PC Troubleshooting for dummies (By Dummies)

Whew! Just finished replacing a hard drive on a computer. Spent the better part of an hour just trying to take the old one out. I don’t understand why computer manufacturers try to out-do themselves with every new model. It is like they are challenging consumers to “Try and take this out!”. This model had two screws hidden on the base that held the hard drive cage in its place. I had already taken 4 (yes, four!!) screws out, looked into every corner of the computer chassis to try and find a release mechanism or a hidden screw when I finally gave up, decided to call the tech support and put the computer down. By mistake, I put it upside-down. And there they were!! Two shiny screws that almost screwed up my day. Now that the installation of operating system on the new drive is under way, I sat down to vent.

For the last few weeks, or may be more, my best approach to troubleshooting issues on users’ computers has been “Let’s reboot it and see what happens”. I kid you not! This solves more problems than I can logically explain (yes, some problems can be solved by rebooting – much like you can start any Bajaj scooter by tipping it over for a few seconds :D ) I have “solved” many problems like IP address conflicts, crazy computer behavior, hung applications, missing Outlook settings, missing profiles, un-cooperative applications like QuickBooks, Adobe, Microsoft Office, connection problems….. The list could go on and on. I have a suspicion that the users snicker behind my back when I ask them to reboot their machine. I am thinking from now on, I will bring their computers to my office, keep them there for three days while I “troubleshoot” the issue, reboot the machine on the third day and give it back to the user. Smart plan, eh? I even fixed a Xerox WorkCentre by restarting it! So the rest of the equipment is catching up on the “restart” craze, huh? Good for me : )

Had loads to write, but the moment I started typing, everything flew right out of my mind. So this is it!