Beyond the Book
The publisher maintains a support page with updates or changes that have occurred since this book went to press. You’ll also find bonus content, in the form of an online Cheat Sheet, which isn’t really cheating and isn’t a sheet.
To peruse the online content, visit dummies.com, though that’s not the right page. You need to search for Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies – the whole thing! After you find the proper search result, click it, and then open the Download tab on this book’s dedicated page. I’d offer more specific information, but I don’t have it. The publisher told me that the actual address of the online material is held in one of 20 briefcases and if I choose the right one, I get paid – something like that.
Where to Go from Here
Feel free to start reading this book in any minibook, chapter, or section. Everything is self-contained, so there isn’t really a reason to read one section before another. For those rare times when it helps to know information located elsewhere in the book, I provide a cross-reference. But it’s not necessary to read the book from front to back.
My email address is [email protected]. Yes, that’s my real address. I reply to all email I receive, and you’ll get a quick reply if you keep your question short and specific to this book. Although I enjoy saying "Hi," I cannot answer technical support questions or help you troubleshoot your computer. Thanks for understanding.
You can also visit my web page for more information or as a diversion:
This book’s specific support page can be found at
wambooli.com/help/troubleshooting
I provide frequent updates and posts on that page, offering bonus information, supplements to this book, tips, tricks, trivia, and fun. And there’s only one little advertisement on the page and no pop-ups.
The publisher also maintains a support page, complete with a Cheat Sheet, supplemental material, and updates. You can visit the site here:
www.dummies.com/go/god-only-knows
Thank you for choosing my book,
Dan Gookin
Book 1
Solve My Problem Now!
Chapter 1
Trouble Comes Hither
IN THIS CHAPTER
❯❯ Understanding PC problems
❯❯ Examining software changes
❯❯ Reviewing hardware issues
❯❯ Adjusting PC settings
❯❯ Determining the source
❯❯ Tossing in the towel
It’s sudden, unexpected, and unwelcome. It’s PC trouble, and it sneaks up on the horizon like the dawn. Unlike the sun, however, technology issues hardly warm up your day with welcome sunshine. No, the dread and foreboding that comes with computer woe is a splash of cold water, a pebble in your shoe, and a long-term visit from an unwelcome guest all rolled into one.
You can’t avoid computer woe, but you can prepare for its arrival. You can also become familiar with the core cause of digital distress. The more you know about why things go wrong, the better you can prepare yourself for that eventuality.
The Root of All PC Trouble
Simply enough, the cause of nearly all PC trouble is rooted in one thing: change.
Most computers foul up because something has changed. It could be something you did, such as modify a setting, uncover a software bug, run a malicious program, or experience any of several items that all qualify as “change.” Even time is an agent of change, in that PC hardware gets old, eventually wears out, and fails.
The goal isn’t to avoid change, but rather to be aware of its consequences. The process of troubleshooting becomes easier when you realize that something you just did, intentional or not, might have triggered a problem.
What’s Changed?
No, it’s not your fault that you changed something. Computers are designed to be flexible. Rather than blame yourself when trouble arises, just recall what’s changed. When you do, you make it easier to troubleshoot and find the source of what’s going wrong.
For example, you install a new keyboard and the mouse doesn’t work. Perhaps you unplugged the mouse instead of the old keyboard? You update a graphics driver, but now all your computer games are reset to low resolution. The point is to be aware of what you’ve just done, to see how it relates to the current problem.
To help you discover what’s changed, or what might have caused recent issues, ask yourself, “What did I just do?” Specifically, did you recently or just now
❯❯ Install new software?
❯❯ Add new hardware?
❯❯ Change a setting?
Think hard! That’s because you do a lot with your computer and sometimes you do several things at once. For example, a dialog box may feature multiple settings but only one OK button. All the settings are applied instantly with a mouse-click. Undoing the change requires that you recall which change you just made.
Software covers the gamut, from the PC’s operating system to programs you install. It also includes the software that controls specific pieces of hardware, which are referred to as drivers.
The best way to avoid issues caused by installing new software is to create a restore point. That way, should problems arise, you can uninstall the software and use the restore point to recover the system’s previous configuration.
❯❯ The good news: Windows automatically creates a restore point whenever you install new software.
❯❯ The bad news: Some older programs may not prompt Windows to create a restore point. And, when you modify settings, a restore point isn’t created.
❯❯ Refer to Book 3, Chapter 5 for details on System Restore. That chapter explains how to manually set a restore point and how to use the System Restore utility to recover from software installation boo-boos.
Major hardware changes most definitely affect a computer system, but keep in mind