Chapter 20 - Hardware & Network Troubleshooting Flashcards
tell me the two common ways to reduce heat-related problems in computers
20-987
use heat sinks
use case fans
Tell me some hardware related symptoms. (5)
20 - 987 through 991
Excessive heat Noise Odors and smoke Status light indicators Visible damage
When you are cleaning the power supply fan, should you blow air from inside the case or from outside the case and why?
20 - 988
From inside the case. You need to do it this way so that you blow the contaminants out of the cooling vents. Do it the other way and you’ll make things worse
Give me an example of chip creep.
20 - 989
When the RAM stick moves out of the socket due to metal parts expanding from heat and pushing the RAM stick out of place.
Where is the POST (power on self test)?
20 - 991
Its built into the BIOS (basic input output system)
How does a POST card work and how do you use it?
20 - 991
You use it to identify a problem in the POST. As the computer goes through the boot process, the POST card reports numeric codes that correspond to the components being checked in the POST. When the card stops at a certain number, you cross-reference that with the codes in the POST card manual to see what component needs to be dealt with.
True/false: the BIOS contains the boot sequence for your system.
20 - 992
True
Which key do you use to get into the BIOS menu when the computer is booting up?
20 - 992
F2
If you’re having cooling problems, what’s the first thing you should check?
20 - 995
The fans
Hard disk system problems usually arise from one of three causes. Tell me what they are.
20 - 997
The adapter is bad
The disk is bad
The adapter and disk are not connected the right way
Tell me three software utilities used to manage hard drives
20 - 997
Chkdsk
Format
Fdisk
How much room does a hard drive need to be able to move files around within itself without slowing down?
20 - 997
At least 10 percent of its maximum capacity
How would you deal with a hard drive that is too full?
20 - 997
Remove some of the files and defragment the drive. if that doesn’t solve the problem, get everything off of there, format the drive, and return the files and OS to the drive. if that doesn’t solve the problem, your drive is more than likely very close to death.
What does it mean if the system boot fine but cannot find the operating system?
How do you fix it?
20 - 998
It could be a problem with the master boot record.
Repair the MBR with fdisk (before xp), fixmbr (xp), or bootrec /fixmbr (vista and 7)
What does it mean if your dvd data discs will play but your dvd movie discs won’t?
20 - 999
It means your dvd drive doesn’t have mpeg decoding capability and you need to add it through software.
If you’re encountering a phantom directory listing because of the floppy drive, what do you do?
20 - 999
Swap out the ribbon cable.
Your system will only boot into VGA color mode. What does this mean?
20 - 1000
Either the video card is set to a resolution it can’t handle or its driver isn’t loading properly.
If the laptop works while plugged in but not on battery power, what does it mean?
20 - 1002
Battery has gone bad, get another one.
If you have a dim or flickering display on your laptop, what is causing it?
20 - 1003
Faulty backlight or failing inverter
You have a dot matrix printer with consistently faded or light characters. What is the cause of this?
20 - 1007
Worn out printer ribbon
You’re working with the same dot matrix printer that had the ribbon problem, but now there’s a small, blank line consistently running through each line of print. What is the cause of this?
20 - 1008
The print head pin is stuck inside the print head and the so the print head needs to be replaced.
Earlier in class, we learned that a printer’s stepper motors are responsible for advancing the paper through the machine. What other job do they have?
20 - 1009
Moving the print head back and forth
If your lines of print are unevenly spaced, what’s wrong with the printer?
20 - 1009
The main stepper motor is damaged.
4 categories of an inkjet printer’s parts:
20 - 1009
Print head/ink cartridge
Print head carriage, belt, and stepper motor
Paper-feed mechanism
Control, interface, and power circuitry
What is print head alignment?
20 - 1011
Process by which the print head is calibrated from the printer software
Tell me two causes of paper jams in inkjet printers
20 - 1011
Worn pickup roller
Wrong type of paper
Tell me the 6 step EP printing process
20 - 1013,1014
Cleaning Charging Writing developing transferring fusing
at what point in the EP printing process does the toner receive a positive 600 VDC charge?
20 - 1013
Never. The only charge the toner receives is a NEGATIVE 600 VDC charge, and that doesn’t happen until the development stage.
What happens during the writing (exposure) stage of the EP printing process?
20 - 1013
This is where the laser scans the photosensitive drum. The places on the drum that are hit by the laser will have a voltage change from -600 to -100 (drum got -600 from the charging stage).
when you use a multimeter on the J210 power interface of the laser printer, what 3 voltages should you be able to find?
20 - 1014
5V on pin 1
-5V on pin 5
24V on pin 9
tell me the 3 major causes of blank pages
20 - 1017
the toner cartridge
the transfer corona assembly
high voltage power supply (HVPS)
what two things cause ghosting in your print jobs?
20 - 1021
broken cleaning blade
bad erasure lamps
what’s the first step in troubleshooting for HP LaserJet Printers?
20 - 1024
is the exhaust fan operational?
how can you tell that you NIC card is properly connected?
20 - 1030
the link light will be illuminated
