3.

Identifying potential
solution to problem
3.1 Introduction
• As IT professionals, we are regularly expected to troubleshoot all
kinds of technology problems as they arise during the day to day
operations of our jobs
• Sometimes the issues we face are minor in nature and very easily
solved – a help desk ticket for example, where a new employee can’t
access or save files on their home drive
• When your computer is not running properly the first course of action
is to do a proper shut down, and restart
An Unresponsive PC
• First check the cable
• Check the wall outlet
• Turn the system off and wait 30 seconds and then try again
• Reach behind the machine and see if you feel air blowing out of the
power supply
• Look at the keyboard for the indicator lights being lit up as the
machine boots
• Sometimes the monitor has something to do with the system acting
up
• Listen to identify a beeping series if there is one to report it to the
technical help
Monitor Troubleshooting
Symptom 1: The monitor screen is black
• Is the computer turned on?
• If no lights appear on the front of the monitor at all, it is not getting
any power from the power source
• Power cord from the computer to the power strip
• Power strip to the wall socket
• There is a light on the strip
• There is a light on the monitor
• A green light on the front of the monitor would indicate that it is
getting a signal from the computer
• An orange light would indicate there is not signal from the computer
Symptom 1: The monitor screen is black
• Verify that all cables and cords leading in to and out of your computer
to insure they are all in tight and not disconnected
The screen is too bright or too dark
• Check if the Brightness or contrast control is at the appropriate
position, not at the maximum or minimum
• Check if the specified voltage is applied
• Check if the signal timing of the computer system is within the
specification of the monitor
• Especially, check the horizontal frequency
The screen is shaking
Diagnosis
• Move all objects that emit a magnetic field, such as a motor or
transformer, away from the monitor
• Check if the specified voltage is applied
• Check if the signal timing of the computer system is within the
specification of the monitor
Symptom 1: The Printer is not printing
• Check to see if the printer getting power
• If there are no lights or no display on the front of the printer, the
printer is not getting electricity or power
• If the printer is still not getting power, plug the power cord into a
different outlet on the power strip
Symptom 1: The Printer is not printing
• Left mouse-click on the Start button
• Go to Settings and then select Printers
• Place your mouse arrow on the small printer icon and right mouse-
click
• Left mouse-click on Properties
• On the General tab, there is a Print Test Page button in the lower right
corner
• If the answer is no, please call or e-mail the Help Desk at x
• If you can print a Windows test page, try to print from a different
program
Symptom 1: The Printer is not printing
• The computer and the printer must be communicating before the
printer will print
• If the printer is off-line or paused, the print jobs will just stack up in
the print queue but nothing prints
• Left mouse-click on the Start button
• Go to Settings
• Then choose Printers
• The Printer folder should open and display the printers installed on
this PC
• Place your mouse arrow on the printer you are checking and right
mouse click
Symptom 1: The Printer is not printing
• Then repeat steps 1 through 7 again
• If the printer is still not printing, please contact the Help Desk at
x1112
• If the printer is a local printer , power off the PC, power off the
printer, count to 10, and then turn both the printer and the computer
back on again
The printer is printing streaks on the page
• If the printer is a DeskJet, go to the HP DeskJet Utilities menu in the
Program menu
• If the printer is a LaserJet, try changing the toner cartridge
• If neither option works, please visit the printer maintenance vendor
list to schedule printer service
• Turn the PC off
• If the CD can be read from another computer's CD ROM drive, the CD
ROM drive may be bad and need to be replaced
• The CD ROM drive may also have dirt or debris inside
• CD, CDR, or CDRW drives read discs by shining a laser onto the CD and
then measuring the amount of light that gets reflected back
The printer is printing streaks on the page
• If the CD is not dirty, you can try to clean the CD Rom drive using a
professional CD cleaner kit
• A number of older CD drives cannot read some types of CD-R CDs
The printer is printing streaks on the page
• Symptom: Keyboard doesn't respond and gives off a constant beeping
noise when booting up
• Try unplugging it and re-plugging it again
• Gently pry off the cover and clean it with alcohol
Symptom 1: The mouse is acting erratic
• Symptom 2: The mouse will only move one way, either vertically or
horizontally
• Clean the mouse
• Shut down your machine and unplug your mouse from the computer
• Symptom: My PC is not working on the Network
Diagnosis
• Left mouse-click on the Start button
• Go to Settings
• Once in the Control Panel, look for the Display icon
• Double left mouse-click on the Display icon
• In the Display Properties box, left mouse-click on the settings tab
• Place your mouse arrow on the slider, hold down the left-mouse
button, and move the arrow until the number changes to the desired
setting
• 640x480 screen resolution has fewer pixels so the screen appears
larger
Diagnosis
• Symptom 3: The Screen goes black if not used for a few minutes
• The power saver or energy saver features may be turned on
• Left mouse-click on the Start button
• Go to Settings
• Once in the Control Panel, look for the Display icon
• Double left mouse-click on the Display icon
• Left mouse-click on the Screen Saver tab
• Left mouse-click on the Power or Settings button in the lower left corner
• On the Power schemes tab, you should see where it says "Turn off monitor:"
with an amount of time next to it
• Change the time to "Never."
