Computer Repair With Diagnostic Flowcharts

Computer Repair with Diagnostic Flowcharts Free Download PDF Eight flowcharts from published available through the FonerBooks.com website. The full revised eBook with 17 flowcharts and troubleshooting text is available for $9.95. The linked website versions of the flowcharts are interactive, ie, click on the diamond decision symbols and the browser shows the relevant text. The linked flowcharts also include the text for each chapter. I had to remove the text from this eBook due to possible duplicate content issues with Google.

Six laptop troubleshooting flowcharts online at: www.daileyint.com/hmdpc/repair.htm

Copyright 2011 by Morris Rosenthal This eBook may be shared online and printed for personal use only, on the condition that any electronically transmitted or printed copy include this copyright notice and statement. This eBook may not be used for commercial purposes or modified in any way without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.

Flowcharts produced with Microsoft Visio Standard

Power Supply Failure

No

Live screen?

Check power requirement vs rating.

Yes

No

No

New hardware installed?

No

Yes

New build?

Proceed to Video Failure chart.

No

Power comes on?

Yes

Good AC power source?

Yes

No

Is 110/220 V set?

Yes

Use live outlet.

Boot on 2nd try?

No

Yes Premature power_ok signal. Try different power supply.

Hear any beeps?

Yes

No

Proceed to Motherboard Failure chart.

Select proper voltage on rear of power supply. Yes

Installed motherboard

No

lead?

Yes

Power switch fail?

No

Check manual and motherboard silkscreen. Connect lead from front panel switch.

Yes Replace switch or substitute front panel reset switch, if available.

Remove latest addition and retry. Test, replace power

Yes

Power supply connections to motherboard correct?

Remake

supply. Hard drive spin up?

Either you have a short circuit in the case or a geometry problem placing an unacceptable stress on the motherboard. It’s also possible that the video adapter was never seated,

No

Yes

No

motherboard power supply connections.

Spin up on other lead?

Yes

Powers motherboard on bench? No

due the bracket position. Replace power supply.

No

Bad adapter on bus? Yes

No

Yes Defective power supply lead or connector. Strip system down to video adapter only.

See Box A, on Conflict Resolution chart.

Try drive in test PC.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead. Power Supply Failure Or cut and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm

Video Failure

Does system power up?

Yes

No

No

Monitor power on?

Yes

Yes

Check monitor

Connect video card

power source. Make sure cord is fully seated in the

power inside PC

monitor socket.

No

Yes

in middle of range?

Adjust brightness and contrast. Yes

No

RAM seated?

Proceed to Power Supply Failure

Yes

Live screen?

Controls

“No power” displayed?

Hear

Yes

No

No

a string of beeps?

Yes Video cable secure?

No Check both ends of video cable.

No

No

“No Signal” displayed?

Yes

Adapter seated?

No

Yes

Reseat video adapter, secure. Cable

Yes

Reseat RAM on Motherboard.

Monitor tested?

Yes

damaged, pins bent?

No

No

Test monitor on good PC or laptop.

Repair or replace video cable. Any Testing with a different technology video adapter (PCI vs PCI Express) doesn’t prove the card slot is good No

Proceed to Motherboard

No

Freezes Yes

other adapters installed?

on BIOS Screen?

Yes Live with new video adapter?

Failure chart

No

Live with lone video adapter?

No

Yes

Proceed to Video Performance chart.

.

Yes Try old adapter in other system before chucking.

Proceed to Conflict Resolution chart.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

Video Failure Or copy and paste: http://www.fonerbooks.com/video.htm

Motherboard, CPU, RAM Failure Power diagnostic done?

No

Proceed to Power Supply Failure.

CPU seated flat?

Fan on heatsink active?

Check fan power point, (fan1), replace.

Proceed to Motherboard Performance chart.

Yes

No

Freezes on swapped RAM?

Yes

Yes CMOS settings default?

Yes Replace RAM

Default No

No

No

Reseat CPU and heatsink.

