of the
hard disk drive, then restart the computer to repair OS using system recovery disk
Operating System crashes (BSOD
This is a situation where the Computer system turn blue screen od death

unexpectedly

Indication
 Blue screen

Causes
 Malware or viruses

 Corrupted system file

Troubleshooting
1. Use system repair feature to restore missing or corrupt files

2. Enter the computer through safe mode to reverse the action that

caused the problem or to scan for viruses

 Computer system slowdown
This is a situation whereby the speed of computer slows down.

Causes
 Lack of enough space in C drive

 Virus attack

Solutions
1. Make sure that the drive where OS is installed have enough

free space

2. Regular Disk clean up

3. Use of updated antiviruses

 Corrupted System registry
• Registry is the database that keeps record of all system and application software

installed on the computer.

Indications

 computer fail to boot.

 Malfunctioning of the computer

Causes

 Malware or corrupted system registry files.

To troubleshoot problems relating to corrupted registry, try the following;

1. Repair the registry using emergency recovery disk or restore the registry

backup if you created one. If all these fail reinstall the operating system.

2. If the system can start in safe mode, locate the malfunctioning device in the

device manager and disable it.

 Windows protection error

They are displayed during startup before the desktop is displayed.

It occurs when critical Windows drivers fails to load.

• To deal with this problem do the following;

1. Restart the computer in safe mode as outlined above. If

windows does not load, use the recovery disk to repair the

operating system.

2. Using the recovery disk, repair the operating system by

paying attention to details.

 System hanging (not responding)
Non-responding system is also known as hanging which refers to when a

computer has failed to respond to commands.;

Causes

 Viruses

 Corrupt drivers

 Resource Exhaustion

To resolve the problem, do one of the following

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL keys to display the task manager.

2. In the task manager window, click the process tab, and then select

the non-responding process e.g. explore.exe.

3. Click END Process button to terminate the application.

 Printer- related problems
A printer is an output device used to produce hardcopies. To

troubleshoot printer related problems you need to know how

the printer works and how to set it up.

Some of the printer related problems are;

• I/O Print error

• Paper jam

• Poor printout

• Toner/ink Cartridge problem

I/O Print error

• It occurs due to poor communication between the computer and the printer. To

resolve the problem ensure that the correct printer is selected and turned on. If fails

the re-install the printer drivers.

2. Paper jam

• It is caused due to use of poor quality paper, when the printer is ever loaded with

paper or using too light or too heavy paper. Jams stop the current print process to

resolve gently remove the paper jam.

3. Poor printout

• It is caused by use of poor quality ink or toner or laser drum/head, to resolve by

replacing the ink, toner and laser drum/head. Quality can also be affected by

machine print process. Garbage is produced due to poor communication problem

between the computer and printer. To resolve make sure that the appropriate drivers
4. Toner/ink Cartridge problem

• It can be resolved by replacing or refilling the toner/ink. Make sure the

toner is tested to avoid possibility of using faulty cartridge.

5. Smudged Printout

• With dot matrix check the printer head to resolve the problem. With

laser printer replace the drum. With ink jet printers avoid touching the

printout before it dry. Try the following to solve smudged problem:

1. In case of a dot matrix printer, replace the print head. If doesn’t solve the

problem, it could indicate worn-out printer head or poor ink ribbon the

replace the head or ribbon.

2. For laser printers, consult the user-guide that may be helpful in locating the

problem especially relating to the fuser. A fuser is a sensitive component that

gets very hot it is advisable for it to be handled by an experienced