A+ 1202 3.1 Troubleshoot Common Windows OS issues

A user reports that their system randomly restarts and displays a blue screen with the error "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL". This started after they installed a new graphics card driver. How would you troubleshoot this issue?

first check the memory dump file to see exactly what caused the BSOD. After driver has been found roll back the installed driver to a previous, stable version.

An employee complains that their Windows 10 laptop has become sluggish over the past week. Applications take longer to open, and switching between tabs in the browser is noticeably delayed. How would you identify the root cause and improve performance?

First check system resource usage via task manager. Check if resource usage is maxed out by user (indicates need for hardware upgrade). Second check if device has any updates (OS/ firmware/drivers/apps) and install them.

A user turns on their computer and sees the manufacturer logo, but the system never reaches the Windows login screen. Instead, it gets stuck in a spinning circle. What steps would you take to diagnose and fix the issue?

Enter Windows recovery mode and perform start up repair.

A Windows PC in a customer service department is shutting down unexpectedly several times a day without any warning or error message. What possible causes would you investigate?

Possible causes could be overheating CPU/GPU, low memory due to resource consumption, and even

The Windows Update service is not starting on a user’s computer. They are receiving the error “Windows could not start the Windows Update service on Local Computer. Error 1058.” How would you go about resolving this?

A user reports that Microsoft Word and Excel crash shortly after opening on their Windows 11 PC. This began after a recent Office update. What steps would you take to identify and fix the issue?

Check if there are any events logged in event viewer. Then repair the office installation via control panel. Also roll back the update is an option too.

An analyst reports that they frequently get "Your computer is low on memory" pop-ups while working with large Excel files and Google Chrome tabs open. The system has 8 GB of RAM. How would you address this?

check to see just how much Ram is used. If RAM usage is maxed out recommend adding more RAM for the device if it has extra slots. Lastly check the virtual memory to see if it is used often (since hard drive is slower).

A user connects a new USB external hard drive and receives a warning: "Not enough USB controller resources." Some devices stop working when the hard drive is connected. What does this mean, and how do you resolve it?

This means that the usb controller does not have the ability to support all the usb devices along with the hard drive due to not enough bandwidth. Resources are exhausted. To resolve this simply unplug unnecessary USB devices so the controller can have more resources for the drive. Also try using a powered usb hub or switching USB ports (3.0 instead of 2.0).

A Windows 10 desktop intermittently freezes or restarts, especially when launching games or editing videos. Event Viewer logs show Kernel-Power errors. How would you investigate and stabilize the system?

check if the GPU or CPU is overheating. Will also check system resource usage via task manager to see if too many resources are used.

After a power outage, a user restarts their PC and gets a message saying “No Operating System Found.” BIOS still detects the hard drive. How would you proceed with troubleshooting?

A domain user complains that logging into their Windows PC takes 5–10 minutes. The issue is consistent across different machines, but only for this user. What might be causing the slow profile load, and how would you resolve it?

You’re investigating issues on a Windows Server 2019 machine where scheduled tasks are running at the wrong times. The system time is several minutes off, despite being connected to a domain. What could cause the time drift, and how would you correct it?

What is the primary function of a memory dump file created during a BSOD, and how can it be used to identify the root cause of a system crash?

A memory dump file’s function is to log what caused a serious crash on a Windows system. It can help identify the root cause since it can provide you with the:

• The stop error code (bug check code) and parameters.

• The contents of active processes, drivers, and kernel memory at the moment of failure.

• The state of the CPU registers and stack traces.

Like a black box for your PC.

How do background processes, startup programs, and disk fragmentation contribute to degraded system performance on a Windows machine?

What roles do the Master Boot Record (MBR) and the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) play in the Windows boot process?

MBR is a small section of the first sector of the OS partition that directs the firmware to the boot sector. The BCD is a Windows database used to store boot options and helps the system know what OSs are installed and how to boot them.

Which Windows power settings or hardware conditions could lead to frequent or unexpected shutdowns, and how do they interact?

What is the difference between service startup types (Automatic, Manual, Disabled, Automatic (Delayed Start)), and how can these settings impact Windows functionality?

Automatic (starts with Windows), Automatic (Delayed Start) (starts a few minutes after Windows), Manual (starts only when a program requests it), and Disabled (prevents the service from running at all). Setting a service to Automatic (Delayed Start) can improve boot performance by deferring resource use, while Disabling a service can enhance performance by reducing background load but may cause functionality issues for dependent programs

What is the significance of the Windows Event Viewer in diagnosing repeated application crashes, and which log categories are most relevant?

How does Windows use virtual memory (paging file) to handle low RAM conditions, and what are the risks of disabling or misconfiguring the paging file?

Virtual memory is used by Windows to provide extra memory space if physical RAM is overused. It stores memory on the hard drive on a specific section of it called the paging space. Disabling or misconfiguring virtual memory could cause system instability since the system will not be able to handle any tasks requiring memory above what is physically allotted.

Why can USB devices cause resource conflicts, and how do USB host controllers manage bandwidth and power among connected devices?

Host controllers manage these resources by dividing bandwidth among connected endpoints, allocating power based on device requirements and port limits, and distributing devices across multiple root ports to balance the load and prevent resource exhaustion. 

USB devices can cause resource conflicts due to 1. limited bandwidth 2. limited power 3. endpoint limits 4. hardware limitations

How can faulty device drivers or incompatible software lead to system instability, and what tools does Windows provide to isolate these issues?

What are the common causes of the “No Operating System Found” error, and how does BIOS/UEFI firmware influence this message?

