The Universal Troubleshooting Process

Regardless of how complex your particular computer or peripheral device might be, a
dependable troubleshooting procedure can be broken down into four basic steps: define your
symptoms, identify and isolate the potential source (or location) of your problem,
replace the suspected sub-assembly, and re-test the unit thoroughly to be sure that you
have solved the problem. If you have not solved the problem, start again from Step #1.
This is a “universal” procedure that you can apply to any sort of troubleshooting—not just for
personal computer equipment.

Define Your Symptoms

When a PC breaks down, the cause might be as simple as a loose wire or connector, or as
complicated as an IC or sub-assembly failure. Before you open your tool box, you must have
a firm understanding of all the symptoms. Think about the symptoms carefully—for example:
 Is the disk or tape inserted properly?
 Is the power or activity LED lit?
 Does this problem occur only when the computer is tapped or moved?
By recognizing and understanding your symptoms, it can be much easier to trace a problem
to the appropriate assembly or component. Take the time to write down as many symptoms as
you can. This note-taking might seem tedious now, but once you have begun your repair, a
written record of symptoms and circumstances will help to keep you focused on the task at
hand. It will also help to jog your memory if you must explain the symptoms to someone else
at a later date. As a professional trouble-shooter, you must of-ten log problems or otherwise
document your activities anyway.

Identify and Isolate

Before you try to isolate a problem within a piece of computer hardware, you must first be
sure that the equipment itself is causing the problem. In many circumstances, this will be
fairly obvious, but some situations might appear ambiguous (i.e., there is no power, no DOS
prompt, etc.). Always remember that a PC works because of an intimate mingling of
hardware and software. A faulty or improperly configured piece of software can cause
confusing system errors.
When you are confident that the failure lies in your system’s hardware, you can begin to
identify possible problem areas.
Replace
Because computers and their peripherals are designed as collections of sub-assemblies, it is
almost always easier to replace a sub-assembly outright, rather than attempt to troubleshoot
the sub-assembly to its component level. Even if you had the time, documentation, and test
equipment to isolate a defective component, many complex parts are proprietary, so it is
highly unlikely that you would be able to obtain replacement components without a
significant hassle. The labor and frustration factor involved in such an endeavor is often just
as expensive as replacing the entire sub-assembly to begin with (perhaps even more
expensive). On the other hand, manufacturers and their distributors often stock a selection of
sub-assemblies and supplies. You might need to know the manufacturers’ part number for the
sub-assembly to obtain a new one.
During a repair, you might reach a roadblock that requires you to leave your equipment for a
day or two, or maybe longer. This generally happens after an order has been placed for new
parts, and you are waiting for those parts to come in. Make it a point to reassemble your
system as much as possible before leaving it. Gather any loose parts in plastic bags, seal them
shut, and mark them clearly. If you are working with electronic circuitry, be sure to use good-
quality anti-static boxes or bags for storage. Partial re-assembly (combined with careful
notes) will help you remember how the unit goes together later on. Another problem with the
fast technological progress we enjoy is that parts rarely stay on the shelf long. That video
board you bought last year is no longer available.

Changing Parts
Once a problem is isolated, technicians face another problem: the availability of spare parts.
Novice technicians often ask what kinds and quantity of spare parts they should keep on
hand. The best answer to give here is simply: none at all. The reason for this somewhat
drastic answer is best explained by the two realities of PC service.

Parts Are Always Changing

After only 15 years or so, the PC is in its sixth CPU generation (with such devices as the
AMD K6 and Intel Pentium II). As a result, a new generation matures every 24 to 36 months
(although the newer generations have been arriving in 18 to 24 months). Even the
“standardized” products, such as CD-ROM drives, have proliferated in different speeds and
versions (8, 10´, 12´, 16´, and even 20´ speeds). Once production stops for a drive or board,
stock rarely remains for very long. You see, even if you know what the problem is, the
chances of your locating an exact replacement part are often quite slim if the part is more
than two years old. Notice the word exact—this is the key word in PC repair.

Creating a DOS Boot Disk

The most persistent problem with PC troubleshooting is that it can be difficult to boot a
system successfully—especially if there are hard-drive problems. This makes it particularly
important to have a bootable floppy diskette on hand. The two means of creating a boot disk
are: automatically (through an existing Windows 95 platform) or manually (through a
DOS6.22 platform). In either case, you’re going to need access to a running PC with an
operating system that is similar to the version you plan to install on the new PC. Windows 95
Windows 95 comes with an automatic “Start-up Disk” maker. If you have access to a
Windows 95 system, use the following procedure to create a DOS 7.x start-up disk: Label a
blank diskette and insert it into your floppy drive.
 Click on Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
 Double-click on the Add/remove programs icon.
 Select the Start-up disk tab.
 Click on Create disk.
 The utility will remind you to insert a diskette, then prepare the disk automatically.
When the preparation is complete, test the diskette. The preparation process takes several
minutes, and will copy the following files to your diskette: ATTRIB, CHKDSK,
COMMAND, DEBUG, DRVSPACE.BIN, EDIT, FDISK, FORMAT, REGEDIT,
SCANDISK, SYS, and UNINSTAL. All of these files are DOS 7.x-based files, so you can
run them from the A: prompt.
The Windows 95 FDISK utility has been reported to have a bug that can cause problems
when creating more than one partition on the same drive. Later releases of Windows 95 (i.e.,
OSR 2) claim to have corrected this issue, but if you encounter problems with FDISK, use the
DOS 6.22 version.

