Marquel World Information Technology

**steves** · **steves**1 Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:23 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

Share ko lang po 'to, credits to the original author.
Troubleshooting & Repairing PCs

The application of deductive techniques in solving computer system
problems is called “troubleshooting”. Effective and efficient
troubleshooting involves gathering of clues, investigation, and applying
deductive reasoning needed to isolate a problem. Once the cause of a
problem is known, you can follow a process of analyzing, testing, and
substituting good components for each suspected bad component to find
the specific part that has failed. Good deductive reasoning is used to
isolate a failure to a particular group of components or chips. Then,
circuit analysis is used to reduce the problem to a specific component.

The primary objective of
troubleshooting is to restore to normal operation malfunctioning
computer systems within reasonable time, cost, and effort.

Basic Requirements in Troubleshooting Computers:
1. Adequate background in electronics
2. Adequate background in computer systems hardware architecture and organization
3. Knowledge in computer systems hardware components and interconnection
4. Knowledge in computer systems operation
5. Knowledge in the use of test instruments and equipment
6. Knowledge in computer programming is an advantage, but not required

Skill Levels in Troubleshooting Computers
1. Peripheral level skill (the ability to locate a defective peripheral)
2. Card level skill (the ability to locate a defective card or circuit board)
3. Component level skill (The ability to locate a defective component or IC)

General Steps in Computer Troubleshooting & Repair
1. Don’t Panic
2. Observe Conditions (including visual inspection)
3. Use Your Senses
4. Clean & reset the connections & system unit
5. Retry
6. Assume a Problem
7. Use correct technical reference data
8. Symptom Analysis
9. Diagnose to a section (fault identification)
10. Localize to a stage (fault localization)
11. Isolate to a failed part (fault isolation)
12. Use correct equipment and software to aid in repair
13. Repair
14. Test and verify

CAUTION: Modifying and removing components from the circuit boards in your system may void the manufacturer’s warranties.

CAUTION: Discharge static electricity present in your body before
troubleshooting or repairing any part of your computer system.

CAUTION: Uninformed repairs can cause more damage.

**steves** · **steves**2 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:23 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

How to Troubleshoot a Dead Motherboard/Computer

Q. How do you troubleshoot a
dead motherboard? (Orignally... I purchased an EP-MVP3G. I'M having a
problem powering- up the motherboard... Do you have any suggestion?)

A. Try these steps:
• Disconnect the power cord form the power supply,
be sure the power supply is set for 110 or 220 volts depending on your
location and power and double check it (most have a 110/220 switch)

• Feel/look at the back of the power supply to determine if the fan is working.

• If not, trouble-shoot the power supply and replace it if necessary.

• If the fan is working, try another power supply anyway.

• Plug the computer directly into a known-good (a lamp works) power outlet

• Check to be sure you do not have a motherboard stand-off in the wrong
position and shorting-out the bottom of the motherboard.

• Inspect/shake and listen for loose metallic objects (loose screws) on
top of and under the motherboard and in expansion board slots

• Look carefully at the ISA and PCI slots, see if any of the contacts
got bent/shorted-out. Sometimes an expansion board will dislodge one and
it will be pushed into the bottom of the slot.

• Inspect the motherboard for broken or burnt components.

• Carefully inspect the motherboard for black soot from bad bearings and clean and replace the culprit.

• Look for bent/shorted pins on the motherboard headers and straighten.

• Be sure the speaker is plugged into the motherboard. If you hear beeps. Decode the beep code.

• If not, double-check all jumpers.

• Push down on all chips that have sockets in attempt to reseat them.

• What CPU are you using? Be sure the core voltage is correct.

• Be sure the CMOS battery jumper is in the correct position. Some
distributors purposely ship motherboards with the jumper in the wrong
position.

• Find the jumper that clears the CMOS, put it into the clear position
for several minutes, put it back in the normal position, plug-in the
power cord, and push the power-on button. If you apply power to the
motherboard with the jumper in the clear position you may damage the
motherboard.

