5.2 Given a scenario, troubleshoot problems related to motherboards, RAM, CPUs, and power. Flashcards
What key boots windows 7 into safe mode?
F8
Unexpected shutdowns are often caused by what things?
What are some appropriate steps to check for this cause?
Excessive heat.
Check heatsinks manually
Check other cooling status with BIOS or an app
High CPU programs are often a cause.
It could also be failing hardware. Event viewer, device manager, and running hardware diagnostics are ways of testing.
Check for recent changes.
Spontaneous lockups/freezes may commonly be caused by what things? What are some things to check?
Check for activity such as status lights, and Ctrl-Alt-Del functionality.
Check for recently updated drivers or OS patches.
Check for low RAM or hard drive space.
Run hardware diagnostics
There often isn’t much information in the event logs for what kind of problems?
lockups/freezes/
unexpected shutdowns
Beeps or other codes during the POST may be a sign of what?
Hardware failure; RAM, motherboard, CPU, etc
Blank screen on BOOT likely signals what?
video problem;
replace video card
check video cables
check BIOS configuration
check for disabled video settings.
If date and time are not accurate, or BIOS settings are not being save after shutdowns, what could be the problem?
Depleted CMOS battery on the motherboard, can replace it.
If there is an incorrect boot, or booting from wrong device, what could you check?
Boot order configuration in BIOS.
Check that device has a valid OS.
Check for removable media in the startup device.
Continuous reboots can be a sign of what?
This might be caused by a bad driver, poorly seated hardware, or bad configuration for your operating system.
Try disabling automatic restarts with system properties or advanced boot options, and reseating RAM/connections/etc.
If a system is continually rebooting (performs some type of startup process, and then begins rebooting all over again) You need to determine…
What stage of the boot process the reboot is occuring;
Are you getting a BIOS screen only, or do you find that you get the operating system splash screen and then find the system is rebooting? Or does it go all the way to the desktop of your operating system to only then reboot the system?
What can pressing F8 during startup allow you to do?
Can boot into safemode, enable boot logging, disabled automatic restart, debugging mode, or start from last known working OS configuration.
One tool you can use to test power issues is…
Multimeter;
Check AC power from socket and DC power in power supply unit inside computer.
If you’re getting no power on self test to a motherboard, the issue could be power supply-related or it might be related to…
a bad motherboard
What is one thing to note about fans when troubleshooting power supply issues?
You can connect fans directly to the power supply, or you may connect them to a fan controller on your motherboard.
If the problem is related to the power supply, we might see lower voltages come off of the power supply, which are enough to turn the fans but not start the motherboard.
The best way to check this is to get your ___ and check all of the different voltages coming from that power supply.
multimeter
If you don’t have good ___ through your computer, then you’ll find that the temperature rises very quickly.
airflow
Most computers these days have sensors that will tell us what the temperature is inside of their computer and the temperature of individual components. You can often see these numbers in your ___, or you can try some third party software to be able to see these.
BIOS
Checking the amount of airflow through your system can be done very quickly just by
putting your hand on the outside of the case, or a visual check to make sure there’s nothing in the way.
If you’re hearing any grinding noises or rattling, then you may want to check and make sure that…
nothing is loose inside of your computer.
If there’s a constant clicking noise coming from your computer, it might be…
hard drive-related, or it might be related to a bad fan.
If you’re hearing a scraping problem, then you may be having a problem with your…
Hard drive.
Make a backup and run a hardware diagnostic.
If you happen to hear a loud pop and smell smoke, then you might have a problem with a…
blown capacitor.
Check for bulging or missing shells of capacitors.
Loud noise
This can be a result of loose hardware or issues with the hard drive.
Intermittent device failure
Hardware is usually responsible for this, in the form of a bad hardware installation, overheated components, hardware going bad, or hardware not fully connected to motherboard.
Fans spin, no power to other devices
This can be caused by a problem with the motherboard. Also check the power supply.
What can Indicator lights tell you?
Indicator lights can inform you of certain problems going on with computer hardware or tell if there is activity or power coming from a certain connection point. Consult the computer’s documentation for more information about this.
Smoke/Burning smell
can indicate a blown capacitor.
Unplug power immediately.
Proprietary crash screens
This could be caused by faults in the OS system files.
Distended capacitor
There could be a defective capacitor from manufacturer or overheating inside the case (bad fan)
Can indicate a variety of issues from improper credentials to failing hardware.
Log entries and error messages
Log entries and error messages
Can indicate a variety of issues from improper credentials to failing hardware.
Random device failure could be caused by what?
Could be a bad adapter card installation, check the adapter cards/reseat them.
Sometimes caused by bad hardware or hardware that may have a bad connection.
Could be heat.
Indicator lights can indicate a variety of things depending on the device such as…
Power, network speed/connections, hard drive activity, etc
What is a crash screen/stop screen/bsod?
It’s a message that tells you a problem occurred that the computer was not able to recover from and it stopped the entire operating system from going any further.
If a customer reports restarting from a BSOD/SBOD, what can you do to find out the problem?
Check the event log inside of Windows or the console log in MacOS;
If somebody has rebooted the system and didn’t make a note of the crash screen information, you’ll be able to go to log and find this same data.
The Windows event log is useful for what?
Finding out crash screen codes that previously occurred.
The information that’s on the stop screen can be very valuable during the troubleshooting process, but it does contain very esoteric information, such as memory addresses and device driver details. You may find that the manufacturer of the problematic application or device driver may find this information much more useful.
Spinning ball of death means what?
It means something inside the system is holding up the entire operating system from moving forward.
Sometimes the spinning ball goes away and you regain control of your operating system, other times it never stops and you’re never able to regain any type of access to the OS.
What is a likely cause of Spinning Ball of Death?
It could be an application bug.
Might be bad hardware in your computer, and the system’s not able to access that hardware.
Could be a hardware slowdown such as slow disk paging.
How do you enable boot logging in Windows, and where would these logs be stored?
Open “System configuration” -> Go to “Boot” tab -> Click “Boot log”
They will be stored at C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt
What is the significance of the following line?
C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt
It is where boot logs are stored in Windows. Useful for troubleshooting continuous reboots.
In Windows, there is ___ where a centralized repository of logs is available for application, security, the operating system, and all other components of the OS.
Event Viewer
Event Viewer is what?
A repository of logs for apps, security, OS, etc in Windows.
Inside of Linux, you’ll find most logs for the operating system and for applications under ___.
/var/log
What is the significance of the following line?
/var/log
It’s where most logs are stored in Linux systems.
And in macOS, you can view a consolidated view of logs in the ___ folder using the ___.
Utilities
Console app
What is the significance of the following line?
Utilities/Console.app
It’s where most logs are stored in Mac-OS.