Hear beeps?

Freezes on boot screen?

Proceed to conflict resolution chart

No

Yes

No

Freezes bare bones?

No

Proceed to Video Failure diagnostic chart

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Video diagnostic done?

RAM matched, seated?

Reseat RAM, positive lever lock. Install pairs if required.

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Live Screen?

No

motherboard Yes settings?

Restore default motherboard settings with jumpers or switches.

with type listed in motherboard documentation.

No Load defaults from BIOS.

Yes

Runs on bench?

Yes

Heatsink active?

No

No Locate short, binding, or swap case.

Yes

Bad CPU, watch voltage and heatsink

CPU swap work?

No

Install new heatsink, connect fan. May be too late for CPU.

on replace

ment.

Motherboard bad.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

Motherboard, RAM, CPU Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/cpu_ram.htm

ATA Drive Failure

No

BIOS register drive?

No

Drive seek, spin up?

Yes

CD or DVD drive?

Yes

No

Yes Try swapping power cables and test in other PC or external USB shell before trashing.

SATA drive?

No

Yes

Yes 300 MB/s SATA2? Check on-drive compatibility jumper if old 150 MB/s controller.

No

Proceed to CD / DVD chart.

Set Master/ Slave?

Yes

No

Yes

(CS)?

Cables seated,

BIOS on old motherboard may fail to detect

management. No Mode,

No

Yes

Select Master/Slave or CS. CS requires 80 conductor IDE cable or custom 40 wire cable.

both ends, test cable.

X-fer speed correct?

Replace IDE cables if in doubt.

No

PATA hard Yes

drives require 80 conductor cable, check mode in CMOS.

Reseat IDE and power cables.

IDE Yes ribbon cable No keyed?

Replace IDE cable. If BIOS still doesn’t register drive, either

Check data cable seated

No

new?

Swap power lead, try isolating on IDE cable, check power

Data Yes connection good?

SATA when present. Set cable select Yes

Drive cycles up, down?

No

No

Does FDISK see drive?

Isolate drive on primary IDE controller. If FDISK still doesn’t see drive, the MBR may have been trashed by a virus.

Yes

Proceed to Hard Drive Boot and Performance chart.

motherboard controller or drive is bad or incompatible.

M a t c h p i n 1 o n a l l c o n n e c t o r s .

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

ATA Drive Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/ide_hd.htm

CD or DVD Playback

No BIOS register drive?

Yes

Yes

Locked in software?

Try ejecting before boot.

Yes

Tray ejects?

Yes

No

Proceed to ATA Drive Failure

No

Pin hole on drive face?

Drive vibrates, noisy?

Yes Eject and remount. Try another disc. Check drive mounted level with 4 screws.

No

No

Plays music CDs?

Yes

Yes

No

Plays movies?

Pull drive, Unplug power, insert straightened paper-clip, pull tray. Make sure you didn’t use any long mounting screws. Yes

No

Yes

Two drives installed?

No

Yes

Burner problem?

Read data disc?

No

Yes

Check CODECs, recent update of media player

Proceed to Recording Problem.

DAE settings or audio patch cable from drive to sound card.

Read other discs?

Reading right drive?

No Yes

Boots OS?

No

Yes

No

Laugh at self, pick right drive.

No

faceplate, pry and pray.

Try other diagnostic chart.

Clean disc with flannel, check for scratches. Yes

Device Manager problem?

Change CMOS boot sequence, pre-spin drive, try CD in test PC.

No

No

DVD SATA?

Yes

Proceed to Conflict Resolution.

No Replace IDE cable,

change BIOS mode, try drive in test PC.

Drive shares IDE cable?

Yes

Replace data cable, test drive in USB enclosure or other PC.

Isolate on secondary IDE.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

CD or DVD Playback Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/ide_cd.htm

Modem Failure

DSL or cable modem?

Yes LED may say

No

“Online”, green is usually good. Yes

Internet LED lit? No

ISP pick up?

