Troubleshooting

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Troubleshooting

• Drew Brown
• Office of Information Technology Training

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About Me

• Drew Brown, MCSE, MCSA, MCT, CTT, A
• Trainer Microsoft, Convergys
• Windows 2000
• Windows Me
• Windows XP
• Office of Information of Technology Training
• drew_brown_at_byu.edu

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Topics for Today

• Troubleshooting model
• Common pitfalls
• Troubleshooting memory
• Important Windows tools
• Log files
• Documentation

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Troubleshooting Model

• Get a complete and accurate symptom description
• Do some damage control
• Reproduce the symptom
• Narrow it down / Divide and conquer
• Repair or replace component
• Test
• Prevent future occurrence

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Divide and Conquer

• Start with high level groupings
• Hardware / Software
• Local / Remote
• Republican / Democrat
• Move to lower level groupings
• Operating system / Applications
• Conservative Republican / Liberal Republican

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Troubleshooting PracticeCant Print

• Get a complete and accurate symptom description
• Do some damage control
• Reproduce the symptom
• Narrow it down to the root cause
• Repair or replace component
• Test
• Prevent future occurrence

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Troubleshooting PracticeCant Boot

• Get a complete and accurate symptom description
• Do some damage control
• Reproduce the symptom
• Narrow it down to the root cause
• Repair or replace component
• Test
• Prevent future occurrence

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Common Pitfalls

• Not adequately identifying the problem before
  taking action
• Rebooting too soon, assuming past solutions
  always work, neglecting the basics
• Where there is smoke
• Not documenting changes while troubleshooting
• Each step and its results
• Troubleshooting several problems at one time
• Using improper tools or the lack thereof
• Not troubleshooting memory properly

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Troubleshooting Memory

• Intermittent and random error messages are often
  memory related
• Blue screens / stop codes
• Have a good set of ram
• Handle it by the edges
• Use diagnostic tools such as Microsoft Memory
  Diagnostic

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Tools

• System Information
• Network Diagnostics (results)
• System Restore
• Direct X
• System Configuration
• Driver Roll Back
• System Restore
• Safe Mode
• Last Known Good
• Recovery Console

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Log Files
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Documentation

• An investment in the future
• Use a searchable system
• Track trends
• Link cause / solution
• Make it available to others

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Quick Tips

• Start with a big picture and then get the detail
• Look for recent changes
• Look to knowledge bases
• Get help from others
• Follow your own advice

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Troubleshooting Practice
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Topics for Today

• Troubleshooting model
• Common pitfalls
• Troubleshooting memory
• Important Windows tools
• Log files
• Documentation

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