Process of Fault Diagnosis

Before getting into the troubleshooting details, it is important to know about what goes on
during the start-up process. The reason is, there are actually quite a few steps that occur in
between switching the power ON and hearing the familiar Windows 95, 98 or Windows
ME./XP start-up sounds and seeing the Windows desktop. In fact, there are a whole series of
files that are automatically loaded one after the other when you turn your computer on.
The trick with troubleshooting start-up problems is trying to figure out which of those files
(or what step in the process) causes a specific problem in the computer. If we know
approximately where in the start-up process the problem occurs (Computer gets stuck), we
can diagnose the problem easily.
This chapter explains the various problems that occur in a computer and the troubleshooting
procedures. The system to initialize and run with flaws in the motherboard, memory, or drive
systems can have catastrophic consequences for files in memory or on disk. To ensure system
integrity, a set of hardware-specific self-test routines checks the major motherboard
components, and identifies the presence of any other specialized BIOS ICs in the system (i.e.,
drive-controller BIOS, video BIOS, SCSI BIOS, and so on). BIOS starts with a test of the
motherboard hardware such as the CPU, math co-processor, timer ICs, Direct Memory
Access (DMA) controllers, and interrupt (IRQ) controllers.
If an error is detected in this early phase of testing, a series of beeps (or beep codes) are
produced. By knowing the BIOS manufacturer and the beep code, you can determine the
nature of the problem. Beep codes are used because the video system has not been initialized.
Next, BIOS looks for the presence of a video ROM between memory locations C000:0000h
through C780:000h. In just about all systems, the search will reveal a video BIOS ROM on a
video adapter board, plugged into an available expansion slot. If a video BIOS is found, its
contents are evaluated with a checksum test. If the test is successful, control is transferred to
the video BIOS, which loads and initializes the video adapter.
When initialization is complete, you will see a cursor on the screen and control returns to the
system BIOS. If no external video adapter BIOS is located, the system BIOS will provide an
initialization routine for the motherboard’s video adapter and a cursor will also appear.
Once the video system initializes, you are likely to see a bit of text on the display identifying
the system or video BIOS ROM maker and revision level. If the checksum test fails, you will
see an error message such as: C000 ROM Error or Video ROM Error.
Initialization will usually halt right there.
Now that the video system is ready, system BIOS will scan memory from C800:0000h
through DF80:0000h in 2KB increments to search for any other ROMs that might be on other
adapter cards in the system. If other ROMs are found, their contents are tested and run. As
each supplemental ROM is executed, they will show manufacturer and revision ID
information. In some cases, a supplemental (or “adapter”) ROM might alter an existing BIOS
ROM routine. For example, an Ultra DMA/33 drive-controller board with its own on-board
ROM will replace the motherboard’s older drive routines. When a ROM fails the checksum
test, you will see an error message such as: “XXXX ROM Error.” The XXXX indicates the
segment address where the faulty ROM was detected. If a faulty ROM is detected, system
initialization will usually halt.

Post
BIOS then checks the memory location at 0000:0472h. This address contains a flag that
determines whether the initialization is a cold start (power first applied) or a warm start
(reset button or <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> key combination). A value of 1234h at this address
indicates a warm start—in which case, the (POST) routine is skipped. If any other value is
found at that location, a cold start is assumed, and the full POST routine will be executed.
The full POST checks many of the other higher-level functions on the motherboard, memory,
keyboard, video adapter, floppy drive, math co-processor, printer port, serial port, hard drive,
and other sub-systems. Dozens of tests are performed by the POST.
When an error is encountered, the single-byte POST code is written to I/O port 80h, where it
might be read by a POST-code reader. In other cases, you might see an error message

BIOS
When your computer is first turned on, it automatically loads a program called the BIOS, or
Basic Input/Output System, which is stored on a special chip on your computer’s
motherboard. The BIOS is essentially a combination of software and hardware in that it
consists of software, but the contents of that software is stored in a hardware chip.
One of the first things we should see on your computer’s monitor when we start the PC is
some type of message like "Hit Esc to enter Setup," although instead of Esc it may say F2 or
F10 or any number of other keys and instead of Setup it may say CMOS Setup or BIOS Setup
or just CMOS. Make note of the key required to enter the Setup program because we may
need that later (some start-up problems can only be solved by changing some BIOS/CMOS
settings via the Setup program).

