10 ways to diagnose ailing PCs: Step by step

By Jack Wallen

Takeaway: Taking a systematic approach to troubleshooting PC issues will save you time and frustration and get your clients back to work more quickly.

It’s a given: PCs go south and do so often. Whether it’s hardware, software, or user error, there will always be something in the way of that PC running smoothly. Problem is, there are so many things that can go wrong, it’s often difficult to know where to start to simply discover the problem.
I do a lot of remote support, so I’ve had to learn many ways to troubleshoot a sick PC without the luxury of being in front of the patient. Of course, there are countless routes to take with this process, but I thought I’d share the steps I like to follow. These are not your standard “Run your antivirus” or “Defrag the drive” approaches, either. This is the method I follow from the beginning of the phone call to the client.

1: Describe the problem

The first thing I have the client do is describe the problem. Before jumping onto the PC, I gather as much information as possible. This means having the client describe what is happening, when it started happening, and whether there was any particular incident that coincided with the problem starting. Many times, this information gathering will lead you directly to the solution. Sometimes, the information gathering will lead you to realize a reboot is all that is necessary to solve the problem.

2: Define the affected subsystem

There are instances when a problem is isolated to a specific subsystem of a machine — such as printing. Although you might think this a no-brainer, many end users will call saying, “My computer isn’t working,” when in reality what they mean is, “My printer isn’t printing.” In some cases, multiple subsystems might be affected, such as printing and mapped network drives… you can see where this is leading. If multiple subsystems are having issues, the combination of those will often lead you directly to a solution.

3: Is it hardware or software?

If a client describes an issue such as a slow PC, one of the first things I do is check out the hardware. Is there enough RAM? Is there enough free space on the C drive? And if the problem is network related, are the lights on the network card blinking, on, or dark? If these don’t highlight an issue, don’t immediately assume the issue is software related –there could be hard drive issues. But before you dig deeper into hardware issues, this would be a good jumping point for software. If nothing becomes apparent after you’ve investigated software issues, come back to hardware and do a drive test or defrag.

4: Diagnose printing woes

Printers can be tricky. But there are ways to make this troubleshooting job a bit easier. First, find out what type of printer you are dealing with. If the printer is a networked printer, make sure the network is actually up. If it is, ask whether other machines can print to the printer in question. If they can, check to see whether any jobs are stuck in the machine’s printer queue. If you open up the Printers And Devices window and the printer is not listed, find out if it just recently disappeared. If it did, the driver most likely is corrupt and will need to removed from within Regedit. If the printer is still listed and no jobs are in the queue, have the client restart the machine and then try to print. A good restart will cure a host of woes in Windows.

5: Deal with networking trauma

Can the client see the internal servers? If not, can they open their browser and see google.com? If not, this becomes a challenge, as you can’t do remote troubleshooting. But never fear, help is near. I start by walking the client through rebooting the machine and starting in safe mode. Usually, if there isn’t an actual hardware issue, safe mode will circumvent the nasties that are keeping the machine from getting online. Once in safe mode, let the fun begin!
Of course, if no one can get online, the first thing to be done is power cycling the router/modem/switch hardware. If that fails, there is always DNS to troubleshoot. But that gets beyond standard triage (as it will often lead you away from the client machine and to a DNS server issue).

6: Resolve login issues

How often do you get this one: “Where’s my password?” A client calls in to say they can’t log into their computer. Have they forgotten their password? Is the machine on a domain? If it’s on a domain, is the machine online? There are so many problems with this one, it’s hard to know where to start. But here’s the first thing you should do: If the client is on a domain and you have access to their Active Directory server, try to log onto that server with their credentials. If you can do that, the issue has been narrowed down to either their network connection or the manner in which they are logging in. If they are to be logging in to a domain, make sure they are doing so at their computer and not logging in to the local machine.

