1. A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e
Chapter 3
PC Repair Fundamentals

2. Objectives Learn about tools you’ll need as a PC support technician
Learn how to develop a preventive maintenance plan and what to include in it
Learn how to work inside a computer case
Learn what happens when you first turn on a PC before the OS is loaded
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

3. Objectives (continued)
Learn how to approach and solve a PC problem
Learn how to troubleshoot a failed boot before the OS is loaded
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

4. Introduction Basic repair skills Advanced repair skills
Developing a maintenance plan
Implementing a maintenance plan
Working inside a computer case
Following sequence of events that occur at startup
Advanced repair skills
Using common-sense guidelines to solve problems
Interviewing a user
Determining if a problem occurs before or after boot
Troubleshooting and solving a problem of a failed boot
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

5. PC Support Technician Tools
Help you maintain a computer
Help you diagnose and repair computer problems
Criteria for choosing tools:
Level of PC support you expect to provide
Amount of money you can spend
Some essential tools:
Ground bracelet, ground mat, or ground gloves
Torx screwdriver set
Recovery CD, DVD, or floppy disk for target OS
Store tools in toolbox for PC troubleshooting
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

6. Figure 3-1 PC support technician tools
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

7. Recovery CDs Used to boot a system
Also used to repair and reinstall Windows
Primary recovery CD sources
PC manufacturer (preferred)
Operating system distributor, such as Microsoft
Some hard drives have a hidden recovery partitions
A hidden partition can be used to reinstall Windows
A utility for creating recovery CDs may be provided
Access hidden utilities by pressing a Fn key at startup
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

8. Figure 3-2 Windows Setup CD and Windows Recovery CDs for a notebook computer
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

9. Loop-Back Plugs Used to test various ports How to use a loop-back plug
Some port types: serial, parallel, USB, network
How to use a loop-back plug
Plug in the loop-back plug
Run the software that comes with the plug
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

10. Figure 3-3 Loop-back plugs used to test serial and parallel ports
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

11. Cleaning Pads and Solutions
Various types are designed for specific uses
Example: contact cleaner
Cleans contacts on expansion cards
Warning: solutions may be flammable and/or toxic
Sources of safety and emergency instructions:
Side of the can of solution
Material safety data sheet (MSDS)
Adhere to safety procedures of your employer
Example: fill out an accident report (if required)
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

12. Figure 3-5 Each chemical you use should have available a material safety data sheet
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

13. Post Diagnostic Cards Report computer errors and conflicts at POST
How to use a POST diagnostic card:
Install card in an expansion slot on the motherboard
Attempt to boot your system
Record any error codes appearing in LED panel
Look up the entry associated with the error code
Examples of Post diagnostic cards:
PCI Error Testing/Debug Card by Winic Corporation
POST card V3 by Unicore Software, Inc.
Post Code Master by MSD, Inc.
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

14. Figure 3-6 Post Code Master diagnostic card by MSD, Inc.
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

15. Personal Computer Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance reduces number of problems
Goals of preventive maintenance plans:
Prevent failures
Reduce repair costs
Reduce downtimes
Goal of disaster recovery plan: manage failures
Some causes of PC failure: heat, dust, spills, viruses
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

16. When a PC is your Permanent Responsibility
Tasks and procedures to prepare for troubleshooting
Keep good backups of data and system files
Document all setup changes, problems, and solutions
Protect the system against viruses and other attacks
Always use a firewall (software or hardware barrier)
Install and run antivirus software
Keep Windows Updates current
Physically protect your equipment
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

17. Figure 3-9 Configure antivirus software to scan and instant message attachments and to download updates automatically
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

18. Creating a Preventive Maintenance Plan
Plan based on history or pattern of malfunctions
Example: PCs in dusty areas need more maintenance
Goals common to maintenance plans
Extend the working life of a PC
Anticipate problems that could disrupt service
Ensure data is secure and backed up
Provide support to PC users
Basic steps involved in designing a plan
Define your overall goals
Incorporate procedures for achieving goals
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

19. Dealing with Dust Dust accumulates in layers over components
Two major problems due to dust blankets
PC components directly overheat
Cooling fans jam, also resulting in overheating
Maintenance task: remove the layer of dust
Two tools used to remove dust:
Antistatic vacuum
Compressed air
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

20. Preparing a Computer for Shipping
Adverse factors to consider:
Rough handling
Exposure to water, heat, and cold
Misplacement or theft of computer
Some shipping guidelines to follow:
Backup the hard drive onto a backup medium
Remove inserted disks, tape cartridges, or CDs
Coil and secure all external cords
Separately wrap hardware components
Purchase insurance on the shipment
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

21. Disposing of Used Equipment
Various guidelines for disposing of equipment:
Table 3-2
Manufacturer documentation
Local environmental regulators
Danger posed by monitors and power supplies
Residual charge in capacitors can cause shock
Modern devices discharge if unplugged for 60 minutes
Older devices may require discharge with a probe
Destroy secondary storage devices with sensitive data
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

22. Table 3-2 Computer parts and how to dispose of them
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

23. How to Work Inside a Computer Case
Objective: dismantle a computer, put it back together
Some safety precautions to follow:
Make notes that will help you backtrack
Keep screws and spacers orderly
Do not stack boards on top of each other
Do not touch the chips on circuit boards
Do not use a graphite pencil to change DIP settings
Turn off the power, unplug and ground the computer
Do not remove covers of monitors or power supplies
Keep components away from hair and clothing
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

