With any computer, you will inevitably encounter software or hardware issues that require troubleshooting to correct. Unless you have extensive computer knowledge, pinpointing the exact cause of computer problems can be difficult without software utilities that can diagnose and fix whatever problems that may arise. There are numerous useful tools and utilities that can help simplify the troubleshooting process and get you on track to solving common computer problems.
Diagnosis
The most important aspect of troubleshooting your computer is understanding where the problem is originating. There are a number of programs that provide full system profiles of your computer, including information about the functionality of software and hardware components. Look in my PC and System Information for Windows (see "Resources") can generate a report detailing the technical specifications of your system, the current status of hardware and software and make troubleshooting recommendations. Moreover, these applications provide you with all the details of your computer in case you need to depend on technical support from the manufacturer.
Anti-Virus
It may be common sense, but an effective anti-virus program is one of the most important computer troubleshooting tools around. There are a wide variety of free and paid anti-virus programs that can be employed to scan for security issues that may be causing your computer to malfunction. Among the free options, Microsoft's own Security Essentials (see "Resources") is one of the best rated and most comprehensive programs available. Microsoft also provides a comprehensive list of third-party anti-virus programs on their website (see "Resources").
Software Maintenance
Many computer issues can be solved with some simple software maintenance. Removing unneeded files, disk defragmentation and managing the start-up program list can go a long way in speeding up your computer. Piriform Software is the maker of two of the most popular software maintenance programs that address these three troubleshooting areas (see "Resources"). CCleaner can easily clean your computer of unneeded files and remove unnecessary start-up items while Defraggler provides a quick and effective disk-defragmentation utility.
Screen Sharing
In the end, it may be necessary to turn to outside help to solve your computer problems. One of the handiest utilities to have in your troubleshooting toolbox is a good screen sharing program. These programs enable you to quickly share your screen with anyone in the world, be it a technically proficient friend or family member or your tech support.
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Useful Computer Troubleshooting Software
Giving Tech Support With Remote Control Software
In the past, both giving and receiving technical support was a very disconnected experience. The user seeking support would typically be faced with the prospect of calling the company they needed support from, navigating through a complex web of support options, and explaining their problem to a support specialist - all before they ever received any actual support. Even after navigating this rocky road to support, the user had only really just begun their journey.
What would follow is a lengthy phone conversation with a tech specialist who may live on the other side of the world, and have only a set of pre-determined solutions to work with. In addition, trying to translate the words of the support specialist into issue correcting actions can be a very tricky process for even the most advanced users. Different operating systems, software version and hardware configurations can often lead to branching issues that require an expert's direct intervention. Fortunately for all involved, the methodology of both giving and receiving tech support has changed drastically in the last few years thanks to the rise of Remote Control Software.
Remote Control Software, also known as Remote Desktop Software, allows for connections among two or more computers. Once connected, users can take complete control over each other's computers and will have an exact full screen representation of the accessed computer displayed on their screen. While many users are finding exciting and time saving ways to leverage this software, its use in the technical support environment has perhaps been the most widespread. Administers of technical support find these products to be incredibly advantageous to their work due to the incredible amount of saved time and stress. Technical support specialists dislike the long wait times their customers are forced to endure as much as the customers themselves dislike waiting on hold to receive support. It is for this reason that many tech support specialists prefer to use remote control software to administer support whenever the option is viable.
Despite the advantages for the tech support specialists, the real winners in these situations are the customers. Every customer that calls for tech support has the same goal in mind: get my problem solved as quickly as possible. For those individuals fortunate enough to receive technical support from a specialist using Remote Desktop Software, that goal is typically achieved and, quite often, surpassed.
Businesses who decide to make remote control support a cornerstone of their technical support strategy are often rewarded in ways that go beyond mere customer satisfaction. When a customer receives tech support through the use of these programs, they tend to feel as though the level of service received is of a higher standard. If the support succeeds in solving their problem, this can result in what is known as brand evangelism. This is the process in which individuals, extremely pleased with the services of a particular company, take it upon themselves to spread the word on their positive experience with the company, and encourage others to try the product or service that company provides. We see that tech support delivered via remote desktop software can not only be quicker and of higher quality, it can result in new levels of customer satisfaction and even inspire them to generate new customers on behalf of the company.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4373419
Troubleshoot Computer Booting Problem
During the life of your computer, you will probably experience problems with booting the operating system. These boot problems are often caused by newly installed hardware or software. Windows has many tools that can help you to troubleshoot boot problems, find and resolve device and driver conflicts and remove offending software. By using a process of elimination, you can often find the exact cause of the problem. Once you've done the necessary maintenance, you can attempt to reboot your computer normally.
