Identify the Problem

List important information to gather from customer;

Customer information

• Company name

• Contact name

• Address

• Phone number

Computer configuration

• Manufacture and model

• Operating system information

• Network environment

• Connection type

v Description of problem

· Open-ended questions

· Closed-ended questions

CONVERSATION ETIQUETTE (talk to customer)

· Ask direct question

· Don’t use industry jargon

· Don’t talk down

· Don’t insult

· Don’t accuse for causing problem

OPEN-ENDED QUESTION (obtain general information) (allow customer to explain the details of the problem using their own words)

Example

· What problems are you experiencing with your computer or network?

· What hardware changes have recently been made to your computer?

CLOSED-ENDEDD QUESTIONS (require a yes or no answer) (to get the most relevant information in the shortest time)

Example

· Has anyone else used your computer recently?

· Have you changed your password recently?

DOCUMENTING RESPONSE

· Document the information from the customer in the work, in the repair log and in repair journal

· Write down that might be important for you or technician

· The small detail can lead to the solution of difficult or complicated problem

Verify the customer’s description of the problem by gathering data from computer

EVENT VIEWER

When system, user or software error occur on computer event viewer is updated with information about the errors. It lists details about the error but we need to further research the solution

· What problem occurred

· Date and time of the problem

· Severity of the problem

· Source of the problem

· Event ID number

· Which user was logged in when the problem occurred

DEVICE MANAGER

· It displays all the devices that are configured on computer

· Any device that operating system determines to be acting incorrectly is flagged with an error icon

· A yellow triangle with an exclamation point (!) means that the device is in problem state

· A red X means that the device is disabled, removed or Windows can’t locate the device

· An arrow down means the device has been disabled

· A yellow question mark (?) means the system does not know which driver to install for the hardware

BEEP CODES

· Each BIOS manufacturer has unique beep sequence, combination of long and short beeps for hardware failures

· When troubleshooting power on the computer and listen

· As system proceed power-on self test (POST), most computers emit one beep to indicate that system is booting properly

· If you hear multiple beeps means that there is an error

· Document the beep code sequence and research the to determine the specific problem

BIOS INFORMATION

· If computer boots and stops after POST investigate BIOS settings

· Device might not be detected or configured properly

· Refer to motherboard manual to make sure that BIOS settings are accurate

TASK MANAGER

· Display the application and background process that currently running

· Task manager can close application that have stopped responding, monitor the performance of CPU and virtual memory, view all process that currently running and view information about network connection

DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

· Conduct research to determine which software available to help diagnose and solve problems

· Many programs can help you troubleshoot hardware

· Manufactures of system hardware usually provide diagnostic tools their own

· For instance, hard drive manufacture provide tool to boot the computer and diagnose why the hard drive does not start the operating system