Troubleshooting Windows Flashcards
What are the 3 main boot issues that occur?
1) Failure to boot
2) No OS found
3) GUI failing to load or a black screen
2 solutions for Failure to boot issue
1) Remove any external devices
2) Set the boot order to always go to the internal storage drive first
Solution for “No OS found” issue
Use a startup repair tool to open up a recovery command prompt, and then use bootrec in order to be able to repair the drive’s boot information (usually mbr or gpt is set to an incomputable boot operation)
What are the 3 bootrec commands?
1) bootrec /fixmbr (for mbr/bios)
2) bootrec /fixboot (for uefi/gpt)
3) bootrec /rebuildbcd (for boot camp)
A command line disk partitioning tool that can be used to mark the system partition as active
Diskpart command
Why does a GUI failing to load or a black screen usually occur?
It usually indicates that there’s some kind of issue with the graphics driver or the system has some kind of a misconfiguration or corruption
How to handle a problem with the graphics driver?
1) Reboot the system into safe mode
(if you can reboot into safe mode, the graphics driver needs to be repaired - if you cannot reboot into safe mode your Windows installation has an issue and will either need to be repaired or recovered)
What key sequence can you use if you are trying to boot up the system, but all you’re seeing is a black screen?
START+CTRL+SHIFT+B
(If you hear a beep it means the system is working but the graphical part of the system is not – If you don’t hear a beep after the key sequence, the system has frozen)
When system files are corrupted what 2 commands can you run?
1) chkdsk
2) sfc
When rebooting your system and pressing the f11 key, where does this take you?
Advanced boot options
What are the different options you have for boot recovery tools? (3)
1) Advanced boot options
2) Startup repair
3) WinRe (Window recovery environment)
What do you do when a system update causes problems for your device?
Roll back the update
(located in Programs and Features applet)
A user opens a recently installed application, and nothing appears on the screen. The user then contacts a help desk technician.
Which troubleshooting step should be recommended FIRST?
a) Install the lastest os update
b) Reinstall the application
c) check the event viewer
d) restart the computer in safe mode
d) restart the computer in safe mode
*Restarting a computer in safe mode boots it with a limited set of drivers and services. If the application works in safe mode, this indicates that the issue is likely caused by a driver or other software conflict that isn’t loaded in safe mode. This provides valuable information to the technician diagnosing the problem.
Why other options are not as good first steps:
a) Install the latest OS update:
While keeping the operating system up-to-date is generally good practice, it’s unlikely that an update would suddenly cause an application to not display anything. This should be considered later if other troubleshooting steps fail.
b) Reinstall the application:
Reinstalling the application could potentially fix issues related to corrupted files or incorrect installation. However, reinstalling is a more time-consuming process than restarting in safe mode, and it should be reserved for cases where safe mode testing indicates a problem with the application itself.
c) Check the event viewer:
While checking the event viewer can provide valuable information about system errors, it’s not the first step in troubleshooting a visual display issue. The event viewer might show errors related to the application, but interpreting those errors requires technical knowledge and wouldn’t necessarily provide an immediate solution. Safe mode offers a more direct way to test the application’s functionality.*
Helps plan the changes and assists in communicating such changes to the stakeholders to avoid conflicts (maintence times)
Change Schedule
Employees’ set of policies for a service or resource
Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