Power-On Self Test (POST)

The first thing that the BIOS does when it boots the PC is to perform what is called the
Power-On Self-Test, or POST for short. The POST is a built-in diagnostic program that
checks the hardware to ensure that everything is present and functioning properly, before the
BIOS begins the actual boot. It later continues with additional tests such as the memory test
and then it lists any devices that it finds attached to the computer’s internal IDE controller(s).
(that is seen on the screen of the monitor) as the boot process is proceeding.
The POST runs very quickly, and you will normally not even notice that it is happening--
unless it finds a problem. You may have encountered a PC that, when turned on, made
beeping sounds and then stopped without booting up. That is the POST telling you something
is wrong with the machine. The speaker is used because this test happens so early on, before
the video is activated! These beep patterns can be used to diagnose many hardware problems
with the PC. The exact patterns depend on the maker of the BIOS; the most common are
Award and AMI BIOS.

BIOS Start-up Screen

When the system BIOS starts up, you will see its familiar screen display, normally after the
video adapter displays its information. These are the contents of a typical BIOS start up
screen:
 The BIOS Manufacturer and Version Number.
 The BIOS Date: The date of the BIOS can be important in helping you determine its
capabilities.
 Setup Program Key: The key or keys to press to enter the BIOS setup program.
(This is usually {Del}, sometimes {F2}, and sometimes another key combination.
 System Logo: The logo of the BIOS Company, or in some cases the PC maker or
motherboard manufacturer.
 The "Energy Star" Logo: This distinctive logo is displayed if the BIOS supports the
Energy Star standard, which almost all newer ones do.
 The BIOS Serial Number: This is normally located at the bottom of the screen.
Since BIOSes are highly customized to the particular motherboard, this serial number
can be used in many cases to determine the specific motherboard and BIOS version
you are using. Check out Wim Bervoets' BIOS site for a huge list of these numbers

Troubleshooting BIOS Beep Codes

When a problem is identified with the system during the POST, the BIOS will normally
produce an error message. However, in some cases the problem is detected so early in the test
that the BIOS cannot even access the video card to print the message! In this case the BIOS
will produce a beeping pattern on the speaker to tell you what the problem is.
The exact meaning of the beep codes depends on the type and version of BIOS that you have.
The three most popular types of BIOS are those made by Award, American Megatrends
(AMI) and Phoenix. The beep codes for these BIOS products are described in this part of the
trouble-shooter. If you are using a PC made by a company that writes its own BIOS, you will
have to consult your owner's manual
A single beep during the boot process, usually right before the BIOS start-up screen is
displayed, is normal and does not indicate a failure as long as the boot continues on.
Beep codes can be in several different patterns, depending on the BIOS that you are using.
Some BIOSes use very simple beep codes in a pattern of varying numbers of short beeps,
while others may mix short and long beeps. The Phoenix BIOS is famous for its complicated
beep patterns that are actually in up to four groups--one or more beeps and then a pause,
followed by as many as three more patterns.

Fault Report Forms

To make maintenance easy forms are needed to document systems and corresponding fault
1. PC configuration form Use this form when installing or configuring the PC and its
expansion boards.
2. System CMOS sheet Use this form to record system parameters (as shown in the
system SETUP screens).
3. BIOS upgrade Use this form when planning a BIOS upgrade for your PC.
4. Customer billing a simple time and material form for beginning technicians.

Diagnostic Programs
Software and hardware complement one another Diagnostic program is used to detect both
hardware and software problems the computer memory can be diagnosed to known the size
the processor types too can also be checked to do these well one has to know how to
distinguish hardware problem from the software.

Bench Marking
We all know that today’s personal computers are capable of astounding performance. If you
doubt that, consider any of the current 3D games, such as Quake II or Monster Truck
Madness. However, it is often important to quantify the performance of a system. Just saying
that a PC is “faster” than another system is simply not enough—we must often apply a
number to that performance to measure the improvements offered by an upgrade, or to
objectively compare the performance of various systems. Benchmarks are used to test and
report the performance of a PC by running a set of well-defined tasks on the system. A
benchmark program has several different uses in the PC industry depending on what you’re
needs are:
System Comparisons: Benchmarks are often used to compare a system to one or more
competing machines (or to compare a newer system to older machines). Just flip through any
issue of PC Magazine or Byte, and you’ll see a flurry of PC ads all quoting numerical
performance numbers backed up by benchmarks. You might also run a benchmark to
establish the overall performance of a new system before making a purchase decision.

