We’ve
all faced that dreaded moment when we try to turn on our computer and either it
doesn’t start at all or stops functioning unexpectedly. At this point we feel
frustrated and exasperated, and many of us are clueless as to what to do next.
Fret not; this workshop will equip you with many Do-It-Yourself solutions for
fixing a crashed or a malfunctioning computer. All you need is basic computer
knowledge, some tools, a little patience and a can of Red Bull. As with
anything to do with PC repair, you need to try different approaches and so this
guide won’t try to spoon-feed you, but will provide pointers in the right
direction.
Here
we present a top down organized checklist to guide you in troubleshooting.
We’ll be using the Worst to Best Case Scenario Methodology for diagnosing of
the issues in this workshop. This means we’ll start with the Worst Case of your
computer not starting at all to the Best Case where it requires a minor tweak,
and all the steps in between. Identify how broken your computer is, and start
fixing. A word of advice: even if you’re not facing the Worst Case Scenario
[the problem], it’s strongly recommended to run through the checklist as the
problem might be a result of something mentioned in the previous steps. The
guide will apply for both laptops and desktops and either of Windows or Linux
operating systems.
Checklist
The
first thing to do when faced with a malfunctioning system is to calm down;
panic won’t help. To reassure you a bit, there is over a 90% chance that your
data is still safe; it’s just not accessible to you, right now. Often it might
be a simple issue of loose connections or an inexpensive price of broken
hardware or a wrong setting. Let’s begin with the worst case scenario.
Your computer doesn’t
turn on at all
1. Check the basics: Sounds
silly but is your power on? Is the display up? Look for any LED activity lights
(power, hard disk, and network) and listen to any spinning noises of fan and
hard disk. If there are no signs of life then perform the following checks on
else skip to the next step.
2. In case of desktop check
if the main power chord is attached to the wall, the switch is on and also if
there is power supply in the socket, try putting some other appliance in there.
3. For laptops ensure your
battery is charged, and the laptop is connected to a charger. Try putting in
another battery if you have access to the same or one from a similar model.
4. Check if the reset switch
on the front panel from your case is stuck. You can check by pressing it. If
you can’t move it, that means that it is stuck, and you need to release it
using a small screwdriver. In the worst case you’ll need to replace it.
5. If you’re on a desktop,
try reconnecting all the cables and do a bit of dusting. You won’t believe that
number of systems that turn on simply by reassembling and cleaning off all the
dust.
If at this point it’s still not turning on, it’s
likely that your SMPS has conked off. You’ll need to replace it with new one.
System turns on, but
absolutely no display or switches off immediately
1. Ensure that your monitor
is plugged in and switched on and is working properly. Try connecting your
monitor to another device if possible.
2. With laptops you’re a
little out of luck. The error might not be only with display panel but also the
cable that powers it or the graphics card (if nothing at all is displayed) a
graphics card error is rare.
3. Don’t worry, all is not
lost yet; you would have noticed your computer beeps when you boot it, at this
point most popularly your beeping pattern has changed.
a. Power on the computer or
restart it if it’s already on.
b. Listen very carefully to
the beeps that are being emitted by a small speaker on your motherboard [you
don’t need external speakers]
c. You can restart your
computer a few times if you couldn’t hear it properly the first time; it’s
unlikely that by merely restarting a few times you’ll make your issue far
worse. Of course refrain from doing this if any burning smell or smoke is at
play.
d. Note down the exact beep
pattern, the points to note are if it was a short beep or a long beep, and how
often was it repeated.
e. Now Google for the beep codes of your
respective motherboard/BIOS manufacturer. For example for AWARD BIOS (one of
the most common one), you can find the beep code listening at http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm . You’ll notice that you
can find a great deal of information on your issue.
4. Often in these scenarios,
one typical issue can be solved by resetting the RAM. It’s simple to do even on
laptops and nearly all manufacturers, except Apple. You’ll have a simple panel
at the back which can be removed top access the RAM. You don’t need any
specialized tools, but be sure to keep one barefoot on the ground while
handling the RAM to prevent damage by static discharge.
Turns on but doesn’t
start booting into OS
This
issue is typically encountered where either your Master Boot Loader (which
tells what to load in Boot Loader, refer to BOX 2) is broken or your Boot
Loader is broken. This arises in two typical scenarios. One when you’re trying
to install Windows after installing Linux, and then you find yourself with no
way to enter Linux after installing Windows, and then deleted Linux partition.
Or if you’re simply seeing the dreaded “BootMgr is missing” issue. Read on.
1. You want only Windows
a. For windows XP, insert
your disk. Press ‘R’ to enter the recovery console. When you reach her command
prompt simply enter “fixmbr” let the process finish, reboot the system, remove
the disk and voila it’ll start working.
b. For Windows 7/Vista,
insert your setup/recovery disk. After that, click next through the usual
options; select “Repair your computer”. It will then list out your installed
Operating Systems, select the correct one. Click next and from the following
menu for choosing a recovery tool, select “Startup Repair”. Let the process
finish, reboot your system and remove your disk. You can also accomplish the
same by choosing the command prompt option and simply typing “bootrec/fixboot”
c. In case you don’t have a
setup or recovery disk, or your system doesn’t have CD drive, then take out
your Linux Live Pen Drive [refer TOOLBOX]. Boot into Linux. Open a terminal
session by Applications
> Accessories > Terminal and type in the following
“sudo apt-get install ms-sys”
Followed by:
“sudo fdisk -1”
Look for something like
/dev/sdal XYZXYZ NTFS
At the end of the output
and then type:
“sudo ms-sys –m/dev/sda”
Note there is no “1” in
the above command, it would be between “sda” or “had” or “sdb” depending on
your system.