• Pull all boards except video.

• Disconnect all cables going to all drives, pull all cables except
power, power on, and speaker, connect the power supply to the
motherboard (the black wires go in the middle on AT power supply
connectors--"Black OK, red your dead"), reseat the memory, plug-in and
screw-down the display adapter and nothing else (push down on the top,
front of the adapter and make sure it is properly seated by looking at
it all along the PCI or AGP connector), connect the power-on switch and
the speaker.

• Check the monitor plug for bent or pushed-in pins, connect the monitor and nothing else. Check the monitor power cable.

• Reseat/replace the memory.

• Check for Motherboard Electrolytic Capacitor Failures

• Check the CPU for bent pins.

• Try another processor. Note: If you apply power to a motherboard with
an Athlon or Duron processor without the CPU fan connected, even for a
few seconds, you will fry it.

• Check the CMOS battery with a multi-meter. Should be around 3 volts (2.8 is ok).

• Try a different video board.

• See if the CPU and memory will work with another motherboard.

• Pull the motherboard, set it on the box it came in, install video,
memory, CPU, power, and power on. See if it boots. I have seen several
instances where this works when the board will not work in the case.
And, when reinstalled in the case, it continues to work. I have also
seen where it didn't work out of the case immediately, but did work the
next day and continued to work. One of those mysteries.

• Replace the motherboard.

**steves** · **steves**3 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:24 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

Processor Troubleshooting Techniques

Processors are normally very reliable. Most PC problems
are with other devices, but if you suspect the processor, there are some
steps you can take to troubleshoot it. The easiest thing to do is to
replace the microprocessor with a known-good spare. If the problem goes
away, the original processor is defective. If the problem persists, the
problem is likely elsewhere.

If during the POST the processor is not identified correctly, your
motherboard settings might be incorrect or your BIOS might need to be
updated. Check that the motherboard is jumpered or configured correctly
for your processor, and make sure you have the latest BIOS for your
motherboard.

If the system seems to run erratically after it warms up, try setting
the processor to a lower speed setting. If the problem goes away, the
processor might be defective or overclocked.

Many hardware problems are really software problems in disguise. Be sure
you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard, as well as the latest
drivers for all your peripherals. Also, it helps to use the latest
version of your given operating system because there usually will be
fewer problems.

Troubleshooting Processor-Related Problems:

Problem:
System is dead, no cursor, no beeps, no fan.

Cause:
Power cord failure.
-Plug in or replace power cord. Power cords can fail even though they look fine.

Power supply failure.
-Replace the power supply. Use a known-good spare for testing.

Motherboard failure.
-Replace motherboard. Use a known-good spare for testing.

Memory failure.
-Remove all memory except 1 bank and retest. If the system still won't boot replace bank

Problem:
System is dead, no beeps, or locks up before POST begins.

Cause:
All components either incorrectly installed.
-Check all peripherals, especially memory and graphics adapter. Reseat all boards and socketed components.

Problem:
System beeps on startup, fan is running, no cursor on screen.

Cause:
Improperly seated or failing graphics adapter.
-Reseat or replace graphics adapter. Use known-good spare for testing.

Problem:
System powers up, fan is running, no beep or cursor.

Cause:
Processor not properly installed.
-Reseat or remove/reinstall processor and heatsink.

Problem:
Locks up during or shortly after POST.

Cause:
Poor heat dissipation.
-Check CPU heatsink/fan; replace if necessary, use one with higher capacity.
Improper voltage settings.
-Set motherboard for proper core processor voltage.
Wrong motherboard bus speed.
-Set motherboard for proper speed.
Wrong CPU clock multiplier.
-Jumper motherboard for proper clock multiplier.

Problem:
Improper CPU identification during POST.

Cause:
Old BIOS.
-Update BIOS from manufacturer.
Board not configured properly.
-Check manual and jumper board accordingly to proper bus and multiplier settings.

Problem:
System won't start after new processor is installed.

