How to Troubleshoot Network Hardware

Router

Network hardware is sometimes tricky to troubleshoot because you cannot always access it the same as a regular computer interface. You will have to narrow down the problem by trial and error and then you will have a much better chance of figuring out the problem.

Instructions

1. Verify it is not a connection issue. Make sure the connection to the outside network or Internet is working. Contact the outside network or your ISP to see if your service is working properly. Check the connection to make sure it is fully connected. Disconnect and reconnect to be sure.

2. Shut down and restart the hardware. Shut down the computers on the network and restart them. Some consumer network hardware has a small pinhole reset button. Attempt to reset the hardware as well.

3. Remove one piece of the network hardware at a time, trying to access the network with the least amount of hardware necessary. Each time you take a piece of hardware away try to access the network. This will help you resolve where the problem is coming from or eliminate the hardware as a problem.

4. Go to the hardware manufacturer's website and look for known issues. There will be a FAQ or troubleshooting section. Look for your problem there or contact the support team. You may want to see if there is an updated driver or software that can be downloaded from the site.

References

• Henry Amon; Information Systems Specialist; Salisbury, Maryland