No

Power off PC and modem, retry. Line unplugged, modem failure, or service out.

Busy or ringing?

Yes

Filters installed? Yes

Friend w/ same?

No

Multi-port modem?

Yes Try networking cable on different modem port, USB,

ISP

No

No

confirm user info? Yes Proceed to Connect at lowered speed?

No

Install on ALL lines!

Yes

Connect to different ISP?

Try borrowed DSL modem.

No

Yes

Try dialing on pulse

Get valid user name, password from ISP.

Yes

Gets online?

No

outside line. No

No

Yes

No

Confirm ISP’s phone number, area code and prefix for

Cable?

Does modem dial?

Yes

Modem Performance

Yes

Check modem standards and brands supported with ISP.

No

Try direct line or new modem.

Likely PC networking, network adapter or software, especially firewall.

Yes

No

Yes

Device Manger report problem?

“No dial tone”?

No

Yes

Best driver installed?

Yes

No

Connect line jack on modem.

Download latest driver from web.

Pass or test

wirele

ss function with laptop.

No

OS modem Yes test? Reboot, try

Try new modem.

again.

Proceed to Conflict Resolution.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead. Modem Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/modem.htm

Sound Failure

Any non-beep audio?

No

Sound enabled in O.S.?

No

Yes

Proceed to Sound Performance

Yes

Enable sound (Control Panel for Windows PCs) and test clips for Windows actions. No

External volume dials up?

No

Yes Best Yes

Turn up external controls on speakers, old

No

driver loaded?

Yes

Any “!” or “?” in Device Manager?

Manager register card?

No

driver from Internet.

USB sound?

Yes

Yes Try different USB port, cable. Try on other PC or laptop.

No Proceed to Conflict Resolution

Checked all jacks?

Plug in speaker brick (transformer), except for USB powered or old battery speakers.

Download latest

Device

sound cards.

No

External speakers powered?

Yes

Yes

Register with video only?

Yes

No

Yes

Built-in No motherboard sound?

Disable motherboard No Confirm speaker jack connected correct port (nonUSB only). If 3D sound card, use

No

Hunted down every software volume?

front speakers. Sound capable devices, and 3rd party software may all have

sound in CMOS and install sound card. Yes

Problem Ye s Proceed

to CD or DVD

Replace sound card. Use USB speaker or USB sound card if no expansion with music CDs only?

No

Hardware failure.

individual volume controls. Watch for “mute” boxes checked.

Playback

slots. Check speakers, patch cables, sound card on test-bed system.

?

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

Sound Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/sound.htm

Network Hardware Diagnostics

No

Yes

New hub added to LAN?

Check crossover (X) port wiring.

PC sees other network units?

Yes

Yes

Random problems?

No

No

Software limits, user settings.

No

Link light lit?

Yes

Shielded cable?

No

Yes Copied network config?

Yes

Yes

Device Manager problem?

Clone setup from good workstation.

No

Tried known good cable?

Yes

PC works at new location?

In-wall cabling failure, limits, or hub port.

No

Yes

Within physical layer

Yes

Tried different port on hub?

Swap cable or check pairs, ends.

Yes

Add repeaters, re-route cables. Fails on traffic, # of users?

Swap hub for switch, check server utilization.

Reboot, improper software configuration or bad network adapter.

No

No

No

Flaky off network also? Yes

If connection stable on new port, prior port is failing.

network hardware if only this workstation has intermittent failures. Try eliminating all other non-essential

No

limits?

No

Problem is unlikely

software tasks for testing purposes.

Check proper ground (one end)

Physical layer (cables, devices)

No

Proceed Conflict Resolution.

Yes

No

Proceed to Motherboard Performance.

Cable bypass to hub fix?

Yes

New No Most likely software conflicts, virus.

network card works?

Yes

Bad patch or inwall cabling.

Throw out old adapter, $10 new.

You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.

Network Hardware Diagnostics Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/network.htm