Cause:
Processor not properly installed.
-Reseat or remove/reinstall processor and heatsink.
BIOS doesn't support new processor.
-Update BIOS from system or motherboard manunew facturer.
Motherboard can't use new processor.
-Verify motherboard support.

Problem:
Operating system will not boot.

Cause:
Poor heat dissipation.
-Check CPU fan; replace if necessary; it might need a higher-capacity heatsink or heatsink/fan on the North Bridge chip.

Improper voltage settings. Wrong motherboard bus speed.
-Jumper motherboard for proper core voltage. Jumper motherboard for proper speed.

Wrong CPU clock multiplier.
-Jumper motherboard for proper clock multiplier.

Applications will not install or run.
-Improper drivers or incompatible hardware; update drivers and check for compatibility issues.

Problem:
System appears to work, but no video is displayed.

Cause:
Monitor turned off or failed.
-Check monitor and power to monitor. Replace with known-good spare for testing.

**steves** · **steves**4 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:24 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

Video Card Diagnosis

Assuming the system power comes up with yor monitor. Most
monitors have a status LED on the front-down-right side that should
show green, orange, or blinking if the monitor is powered on. You can
also hear most monitors power on with a gentle sound, though I can't be
describe it beyond saying it's the sound of a CRT tube warming up. Make
sure your monitor is plugged into a good outlet by testing the outlet
with a lamp or any other device that will prove beyond a doubt that the
outlet is good. Make sure that the power cord is either permanently
attached at the monitor end or that it is seated fully in the socket,
since partial cord insertion is the most common failure for monitors
with detachable cords.Most new monitors will display something such as
"No signal", or "Attach video signal," as long as they are healthy, and
powered on. These messages should appear even if the PC or video adapter
is dead. This is actually one of the more useful innovations in monitor
technology, because it offers definitive proof that the computer
monitor or LCD display is alive and most likely capable of displaying an
image if a video signal was present. Unfortunately, it only proves
something by its presence, since older monitors and cheaper models may
not display anything at all.

Make sure the 15 pins video signal cable is seated squarely on the video
port on the back of the video card. The hold-down screws on either side
of the connector should be screwed in all the way, but dont made it up
too tight. If the video cable is connected correctly, remove it and
inspect the connector for damage.

Look carefully at the pins in the connector to make sure none of them
are at an angle or flattened against the bottom. Note that missing pins
in a video cable are the norm, usually the monitor ID pins. It's great
if you have a spare video cable and a monitor with a detachable cable,
but most monitors have an integrated cable (don't detach) and most
people don't have a spare anyway. You will usually have to settle for
visual inspection for whether the cable may have been damaged.

If you see that a pin in the connector is bent, you can try to
straighten it very slowly with tweezers or fine needle nose pliers. If a
pin breaks, you can buy a replacement connector and solder it on with a
fine soldering iron and infinite patience. You'll also need a heat
shrink gun and tubing if you want to do it right.

Video Connector Pin out

* 1-Red
* 2-Green
* 3-Blue
* 4-Monitor ID (Note: pins for ID bits often not present)
* 5-Ground
* 6-Red Return (coax shield)
* 7-Green Return (coax shield)
* 8-Blue Return (coax shield)
* 9 No-Connection
* 10-Sync Ground
* 11-Monitor ID
* 12-Monitor ID
* 13-Horizontal-Sync
* 14-Vertical-Sync
* 15-Monitor ID

If resetting the card doesn't clear up the beeps, it's either video
adapter failure or RAM on the motherboard. You can power down and try
resetting the RAM at this point, without going all the way through the
motherboard diagnostics. There used to be beep codes for all sorts of
component failures, but most of those components have long since been
integrated into the motherboard and can't be replaced if they fail.

Do you get a live screen, or at least move past the BIOS screen, with
all the other adapters removed or replaced? If so, the problem is either
a bad adapter preventing proper operation of the bus or an adapter
conflicting with the video card. In either case, you can reinstall the
adapters one at a time, powering up after each one, troubleshooting the
problem by process of elimination. Don't forget to unplug the system
each time before taking any action inside the case.

