How to Troubleshoot a Computer

By eHow Computers Editor

Rate: (11 Ratings)

Before calling technical service and paying for "help," take a look at your computer yourself. A little common sense may help you solve simple hardware and software problems.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

  • Computer Tool Kits

Step1
Restart the computer. Many software problems will correct themselves when you do.
Step2
Check your cables. Keyboard not working? Make sure it's plugged in. Mouse not responding? Make sure it's plugged in.
Step3
Check the electric power. Plug a lamp into the same power outlet that's connected to your computer to make sure the outlet is working.
Step4
Make sure the computer and monitor are plugged in.
Step5
Disconnect peripheral devices (such as a printer or external Zip disk) and restart the computer.
Step6
Listen for unusual sounds. Is the cooling fan running? Is the hard drive making noises?
Step7
Look inside the computer for wires that aren't plugged in all the way or other faulty connections.
Step8
Start the computer from an external start-up disk, such as the system software CD that came with your computer.

Tips & Warnings

  • If you do decide to call technical support, write down the exact problem and what you were doing when it occurred. Also note any error messages. Try to replicate the problem if you can.
  • Be as specific as possible when talking to the support person. Example: "Whenever I try to start up my Mac, I see an icon with a little question mark. With my iMac CD, though, the computer boots normally."
  • Computers tend to crash or hang when their hard disks become too full. Free up space by deleting unnecessary files and emptying the Trash or Recycle Bin.
  • Don't zap yourself or your RAM. When working inside the computer, turn the power off but leave the electrical cord plugged into the surge suppressor. Ground yourself by touching the casing of the power supply before touching any of the computer's circuits.

Comments

| View All Comments
Flag This Comment

on 4/14/2008 Please write your own articles. I cannot give assistance for specific problems, also. Thanks.

Flag This Comment

on 4/13/2008 Hi! I'm recently facing a really annoying problem with my pc.
Whenever i connect to the internet and surf, the system just hangs. Nothing responds. So I'll just have to resort to restarting it. But sometimes when I do, I just restarts by itself or just hangs midway again. I've tried reinstalling my OS (XP sp2) and running some antivirus programs like avast! and spyware doctor.

Any suggestions? Or ways i can fix this by myself? I do believe that this can be solved with any technician's help. *sigh*.. My RAM is 256 btw, maybe i should upgrade it?

Need some assistance asap please!!

-sebastian (tek1043@yahoo.com)

Flag This Comment

on 4/13/2008 Hi! I'm recently facing a really annoying problem with my pc.
Whenever i connect to the internet and surf, the system just hangs. Nothing responds. So I'll just have to resort to restarting it. But sometimes when I do, I just restarts by itself or just hangs midway again. I've tried reinstalling my OS (XP sp2) and running some antivirus programs like avast! and spyware doctor.

Any suggestions? Or ways i can fix this by myself? I do believe that this can be solved with any technician's help. *sigh*.. My RAM is 256 btw, maybe i should upgrade it?

Need some assistance asap please!!

-sebastian (tek1043@yahoo.com)

chintan said

Flag This Comment

on 3/8/2008 in my opinion, i think r u explain a good article. this is good article . i got better knowledge from this topic. thx for this topic

liedum said

Flag This Comment

on 12/27/2006 Plz help i have 6 computers but the 2 units is not working. my one problem is the monitor it will open but after a few minutes it will close. plz help. u can email me at liedum@yahoo.com thanks

View All

Post a Comment

POST A COMMENT

Request a New How-To Article

Looking for more How To information? Chances are there’s an eHow member who knows how to do what you’re looking to do. Submit an article request now!

eHow Article:  How to Troubleshoot a Computer

eHow Computers Editor

eHow Computers Editor

Category: Computers

Articles: See my other articles

Related Ads