This tab is mainly for ICT teachers to learn and maintain the computer laboratories in schools. I would like to share my knowledge and tips as I used to be a Communications Engineer before I became a teacher.
Whether you’re a novice or an expert PC technician, we’ve all had an experience when a PC would not boot. There’s no worse feeling than pushing the power button on the front of a new machine and hearing absolutely nothing. Here, I will focus on some of the common problems and help to reduce the computer troubleshooting time when diagnosing problems with your computer.
Ten tips to keep your computer running smoothly
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BIOS beep codes
You will often receive a BIOS beep code when there is a hardware issue with the PC. Refer to the BIOS beep code chart when diagnosing beep code errors. This will often lead you quickly to the source of the hardware problem.
Power Supply Failure
When a PC will not boot, a good place to start is the power supply. Is the machine getting power? If there is no fan activity at the rear of the power supply, then the power supply isn’t working. First, check the wall socket and power strip to make sure power is actually being supplied to the computer. If there is power to the outlet, confirm that the | / O lever in the back is set to |. Then confirm that the voltage is set 220V – 240V. If you have a voltmeter, you might want to consider testing the power supply. Refer to the link below to learn how to connect the voltmeter.
Click here to know more about how to connect the voltmeter to the power supply
STOP error (Blue Screen)
A STOP error, also called a Blue Screen of Death, will appear when an error is so serious that Windows must stop completely.
STOP errors are usually hardware or driver related. Troubleshooting a STOP error could take as long as several hours depending on the STOP error.
Here’s How:
1. The most important STOP error troubleshooting step you can take is to ask yourself what you just did.
Did you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, update a driver, install an update, etc.? If so, there’s a very good chance that the change you made caused the STOP error.
Undo the change you made and test for the blue screen. Depending on what change you made, some solutions might include:
· Startup with Last Known Good Configuration to undo recent registry and driver changes.
· Use System Restore to undo recent system changes.
· Rollback device driver to version prior to your driver update.
2. Verify that a minimum amount of free space is available on your Windows partition. STOP messages and other serious issues, like data corruption, can occur if there’s not enough free space on your primary partition used for the Windows operating system.
Note: Microsoft recommends that you maintain at least 100MB of free space but I regularly see problems with free space that low. I usually advise Windows users to keep at least 5% of a drive’s capacity free at all times.
3. Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause STOP errors, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.
Important: Make sure your virus scanning software is completely up to date and that it’s configured to scan the MBR and boot sector.
4. Apply all available Windows service packs and other updates. Microsoft regularly releases patches and service packs for their operating systems that may contain fixes for the cause of your STOP error.
5. Update drivers for your hardware. Most STOP messages are hardware and driver related so updated drivers could fix the cause of the STOP error.
6. Check the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for errors or warnings that might provide more clues on the cause of the STOP error.
7. Return hardware settings to default in Device Manager. Unless you have a specific reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default hardware settings have been known to cause STOP errors.
8. Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including STOP errors.
Note: If you’ve made several customizations to your BIOS settings and don’t wish to load the default ones then at least try returning clock speed, voltage settings, and BIOS memory options to their default settings and see if that fixes the STOP error.
9. Update your BIOS. In some situations, and outdated BIOS could cause a STOP error due to certain incompatibilities.
10. Make sure all internal cables, cards, and other components are installed and seated properly. Hardware that’s not firmly in place can cause a STOP error so try reseating the following and then test for the STOP message again:
· Reseat all internal data and power cables.
· Reseat the memory modules.
11. Perform diagnostic tests on all hardware you’re able to test. It’s highly likely that the root cause of any given STOP error is a failing piece of hardware:
12. Start your PC with essential hardware only. A useful troubleshooting step in many situations, including STOP errors, is to start your computer with the minimum hardware necessary to run the operating system. If your computer starts successfully it proves that one of the removed hardware devices was the cause of the STOP message.
Tip: Typically, the only necessary hardware for starting your PC through to the operating system includes the motherboard, CPU, RAM, primary hard drive, keyboard, video card, and monitor.
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