If the motherboard is a new upgrade, try the video adapter in another
system before trashing it, since it could be a simple incompatibility.
If installing a new video adapter doesn't solve your "dead screen"
problem, it's probably a motherboard related problem, even though you
got to this point without any beep codes. Proceed to Motherboard, CPU
and RAM Failure.

**steves** · **steves**5 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:24 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

PC Turn On Failure Diagnosis

This is to determine if why the computer doesn't turn on or how you can
tell if whats going on with the computer why it doesnt turn on?

First
The first step in power supply diagnostics is determining whether or not
the power comes on. In the first step you can tell if your pc has an
electricity supplied inside by : hearing a CPU fans turning and driver
motors spinning and seeing up some light in front of the CPU case, and
hear up some BIOS beeps. If the System is warm pull the plug immediately
,you might have a ground failure or a short. If u heard something thats
annoying check if the power supply fan is creating a breeze. Monitors
are powered independently, unless if you are looking at a notebook PC,(a
live screen doesn't indicate a working power supply).

Second
If the power doesn't come on, the first thing to do is to ckeck that you
have a live power source. You don't need a Volt Meter to check if your
power outlet is live. Just unplug the power supply cord and plug in a
lamp or a radio. If you are using a power strip, don't assume the socket
you are using is good because the other outlets are working and the
power strip status light is on. Many power strips in the field have at
least one bad outlet, and working outlets have been known to fail for no
particularly good reason. Power supply cords very rarely fail, but it's
possible for the female connector on the power supply end to be back
out of the socket. Make sure that both ends of the power supply cord are
fully inserted in the outlet and the power supply, respectively.

Third
Make sure you are using the correct voltage is (110V/ 220V) selected on
the power supply. While this should never come up with a PC that's just
been sitting on the desk, if you've replaced the power supply or moved
the PC, it's always possible. There is a small red slide switch located
on power supply, usually between the power cord and the on/off override
switch on the back of the case. Unplug the supply and select the proper
voltage for your country e.g Philippines 220V. If you tried to power up
with the switch set to 220V in a country using 110V, the system should
be OK when you correct the voltage. If you tried running on 110V in a
220V country, you've at probably blown a fuse in the supply (at the
least), or damaged the supply and possibly the other components of ur
power supply.

after checking possibilities try the next

Fourth
Assuming your PC is connected to a monitor, the next question is, do you
have a live screen? Do texts or a splash screen appear? A message
saying "Please connect monitor" or "No video signal detected" counts as a
"No" answer in this case. If the screen is live, but you see multiple
images or endless scrolling, the video adapter is providing signals that
cannot be interpreted by the monitor. This usually occurs when you
attach an old monitor to a new PC and the monitor doesn't support the
refresh rate at the screen resolution selected in the Windows settings.

Fifth
If the power supply comes on but you don't get a live screen, switch off
and try again. You may have to hold the power switch in for five or
more seconds before the system powers back down. If it fails to power
down, you can turn off the switch on the back of the power supply, turn
off your power strip, or unplug the cord. A PC that boots on the second
or third try is most likely suffering from a quick power_ok (or
power_good) signal, coming on before the power supply has stabilized.
The presence of the power_ok signal tells the motherboard that the power
supply is stable, while the absence tells you the motherboard to stay
off to protect itself. It's possible the power supply isn't quite up to
the current ATX standard or the motherboard is a little too demanding
about the timing. Booting twice every time you want to turn on the PC
isn't an ideal thing to do, so unless you leave it on all the way, look
into buying a higher quality power supply, ideally power supply that are
recommended by the motherboard manufacturer.