Upgrade Improvements: Benchmarks are frequently used to gauge the value of an up-grade.
By running the benchmark before and after the upgrade process, you can get a numerical
assessment of just how much that new CPU, RAM, drive, or motherboard might have
improved (or hindered) system performance.
 Diagnostics Benchmarks sometimes have role in system diagnostics. Systems that are
performing poorly can be benchmarked as key components are checked or
reconfigured. This helps the technician isolate and correct performance problems far
more reliably than simple “visual” observations.

Avoiding Benchmark Problems

One of the most serious problems encountered with benchmarks is the integrity of their
numbers. You’ve probably heard that “statistics can lie,” and the same thing is true of
benchmarks. In order for benchmarks to provide you with reliable results, you must take
some precautions:
 Note the complete system configuration When you run a benchmark and achieve a
result, be sure to note the entire system configuration (i.e., CPU, RAM, cache, OS
version, etc.).
 Run the same benchmark on every system Benchmarks are still software, and the way
in which benchmark code is written can impact the way it produces results on a given
computer. Often, two different versions of the same benchmark will yield two
different results. When you use benchmarks for comparisons between systems, be
sure to use the same program and version number.
  Minimize hardware differences between hardware platforms A computer is an
assembly of many interdependent sub-assemblies (i.e., motherboard, drive controllers,
drives, CPU, etc.), but when a benchmark is run to compare a difference between
systems, that difference can be masked by other elements in the system. For example,
suppose you’re using a benchmark to test the hard-drive data transfer on two systems.
Different hard drives and drive controllers will yield different results (that’s
expected). However, even if you’re using identical drives and controllers, other
differences between the systems (such as BIOS versions, TSRs, OS differences, or
motherboard chipsets) can also influence different results.
 Run the benchmarks under the same load The results generated by a benchmark do
not guarantee that same level of performance under “real-world” applications. This
was one of the flaws of early computer benchmarking—small, tightly written
benchmark code resulted in artificially high performance, but the system still
performed poorly when real applications were used. Use benchmarks that make use of
(or simulate) actual programs, or otherwise simulate your true workload.

Obtaining Benchmarks
Benchmarks have been around since the earliest computers, and there are now vast arrays of
benchmark products to measure all aspects of the PC—as well as measure more specialized
issues, such as networking, real-time systems, and UNIX (or other operating sys-tem)
platforms. Table 4-1 highlights a cross-section of computer benchmarks for your reference. In
many cases, the table includes a URL or FTP site where you can obtain source code for the
benchmark, or download the complete benchmark program. Today, Ziff Davis and CMP
publish a suite of freeware benchmark utilities that have become standard tools for end users
and technicians alike.
1. BatteryMark BatteryMark uses a combination of hardware and software to measure
the battery life of notebook computers under real-world conditions (the hardware used
in BatteryMark is the same ZDigit II device required by version 1.0). BatteryMark
exercises a different 32-bit software workload engines for processor, disk, and
graphics tasks. BatteryMark mixes these workloads together and adds periodic
breaks in the work that reflect the way users pause while working. BatteryMark 2.0
works with Advanced Power Management (APM) under Windows 95.
 2. NetBench NetBench is our benchmark test for checking the performance of net-work
file servers. NetBench provides a way to measure, analyze, and predict how a file
server will handle network file I/O requests. It monitors the response of the server as
multiple clients request data, and reports the server’s total throughput. To test
application servers, you should use the ServerBench utility instead.
3. ServerBench ServerBench is the latest version of Ziff-Davis’ standard benchmark
for measuring the performance of servers in a true client/server environment. Server-
Bench clients make requests of an application that runs on the server—the server’s
ability to service those requests is reported in transactions per second. ServerBench
4.0 runs on IBM’s OS/2 Warp Server, Microsoft’s Windows NT Server 4.0 (for both
Digital Alpha and x86-compatible processors), Novell’s NetWare 4.11, Sun’s Solaris
2.5 on SPARC, and SCO’s OpenServer Release 5 and UnixWare 2.1. To test network
file servers, use the NetBench utility instead.
4. WebBench WebBench is the Ziff Davis benchmark test for checking performance of
Web-server hardware and software. Standard test suites produce two overall scores
for the server: requests per second and throughput (as measured in bytes per second).
WebBench includes static testing (which involves only HTML pages), and dynamic
testing (including CGI executables, Internet Server API libraries, and Netscape Server
API dynamic link libraries.
5. JMark JMark is a suite of 11 synthetic benchmark tests for evaluating the
performance of Java virtual machines. The JMark 1.01 suite simulates a number of
important tests of Java functionality. It includes Java versions of a number of classic
benchmark test algorithms, as well as tests designed to measure graphics performance
in a GUI environment. You can download JMark 1.01 from Ziff Davis, or run the
tests online within your browser.
6. Wintune 97 Wintune for Windows 95/NT is a recent benchmark entry from CMP,
the publishers of Windows Magazine. Wintune 97 is an overall benchmark to measure
Windows 95/NT performance. It has a fast user interface that allows the program to
load much faster than the earlier Wintune 95, and will now support testing of the
latest Pentium II systems. Wintune 97 tests video systems on the fastest new
computers at full-screen resolution.

