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Troubleshooting your PC

With all the safeguards we've taken like those in the "Keeping Your PC Healthy" article, it's possible to catch problems with your PC before they start getting really serious. However, even with all the best peripherals and software, your PC will eventually have problems. So, be prepared. While it is easier to just send your PC for repairs to professionals, there are times when we can't or don't want to. For example, your PC works just fine in your house, but when you bring it to a LAN party all kinds of problems occur. Or maybe you just want to install a new hard drive that you've bought yourself and stumble into a problem. Most times, we only need a quick, simple solution.

Some things you want to remember when troubleshooting:

• In most cases, hardware failures are not the cause of PC problems. Most errors happens because of misconfiguration. But hardware components do fail after a certain time and when they do, they can be difficult to troubleshoot, particularly if you don't have a spare component lying around. The ones most likely to fail are components with moving parts such as hard drives, CD / DVD-ROM drives and fans.
• Power supplies can also fail, since they rely on fans to cool their internal parts. Within a year, dust will build up and may obstruct airflow, so check them to be sure. These fans play an important role in cooling other parts, so we want them to run at their optimal efficiency. Fans are also used to cool down your processor and graphics card, remember to check them too.
  
• Hard drives and CD / DVD-ROM usually last for at least a year or two. They have built in features that lets you know how healthy they are. Monitoring software will let you know when this happens. It really pays to take necessary precautions against overheating and electrical problems (cooling them down and making sure your PC gets a clean, stable supply of electricity).
  
• Electrical parts and components, such as processor, graphics cards and memory can outlast other components since they don't have moving parts. However, they are still susceptible to damage from overheating and electrical problems. Overheating issues are usually related to fans (again check them out), while electrical problems are usually do to power supply issues or external factors.
  
• Before removing any parts and cables when you're troubleshooting, remember to take precautions so you won't cause accidental harm to yourself and your PC. This means troubleshooting your PC in a dry, safe, clean, well lit environment and grounding yourself properly to avoid electrostatic discharge.
  

Hopefully, this guide will be useful to you when troubleshooting problems with your PC. Of course, this guide assumes your PC is not overclocked. If it is, try running it with default settings first - some peripherals are more sensitive to errors when overclocked. Overclocked peripherals tend to produce more heat, so if you have overclocked your peripherals and components for a long time without proper cooling, they may have been damage during that time. This maybe the source of the problems. We're also assuming that your PC was fine when you start using it. The problems you're having happens several months after you've completed a Windows installation on your PC.

By following these troubleshooting guide, we've separated software and hardware related problems. We've also categorized the problems by their degree of severity, from light to heavy.

PC boots, enters Windows, applications runs normal for a while but then they crash (after some time).

• Check what triggers the problem: Is it opening a certain file or folder, running a certain application etc? Try reproducing the error then notice what was happening just before the crash happens. If you're opening a file, try to open it with a different application. If that works, then most probably the previous application is the culprit. If it doesn't, looks like the file is corrupted.
• If this happens when you're playing a game, run the game with the default settings and see if there's any difference. There may be bugs in the game or the graphics card driver. New games are especially prone to bugs, you might have to download a patch or a new driver to fix it. For now, try cycling through the settings and see which one causes the problem. Change one at a time and run the game - you're bound to find what settings are 'buggy'. If this is the case, looks like you've discovered a bug with the game or the graphics or sound card drivers.
• Check the manual and help file of the application and game to see whether or not this is a known bug. You might want to check the developer's website to see if there's a bug fix or an update concerning that particular problem.
• You may also want to check Microsoft's website for an update and also the hardware's manufacturer's website for an updated driver. This particularly concerns games, since some games requires you to use a certain driver version. Using newer drivers than what the game requires is OK, since they usually have a fix for that game. Check the readme file that came with the updated drivers for any issues with certain games.

PC boots, enters Windows, applications runs normal but while running processor or graphically intensive games and applications, the PC crashes. The crash occurs during the heaviest load (when the frame rates is low, choppy or when the applications is processing something for a long time).

• Check the temperature and voltage rails. See what they are when your PC is idle and what they are when you're running these games and applications. Voltage rails shouldn't fluctuate much. Temperature will rise when you're running heavy games and applications, but they shouldn't rise more than 5 to 10 degrees Celsius above the usual temperature. For the most part, if they are above 50 degrees Celsius, that's too much.
  
• If your ambient and processor temperature is high, your processor's heatsink may not be able to cool your processor effectively. Open the case to improve airflow, this should lower the ambient temperature. You might want to consider using more case fans or tidying up the cables inside your case.
• Check whether or not the graphics card is properly cooled. Blowing air across the graphics card should help.
  
• If your power supply rails seems fine at daytime and fluctuates at nighttime, the problems are likely caused by external factors - the quality of electricity provide by your power company. Use a UPS with an automatic voltage regulator and power surge protection for your PC. A UPS ensures your PC will always have clean, stable electricity.

Problematic components: fan / heatsink for the processor and graphics card or the power supply unit. Try cleaning the heatsinks, since dust can build up after a while and this affects it's effectiveness. If these problems persist, you might want to consider getting better cooling (bigger fan and / or heatsink) for the processor and graphics card or a more powerful power supply unit.

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