7: Troubleshoot specific software

Sometimes, it will boil down to a single piece of software that’s giving the user fits. This, in turn, can give the support technician fits (especially if it’s a niche piece of software). The first thing I would do is double-check to make sure the issue is, in fact, isolated to one particular piece of software. If the problem is network related and all other applications can get online, the issue is most likely isolated to that one piece of software. If so, and the software depends upon a network connection, make sure neither the firewall or the antivirus software has started blocking the software from getting packets in or out. When I discover the problem is isolated to a single piece of software, often a repair install will solve the issue.

8: Look for virus issues

I find that 50 percent of support calls wind up being viruses. Since viruses cause all sorts of differing behavior, how can you quickly determine whether the issue is a virus? I know support techs who have spent hours trying to track down a virus on a machine that wasn’t actually infected. There are a few questions I like to ask. The first is “What behavior is your computer displaying that makes you believe it has a virus?” The answer to that question will dictate where you go from there. Other questions to ask are:

• Did your computer recently show signs of drastic slowdown?
• Are strange or unwanted popup windows appearing at random times?
• Were you recently on a Web site you don’t normally visit?
• Did someone else use your machine?
• Did you recently open an email attachment?
• Has a strange security window recently started popping up?

The above questions will help guide you in the right direction to help cure a possibly infected PC.

9: Ask for a demonstration

If a discussion about the issue brings up nothing and you can remote into the user’s PC, it will do you a world of good to see the problem in action. This is especially true when the issue is unique to a client’s PC, network, or software. Although the majority of issues can be figured out from description, some issues simply need to be viewed in action. Have the client reproduce the error for you. Make sure the error happens in the same way every time. With this visual reproduction, you will have confirmation that there is an issue, and you’ll have a definitive place with which to start your troubleshooting.

10: Use your tools

When all else fails, you have that outstanding collection of tools you can use to throw at a machine. When this is the case, I tend to start with the most innocuous software, such as Malwarebytes, and then go up from there. This is a good time to run those hard drive diagnostic tools (should the issue possibly point toward a faulty or degraded drive). This is the kitchen sink approach and can sometimes lead to more issues. But when you’ve gone down every rabbit hole you can think of, it might be your best shot.

Other steps?

As I said, there are many ways to approach troubleshooting a problem. I have found the procedure described above to work well for me, as a remote support engineer. What about you? What methods do you typically employ for troubleshooting, either remote or local?

[11].Surah Hud (PBUH) : 90

Ayat 90. "And ask forgiveness of your Lord and turn unto Him in repentance. Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." 

Hazrat Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah  [SAWW](PBUH) said, "Allah, the Almighty, says: `Whosoever does a good deed, will have (reward) ten times like it and I add more; and whosoever does an evil, will have the punishment like it or I will forgive (him); and whosoever approaches Me by one span, I will approach him by one cubit; and whosoever approaches Me by one cubit, I approach him by one fathom, and whosoever comes to Me walking, I go to him running; and whosoever meets Me with an earth-load of sins without associating anything with Me, I meet him with forgiveness like that".

[Muslim Book 035, Ch-06, Hadith # 6499]

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Hud Ayat 90. " Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most Loving." This Hadith mentions the infinite Compassion and Mercy of Allah to His obedient slaves and a special expression of which will be made by Him on the Day of Resurrection. On that Day, He will give at least ten times reward for each good deed. In some cases it may be far more than that, seven hundred times or more, as He would like. Such benevolence on His part warrants that a Muslim should never lose hope of His forgiveness.  

[11].Surah Hud (PBUH) : 91-92

Ayat 91. They said: "O Shoaib! We do not understand much of what you say, and we see you a weak (man, it is said that he was a blind man) among us. Were it not for your family, we should certainly have stoned you and you are not powerful against us."

Ayat 92. He said: "O my people! Is then my family of more weight with you than Allah? And you have cast Him away behind your backs. Verily, my Lord is surrounding all that you do. 

Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported that the Messenger of Allah  [SAWW](PBUH) used to supplicate: "O Allah! To You I have submitted, and in You do I believe, and in You I put my trust, to You do I turn, and for You I argued. O Allah, I seek refuge with You through Your Power; there is none worthy of worship except You Alone; that You safeguard me against going astray. You are the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists; the One Who never dies, whereas human beings and jinn will all die".

[Muslim Book 035, Ch-17, Hadith # 6561]

Lesson : as mentioned above in Surah Hud Ayat 92. " Verily, my Lord is surrounding all that you do." Even in the worst circumstances one should always have faith and trust in Allah. such people are those who put their trust in Allah; Allah says: `I am just as My slave thinks of Me when he remembers Me.' 

দাঁতঃ

এনামেল: এটি দাঁতের বাইরের শক্ত আবরণ, যা ক্যালসিয়াম ও ফস‌ফেট দ্বারা গঠিত।

ডেন্টিনঃএটি ভিতরের স্তর, যা দাঁতের অধিকাংশ স্থান জুড়ে বিদ্যমান।

দন্তমজ্জা (ডেন্টাল পাল্প)ঃএটি দাঁতের ভিতরের অংশ, এখানে স্নায়ু ও রক্তবাহী নালিকা বিদ্যমান।

সিমেন্টামঃ এটি দাঁতের মূলের চারিদিকে অবস্থিত পাতলা স্তর। এটি এক ধরনের অস্থিসদৃশ আবরণ, যা দাঁতকে চোয়ালের সাথে সংযুক্ত করে রাখে।

এছাড়াও দাঁতের সিমেন্ট ও চোয়ালের মাঝখানে যে সূক্ষ ফাঁকা থাকে, সেখানে অনেক অতিসূক্ষ তন্তুসদৃশ লিগামেন্ট থাকে যাকে পেরিওডন্টাল টিস্যু বলে। দাঁতকে হাড়ের সাথে সংযুক্ত রাখাই এর প্রধান কাজ

চিনি জাতীয় খাদ্য আমাদের মুখের ভিতরে এক ধরনের জীবাণুর সঙ্গে মিশে এসিড তৈরী করে। এই এসিড দাঁতের উপরের শক্ত আবরণ এনামেলকে ক্ষয় করে এবং পরবর্তীতে গর্তের সৃষ্টি করে। এ রোগটির নাম ডেন্টাল ক্যারিজ। এই পদ্ধতিটা ঠিক এই রকম -
চিনি জাতীয় খাদ্য+জীবাণু (ব্যাকটেরিয়া = এসিড = দাঁতের ক্ষয় (ডেন্টাল ক্যারিজ)।

ডেন্টাল ক্যারিজ প্রতিরোধ: ১.নিয়মিত দুই বেলা সকালে ও রাতে (আহারের পর) ফ্লুরাইডমিশ্রিত টুথপেষ্ট দিয়ে দাঁত পরিষ্কার করা প্রয়োজন।

২. ফ্লুরাইড ট্যাবলেট, ফ্লুরাইড জেল অথবা ফ্লুরাইড মিশ্রিত পানি গ্রহণ করা (অবশ্যই নির্দিষ্ট পরিমাণে)। পানিতে সাধারণত: ফ্লুরাইডেশন করা হয় ১ মিলিয়ন এর মধ্যে ১ ভাগ ফ্লুরাইড যুক্ত করে। কারণ নির্দিষ্ট পরিমাণের বেশী ফ্লুরাইড গ্রহণ দেহের জন্য মারাত্মক ক্ষতিকারক।

ডেন্টাল প্লাক কি:
মুখে খাদ্যকণা জমে থেকে যে আবরণ সৃষ্টি হয় এর নাম ডেন্টাল প্লাক। এই ডেন্টাল প্লাক লক্ষ লক্ষ অণুবীক্ষণিক জীবাণুর সমষ্টি। মুখের দুই প্রধান রোগ ডেন্টাল ক্যারিজ ও মাড়ির প্রদাহে ডেন্টাল প্লাকই দায়ী।