Troubleshooting BIOS Beep Codes - AMI BIOS

The AMI BIOS is one of the most popular in the PC world today, and fortunately is quite
consistent in its use of beep codes, across its many different versions. Please select the beep
pattern you are hearing from the list in the table given below.
Troubleshooting BIOS Beep Codes - Award BIOS
Award is the other major BIOS provider today, along with AMI. Award uses by far the
fewest beep codes of any of the BIOS manufacturers.
Power Supply
The power supply is the silver box that is usually located in the rear right quarter of the
enclosure. Ac enters the supply through the ac line cord, which is connected at the rear of the
enclosure. A supply then produces a series of dc outputs that power the motherboard and
drives. The importance of a power supply is easy enough to understand, but its implications
for system integrity and expandability might not be as obvious. Power supplies sustain a great
deal of electrical stress in normal everyday operation.
The conversion of ac into dc results in substantial heat, which is why so many power supplies
are equipped with a cooling fan. Surges, spikes, and other anomalies that plague ac power
distribution (especially in underdeveloped regions of the world) also finds their way into PC
power supplies, where damage can occur. The quality of a power supply’s design and
components and design dictate how long it will last in operation. A quality supply will resist
power problems and tolerate the rigors of normal operation, but a sub-standard supply can
fail spontaneously after only a few months of operation. When replacing or upgrading a
power supply, be sure to choose a reliable model. Power supplies also limit a system’s
expandability. Every element used in the PC requires a certain amount of power (marked W
for watts). The supply must be capable of producing enough power to adequately meet the
system’s demand. An under-powered supply (typical in low-profile systems) or a supply
overloaded by excessive expansion (which frequently occurs in tower systems) might not be
able to support the power needs of the system. Inadequate power results in very strange
system behavior such as unpredictable system lockups, random memory faults, or disk-access
problems. When replacing a power supply, be certain that the new supply can provide at least
as much power as the supply being replaced. When upgrading a supply, choose a supply that
offers at least 50 watts more than the original supply.

Hardware Diagnostic Utility

After the PC has been cleaned and checked inside and out, it’s time to check the hard drive
for potential problems. This involves checking the drive’s file system, reorganizing files, and
creating an updated boot disk. To perform a drive check, you’ll need a copy of ScanDisk and
Defrag. Because these utilities are already built into Windows 95, you can reboot the system
and use those utilities directly. If you are more comfortable with running these utilities from
DOS, create a startup disk from within Windows 95 and boot from that diskette. Then run
ScanDisk and Defrag right from the startup disk. You should perform the drive check very
regularly—once a month is usually recommended, or whenever you make major additions or
deletions of files from your system.

Run Scandisk
The ScanDisk utility is designed to check your drive for file problems (such as lost or cross-
linked clusters), then correct those problems. ScanDisk is also particularly useful for testing
for potential media (surface) errors on a disk. ScanDisk will report any problems and give
you the option of repairing the problems.

Run Defrag
Operating systems like DOS and Windows 95 segregate drive space into groups of sectors
called clusters. Clusters are used on an “as found” basis, so it is possible for the clusters that
compose a file to be scattered across a drive. This forces the drive to work harder (and take
longer) to read or write the complete file because a lot of time is wasted moving around the
drive. The Defrag utility allows related file clusters to be relocated together.
Defrag will relocate every file on the disk so that all their clusters are positioned together
(contiguous).