Reboot the machine,
remove your pen drive and you’re done.
2. You want both Windows and
Linux
Follow step c from the
previous set, but instead type this:
“sudo fdisk -1”
Figure out the device
where Linux is installed from “sda”/”hda”/”sdb”
And then type:
“sudo grub-install /dev/XXX”
Where XXX is the above
mentioned device name. Reboot your system.
Starts booting but shuts
down
1. Keep pressing F8 key
while the system boots, to access the startup menu and see if Windows will boot
into Safe Mode. If you’re able to get into Windows, the problem is most likely
with your graphics card drivers, junk applications, or perhaps some spyware
applications. Try remembering your recent changes and revert them from here.
2. Most Linux distributions
will also give you a recovery option right at the bootloader (Grub) stage. Try
that and then do the same as above.
3. For Windows, if Safe Mode
doesn’t work, try using the “Last Known Good Configuration” option.
4. Since Windows 7, the
System Restore tool has become a decently mature tool. You can access System
Restore via the recovery disk as explained above, where instead of “Startup
Repair” you can choose “System Restore”. If you don’t have the disk and can
access the command prompt from the F8 menu, then log in as administrator and
type
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe to start system restore. If at this
point your system still doesn’t start, you might need to reinstall the OS in
the case of Windows (Don’t worry, your data will still be safe).
Boots into the OS, some
hardware not working
In
case you have a piece of hardware which was previously working but has now
stopped working, try the following:
1. Check that piece of
hardware on another machine to see if it’s a hardware issue or a software
issue. If you lack access to another machine, booting into an Ubuntu Live CD
and seeing if the hardware works there can provide a good workaround.
2. If it works, then it’s
most probably a driver update issue. Go to Control Panel > Device Manager, then select the
malfunctioning device and click on update driver. If it doesn’t fix the issue,
go to the respective manufacturer’s website, download the latest device driver
from there and install it.
Boots into OS, non-optimum
performance
1. If you can’t find a
partition, type Disk management in Start menu and explore what the issue is. If
you’re unable to get to this stage, then you can pop up in the Ubuntu Live
drive and Open the “Gparted Tool” to investigate.
2. Blue screen of death: If
you consistently find yourself running into the Blue Screen of Death here’s
what to do.
a. On Windows 7 or later a
consistent BSOD typically indicates a hardware or driver issue. As mentioned
above, try updating your drivers.
b. Run the MemTest86+ tool
and see if your RAM is performing up to the mark. RAM is often the cause of
consistent BSODs.
c. One annoying thing that
is that often the system restart without giving you time to note down the
error, which you can later Google to get towards a reasonable solution. For
this Right click on your “My Computer” Icon and select “Properties”, click on
“Advance System Settings” from the right hand side panel. Click on “Settings”
at bottom in the “Startup and Recovery” area and simply uncheck the “Automatic Restart”
box under System Failure. This will give you all the time you need to note down
the error.
3. Anti-virus and Spyware:
a. Free antivirus software
is a good first line of defence. Install one of them and keep the definitions
regularly updated.
b. Use Super Antispyware
& Malware Bytes on a regular basis with updated definitions to keep your
system running smooth and Trojan free.
4. Slow startup
a. In the Windows 7 menu,
type “msconfig” by clicking on the
Start Button, or in an older version, in the run command box. From there select
“Startup” in the tab and uncheck all the software you don’t want to start
automatically.
5. Install Soluto for
automated application updates and general maintenance.
Prevention and basic
maintenance
Hopefully
this guide would help you recover your system in the event of a crash with a
little bit of smart Goggling, a bit of patience and some commonsense. We would
like to wind up this guide by iterating the old adage which says, “Prevention
is better than Cure”. Here are a few simple tips for keeping your system
well-oiled and preempting crashes.
·
Defragment your system often.
·
Keep your Registry clean by using tools like “CCleaner”.
·
Use the built in “Reliability Monitor” tool in Windows 7 & 8.
·
Keep backup images of your OS partition from a point where everything was
working and updated.
HOW DOES A PC BOOT?
It is important to understand how your computer starts
and what the words BIOS and POST means. A typical BIOS screen is where you can
change some critical settings. The BIOS, which stands for Basic Input / Output
System is already present in the computer and is the first code run by it when
switched on. This outputs the first thing you see on your monitor. BIOS now
calls the POST, which stands for Power-On Self-Test. POST is responsible for
the identification and initialization of system devices such as the CPU, RAM,
Video display card, IO devices etc. The BIOS then locates the “Boot Loader”
software stored on an attached storage medium or over the network (designed as
a ‘boot device’, and the priority of lookup from HDD, Pen Drive, CD-ROM,
Network can be changed by the User). The Boot Loader then typically loads the
designated (or selected in case of multiple OS) Operating System.
TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
Here’s a small list of tools that we’ve mentioned and
used in the workshop. Most software will be found on the Internet.
Screwdriver Set: If you want to open
your desktop cabinet or reseat your laptop RAM you’d need this.
Ubuntu Live Drive: Even if you’re a
Windows user it will be an invaluable tool. It comes pre-bundled with a great
partition manager known as “Gparted”. Simply get one from http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php . It’s recommended to use
a USB disk.
Windows 7/Vista/XP setup
or recovery disk: If you’re still using an OS released 12 years ago, consider an upgrade.
All these operations need to be followed in a clean room,
which is a room with very few particulate matters and has continuous air flow.
The air is filtered to such an extent that there are barely 12 particles
(<0.1um) within a cubic meter of air compared to 35 million particles which
is present in a cubic meter or room air.
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