Troubleshooting and Preventative Maintenance
Troubleshooting in a personal computer system can be a complex and lengthy task but it can be made easier by following a logical, systematic approach to any problem. Computer technicians learn much of their fault-finding skills through experience of assessing and analysing faults. Only a limited number of faults can occur in a computer system and many of these occur repeatedly. Experienced technicians often recognise a fault because they have come across then and their symptoms before. New technicians do not have the benefit of this experience - following a systematic approach will allow them to find faults quickly and rectify them easily.
Emphasis should be placed on preventative maintenance, trying to correct and spot problems before they become a major issue. Preventative maintenance is probably one of the most ignored aspects of a PC technician's work, however it can save time and money, not to mention helping to safeguard data and help performance to have a preventative maintenance plan. Such things that can help is to check the file system for errors but using a chkdsk or scandisk utility that is often built into the operating system. The results of this can help prevent loss of data as well as showing when a hard disk may be coming to the end of its life. If there are repeated errors, it may require that all important data is backed up and the hard disk replaced, before it fails.