Memory Failure
Memory is a cornerstone of the modern PC. Memory that holds the program code and data
that is processed by the CPU—and it is this intimate relationship between memory and the
CPU that forms the basis of computer performance. With larger and faster CPUs constantly
being introduced, and more complex software is developed to take advantage of the
processing power. In turn, the more complex software demands larger amounts of faster
memory. With the explosive growth of Windows (and more recently, Windows 95) the
demands made on memory performance are more acute than ever. These demands have
resulted in a proliferation of memory types that go far beyond the simple, traditional DRAM.
Cache (SRAM), fast page-mode (FPM) memory, extended data output (EDO) memory, video
memory (VRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), flash BIOS, and other exotic memory
types (such as RAMBUS) now compete for the attention of PC technicians.
Memory Speed and Wait States
The PC industry is constantly struggling with the balance between price and performance.
Higher prices usually bring higher performance, but low cost makes the PC appealing to
more people. In terms of memory, cost-cutting typically involves using cheaper (slower)
memory devices. Unfortunately, slow memory cannot deliver data to the CPU quickly
enough, so the CPU must be made to wait until memory can catch up. All memory is rated in
terms of speed—specifically, access time. Access time is the delay between the time data in
memory is successfully addressed, to the point at which the data has been successfully
delivered to the data bus. For PC memory, access time is measured in nanoseconds (ns), and
current memory offers access times of 50 to 60 ns. 70-ns memory is extremely common.
The question often arises: “Can I use faster memory than the manufacturer
recommends?”
The answer to this question is almost always “Yes,” but rarely does performance benefit. As
you will see in the following sections, memory and architectures are typically tailored for
specific performance. Using memory that is faster should not hurt the memory or impair
system performance, but it costs more and will not produce a noticeable performance
improvement. The only time such a tactic would be advised is when your current system is
almost obsolete, and you would want the new memory to be useable on a new, faster
motherboard if you choose to upgrade the motherboard later on.
A wait state orders the CPU to pause for one clock cycle to give memory additional time to
operate. Typical PCs use one wait state, although very old systems might require two or
three. The latest PC designs with high-end memory or aggressive caching might be able to
operate with no (zero) wait states. As you might imagine, a wait state is basically a waste of
time, so more wait states result in lower system performance. Zero wait states allow optimum
system performance.

Hard Drive Failure – Symptoms and Troubleshooting

Power-Mode Definitions
Modern hard drives are not simply “on” or “off.” They operate in any one of several
modes, and each mode makes different power demands on the host system. This is
particularly important because today’s PCs are becoming ever-more power conscious, so
the ability to control drive power is an integral part of PC power-conservation systems.

Typical hard drives operate in any of five different power modes:

- Spin-up: The drive is spinning up following initial application of power and has not yet
reached full speed. This demands about 14 W and is particularly demanding of the power
supply (if the supply is marginal or overloaded, the hard drive might not spin-up properly).

- Seek: This is a random-access operation by the disk drive as it tries to locate the required
track for reading or writing. This demands about 8.5- to 9.0 W.

- Read/write: A seek has been completed, and data is being read from or written to the drive.
This uses about 5.0 W.

- Idle: This is a basic power-conservation mode, where the drive is spinning and all other
circuitry is powered on, but the head actuator is parked and powered off. This drops power
demands to about 4 W, yet the drive is capable of responding to read commands within 40ms.

- Standby: The spindle motor is not running (the drive “spins down”). This is the main
power-conservation mode, and it requires just 1 W. It might require up to several seconds for
the drive will leave this mode (or spin-up) upon receipt of a command that requires disk
access.

Broadly speaking a hard disk can fail in four ways that will lead to a potential loss of data:
1. Firmware Corruption / Damage to the firmware zone
2. Electronic Failure
3. Mechanical Failure
4. Logical Failure
Combinations of these four types of failure are also possible. Whether the data on the hard
disk is recoverable or not depends on exactly what has happened to the disk and how bad the
damage is. All hard disks also develop bad sectors which can lead to data loss and drive
inaccessibility.
1. Firmware Corruption / Damage to the firmware zone
Hard disk firmware is the information that is used by the computer that allows it to correctly
interact with the hard disk. If the firmware of a hard disk becomes corrupted or unreadable
the computer is often unable to correctly interact with the hard disk. Frequently the data on
the disk is fully recoverable once the drive has been repaired and reprogrammed.
2. Electronic Failure
Electronic failure usually relates to problems on the controller board of the actual hard disk.
The computer may suffer a power spike or electrical surge that knocks out the controller
board on the hard disk making it undetectable to the BIOS. Usually, the data on the hard disk
has not suffered any damage and a 100% data recovery is possible.

3. Mechanical Failure
Usually worse than electronic failure, mechanical failure can quite often (especially if not
acted on early) lead to a partial and sometimes total loss of data. Mechanical failure comes in
a variety of guises such as read / write head failure and motor problems. One of the most
common mechanical failures is a head crash. Varying in severity, a head crash occurs when
the read-write heads of the hard disk come into contact, momentarily or continuously, with
the platters of the hard disk.
Head crashes can be caused by a range of reasons including physical shock, movement of the
computer, static electricity, power surges and mechanical read-write head failure. Mechanical
failure can usually be spotted by a regular clicking or crunching noise. It's not necessarily a
head crash, the most important things to do if you suspect mechanical problems is to switch
off the drive immediately as further use will make matters worse.

4. Logical Errors
Often the easiest and the most difficult problems to deal with, logical errors can range from
simple things such as an invalid entry in a file allocation table to truly horrific problems such
as the corruption and loss of the file system on a severely fragmented drive.
Logical errors are different to the electrical and mechanical problems above as there is
usually nothing 'physically' wrong with the disk, just the information on it.