Boot device not found, misconfigured boot order, corrupted or missing bootloader, bad partition, or failed storage device. UEFI/ Bios influences this message since it searches fora bootable device based on the order. If none are found the error appears.

In a domain environment, how do roaming profiles and group policy objects (GPOs) affect user logon times?

Roaming profiles increase user logon times by transferring a user's entire profile from a file server, especially if large files are stored, while Group Policy Objects (GPOs) add to logon times by copying, parsing, and applying computer and user settings from domain controllers, with the number of GPOs and their complexity directly impacting the delay. 

How does Windows synchronize time on domain-joined systems, and what role does the Windows Time service (W32Time) play in preventing drift?

Windows synchronizes time on domain-joined systems by using the Windows Time Service (W32Time) and the Network Time Protocol (NTP) within a hierarchical structure defined by Active Directory, where the PDC emulator is the ultimate time authority. W32Time, via NTP, prevents drift by constantly adjusting system clocks to a common, accurate time source, selecting the best source based on reliability and synchronizing clocks to within milliseconds of UTC, which is essential for Kerberos authentication and accurate logging. 

What does the stop code in a memory dump represent? How can the stop code help narrow down the type of crash that occurred?

It represents the reason for the crash and is typically displayed as a hexadecimal value (e.g., 0x0000007E) along with a descriptive message (e.g., SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED).

This code helps narrow down the crash by pointing to the general category or cause of the error—such as hardware failure, driver issues, or memory corruption—allowing IT professionals or developers to begin targeted troubleshooting based on the associated symptoms and known causes of that stop code.

What do the parameters listed with the stop code represent? Why might these parameters be critical for a system administrator analyzing a crash?

Each parameter usually represents specific information like memory addresses, error codes, or pointers related to the cause of the crash. Their meaning varies depending on the stop code. These parameters are critical for a system administrator because they help pinpoint exactly what went wrong—for example, which driver caused the fault, the memory location involved, or the state of certain system components at the time of the crash.

When a driver or system file is shown in the dump (e.g., nvlddmkm.sys), what does this represent? Does the driver listed always represent the true cause of the crash? Why or why not?

Means that this particular file was involved or referenced during the crash—often it’s the driver that was active when the system failed.

However, the driver listed does not always represent the true root cause of the crash. Sometimes the crash happens because of a different underlying issue, such as: 1. A conflict with another driver, 2. Corrupted system files, 3. Hardware problems, 4.Or a bug in the operating system itself.

What does the CPU register information in a memory dump represent? How might corrupted register values provide clues about a hardware issue vs. a software one?

The CPU register information in a memory dump shows the state of the processor's registers (like the instruction pointer, stack pointer, and general-purpose registers) at the exact moment the crash happened. These registers hold critical data such as the current instruction being executed, memory addresses, and intermediate calculation results. If the register values appear corrupted or nonsensical, it can hint at a hardware issue—for example, faulty RAM or CPU problems—because hardware errors often cause random or invalid data to be loaded into registers. In contrast, software-related crashes usually show more consistent register values pointing to specific code or driver problems.

What does a stack trace in the dump represent? How can reviewing the stack trace help identify the sequence of events that led to the crash?

A stack trace in a memory dump represents a snapshot of the call stack at the moment of the crash—it shows the sequence of function calls that the CPU was executing, starting from the current function and going back through the chain of previous calls.

Reviewing the stack trace helps identify the sequence of events leading to the crash by revealing which functions were called in what order, which driver or system component was active, and where the failure occurred.

What do the active processes listed in a memory dump represent? How can knowing which process was running at the time of the crash help identify the root cause?

The active processes listed in a memory dump represent all the programs and system services that were running on the computer when the crash occurred.

Knowing which process was running at the time of the crash helps identify the root cause because it points to the specific application or service that might have triggered the failure. If a particular process is associated with a faulty driver or a problematic piece of software, focusing on that process can narrow down troubleshooting efforts.

What does the kernel memory snapshot represent in a dump file? Why is the kernel portion of memory more important than user memory in BSOD analysis?

Captures the contents of the operating system’s kernel space at the time of the crash. This includes critical system components like the core OS code, drivers, and kernel-mode data structures.

The kernel portion of memory is more important than user memory in BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) analysis because most crashes originate from kernel-mode operations—such as faulty drivers, hardware interactions, or system-level bugs. User-mode memory usually relates to regular applications, which typically don’t cause system-wide crashes

What does it represent if the dump file shows repeated memory access violations? What does it represent if disk-related drivers appear consistently in crashes?

Means that the system or a driver is frequently trying to read or write to invalid or protected areas of memory. This often points to bugs like null pointer dereferences, buffer overflows, or corrupted memory, which can be caused by faulty drivers, software bugs, or even hardware issues like bad RAM.

disk-related drivers appear consistently in crashes, it suggests that the problem might be tied to storage hardware or its drivers—such as failing hard drives, SSD issues, corrupted disk drivers, or problems with the disk controller

What does a small memory dump (Minidump) represent compared to a full memory dump? In which situations would a kernel memory dump be preferred over a full memory dump?

captures only the most essential information about a crash—like the stop code, basic system info, the list of loaded drivers, and a small portion of the memory around the crash point. It’s much smaller in size and quicker to create but contains limited data.

A full memory dump, on the other hand, captures the entire contents of the system’s RAM at the time of the crash, providing the most detailed information but requiring more storage and analysis time.

A kernel memory dump is often preferred over a full dump because it captures only the kernel-mode memory (core OS and drivers) without user-mode memory. It’s smaller than a full dump but still contains all the critical info needed to diagnose most BSODs caused by system-level issues. Kernel dumps are ideal when user-mode data isn’t necessary,