Windows OS Problems
A user calls saying that their screen occasionally goes blue, and the system shuts down. What should you advise the user to do?
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Record as much information from the user’s blue screen as possible, especially the STOP error number, so that you can research the error.
A program is continually using 99–100% of processor time. What should you do?
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Try to end the application or the process using Task Manager, and then contact the application vendor to find out why the problem is occurring.
You are assisting a user whose application is in the state shown in the exhibit. How would you troubleshoot this problem?
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The user will be concerned about losing any unsaved work. Ask the user to describe what he or she was doing at the time of the crash to try to diagnose what might have caused it. Give the program a few minutes to finish processing—check Task Manager for ongoing disk activity. If the application does not start responding, check autosave and temp folders for a recent copy of the file data. Use Task Manager to end the process. Restart the application, and try to open any file data you might have recovered. Check the log files and online resources to try to diagnose the cause of the crash. If the problem persists, consider solutions such as disabling add-ons or reinstalling. Demonstrate to the user how to set up autosave (if it is not already configured) and how to save regularly.
A computer is caught in a reboot loop. It starts, shows a BSoD, and then reboots. What should you do?
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Boot using a recovery tool, such as the product disc, and attempt startup repair and/or repair of the Windows installation using sfc or Windows reset.
If you suspect improper handling during installation has caused damage to a RAM module, how could you test that suspicion?
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Run a Memory Diagnostic. Because this tests each RAM cell, it should uncover any fault.