How Professionals Troubleshoot a PC- The Basics

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As an electronic device, the PC or computer is bound to face many problems at various stages.

To combat these problems and errors, the user needs to perform a proper PC support and related troubleshooting to help the computer system work fine and for a longer duration.

Sometimes, the errors are resolved at the user end by themselves, but as most number of computer users is un-known to these basics of troubleshooting, they need a proper technical support for their computers.

When a user reports a problem with a computer, it generally means reporting a symptom that is seen by the user. Like, a user might not be able to print a document.

In such case, the support technician finds the cause of the problem, and then identifies which category the problem falls into. And then they perform the required support functions to diagnose and troubleshoot those errors.

Below mentioned are some key points regarding common PC issues and the diagnostic PC support:

Hardware Support:

The computer system’s hardware falls into two categories: Hardware and Mechanical. The support provided by the technician in helping to resolve errors pertaining to them falls under hardware support.

Hardware problems are those that involve malfunctioning or incorrect configurations of the computer’s internal components. While Mechanical problems are those that involve the errors, connection or damage issues in physical workings of the computer or its peripherals.

Some examples of Mechanical Problems are:

• The computer is not plugged in, so it does not turns on.
• The monitor is damaged, so it does not work.
• The power cable is damaged which causes the hard drive to not receive any power from the computer power source.

Some examples of Hardware problems include:

• The improper installation of a driver that causes the computer to not turn on.
• After driver updation, a component stops working.
• The computer is not configured to boot from a CD and thus causes boot problem for the user.

The support technician identifies these entire problems while examining the hardware components of a PC, and then performs the right kind of troubleshooting methods.

Operating System Support:

A system performs its entire tasks on an Operating Support, and a problem in functioning of the Operating Support calls for a thorough checkup by the support technician who performs the related diagnosis and troubleshooting.

Operating system support involves various tasks, such as:

• Defragmenting the hard disk to free unwanted clutter and creating more space on the hard disk drive.
• Applying latest security updates.
• Restoring the PC or the operating system to a previous point of operation, because it can no longer function at that point.
• Updating the computer’s BIOS (basic input/output system) to the latest version for the specific computer model.
• Creation of virtual memory to improve the computer’s performance.
• Creation of new partitions for various tasks and applications.

Operating system support enhances the Operating System’s performance, which in turn improves the performance of other programs and application.

Software Support:

Support provided by the technician that resides with problems occurring with software applications falls under the software support category.

Software support includes:

• Installation and up-gradation of a software application.
• Troubleshooting installation problems that occur with a software application.
• Helping users to complete a job in a specific software application.
• Troubleshooting an under-performing application.
• Removal of software programs that have become corrupt or are no longer needed by the user.

 Networking Support:

The networking support category provides solutions in those conditions when a user encounters various issues trying to connect to resources which are not present on the local computer.

These resources include applications, files, folders, and it also means connecting to the Internet, an outer located networked printers, or other computers or peripherals.

Networking support provides the user with following diagnosis:

• Installation of networked a printer on a client computer.
• Configuration of Internet Explorer or other browser options to enable the client computer to connect to the Internet.
• To make sure that the client computer has an IP address for networking.

Apart from these, there are some other problems that users create on their own, or that they encounter while performing an unfamiliar task or do something incorrectly.

A PC support technician goes through various steps to guide the user in performing these support actions. The support technician teaches the user to correct the problem he/ she had created, and to properly perform the desired task.

The technician should guide the user in proper manner as the support is extremely important and being a guide and mentor, guide the user about the various steps involved in diagnosis and about what not to do to not let that happen again.