Remedial Procedure
Some of the steps involved in the remedy of the Hard drive failure are given below:
1) The first thing to check for is whether or not the hard disk can be seen by the hard disk
controller; usually on a true hard disk failure, the disk will not be detectable by the controller
(but this is not always the case). Assuming you have an IDE hard disk, enter the BIOS setup
program and use the IDE detection facility of the BIOS to see if the disk's parameters can be
detected. If the disk cannot be auto detected using the auto detect feature in the BIOS
program implies immediately some sort of hardware problem.
2) If you can see the hard disk when you auto detect, the problem is more likely to be
software than hardware. Remember that you cannot usually boot a brand-new hard disk until
it has been partitioned and formatted.
3) See if the disk will boot up. If it will not boot, then boot from a floppy boot disk and then
use the FDISK command (or other partitioning software) to see if you can see the disk.
4) If the drive will boot up, then you should be getting a more specific error message of some
sort, or a more specific failure mode that you can use for troubleshooting. 5) If the drive is
detected in the BIOS setup but cannot be booted or accessed when booting from a floppy
disk, then there is a good chance that the disk itself may be bad. If possible, try connecting
the hard disk to another system and see if the problem is present there as well.

Caring for Recordable CDs

As a rule, recordable CDs are as rugged and reliable as ordinary “pressed” CDs. Still, you
should exercise some rules in the careful handling and storage of recordable media:
 Don’t bend the disc Polycarbonate is a forgiving material, but you risk cracking or
snapping (and thus ruining) the disc.
 Don’t heat the disk Remember, the disc is plastic. Leaving it by a heater or on the
dashboard of your car might cause it to melt.
 Don’t use chemicals on the disc Chemicals containing solvents, such as ammonia,
benzene, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, or chlorinated cleaners, can easily damage the
disc’s plastic surface.
 Maintain a comfortable environment Don’t expose recordable discs to sunlight or
other strong light for long periods of time. Also avoid high heat and humidity, which
can damage the physical disc. Always keep blank or recorded media in clean “jewel”
cases for best protection.
 Don’t write on the disc Don’t use alcohol-based pens to write on discs—the ink might
eventually eat through the top (lacquer) surface and damage your data. Also don’t use
ball-point or other sharp-tipped pens because you might scratch right through the
lacquer surface and damage the reflective gold layer (and ruin your data).
 Don’t use labels on the disc Don’t put labels on discs unless they are expressly
designed for recordable CDs. The glue might eat through the lacquer surface just as
some inks do, and/or the label might unbalance the disc and cause problems in
 reading it back or recording subsequent sessions. Never try to remove a label—you
might tear off the lacquer and some of the reflecting surface.

If the monitor appears to be totally dead, then make sure that the monitor is plugged in and
turned on, and see if it has power. Check for a power-on indicator on the front of the monitor,
and check to see if the monitor warms up.
Select the appropriate general failure troubleshooting procedure outlined below, based on
whether or not the monitor appears to have power.
Vacuum Cleaners and Keyboards
There is an ongoing debate as to the safety of vacuum cleaners with computer equipment.
The problem is static discharge. Many vacuum cleaners—especially small, inexpensive
models—use cheap plastic and synthetic fabrics in their construction. When a fast air flow
passes over those materials, a static charge is developed (just like combing your hair with a
plastic comb). If the charged vacuum touches the keyboard, a static discharge might have
enough potential to damage the keyboard-controller IC, or even travel back into the
motherboard for more serious damage.

670 Keyboards
Avoid removing the <Space Bar> unless it is absolutely necessary because the space bar is
often much more difficult to replace than ordinary keys. If you do choose to use a vacuum for
keyboard cleaning, take these two steps to prevent damage. First, be sure that the computer is
powered down and disconnect the keyboard from the computer before starting service. If a
static discharge does occur, the most that would be damaged is the keyboard itself. Second,
use a vacuum cleaner that is made for electronics work and certified as “static-safe.” Third,
try working on an anti-static mat, which is properly grounded. This will tend to “bleed-off”
static charges before they can enter the keyboard or PC.

Replacing The <Space Bar>

Of all the keys on the keyboard, replacing the <Space Bar> is probably the most difficult.
The <Space Bar> is kept even by a metal wire that is inserted into slots on each leg of the
plastic bar key. However, you have to get the wire into the slots without pressing the wire. If
you push the wire down, you compress the wire and installation becomes impossible.
As a general rule, do not remove the <Space Bar> unless absolutely necessary. If you must
remove the <Space Bar>, remove several surrounding key caps also. This will let you get
some tools under the <Space Bar> wire later on. Once the <Space Bar> is re-inserted, you
can easily replace any of the other key caps.