Diagnosis
• Symptom 3: The Screen goes black if not used for a few minutes
• Left mouse-click on the Apply button in the lower right-hand corner
• Left mouse-click on the OK button
• Left mouse-click on the next OK button
• Look for the Volume icon in the system tray in the lower right-hand corner of
the Windows desktop
• Place the mouse arrow on this icon
• Double left-mouse click
• Place the mouse arrow on the "slider" button and slide the arrow up to
increase or down to decrease the volume
• If "Mute all" check box is checked, there will be no sound
• Ensure the speakers are properly connected to the audio card’s output
connector and turned on
Diagnosis
• Symptom 3: The Screen goes black if not used for a few minutes
• To place the volume icon in the system tray in the lower right of the desktop
• Place the mouse arrow on the Start button in the lower left corner
• Left mouse-click on Settings
• Left mouse-click on the Control Panel
• Place the mouse arrow on the Multimedia icon
• Place the mouse arrow on the Multimedia icon
• Double-left mouse click
• Left mouse-click on the Audio file tab
• Towards the bottom look for the check box that reads "Show volume control
on taskbar."
Diagnosis
• Symptom 3: The Screen goes black if not used for a few minutes
• Make sure the box is checked to activate the icon
• Symptom 1: No power lights on the monitor/computer
• Symptom 1: The cursor is stuck on the hourglass
• Simultaneously press
• Another dialog box will open stating that the program is not responding
• Press once to open the Task Manager
• Press again to restart the computer
• Start-up of a computer from a powered-down state
Diagnosis
• Symptom 2: You have run out of disk space on your computer
• Open My Computer
• Try running the Disk Cleanup Wizard
3.2 Recommendation about
possible solutions
3.2.1 Developing/Ranking alternatives
• Look at your problems in different ways; find a new perspective that
you haven't thought of before
• Brainstorming, or rapid noting of alternatives no matter how silly, is
an excellent discovery process
• Once you have listed or mapped alternatives, be open to their
possibilities
Weigh/Rank Alternatives
• After listing possible alternatives, evaluate them without prejudice, no
matter how appealing or distasteful
Consider all criteria
• While a suitable solution may solve the problem, it may not work if
resources aren't available, if people won't accept it, or if it causes new
problems
Select the best alternative
• Don't consider any alternative as "perfect solution."If there were,
there probably wouldn't be a problem in the first place
• Consider your intuition,or inner feelings in deciding on a course of
action
• Return to your trusted outsider:Is there something you missed?
• CompromiseConsider compromise when you have a full grasp of the
problem, and your alternatives
Select the best alternative
• When the alternative under consideration hasmore value than the
others, then give the more valuable alternative a score of
• When the alternative has less value than the others give the less
valuable alternative a score of 0
SFF Matrix: Suitability,
Feasibility & Flexibility
Rate each alternative on scale of 1 - 3 for its
• Suitability: refers to the alternative itself, whether it is ethical or
practical
• Is it appropriate in scale or importance?
• Is it an adequate response?
• Is it too extreme?
• Feasibility: refers to how many resources will be needed to solve the
problem
• Is it affordable?
• How likely will it solve the problem?
• Flexibility: refers to your ability to respond to unintended consequences, or
openness to new possibilities, the alternative itself, and whether you can
control outcomes once you begin
3.3 Planning Implementation and evaluation
of solutions
• Step-by-step process or actions for solving the problem
• Communications strategy for notifying stakeholders
• Resource identification/allocation
• Timeline for implementation
3.3.2 Monitoring/Evaluating progress
• Your implementation will only be successful if you are evaluating your
solution, the effects of it on resources and stakeholders, your
timeline, and your progress
• As you monitor your progress, if results are not what you expect,
review your options and alternatives
• Lastly, if you have done your best, you have this as one measure of
success
Documenting and submitting
recommended solutions
3.4.1 Documenting system problems and
symptoms
• Your success as a fault-finding technician greatly depends on your
ability to accurately document a fault and its symptoms
• You might be surprised to know that a great part of the answer lies
within the documentation of the problems and its symptoms
• Hence, it is vital that documentation is not overlooked and
appropriate standards are observed
Documentation standards
• Worldwide, the ITIL has emerged as a de-facto standard for many
areas of IT
• ITIL is a set of best practices standards for Information Technology
service management
• ITIL is controlled by the Office of Government Commerce in the
United Kingdom
3.4.2 Document the process
• Capture your findings, actions, and outcomes
• Issues that need to be troubleshot may occur again