Troubleshooting

Question 1

Now for the exam, you are expected to know these six steps of the troubleshooting methodology because they’re going to ask you questions about it such as, “You just completed step five, “what should you do next?” And you’re going to have to select the wording

Answer 1

it’s important that you follow a systematic and repeatable methodology
so that any other technician can take over for you
during that troubleshooting and know exactly what you’ve done so far

Question 1

Six Steps

Question 2

1. Identify the problem

Answer 2

When you attempt to identify the problem you should gather information from the user, identify user changes, and, if applicable, perform backups before you make any kind of changes. You should also ask if there’s been any environmental or infrastructure changes recently because those could also affect the system too.

Question 3

2. Establish a theory of Probable Cause

Answer 3

I like to call this questioning the obvious. When you establish a theory of probable cause you should immediately question anything that is obvious and easy to check. For example, if the system won’t power on, you should probably check that the workstation is actually plugged into the wall outlet properly and that the wall outlet actually has power.
As you attempt to establish a theory of probable cause you may also need to conduct external or internal research based on the symptoms that are being displayed. One of my favorite troubleshooting tools is Google because you can simply enter a search like, “Why won’t my Windows 11 laptop boot up?” And you’ll find a bunch of possible reasons for that. Remember, the better your search phrase is, the better your results are going to be. If you get an error code, Google it, and you’re probably going to find the answer pretty quickly on how to solve it.

Question 4

3. Test the theory to determine the cause.

Answer 4

Let’s use the example of the computer that wouldn’t turn on. Maybe you suspected the outlet was faulty. Now the easiest way to test this is to plug your computer into another outlet and try to power it on. If the computer powers on, then guess what, you know the outlet was the problem.

Once that theory is confirmed, then you need to determine the next steps to resolve that problem. In the case of a power outlet that’s not working, that might mean that you need to replace the power outlet or put in a work order for an electrician to come out and then replace that outlet for you depending on your skill level and the company policies.

Now if the theory is not confirmed then we need to reestablish a new theory by guessing what else could be the problem, or, if you’re truly stuck, then you could escalate that problem to the next higher tier of support such as a coworker or the field services technicians.

Question 5

4. Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution

Answer 5

So now that we’ve confirmed our theory and we know what we need to fix, we’re going to now fix the system.

Going back to the power outlet example, our plan of action is to replace the outlet. The solution to implement that is to buy and replace the outlet or put in a work order so a professional electrician can replace it for us.

Now also, if you’re working on a computer system, remember, it’s always a good idea to refer to the manufacturer or vendor’s instructions for repairing or replacing its components.

Question 6

5. Verify full system functionality (and, if applicable, implement preventative measures)

Answer 6

Now at this point, you figured out the issue, you’ve implemented the solution, and hopefully you’ve solved this issue. But to verify that you need to check the system and verify the system is fully functional.

Also, if the issue is one that could have been prevented, now is a good time to implement preventative measures.

For example, if an employee spilled their coffee on their laptop and this short circuited their keyboard, you might implement a preventative measure by having the company issue a memo to all of the employees that says you can only drink if you’re using a cup that has a covered lid when you’re using a company provided laptop or workstation because this prevents inadvertent spills.

Question 7

6. Document the findings, actions, and outcome.

Answer 7

Now that all the work is done, we want to take a moment to document what was wrong, what we did to solve it, and what the final outcome was. So, let’s go back to the spilled coffee on the laptop example.

You might go to the trouble ticket system and document the findings and actions as, “The user’s laptop keyboard was not responsive. “Upon visual inspection, “the keyboard appeared to be sticky and damaged. “When I opened up the laptop, I saw residual brown liquid “suspected to be coffee. “I removed the internal keyboard, “dried the laptop overnight, “installed a new keyboard, and retested the system “to verify everything was functional again.”

Now, under the outcome in the ticket, you could then enter, “End user laptop has been fully restored to service “after replacing the internal keyboard. “The end user was advised to be careful with liquids “around company equipment “and to use a lid “when drinking near any electronic equipment.”

Hopefully this short video gave you a good idea of how to use the six-step troubleshooting methodology to resolve problems that you come across as a technician. We’re going to revisit this troubleshooting methodology in more depth later on in the course as we enter domain five, hardware and network troubleshooting, as well.