Troubleshooting a Personal Computer.

Introduction (This is the first in the series of Troubleshooting a PC)

An image of an open laptop.

The personal computer (PC) is part of our daily activities. Without it, performing simple tasks such as sending emails, scheduling meetings, writing theses and assignments, and even coding will not be possible. To perform all these simple tasks, one has to "boot" the PC. Booting is a process of the PC lifting itself from its bootstraps (this is the exact definition my hardware technician teacher gave me when I was learning the art of PC repair). What are bootstraps, and what exactly is "booting"? He further explained that "booting" is just starting/putting the PC on by pressing the "power on" button. He said there are two (2) types, namely the "hard boot" (pressing the power-on button) and the "soft boot"—by pressing the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys, you have the option to restart the PC. Booting, in PC terms, is when the PC loads an operating system (OS) into the PC's RAM (random access memory) or main memory. 

The bootstraps here refer to all diagnostic tests that the PC undergoes, so the operating system loads perfectly without any hindrance. The tests include checking for the resources (hardware and software—operating system and application software) and the right installation of hardware components such as the fan, the chipset, and the CMOS battery (complementary metal oxide semiconductor—which contains the date, time, memory (RAM), and other hardware components).

After undergoing all these diagnostic tests, if the PC does not boot properly, the PC technician must specifically identify the problem or the fault, either through a sound made by the PC or an error message displayed on the screen/monitor.

Any sound that the PC produces whilst booting allows a technician to diagnose a particular fault and this gives rise to the term troubleshooting. 


"Most Common Hardware Problems"

1. Your computer won't turn on and makes beeping sounds.

2. Your computer turns on but still does not work.

3. Your computer screen freezes.

4. Your computer has insufficient memory.

5. You get a CMOS error.

6. Your operating system is missing or your hard drive isn't detected.

7. Your screen is blue.

A single computer cannot specifically have all these problems, but can have either one or two of the problems listed here. When these sets of problems arise, the technician must know exactly what to do. 

In the figure above, the fan developed an issue and gave this irritating sound when booting the computer. The technician had to open the computer to readjust the input terminal on the motherboard and clean the fan. 

Do people really care if their personal computers do not boot properly or beep when booting? 






Daniel Kwasi Kpeglo

Physicist| SQL| Python| HTML| CSS| JavaScript| Looker| LookML| BigQuery| Power BI| Tableau| GCCP

Business page:https://dannyconsult.netlify.app/


Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Comments

DEE FOOD GODDEZZ said…
A very insightful blog.
Learned a lot.
Thanks
December 15, 2023 at 10:05 AM
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