From the course: Help Yourself: Tech Tips Weekly

Accepting why things go wrong

From the course: Help Yourself: Tech Tips Weekly

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Accepting why things go wrong

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- [Instructor] No, it's not fate, and the gods aren't cruel. You didn't step on a crack in the sidewalk. Your computer harbors you no ill will. Things go wrong in a computer for one big reason. Something's changed, software's been installed or updated, or an option has been re-sent, or perhaps new hardware was installed, or old hardware breaks down. Motive aside, things go wrong in a computer system because something has changed. The point isn't to avoid change, just be aware of its potential effects. Upon noticing a problem, the first step toward troubleshooting a solution is to ask yourself, what has changed. Did you install or update new software? Have you changed a setting? Did you add or alter new hardware? Especially knowing whether the change was hardware or software can help you better locate the source. Software issues arise when you install or update software, or change a setting. They're consistent, for example if a program crashes when you print, it crashes every time when you have a software issue. To fix, check for a software upgrade. Or if you just upgraded, remove or roll back the upgrade. If you just changed a setting, try changing it back. When a software problem prevents you from using a computer properly, restart Windows in Safe Mode. If the computer works without issue in Safe Mode, then you know the problem is with a program you run, a setting you've changed, a device driver, or anything other than Windows itself. When Safe Mode doesn't work, the problem is either with Windows or it's a hardware issue. Hardware issues are tough to troubleshoot because they can be inconsistent. A good troubleshooting method is to swap out the hardware. For example, you use another keyboard to see whether the current keyboard is defective. Some hardware is more difficult to swap out. Items like the power supply, memory and storage must be diagnosed before you determine what's to blame. For most troubleshooting situations, I have good news. Restart the computer. This well-known technique works in many situations, and it's effective because modern computers have a lot going on. Occasionally, and for whatever reason, something messes up, and Restarting fixes it. The Restart clears out the gunk and gives you a functioning, happy computer, which is the goal of all computer troubleshooting.

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