Instructions:
1. Write down the exact error messages you receive while the computer is booting Windows. Click "Start > Run." Type "msconfig" in the field and click "OK." Click the BOOT.INI tab.
2. Check the box next to "/SAFEBOOT." Choose "MINIMAL" to reboot Windows in safe mode. Select "NETWORK" to reboot in safe mode with network support. Choose "DSREPAIR" to reboot in Directory Service restore mode.
3. Click "Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs." Find the programs you installed most recently within the list and uninstall them. Keep the installation CDs or files handy in case you would like to reinstall the programs later.
4. Click "Performance and Maintenance" in Control Panel. Select "System." Select the "Hardware" tab. Click "Device Manager." Select the device that you added to your computer most recently. Right click the device and select "Properties." Click the "Troubleshoot" button and select the option that best describes the symptoms your device is experiencing.
5. Click on all of the plus signs next to the entries in Device Manager to expand all the devices. See if there are any black exclamation marks on a yellow triangle. This indicates a problem with your device. Also see if there are any red X marks near the devices. This indicates that the device is disabled.
6. Click "Start > Run." Type "msconfig" and select "OK." In the BOOT.INI tab, uncheck the /SAFEBOOT option. Reboot your computer. If the computer starts normally, you're finished. If it doesn't, reboot in safe mode and click "Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System Restore." Select "Restore my computer to an earlier time." Choose a date on the calendar that is at least one day prior to the time that your computer began experiencing boot problems.
7. Reinstall any software programs or hardware you removed one at a time. Reboot the computer after each installation. Make careful notes of any error messages or boot problems you experience.
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Technical Support - Prevention is Better Than Cure
The best way to deal with the sloppy service you are bound to receive if you resort to a technical support phone call is to avoid that phone call altogether. The blunt truth is that technical support service, with unwilling companies and logistical hurdles galore, is not going to get better in the near future. Instead of leaving your computer system to the winds of fate and time, it is better and a lot easier to take matters into your own hands. Eventually, all computer software and hardware must be replaced but by taking care of your computer, you can reduce the chances of your computer system failing and increase its longevity. Taking care of computer is easy and cheap as most of the tools are available bundled with the operating system itself. Additional software that you might need is readily available free or very cheap online.
1. Always, always use an antivirus. Your computer, particularly if it is connected to the internet continuously through a broadband connection, is at risk of being infected by over one million malicious computer viruses. Computer viruses are essentially little bits of code that have found ways to get past or manipulate your computer security system. Once they are in your computer, they can wreck havoc. An antivirus is a must for any computer that is connected to the Internet. Even if the computer you use is rarely connected to the internet, it is at risk of being infected by flash-drives, floppies or practically any other external media. Free antivirus software is readily available online if you do not feel like shelling out money on one.
2. House-cleaning. Computers and humans and human life have a great deal in common. Because they were invented and designed by humans, they reflect a lot of human concepts. Computers, like homes, can become cluttered, particularly the hard-drives. Through intensive use, hard-drives will generally get fragmented, which means that a single file may be written across multiple locations on the disk. Although this poses no problem per se to the operation of the computer, it slows it down considerably as to read one file the hard disk must scan to several locations instead of being able to read in one line continuously. Regular defragmentation (the process of joining these fragments of data together on the disk) is a must. Defragmentation software exists natively on your operating system and need not be bought separately.
3. Backup. Never put all your eggs in one basket, someone said, and that principle holds all the more true in the cyber world. Always keep a backup of your important data in a separate location (i.e. on another computer or online; keeping a backup on the same computer is pointless). This way, in the event that your system goes through a catastrophic software crash, all you simply need to do is format (erase) the entire computer, reinstall the operating system and load your vital data back on. In many cases, a clean installation is a lot easier and takes less time than trying to diagnose the problem with a technical support staff.
