Pc troubleshooting software

First, you check the printer to see that it's turned on and plugged in to the surge protector. It is, so that's not the issue. Next, you check to make sure the printer's ink cartridge still has ink and that there is paper loaded in the paper tray. Things look good in both cases, so you know the issue has nothing to do with ink or paper. Now you want to make sure the printer and computer are communicating correctly. If you recently downloaded an update to your operating system , it might interfere with the printer.

But you know there haven't been any recent updates and the printer was working yesterday, so you'll have to look elsewhere. You check the printer's USB cord and find that it's not plugged in. You must have unplugged it accidentally when you plugged something else into the computer earlier.

Once you plug in the USB cord, the printer starts working again. But before you make the call, there are basic steps you can take to solve software problems on your own, or at least narrow down their causes. The next time you have a software problem, try these troubleshooting tips in the order they're listed below.

Carefully document the steps you take. That way, if a tech support call becomes necessary, at least you'll have a good idea of what isn't causing the problem. The more software that's running on your computer, the more RAM it uses. This can be especially problematic if you're using older machines that don't have a lot of RAM.

So if a software program refuses to load or is running slowly, the first thing to do is to close all other open applications. If you want to find out which open applications might be hogging your RAM, both Windows and Macintosh operating systems OS have tools that display this information:.

Software problems can stem from a conflict with other programs or simply from difficulties the software encountered when starting up. Shutting the program down and restarting it can sometimes resolve these issues. If restarting the problematic program doesn't resolve the issue, try rebooting your computer. Once the computer has fully restarted, re-launch the application in question and see if the problem has been resolved.

No matter what software problems you encounter, chances are it's happened to someone else. So there's a good chance you can find help on the Internet. Here are a few places to get started:. Sometimes, software problems occur because critical application files have been removed, updated, or deleted.

Often, several applications will use the same DLL file. If you've recently removed one program from your computer, it's possible you removed DLL files that another program relied on. Similarly, adding a program could add or update DLL files. Applications that were dependent on those DLL files may become unstable or stop working entirely.

To ensure that all the necessary files are intact, you can completely uninstall the problematic software, then reinstall it. Even if you remove a program using its built-in uninstall wizard if it includes one , it's still a good idea to check your hard drive's Program Files folder — usually located on the C drive — for any remnants of the program, and delete any files or folders you find.

Then, run the following command to start the desired Troubleshooting Pack:. As part of the troubleshooting process, it is helpful to know as much information as you can about the machine where the problem resides to assist in finding a solution more quickly. To start an audit of your local machine, simply execute WinAudit. Joeware Utilities are a list of free troubleshooting and system information utilities aimed at making the life of an administrator easier.

These tools are built by a system administrator from his own experience of not finding a tool out there that did the job he needed for whatever he was trying to solve. Note: Unfortunately Joeware Utilities do not come as a bundled package and will have to be downloaded individually from the website. However, using a small add-on for the NirLauncher application mention below, you can download and categorize the tools ready to be launched from the NirLauncher application itself.

AccExp is a command line tool that you can use to modify or read the expiration date of local user accounts. NirLauncher is an application that bundles more than portable freeware utilities. The tools available include password recovery tools, Internet tools, programming tools, and system tools — all of which can be used for troubleshooting and information gathering.

USBDeview is a small application that lists all current and previously connected USB devices on a local or remote machine. Information about which process opened the port, the time the process was created and the user that created it is displayed. Using CurrPorts you can also close open connections and export the information to a file.

Using LastActivityView you can see what actions were taken by a user and what events occurred on the machine. Microsoft SysInternals Suite is a collection of over 60 lightweight troubleshooting tools all bundled into a single download package. In the event that the Software Center client is in a non-functioning state, and needs to be installed:.

Your computer's cache is the local copy of media that you've installed. You need your cache to accesss your files while installing new programs. Some software may cause the cache to exceed its limit, thus preventing the files from being downloaded. You may notice that your computer does not have some of the software that a colleague does.