CompTIA A+ 1102 Troubleshooting Windows

Blue Screens and Frequent Shutdowns

- might be linked to bad hardware, bad drivers, or a bad application

- use last known good, system restore, or rollback drivers to troubleshoot a possible software problem

- or try safe mode

- if potentially hardware related, remove or reseat the hardware

- run hardware diagnostics

Sluggish Performance

- check task manager for high CPU and I/O utilization

- update Windows

- check for available disk space and defrag

- verify power-saving mode is turned off (laptops)

- run an anti-virus scan and an anti-malware scan

Windows Boot Configuration (acronym)

BCD

Windows Boot Configuration

"bootrec /rebuildbdcd" in the recovery console

Boot Errors

- may be caused by a boot loader replacement or changes

try:

- checking boot drives

- remove any removable media

- using startup repair

- modifying BCD

Startup Repair

- useful in missing NTLDR troubleshooting

- the main Windows boot loader is missing

- run Startup Repair or replace manually and reboot

- disconnect any removable media

- also useful with missing OS errors

- boot configuration data may be incorrect

- settings > system > recovery

- or run from advanced boot options

Starting The System Troubleshooting

- if Windows is starting, but a device is not, check device manager and event viewer

- often due to a bad driver

- remove or replace

- the "one or more services failed to start" error is due to bad/incorrect drivers or bad hardware

- try starting manually

- check account permissions

- check service dependencies

- check system files (Windows Service)

- reinstall application (application service)

Application Crashing

- check the event log and/or the reliability monitor

- reinstall the application

- contact application support

Low Memory Warnings

- close large memory processes

- increase virtual memory

- system > about > advanced system settings > performance > virtual memory

USB Controller Resource Warnings

- given when you exceed the number of USB endpoints (buffers)

- try moving the device to a different USB interface or matching the USB interface to the device capabilities

- USB 2.0 might support a larger number of endpoints

System Instability

- general system failures

troubleshooting:

- run a full diagnostic (first)

- check the OS

- run SFC

- perform an anti-malware scan

System File Checker

- verifies the integrity of the OS

- "sfc /scannow"

System File Checker (acronym)

SFC

Time Drift

- enable automatic time setting

- settings > time & language > date & time

- the time zone may also need configuration

Restarting Services

options under "services" in task manager

Uninstalling/Reinstalling/Updating Applications

- settings > apps > apps & features

- some options in the control panel under programs and features

Restoring Windows Using System Restore

- system > about > system protection

- pick a restore time and let the system reboot

- user data is not modified

Windows Reset Option

- reimage or reload the OS

- Windows 10: settings > update & security > recovery

- Windows 11: settings > system > recovery

Update and Patch The OS (or Roll Back Updates)

- Windows 10: settings > update & security > windows update

- Windows 11: settings > windows update

Deleting a Windows Profile (steps)

1. login to the computer with domain administrator rights

2. rename the \users\name folder

3. backup the user's registry

- HKLM\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\profilelist

- right click and export

4. delete the registry entry

Recreating a Windows Profile (steps)

1. login to the computer with the user account

- the profile will be rebuilt

2. login as the domain administrator and copy any important files from the old profile, to the new profile