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CompTIA® A+ Certification Prep 2: Software > Lesson 8 - Chapter 4: Troubleshooting System Instability > Flashcards

Lesson 8 - Chapter 4: Troubleshooting System Instability Flashcards

1
Q

What is system instability?

A

a system that works okay “sometimes”

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2
Q

What does system instability look like? (6)

  1. Win
  2. Shuts
  3. Displays
  4. Apps
  5. Get
  6. Get
A
  1. Windows loads normally but then crashes at seemingly random times
  2. Shuts down abruptly
  3. Displays a STOP error
  4. Apps crash frequently
  5. Get warnings about low memory
  6. Get warnings about lack of USB controller resources
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3
Q

If a PC randomly shuts down like it’s been unplugged, that’s almost always what kind of issue?

A

a hardware overheating issue

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4
Q

What might cause a PC to spontaneously shut down? (2)

A
  1. Cooling fans may not be spinning
  2. The system may be excessively overlocked

(we looked at this in Course 1: Hardware)

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5
Q

How does a STOP error look like?

A

Windows shuts down unexpectedly but the PC doesn’t power off (it literally stops working)

(on earlier Windows versions a STOP code would appear)

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6
Q

What’s another name for STOP screen errors?

A

Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)

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7
Q

Is a STOP error screen always blue?

A

No, it’s blue in Win 10 and earlier but in Win 11 it’s usually black

(in pre-release or beta copies it might be green)

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8
Q

In newer versions of Windows, what does the STOP screen look like? What message displays?

A

a sad emoji appears and a QR code to look up the error

“Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart as soon as we’re finished collecting some error info”

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9
Q

What are some common reasons that STOP errors occur? (3)

A
  1. Memory confusion
  2. Page file errors (may be caused by bugs in apps)
  3. Corrupt or incompatible device drivers
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10
Q

Why are low-memory errors not a common warning to see?

A

Because Windows uses virtual memory to help avoid most low-memory situations

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11
Q

Why would you get a low memory warning?

A

Windows usually gets confused about memory management (bug in the OS or an app)

Not actually low on physical memory

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12
Q

What makes instability usually show up on a Windows system? (4)

A

after a major change has been made:
1. update
2. fix is applied
3. new hardware
4. large app is installed

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13
Q

Why does instability happen in general?

A

certain events can make increased demands on the hardware/software and cause its performance to change

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14
Q

If system instability just started, what can you try first?

A

reboot (often fixes things)

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15
Q

When troubleshooting system instability, what utility can you use to learn more about the root cause of any crashes or shutdowns?

A

Event Viewer

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16
Q

What does System File Checker do?

A

Makes sure system files are valid and replaces them if necessary

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17
Q

Where is the System File Checker executed from?

A

Command Prompt

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18
Q

What does the sfc command mean?

A

System File Checker

19
Q

What does the ‘sfc /scannow’ command do?

A

Checks the integrity of Windows system files

20
Q

What does the command ‘sfc C:’ do?

A

Scans the C: disk or the boot volume

21
Q

What does the ‘sfc C: /f’ command do?

A

Attempts to repair errors identified with ‘sfc C:’

22
Q

The System Restore point enables you to create a ___ ___

A

restore point

23
Q

What’s a restore point?

A

A snapshot of your computer’s configuration at a specific point in time

24
Q

What can you use to restore the system to its previous state when it crashes or has a corrupted OS?

A

A restore point

25
Q

How do you get to System Restore in the GUI and create a restore point? (5 steps)

A
  1. Settings
  2. System
  3. About
  4. System Protection
  5. Create
26
Q

When restoring a system with a restore point, is data lost?

A

No data is lost, only settings and programs are changed

27
Q

What does a restore point contain?

A

all programs and settings as of the restore date

28
Q

Where do you go to restore from a Restore Point? (3 steps)

A

System Properties > System Protection > System Restore

29
Q

Why are there only 1 or 2 restore points available?

A

The system saves restore points every day, but Windows updates erase existing restore points so you don’t reintroduce problems that the update corrected

30
Q

___ ___ is enabled by default and uses some of your disk space to save information on restore points

A

System Restore

31
Q

What are 2 main reasons why you would want to disable System Restore?

A
  1. To save disk space if running low
  2. You’re going to fix a malware infection and don’t want anyone to restore system files back to the infected state
32
Q

How do you disable System Restore?

A

Click the ‘Configure’ button in the System Protection tab that has System Restore

33
Q

Why does the error “Not Enough USB Controller Resources” show up?

A

Typically an app starting up looks for a USB device but there aren’t enough endpoints for it to run (USB controllers have limited number)

34
Q

What is a USB endpoint?

A

a data buffer

(different USB devices and software require different numbers of endpoints like a Bluetooth adapter needs 3 endpoints)

35
Q

USB controllers commonly have __ endpoints that are divided into ___ inputs and ___ outputs

A

USB controllers commonly have 32 endpoints that are divided into 16 inputs and 16 outputs

36
Q

Remember, a USB hub can support up to ____ devices

A

128 devices

37
Q

If the USB standard in use doesn’t have enough endpoints to support up to 128 devices, you could eventually…?

A

see the “Not Enough USB Controller Resources” error

38
Q

A USB 3.0 controller is limited to ___ endpoints

A

96, equally divided into input and output

39
Q

What’s a solution to not having enough endpoints made available from USB controllers?

A

Installing multiple USB controllers since most motherboards support multiple controllers

40
Q

A PC motherboard has a battery-powered real-time clock (RTC) that…?

A

speeds up or slows down with the strength of the motherboard battery

(less accurate)

41
Q

When does time drift happen?

A

Using the internal RTC time leads to servers and clients experiencing it, especially if the client is remote

42
Q

The clock time of a local PC must closely synchronize with the time on another device, such as….?

A

a server

43
Q

What can you replace to help the PC experience less time drift?

A

Replace the motherboard battery

44
Q

If the PC is part of a corporate network, what’s a better solution to time drift?

A

Create GPO (Group Policy Objects) for remote devices to use GPS-synced time sources and use the servers as authoritative time sources

CompTIA® A+ Certification Prep 2: Software (45 decks)

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