প্লাক প্রতিরোধ:
১. মূল আহার গ্রহণের (সকালের নাস্তা-দুপুরের খাবার-রাতের খাবার) মধ্যবর্তী সময়গুলোতে চিনি বা শর্করা জাতীয় খাদ্য (যেমন চকলেট, বিস্কুট, লজেন্স, কেক, টফি, চুইংগাম, আইসক্রিম, মন্ডা মিঠাই) খাওয়া বন্ধ করা প্রয়োজন।

২. আহার গ্রহণের সাথে সাথেই ভালোভাবে কুলিকুচি, মুখ পরিষ্কার ও দুই বেলা সকালে ও রাতে দাঁত ব্রাশ করা প্রয়োজন।

৩. ডিসক্লোজিং ট্যাবলেট পানিতে গুলে নিয়ে ঐ পানিতে কুলিকুচি করলে খাদ্যকণাগুলোর রঙ পরিবর্তন হবে (লাল রঙ) তখন প্লাক সনাক্ত করে খাদ্যকণাকে ব্রাশ বা মেছওয়াক করলে সহজেই পরিষ্কার করা যায়।

মিসওয়াক...

* মাড়ি শক্ত করে, দাতের ক্ষয় রোধ করে।
* স্মরণ শক্তি বাড়ায়।
* মুখে সুগন্ধি আনে।
* মুখের দূর্গন্ধ দূর করে ও মুখের রুচি বাড়ায়।
* মাথা ব্যাথা দূর করে।
* চেহারায় উজ্জলতা আনে।
* দাঁতের উজ্জলতা বাড়ায়।
* দৃষ্টি শক্তি বাড়ায়।
* পাচন প্রক্রিয়াতে সাহায্য করে।
* সবচাইতে বড় কথা আল্লাহর সন্তুষ্টি পাওয়া যায়।
* নামাজের আগে মিসওয়াক করলে ৭০ গুণ বেশী সাওয়াব পাওয়া যায়।


আবূ হুরায়রা রাদিয়াল্লাহু ‘আনহু থেকে বর্ণিত, রাসূল সাল্লাল্লাহু ‘আলাইহি ওয়াসাল্লাম বলেছেন: “আমার উম্মাতের উপর যদি কষ্টকর মনে না করতাম, তাহলে তাদেরকে প্রত্যেক সালাতের সময় দাঁতন (মেসওয়াক) করার নির্দেশ করতাম।” [বুখারী: ৮৮৭, মুসলিম: ৫৮৯]


মূল: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1532211842958.45390.1764648144

Assess the damage before resurrecting a failed project

By Brad Egeland August 31, 2011, 2:10 PM PDT Takeaway: Salvaging a failed project is never easy. The best approach for figuring where to start rebuilding is to understand what went wrong. When you’re hired to pick up the pieces of a failed project and move forward, it can be overwhelming to wrap your head around where to start. The key to coming up with answers to questions about how you’re going to be able to resurrect the project is to ask a lot of questions. These are the series of steps I follow to prepare for getting a project back on track. price it well because you’re likely to face a few unknowns and more than a few risks. Investigate what went wrong Study the project documentation I’ve been in this situation four times, and it’s always interesting to investigate what happened to get the project from point A to point F. You should try to obtain project documentation (including the original requirements, budget information, project schedules, and status reports), though it may be difficult to get your hands on this information. In the four instances when I’ve taken over failed projects, I’ve only had access to documentation once. Talk to the previous project lead or sponsor It’s even more interesting if the person who managed the failed attempt is available to meet with you. Even though the former project manager will likely claim the project going off the rails wasn’t his fault, you can still gather a lot of useful information by speaking to him. If that person isn’t willing to discuss the project, you might see what you can find out from the project sponsor. Engage the SMEs The subject matter experts (SMEs) are your next point of contact. Unless the previous consultant was completely out of touch and avoided the SMEs altogether (which would be a clue as to why the project failed), then they were likely part of the failed project and can offer insight into what happened and be good resources for information, requirements, and basic needs going forward. In my experience, the SMEs want you to succeed, especially if they happen to be some of the users who will benefit from the implementation. Map out an action plan After you collect all of this background information, it’s time to map out your course of action for the project. You should create a detailed project schedule and document how and when meetings and communication will occur. It’s also important to conduct risk planning; the project sponsor should understand about the cost and the need for risk planning given the project’s history of failure. Overall, you need to show that you’ve learned from the mistakes that were made on this project, and that you don’t intend to repeat them. Bonus tip: Be sure to price this engagement high enough for various unknowns and risks you’ll likely face. source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/project-management/assess-the-damage-before-resurrecting-a-failed-project/3607?tag=nl.e053