**steves** · **steves**6 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:25 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

10 Things you should do when your computer hangs up!

You are in the middle of doing your work,
suddenly you realized your computer hanged up. But the problem is, you
have not saved your work! Don’t panic! There is a solution for that! And
you can surely save your file! Here’s how:

1. Click on “ctrl-alt-delete” keys.

The windows task manager will then open, click on all programs that you
don’t need and end the task. You will see that all programs on your
taskbar will close one by one. If this will resolve the issue! – then
save! (tip# 1: if you’re working on an MS Office application, it will
automatically save your file in case the programs suddenly shut down —
tip# 2: always save your file at least every 2 minutes by just simply
clicking on the “diskette icon”— its just one click!)

2. If it did not resolve the issue,

are there some users logged on that computer? If so, go to switch user
(for XP) and log off that user, go back to your log on screen and log on
again.

The reason the computer hang up is because if there are many open
programs and applications, these retains in the memory, if it is too
much for the memory to handle, it freezes! Another reason too the
computer hang up is because if you are connected to the internet via
dial up, and you are running too many applications and opening many
websites. So I suggest, if you are multimedia user or a heavy internet
user, then you are better off with a higher memory, at least 512Mb of
memory.

There are simple ways to avoid computer to freeze or hang up:

3. Clean your history at least once a week

>tools>internet options>clear history. I normally set my
history to “0”, meaning, when I restart my computer, it doesn’t save
history pages that I have visited

4. Delete all internet temporary files

>tools>internet options>delete files (do the “offline” content too!)

5. Delete cookies

(some do not do this, but I do delete cookies at least once a week!) >tools>internet options>delete cookies
6. Remove unnecessary programs that you no longer use
they are just occupying space and memory! >control panel>add/remove programs

7. Do defragmentation at least once a week

>point the mouse to “start” button, then right click
“explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (which is usually
the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>defragment
now

8. You can also check the logical drive’s volume for errors

>point the mouse to “start” button, then right click
“explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (I repeat, is
usually the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>check
now

9. It is better to have only one user being logged on.

Even if there are many users, make sure the user logs off after using
the computer, rather than keeping it logged on and you do the switching
of users. Switching users is good as long as you don’t keep all users
logged on—I think that is more logical

10. Always shut down properly the computer

(do NOT use the power button when turning it off! )

**steves** · **steves**7 Re: Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:25 am

Technician

Post : 84

Points : 8869

Paano nga ba malaman kung working and effective pa ang isang antivirus software?

Para malaman, basahin natin ang pag-uusap ng magkaibigang Juan at Pedro.

Juan: Pedro paano ba malaman kung gumagana pa ng maayos ang Antivirus Software ng PC ko?

Pedro: hmmm.. Secret! Pero kung gusto mo talagang malaman ganito lang kasimple yan:

Una, pindutin mo ang Start Button.

Pangalawa, pindutin mo ang Run.

Pangatlo, sa box na mag-aappear type: notepad
at pindutin mo ang OK.

5. Pagbukas na ang notepad icopy and paste mo ito sa Notepad:

X5O!P%@APCC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Pagkatapos nun Juan pindutin mo ang File menu at pindutin mo ang save as
.

Then palitan mo ang 'Save as Type' to 'all files'.

Pagkatapos
isave mo na sa filename na: may virus kaya ang PC ko or sa kahit anong filename na gusto mo.

[color=green]Juan: Eh Pedro ano namang purpose nyan?

Pedro: Juan, kapag nadetect yan ng antivirus software mo ibig sabihin gumagana pa ng maayos ang antivirus software ng PC mo.

Juan: Ah sige try ko 'to.

Pedro: Ok, no problem.

How to scan your PC's Operating System for viruses without using any Software

Credits to the original author.

1) start > run > type: command
> enter > type: cd.. > enter > type: cd.. > enter >
type: cd windows > enter > type: cd system32 > Enter
> type Setup > enter

Note : If you will get a message like this " Please Go To your COntrol
Panel to install and configure system components " ,means that your
operative system isn't infected.

If the file Setup.exe is closed. That's mean your operative system is infected .

If the file Setup.exe is opened. That's mean your operative system isn't infected (it's clear).

Hope this little tutorial help you Computer Repair & Troubleshooting Tips Salute