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Computer Tech Support: 7 Ways to Get Help From Tech Support People
Sooner or later, you may need to call up tech support to fix something. Perhaps one morning you get the blue screen of death, or you get one of those scary error messages on your screen. Or maybe you try to turn your computer on and...nothing. Perhaps it's not your computer at all, but your website is completely down and you have to make that call to your web designer or web hosting company.
I've been on both sides of that panicky call and there are 7 things you can do in order to help make that tech support call just a little less stressful:
1. Don't panic- This is easier said that done when you're computer's on the blink and you're staring down the barrel of a deadline. But things will be less stressful if you don't freak out. Chances are the problem is not nearly as bad (or expensive) as you think.
2. Check the obvious before you call- One of the first things that your tech person will have you do is to check for obvious causes of trouble. Like is your computer plugged in? Or is the surge protector your computer's connected is turned on? Are all of the cables coming out of your computer plugged in tight? Or are entering your password in correctly? Or do you have the "CAPS lock" key on while you're entering your password? They have you run through this drill because many times the simple stuff is the problem. So run through some of the obvious causes of trouble before you pick up the phone.
3. Get prepared- If you have any warranties or service contracts gather up all of those materials before you call. It will save you a bit of time just in case your tech person requests this information. You may also need the serial number for your computer. These are usually located on a sticker placed on the back, bottom, or side of your computer or they are located in your computer registration paperwork.
4. Be as specific as possible- Simply saying "My computer's not working" is not that helpful. Tech support already assumes that your computer isn't working because you wouldn't call just to say hi. What they need to know is "in what way is your computer not working?". You need to be as specific as possible. Will your computer not start at all? Is the problem that you can turn the computer on but it won't go past the startup screen? Perhaps you can get past the startup screen but you can't open up a particular program? Describe your problem from start to finish; what you were doing when you encountered your problem, what your computer does, and if there are any special situations that seem to coincide with the problem.
5. Write down error messages- Usually when something goes wrong, you'll get some kind of error message that attempts to tell you what the problem is. If you can't make heads or tails of the message, take the time to write it down. It may mean something to the tech person you're talking to and it might help them diagnose the problem just a bit faster.
6. Make note of any recent changes or incidents- Sometimes the cause of your computer trouble is something that's changed on your computer or some incident that has happened recently such as:
the addition of new hardware (printer, scanner, hard drive, memory, etc)
the addition or deletion of software
a power disruption or power surge
the addition of deletion of a service
software upgrades or security patches
Sometimes changes like this can cause some unforeseen problems with other things that may or may not seem to be related to your problem. When you're talking to your tech person, make them aware of any changes or additions you made before you started having problems. They'll be able to tell you if these changes are related to your trouble.
7. Keep notes- A lot of times a call to the support department means that you'll be spending a lot of time on the phone being sent from one person to another. Keep notes on who you talk to, when you talked to them, and what they've done to help diagnose the problem. If you find that you have to keep calling the support department or if you have to a repair person fix your computer in person, these notes will come in handy.
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Do it Yourself Technical Support
Technical support calls are, by no means, the highlight of anyone's day. You are put on hold endlessly and when you finally get to speak to a human they immediately transfer you to 'the relevant department'. Personnel at 'the relevant department' will not understand a word you are saying (and you probably will not understand a word they say) and after countless harrowing minutes of heated discussion, you will probably get transferred again! One cannot blame technical support staff for the poor service that they are known for. Technical queries are hard to diagnose (and harder to fix) over a phone. The sad truth is that software and IT companies spend very little on maintaining a proper support system. Once they have made a sale, a support system is an unnecessary expense. Sometimes, at the end of a particularly harrowing call, you might wish you could solve the problem yourself. What if you could? By following these two guidelines you can improve your chances of getting a positive result from a technical support call and, in some cases, could resolve the problem yourself.
1. Google it! Google is your one-stop destination for everything. From finding a cheap flight to figuring out a guitar chord to buying your wife something, Google is your portal to the online world. Somehow, we tend to think that when it comes to technical queries, Google is no good and for the most part that is true. Google does not speak English the way we speak English so asking it a vague support question will probably result in little or no useful results. However, if you enter in, say, an error number that was displayed on the error box you saw, there is a good chance that Google will find websites that have information regarding your problem. Most of these websites will be forums; places on the web were people, just like you, come together and solve their problems. In all likelihood, your problem has already been solved and is waiting on a website for you to find it!