10 immutable laws of mistakes

By Alan Norton

Takeaway: Mistakes are inevitable. But as Allan Norton explains, certain laws govern how we deal with them, learn from them, conceal them, and even profit from them.

For something so certain, so common, and so potentially destructive, mistakes remain a mystery. Why do we make them? Why do we repeat them? These 10 laws will give you a better understanding of what mistakes are and how to best deal with them.

Law #1: Everyone makes mistakes

“Everyone makes mistakes. That’s why there is an eraser on every pencil.” — Japanese proverb

This amusing yet clever Japanese proverb reminds us that there is something innately human about the mistakes we make. It also wisely implies that we have the power to correct our mistakes.

Corollary: Nobody can change law number one.

Law #2: Not all mistakes are bad mistakes

“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Mistakes are going to happen, but that is not always a bad thing. The person who makes no mistakes isn’t taking any risks or living life to its fullest. By playing it safe, you may miss out on some of life’s greatest rewards. Wise men and women seek perfection but allow themselves the luxury of making mistakes.

If you still believe that all mistakes are bad, consider this question: How can a mistake be considered bad if more is gained than lost? There are many examples of serendipitous mistakes that have led to great discoveries. Penicillin, for example, was discovered by Alexander Fleming when he accidentally left a petri dish open. And how about those mistakes that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? My favorite, the Inverted Jenny stamp, was sold in November of 2007 for $977,500!

Law #3: Mistakes not seen by others are not mistakes

“When a tree falls in a lonely forest, and no animal is near by to hear it, does it make a sound?” — Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss

If a mistake is made and no one knows about it, is it a mistake? Okay, to you it is a mistake. But if no one else is aware of your mistake, it isn’t a mistake — assuming, of course, that you correct your error before someone else does see it. It’s not necessary to proclaim every mistake you make, especially the stupid ones. Why unnecessarily damage your image and possibly your career? But you can pass on the lessons you have learned from your mistakes and still be a hero for a day.

Law #4: Ignorance does not excuse your mistakes

“Ignorance of the law excuses no man…” — John Selden

Likewise, not knowing a system feature or behavior that leads to a mistake cannot be used as an excuse. I learned VB transaction processing to speed up the loading of data into a remote database. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the consequences of processing large numbers of transactions before committing the records. The network crashed and I owned up to my mistake. It may have been an unintentional mistake, but pleading ignorance wouldn’t have changed the fact that I was responsible for crashing the network.

Law #5: Mistakes occur at the very worst time

“If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then.” – Corollary to Murphy’s Law

I have always appreciated Murphy’s Law and its corollaries, including Murphy’s computer laws. Perhaps that is because there is a certain amount of truth in them. It is no coincidence that frequently, the worst mistakes occur at the worst time. End-of-project mistakes happen due to stress, time pressures, and fatigue. A deadline often leads to mistakes in the scramble to complete a task. Less time to recognize and fix mistakes is often the genesis of what can and will go wrong.

