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First Steps

Some common problems cannot be resolved except by a hardware service  technician.  Problems with the mother board, chips, hard drive,  printer, or monitor may need an authorized service center.  Software based problems can be resolved by the user.  

 

The following  procedures could be followed to diagnose, and resolve, problems  without calling a technician:

 

Perform A Physical Inspection

The logical first choice when problems occur is to perform a  physical inspection of the computer, printer, monitor, and cables.  50% of all problems can be detected with this inspection.  Look for buildups of dirt, especially around the cooling system, which would  interfere with proper air circulation.  In addition, it is important  to see that no foreign objects are stuck in the machine, or keyboard.  Paperclips tend to destroy, rather than repair,  computers.          

 

Run A Systems Diagnostics

Your hardware vendor probably supplied a diagnostics diskette.  When  problems occur, use the vendor supplied tests.  In addition, there  are several packages on the market place that will diagnose  problems, or provide comparative data to machines which are similar  in construction and configuration.  The diagnostics test will detect  problems and recommend

solutions.

 

Evaluate The Hard Disk

The hard disk is the most susceptible part in the computer to  failure.  There are several good disk diagnostic programs.  

 

SCANDISK supplied with Windows, provides the most elementary tests,  and is OK as a first indicator.  However,  more sophisticated  packages can locate, evaluate, and correct more errors, and return  the system to operation more quickly.  Files become fragmented over time, as a nature of the way Windows  handles them when adding new data.  

 

The standard Disk Optimizer utility ( in Windows Accessories ) will improve performance    by combining  files in successive sectors, eliminating the fragmentation.  This should be run at least once every two weeks.

 

Often  these tasks are offered in popular packages which group diagnostic,  and repair, tools.  Two packages currently enjoying popularity are  Norton's Utilities, and First Aid.  Both of these are available from  almost any software supplier, or discount store.  Care must be exercised, however, in that these may not be compatible with your  hard drive.  This should be confirmed with your hardware vendor  before using any package.  

 

Reformat / Restore

If you have continuing problems, your computer will provide guidance on the need to perhaps revert to an earlier "state" ( some point several days previous when the computer may have been fine ).  You will be prompted on how to perform this depending on the version of windows you are using.

 

In some cases, you can actually revert the computer to it's original factory settings and condition.  While this may seem extreme, doing so actually re formats the main drive, restores the original operating system ( or latest one available ), and then updates it to the most current version of the operating system.  Many systems that have operated for months and are aging will seem like new after the process.  Once that is complete, the Masterlink software will need to be reinstalled, and the data files restored from the most recent backup.  Other programs will also need to be reinstalled.

 

Sometimes techs will want to copy a drive to a backup, reformat the drive, and then copy all of the software back.  While that may seem faster, it has risks of software not running because some files are not seen by the program ( they needed to be registered with the System, and only an install does that ), or bad files / data that were copied to the alternate drive are brought back to the newly formatted drive, and thus the same problem/infection exists.