Maintaining Your IT System

4. Identifying Problems

When you have problems with a PC, it is often hard to pinpoint the actual cause. It may be difficult to know whether it is a hardware or a software-related problem.

4.1 Many faults occur intermittently or completely at random. These are often the most difficult to cure.

• If the fault can be replicated, identify precisely what triggers the problem.

4.2 Hardware faults usually affect all the applications you use. If a fault only appears with one application program, it is probably a software problem.

4.3 There are diagnostic tools you can use to test hardware, such as Norton Utilities.

4.4 Unusual noises coming from the PC usually indicate hardware faults.

• Intermittent whirring noises can be caused by faulty fans - common on budget PCs. Make a back-up of all your important data immediately.
• Whining, knocking noises, or a recurrent "ching ching" sound, may mean a hard disk is about to fail, or has failed already. If this is the problem, it may already be too late to start backing up your data.

4.5 If you suspect a software problem, run the same software on another PC which you know is working properly. See if other users are experiencing the same difficulties.

• If necessary, re-install the software and see if that cures the problem.
• Software that starts behaving strangely may be doing so as a result of a virus attack.

4.6 A failing monitor sometimes produces sudden changes in the picture on the screen. It may shrink down and then go back to its original size, or wobble and flicker - or you may hear strange noises.

• Do not assume a monitor has failed just because you cannot see an image on the screen. Check to see if the brightness or contrast has been turned down.

4.7 If the output from a laser or inkjet printer is streaky, patchy or missing colours, the problem may just be due to an empty or dried-out cartridge.

• Try fitting new cartridges.
• If this does not fix the problem with an old budget-priced inkjet, replace the whole printer. It will be much cheaper than repair.