Troubleshooting Hardware - CompTIA A+ 220-1201 - 5.1

Beeps or Codes

Failures are usually noted with what when POSTing:

- Bad video, bad RAM, bad CPU

- A BIOS configuration issue

Blank screen on boot is usually a sign of what?

- Set boot order in BIOS configuration

- Confirm that the startup device has a valid operating system

- Check for media in a startup device

What should you do if your computer attempts to boot to an incorrect device?

- Use Last Known Good, System Restore, or Rollback Driver

- Reseat or remove hardware

- Run hardware diagnostics

What are some possible things to do if this happens?

Proprietary Crash Screen

What is this?

- Check if the monitor is connected

- Choose the correct input on the monitor

- Check the brightness

- Swap the monitor if all else fails

What should you do if your monitor has a blank screen

- No power at the source

- No power at the power supply

- Check outlets with multimeter

- Check your fan connections

- Check if you're motherboard is bad

- Check the power supply output

What issues could there be if there's no power to the computer or fans and what should you do?

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

- Check for Windows Updates

- Check disk space

- Check if power-saving mode is on if you're using a laptop

- Use anti-virus and anti-malware

What should you do if you're getting sluggish performance?

- Make sure they're clean and clear

- Verify the temperature with monitoring software

What are some ways to stop components from overheating

- Always disconnect the power

- Locate any bad components and replace them

What should you do if you smell smoke and burning in a computer

- Heat-related issues

- Failing hardware

- Check event viewer

- Check device manager and run diagnostics

- Eliminate what's working

What might cause computers to randomly shutdown and what could you do to resolve it?

- Check the Event Viewer or logs

- Check the Reliability Monitor

- Reinstall the application

What should you do if an application crashes?

- Rattling could be loose components

- Scraping could be a hard drive issue

- Clicking could be a fan problem

- A pop could be a blown capacitor

What are the unusual noises you can hear inside a computer and what problems could they be

It keeps asking for a date/time on every boot

How to know if your motherboard battery is bad