Lesson 8 - Chapter 4: Troubleshooting System Instability Flashcards
What is system instability?
a system that works okay “sometimes”
What does system instability look like? (6)
- Win
- Shuts
- Displays
- Apps
- Get
- Get
- Windows loads normally but then crashes at seemingly random times
- Shuts down abruptly
- Displays a STOP error
- Apps crash frequently
- Get warnings about low memory
- Get warnings about lack of USB controller resources
If a PC randomly shuts down like it’s been unplugged, that’s almost always what kind of issue?
a hardware overheating issue
What might cause a PC to spontaneously shut down? (2)
- Cooling fans may not be spinning
- The system may be excessively overlocked
(we looked at this in Course 1: Hardware)
How does a STOP error look like?
Windows shuts down unexpectedly but the PC doesn’t power off (it literally stops working)
(on earlier Windows versions a STOP code would appear)
What’s another name for STOP screen errors?
Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)
Is a STOP error screen always blue?
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)
In newer versions of Windows, what does the STOP screen look like? What message displays?
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”
What are some common reasons that STOP errors occur? (3)
- Memory confusion
- Page file errors (may be caused by bugs in apps)
- Corrupt or incompatible device drivers
Why are low-memory errors not a common warning to see?
Because Windows uses virtual memory to help avoid most low-memory situations
Why would you get a low memory warning?
Windows usually gets confused about memory management (bug in the OS or an app)
Not actually low on physical memory
What makes instability usually show up on a Windows system? (4)
after a major change has been made:
1. update
2. fix is applied
3. new hardware
4. large app is installed
Why does instability happen in general?
certain events can make increased demands on the hardware/software and cause its performance to change
If system instability just started, what can you try first?
reboot (often fixes things)
When troubleshooting system instability, what utility can you use to learn more about the root cause of any crashes or shutdowns?
Event Viewer
What does System File Checker do?
Makes sure system files are valid and replaces them if necessary
Where is the System File Checker executed from?
Command Prompt
What does the sfc command mean?
System File Checker
What does the ‘sfc /scannow’ command do?
Checks the integrity of Windows system files
What does the command ‘sfc C:’ do?
Scans the C: disk or the boot volume
What does the ‘sfc C: /f’ command do?
Attempts to repair errors identified with ‘sfc C:’
The System Restore point enables you to create a ___ ___
restore point
What’s a restore point?
A snapshot of your computer’s configuration at a specific point in time
What can you use to restore the system to its previous state when it crashes or has a corrupted OS?
A restore point
How do you get to System Restore in the GUI and create a restore point? (5 steps)
- Settings
- System
- About
- System Protection
- Create
When restoring a system with a restore point, is data lost?
No data is lost, only settings and programs are changed
What does a restore point contain?
all programs and settings as of the restore date
Where do you go to restore from a Restore Point? (3 steps)
System Properties > System Protection > System Restore
Why are there only 1 or 2 restore points available?
The system saves restore points every day, but Windows updates erase existing restore points so you don’t reintroduce problems that the update corrected
___ ___ is enabled by default and uses some of your disk space to save information on restore points
System Restore
What are 2 main reasons why you would want to disable System Restore?
- To save disk space if running low
- You’re going to fix a malware infection and don’t want anyone to restore system files back to the infected state
How do you disable System Restore?
Click the ‘Configure’ button in the System Protection tab that has System Restore
Why does the error “Not Enough USB Controller Resources” show up?
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)
What is a USB endpoint?
a data buffer
(different USB devices and software require different numbers of endpoints like a Bluetooth adapter needs 3 endpoints)
USB controllers commonly have __ endpoints that are divided into ___ inputs and ___ outputs
USB controllers commonly have 32 endpoints that are divided into 16 inputs and 16 outputs
Remember, a USB hub can support up to ____ devices
128 devices
If the USB standard in use doesn’t have enough endpoints to support up to 128 devices, you could eventually…?
see the “Not Enough USB Controller Resources” error
A USB 3.0 controller is limited to ___ endpoints
96, equally divided into input and output
What’s a solution to not having enough endpoints made available from USB controllers?
Installing multiple USB controllers since most motherboards support multiple controllers
A PC motherboard has a battery-powered real-time clock (RTC) that…?
speeds up or slows down with the strength of the motherboard battery
(less accurate)
When does time drift happen?
Using the internal RTC time leads to servers and clients experiencing it, especially if the client is remote
The clock time of a local PC must closely synchronize with the time on another device, such as….?
a server
What can you replace to help the PC experience less time drift?
Replace the motherboard battery
If the PC is part of a corporate network, what’s a better solution to time drift?
Create GPO (Group Policy Objects) for remote devices to use GPS-synced time sources and use the servers as authoritative time sources