2. Go Back. Don't you wish sometimes that your life had a rewind button? Time travel has consumed the minds of people throughout history but we are no closer to achieving it today then we were thousands of years ago. In the digital world of software though, time travel does exist. On the Windows platform it exists in the form a quaint little system program called System Restore. Mac users have the aptly named Time Machine that serves the same function. As you use the computer, both these programs periodically store 'snapshots' of your system. In the event that you install malicious programs or accidentally delete important system files, you can use these programs to take you back to the last stable 'snapshot' that was taken, effectively helping you travel back in time. Mac users, in particular, are treated to an incredibly beautiful user interface that makes you feel like you are actually going back in time!
When you hit a dead-end with your software or hardware, before you pick up the phone and make an hour long phone call, try solving the problem yourself. You would be surprised at how much you are capable of achieving.
Source: http://goo.gl/q8xCk
Troubleshoot Desktop Crash Issues
Just like some other component of a Pc, pc's desktop is an vital component of your entire computing process. Nevertheless, you will find amount of times when the pc's desktop stops working as well as it also requires routine maintenance which is crucial tip for pc optimization.
Probably the most frequent difficulties is the computer's desktop crashing. You will discover many reasons mainly because of that pc's desktop crash may possibly occur. Throughout a desktop crash, your documents, pictures, music, every thing is at risk. It is, thus, vital towards prevent your personal computer from crashing through following a few straightforward steps towards keep up your personal computer.
Poor RAM
RAM difficulties cause the blue screen of death. Whenever the blue screen of death appears, a note expressing 'Fatal Exception Error' is flashed. This indicates that there is a fatal problem through RAM for the reason that of a mismatch of chips. This crashes the machine.You must access the BIOS settings towards jobs around this trouble together with improve the wait state of RAM.
Software Conflicts
The desktop might even crash on account of programs conflicts. If an old software stops working after you install a new software, there may possibly be conflicts between the two software. Re-install the older software due to you can find chances that many of its files may had been over-written by the fresh software. An additional reason might be since of updates that lead to assist you to software conflicts. Make certain you make compatible updates and just in case problem, re-install compatible software.
Hardware Conflicts
If the personal computer crashes after you connect a fresh hardware device to your personal computer together with install software to assist you to run that hardware efficiently, check out the programs. There's a chance that the applications isn't compatible with your operating-system. Check towards the additional compatible software together with install it with your Personal computer. If this does not resolve the dilemma then it's possible that whenever you installed the software, Widows files had been changed and you are now would need for reinstall Windows.
Viruses
Generally, there's pc's desktop crash mainly because of virus infection. Some viruses attack the difficult drive together with erase the boot sector. This makes it impossible towards the Windows for load. For stay away from this difficulty, install a great antivirus software in your PC that can scan your system and filter any virus from accessing it.
Printer Issues
Whenever you send a document for printing, a temporary file is developed which is referred to as a postscript file. The printer memory referred to as buffer could be simply overloaded. This decelerates the computer's speed. If the printer starts printing unusual characters, it could lead to assist you to computer's desktop crash. For clear the buffer, unplug the printer for 10 seconds. This may reload printe's default settings and guarantee that the printer works fine.
Over-heating
Though CPUs are equipped with fans towards keep them cool, occasionally the fans fail and also the CPU starts to get overheated. This leads to the kernel mistake as well as lead to pc's desktop crash. For stay away from this from happening, be certain that your CPUs fans are working as well as if achievable, purchase a bigger fan installed inside your CPU.
You'll be able to stop your computer from crashing through following a couple of simple actions:
Try a registry scanner frequently. This could support you maintain your RAM totally free together with support you maintain control over the applications installed inside your PC.
Uninstall unwanted applications when you start your personal computer. This may ensure that there are not any unnecessary programs in your system that make it slow or lead to assist you to programs conflicts.
Check your personal computer for viruses through installing a good antivirus software.
PC Optimization
Picking out among countless different kinds of PC Optimization Tools is a difficult and tedious process, because each software features its own benefit and scarcity. Here you'll get tips about how to Clean registry and optimize PC for better performance.
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