Troubleshooting steps
Preventative maintenance
Common problems and solutions
Advanced problems and solutions
PC components
100

Step 1 of the troubleshooting process

What is "Identify the problem"?

100

Clean/replace ___-_______ regularly to reduce the amount of ____ in the air.

What is "air-filters" and "dust"?

100

The solution to the optical drive not ejecting

What is "Insert a pin into the small hole next to the eject button"?

100

Probable causes when your RAID stops working

What is either "The external RAID controller is not receiving power" or "the RAID controller has failed"?

100

A way to passively cool your PC.

What is "heatsink"?

200

Step 2 & 3 of the troubleshooting process

What is "establish a theory of probable cause" and "Test the theory to determine the cause"?

200

A loose _____ in the case can cause a short circuit.

What is a "screw"?

200

Solution to your PC clock no longer being correct

What is "secure/replace the CMOS battery"?

200

Probable cause of your slow computer

What is either "The PC is overheating" or "the computer doesn't have enough RAM"?

200

The ____ is responsible for interpreting and executing commands.

What is "CPU"?

300

Step 4 of the troubleshooting process

What is "Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem and implement the solution"?

300

Dust on the outside of a computer can travel through _______ ____ to the inside.

What are "cooling fans"?

300

The solution to your built-in NIC no longer working.

What is "install a new NIC into an open expansion slot"?

300

Probable cause of your computer not working after updating the BIOS firmware

What is "the BIOS firmware update did not install correctly"?

300

____ is the temporary working storage for data and programs that are being accessed by the CPU.

What is "RAM"?

400

Step 5 of the troubleshooting process

What is "Verify full system functionality and if applicable, implement preventative measures"?

400

When you clean a fan with __________ ___, hold the fan blades in place. This prevents overspinning the rotor or moving the fan in the wrong direction.

What is "compressed air"?

400

Probable cause of your system trying to boot an incorrect device

What is either "media was left in a removable device" or "the boot order is configured incorrectly"?

400

Solution to your computer running slower and only showing one CPU graph in Task Manager after upgrading from a single-core CPU to a multi-core CPU

What is "update the BIOS firmware to support the multi-core CPU"?

400

The _________ is the backbone of the computer.

What is "motherboard"?

500

Step 6 of the troubleshooting process

What is "Document findings, actions, and outcomes"?

500

The four tools required by a technician when performing preventive maintenance on a desktop PC.

What is a "screwdriver", "lint-free cloth", "anti-static wrist strap", and "can of compressed air"?

500

Probable cause of when you can hear fans spinning but the computer does not start and there are no beeps from the speaker

What is "the POST procedure is not executing"?

500

Probable cause AND solution to "cannot read from source disk" error being displayed when you try to open or save a file

What is "the drive is failing and you need to replace the disk"?

500

____ are the traditional magnetic disk devices that have been used for years.

What is "HDD"?