Law #6: Mistakes beget mistakes

“Desperate people do desperate things.“ — Anonymous

Your heart is racing, beads of sweat are forming on your brow, and your stomach feels like it has both butterflies and moths. You have just made the kind of mistake that can be career-ending. How will you proceed? You decide to quickly fix your mistake before someone else sees it. But this is no time to make another mistake. First, take a few deep breaths and ask yourself several questions:

• Will I take unnecessary and dangerous risks to correct my mistake?
• Am I in over my head and need help?
• Can I fix this problem without making it worse?

You are more prone to make bad decisions when under a large amount of stress. The last thing you want in a career-defining moment is a comedy of errors. Stay calm, remain levelheaded, and take the time you need to avoid additional mistakes.

Law #7: Mistakes made with computers propagate faster and cause more damage

“Computers have enabled people to make more mistakes faster than almost any invention in history, with the possible exception of tequila and hand guns.” — Mitch Ratcliffe

Oh, the power you wield as an IT professional! You have the power to damage so much with the smallest of mistakes. Use an OR instead of an AND or put a decimal point in the wrong place, and all kinds of bad things can happen. The work you do is “supercharged” once it is run on a computer. The pressures to produce perfection are enormous. Since we all make mistakes, the only reasonable course is to take great care in the proofreading and testing of your work before turning it on to the world.

Law #8: Mistakes of inaction are mistakes nonetheless

“I never worry about action, but only about inaction.” - Winston Churchill

As you get older, you begin to realize the mistakes you have made by not asking out your high school sweetheart, not fighting for what is right, or any number of other what-if situations. Similarly, you may second-guess not getting that certification, not taking that project lead position, or other decisions of inaction you have made on the job. The tragedy is that these decisions are often life-altering. Equally tragic, whether they were mistakes or not may become obvious only in the clarity of hindsight. Other mistakes of inaction are clearer to identify as true mistakes:

• Failing to communicate
• Failing to research in detail
• Failing to analyze thoroughly
• Failing to test all possible outcomes
• Failing to perform root cause analysis

Law #9: Failing to own up to your mistakes is a mistake

“You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else.” — Mary Pickford

If you can’t quickly fix your mistake, hiding it is almost always a bad idea. Finding the humility to admit your error ASAP will allow others to come to your aid. More knowledgeable members of your team can help determine the full scope and impact of your mistake and help in the remediation process. You compound your mistake further if you blame someone else or a peer is implicated for what you have done — and no one with a conscience wants to live with that.

Law #10: Failing to learn from your mistakes is a mistake

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” — John Powell

It has been said that life is a journey, not a destination. Mistakes are part of that journey, and it is an opportunity lost if we do not learn and grow from those errors we encounter along the way. But learning is not enough. We must also put into practice what we have learned or we have learned nothing at all.

The bottom line

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” — Rita Mae Brown

If it is true that you learn more from your mistakes than your triumphs, I must be a genius. And yet I am no genius. More than once while walking along the path of life, I have failed in the learning process. I’ve caught myself making the same mistake over and over and not fully understanding why. The flowchart in Figure A helps to explain where the learning process can fail.

Figure A

The “learning from mistakes” process

When you make a mistake for the first time, you either recognize it or you don’t. If you recognize it, you fix it if you can. It’s a fairly simple process. The second time you are presented with a similar situation, you must first recognize the situation, remember the mistake you made, and then change your behavior. Fail at any of those three decision points and you will repeat the mistake. That is a more complex process and the reason why we repeat our mistakes.

My favorite mistake is the intentional one. Navajo rug makers include a small imperfection called a “spirit string” to allow the “spirit” that they have put into the work to escape and because only God is perfect. Lest we forget, this is perhaps the greatest “mistake” quote of all: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” — Alexander Pope. And the world could use a little less human and a little more divine right now.

source : http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-immutable-laws-of-mistakes/2633?tag=nl.e098