IT ESSENTIALS

Final Exam Preparation Paper

Chapter 4: Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Effective preventive maintenance reduces part, material, and system faults, and keeps hardware
and software in good working condition.

PC Preventive Maintenance Overview

Preventive maintenance plans are developed based on at least two factors:

Regular preventive maintenance:

• Reduces potential hardware and software problems

• Reduces computer downtime

• Reduces repair costs

• Reduces number of equipment failures

• Improves data protection

• Improves equipment life and stability

• Saves money

Dust on the outside of a computer can travel through cooling fans to the inside. Accumulated
dust prevents the flow of air and reduces the cooling of components. Remove dust from the
inside of a computer using a combination of compressed air, a low-air-flow ESD vacuum
cleaner, and a small lint-free cloth.

Components damaged by dust:

An optimal operating environment for a computer is clean, free of potential contaminants, and
within the temperature and humidity range specified by the manufacturer.

To maintain software:
• Update software, drivers, and security
• Update virus definition files and perform scans
• Remove unwanted/unused programs
• Scan and defragment hard drives

Troubleshooting process steps

A data backup is a copy of the data on a computer hard drive that is saved to another storage
device or to cloud storage
Cloud storage is online storage that is accessed via the internet.

The troubleshooting process:

To identify the problem, ask open-ended and close-ended questions. Open-ended questions
allow customers to express the problem in their own words. Close-ended questions require
either a “Yes” or a “No”.

Common problems and solutions for PCs

Common hardware problems are due to loose or incorrect cable connections, failed
components, incorrect drivers and formats, inadequate cooling, compatibility issues, incorrect
BIOS settings.
Common problems and causes:

• The computer doesn’t recognize a storage drive - the power/data cable is loose, the jumpers
are set incorrectly, a storage device failed, BIOS settings are incorrect
• The computer doesn’t recognize an optical disk - the disc is inserted wrong, more than one
disk, disc is damaged, wrong disc format, optical drive is faulty
• The computer will not eject the optical disc - the optical drive is jammed/locked by software/
faulty
• The computer doesn’t recognize a removable external drive - external drive cable not seated
properly, disabled in BIOS, external drive is faulty
• A media card reader cannot read a media card - the reader doesn’t support the card type,
reader not connected correctly, reader not configured in BIOS, reader is faulty
• Interacting with USB flash drive is slow - motherboard does not support newer versions, port
set to full speed in BIOS
• Computer clock is wrong and BIOS settings change - CMOS battery loose/drained
• After updating BIOS, computer won’t start - BIOS update did not install correctly
• When booted, CPU info is wrong - CPU settings incorrect in BIOS, BIOS doesn’t recognize
CPU
• Hard drive LED doesn’t light - LED cable not connected/loose/incorrectly oriented
• NIC stopped working - NIC hardware failed
• No video after PCIe video card installation - BIOS settings for built-in video, monitor cable for
built-in video, video card need aux power, video card is faulty
• New sound card doesn’t work - speakers not connected to the jack, audio muted, sound card
faulty, BIOS settings
• System attempts to boot to an incorrect device - media was left in a removable drive, BIOS
boot order incorrect
• Fans spinning, computer doesn’t start and no beeps - no POST execution
• Motherboard capacitors are going nuts - Heat, ESP and power surge or spike
• Computer will not turn on - not plugged in, wall outlet faulty, power cord faulty, power supply
switch not on, power supply to incorrect voltage, power button not connected correctly, power
supply failed
• Computer reboots/turns of unexpectedly/smoke and burn smell - power supply fail
• Computer will not boot or locks up - CPU overheat, CPU fan fail, CPU fail
• CPU fan is making unusual noise - CPU fan fail
• Computer boots without warning, locks up or displays error messages - FSB too high, CPU
multiplier/voltage too high
• Dual-core CPU upgrade doesn’t show in Task manager and is slow - BIOS doesn’t recognize
• CPU won’t install onto the motherboard - wrong CPU type
• Computer doesn’t recognize added RAM - new RAM is faulty/incorrect type/loose in the slot
• Computer is slow after Windows upgrade - not enough RAM, Video card doesn’t have enough
memory
• Display has power but no image - video cable loose/damaged, computer not sending signal
• Images on display are distorted geometry - driver is corrupted, display settings incorrect
• Display flickering - not enough refresh rate, display inverter damaged/malfunctioning
• Display is ghosted - burn-in
• Image on display is dim - LCD backlight not properly adjusted
• Images on display are distorted - display settings have been changed, display not properly
connected, GPU overheat/faulty/malfunction
• Pixels are dead - no power to pixels
• Monitor has oversized images and icons - driver corrupted, display settings incorrect
• Lines of different colors appear - display not properly connected,GPU overheating/faulty/
malfunctioning
• Displays not aligned in multi-monitor setup - wrong settings, driver corrupted
• Color patterns incorrect - display not properly connected,GPU overheating/faulty/
malfunctioning
• Projector overheats and shuts down - fan fail, vents clogged, projector in enclosure
• Display in VGA mode - computer in safe mode, driver corrupted
• RAID cannot be found - external RAID controller not receiving power/failed, BIOS settings
incorrect
• RAID stops working - external RAID controller not receiving power/failed
• Computer is slow - not enough RAM, overheating
• Computer doesn’t recognize a removable external drive - OS doesn’t have the correct drivers,
USB port has too many attached devices
• Computer won’t restart after BIOS update - update didn’t install correctly
• Opening/saving a file displays an error - drive fail
• RAID not found - missing drivers for RAID controller