24. Static Electricity Build-up of charge due to absence of conductors
Electrostatic discharge (ESD)
Due to dissimilar electrical surfaces making contact
Only 10 volts of ESD can damage PC components
Walking across carpet generates up to 12,000 volts
Two types of damage: catastrophic and upset failure
Tool and methods for grounding yourself and the PC
Ground bracelet, ground mats, static shielding bags, antistatic gloves
If working inside a monitor, do not ground yourself
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

25. Figure 3-13 A ground bracelet, which protects computer components from ESD, can clip to the side of the computer case and eliminate ESD between you and the case
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

26. Steps to Take Apart a Computer
Essential tools:
Ground bracelet
Phillips-head screwdriver
Flat-head screwdriver, paper, and pen
Follow safety precautions at all times
Summary of Steps 1 - 4
1. Enter CMOS and write down customized settings
2. Power down the system, unplug all components
3. Put the computer on a good-sized table
4. Remove the cover of the PC
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

27. Figure 3-19 Removing the cover
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

28. Steps to Take Apart a Computer (continued)
Summary of steps
5. Diagram cable connections and switch settings
6. Identify cables connecting drives to motherboard
7. Remove the cables to all drives
8. Remove the expansion cards
9. Remove the motherboard (or drives)
10. Remove the power supply from the case
11. Remove each drive (if not already removed)
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

29. Figure 3-33 Remove the motherboard from the case
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

30. Steps to Put a Computer Back Together
1. Install power supply, drives, motherboard, cards
2. Connect all data and power cables
3. Plug in the keyboard, monitor, and mouse
4. Ask instructor to check work (if in a classroom)
5. Turn on the power and check PC functions
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

31. Understanding the Boot Process
Key learning objectives
Know how to boot a PC
Understand what happens first when a PC is turned on
Understand how an operating system is loaded
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

32. Booting a Computer Process that drives a computer to a working state
Hard (cold) boot: turn the power switch on
Soft (warm) boot: allow the OS to reboot
How to soft boot Windows XP
Click Start
Click Turn Off Computer
Click Restart
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

33. Choosing Between a Hard Boot and a Soft Boot
Hard boots are more stressful on machines
Power surges through system when PC is turned on
Reasons to choose a soft boot over hard boot
Less stressful on the machine
Faster due to skipping initial steps
Some computers have a soft and hard power switch
Soft power switch shuts down and restarts Windows
Hard power switch cuts power and restarts machine
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

34. The Startup BIOS Controls the Beginning of the Boot
The startup BIOS gets a system up and running
Four phases of the boot process:
BIOS runs the POST and assigns system resources
POST: power-on self test
BIOS searches for and loads an OS
OS configures system and completes its own loading
Application software is loaded and executed
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

35. Figure 3-40 Boot Step 1: The ROM BIOS startup program surveys hardware resources and needs and assigns system resources to satisfy those needs
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

36. Changing the Boot Sequence
BIOS looks to CMOS RAM to locate the OS
Boot sequence: order of drives checked for an OS
Change boot sequence using CMOS setup utilities
Access CMOS setup utilities when PC is turned on
Example: press F8 before Windows screen appears
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

37. Figure 3-42 Numbered steps show how BIOS searches for and begins to load an operating system (in this example, Windows NT/2000/XP is the OS)
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

38. How to Troubleshoot a PC Problem
Assume the attitude of an investigator
Do not compound the problem by your own actions
Look at the problem as a learning opportunity
Ask questions until you understand the problem
Believe that you can solve the problem
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

39. Steps to Solving a PC Problem
Key advice:
Ask good questions
Document the process
Four-step problem solving process:
Step 1: Interview the user
Step 2: Back up data
Step 3: Solve the problem
Step 4: Verify the fix and document the solution
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

40. Figure 3-44 General approach to troubleshooting
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

41. Troubleshooting a Failed Boot
It takes time to acquire troubleshooting skills
Hands-on training: troubleshooting a failed boot
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

42. My Computer Won’t Boot First step: maintain your calm
Second step: develop a game plan
Figure 3-45 provides a procedure
Plan is driven by a set of yes-no questions
Example: Does the PC boot properly?
If no, troubleshooter is directed to another question
If yes, troubleshooter is directed to stop (for now)
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

43. Figure 3-45 Use this flowchart when first facing a computer problem
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

44. Troubleshooting Major Subsystems Used For Booting
Categories of troubleshooting steps in Figure 3-45
The electrical subsystem
Essential hardware devices
The motherboard, memory, and the CPU
Video
Reading from the hard drive
Key aides: tables identifying error codes
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

45. Table 3-4 Beep codes and their meanings
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

46. Summary
Some PC repair tools: recovery CDs, screwdrivers, POST, cleaning pads and solutions, diagnostic cards
Preventive maintenance plans extend the life of a PC
Follow an organization’s preventive maintenance plan, or develop one if it does not exist
Computers present chemical and electrical hazards
Protect components in case from ESD by grounding yourself and the PC
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e

47. Summary (continued)
Assembling and reassembling a PC prepares the technician for actual repair work
Startup BIOS controls when the boot process begins
Four step boot process: POST, loading the OS, OS initializing itself, loading and executing applications
Expert troubleshooters ask good questions
Before tackling a problem, develop a game plan
A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining your PC, 6e