Preventing The Problems

Keyboard problems do not happen suddenly (unless the keyboard is dropped or physically
abused). The accumulation of dust and debris is a slow process that can take months
(sometimes years) to produce serious, repetitive keyboard problems. By following a regimen
of regular cleaning, you can stop problems before they manifest themselves in your keyboard.
In normal office environments, keyboards should be cleaned once every four months.
Keyboards in home environments should be cleaned every two months.
Keyboards in harsh or industrial environments should be cleaned even more frequently. Turn
your keyboard upside-down and use a soft-bristled brush to clean between the keys. This
prevents debris that might already be on the keys from entering the keyboard. Next, run the
long, thin nozzle of your compressed air can between the key spaces to blow

Keyboard Cleaning and Maintenance 671

Anti-Static Keyboard Mat. Curtis, a division of Rolodex, Secaucus, NJ 07094 out any
accumulations of dust. Because compressed air will tend to blow dust in all directions, you
might consider “blowing down” the keyboard outside, or in an area away from your
workbench. Instead of compressed air, you might use a “static-safe” vacuum cleaner to
remove dust and debris.

Dealing With Large Objects

Staples and paper clips pose a clear and present danger to keyboards. Although the odds of a
staple or paper clip finding its way into a keyboard are generally slight, foreign objects can
jam the key or short it out. If the keyboard is moved, the object can wind up in the keyboard’s
circuitry where serious damage can occur. When a foreign object falls into the keyboard, do
not move the keyboard. Power down the PC, then locate the object and find the nearest key.
Use a paper clip bent in a “U” shape with the ends of the “U” angled inward to remove the
nearest key cap. Use a pair of non-conductive tweezers or needle nose pliers to remove the
object. Replace the key cap.

Dealing With Spills

Accidental spills are probably the most serious and dangerous keyboard problem. Coffee,
soda pop, and even tap water is highly conductive (even corrosive). Your keyboard will
almost certainly short circuit. Immediately shut down your computer (you might be able to
exit your application using a mouse) and disconnect the keyboard. The popular tactic is to
simply let the liquid dry. The problem with this tactic is that most liquids contain minerals
and materials that are corrosive to metals—your keyboard will never be the same unless the
offending liquid is removed before it dries. Also, liquids tend to turn any dust and smoke film
into a sticky glue that will just jam the keys when dry (not even considering the sticky sugar
in most soda pop).
Disassemble the keyboard’s main housings and remove the keyboard printed-circuit
assembly. As quickly as you can after the incident, rinse the assembly thoroughly in clean,
room-temperature, de-mineralized water (available from any pharmacy for contact lens
maintenance). You can clean the plastic housings separately. Do not use tap water. Let the
assembly drip dries in air. Do not attempt to accelerate the drying process with a hair dryer or
other such heat source. The de-mineralized water should dry clean without mineral deposits
or any sticky, conductive residue. Once the assembly is dry, you might wish to squirt a small
amount of good-quality, electronics-grade contact cleaner into each key switch to ensure that
no residue is on the contacts. Assuming that the keyboard’s circuitry was not damaged by the
initial spill, you should be able to reassemble the keyboard and continue using it without
problems. If the keyboard behaves erratically (or not at all), replace the keyboard outright.

Interrupts are signals sent to the CPU by external devices, normally I/O devices. They tell
the CPU to stop its current activities and execute the appropriate part of the operating system.
There are three types of interrupts:
1. Hardware Interrupts are generated by hardware devices to signal that they need
some attention from the OS. They may have just received some data (e.g., keystrokes
on the keyboard or a data on the ethernet card); or they have just completed a task
which the operating system previous requested, such as transferring data between the
hard drive and memory.
2. Software Interrupts are generated by programs when they want to request a system
call to be performed by the operating system.
3. Traps are generated by the CPU itself to indicate that some error or condition
occurred for which assistance from the operating system is needed.
Interrupts are important because they give the user better control over the computer. Without
interrupts, a user may have to wait for a given application to have a higher priority over the
CPU to be ran. This ensures that the CPU will deal with the process immediately.

Recognizing and Dealing with Conflicts

Fortunately, conflicts are almost always the result of a PC upgrade gone awry. Thus, a
technician can be alerted to the possibility of a system conflict by applying the Last Upgrade
rule. The rule consists of three parts:
a) 1 A piece of hardware and/or software has been added to the system very recently.
b) 2 The trouble occurred after a piece of hardware and/or software was added to the
system.
c) 3 The system was working fine before the hardware and/or software was added.
If all three of these common-sense factors are true, chances are very good that you are faced
with a hardware or software conflict. Unlike most other types of PC problems, which tend to
be specific to the faulty sub-assembly, conflicts usually manifest themselves as much more
general and perplexing problems. The following symptoms are typical of serious hardware or
software conflicts:
 The system locks up during initialization.
 The system locks up during a particular application.
 The system locks up when a particular device (e.g., a TWAIN scanner) is used.
 The system locks up randomly or without warning regardless of the application.
 The system might not crash, but the device that was added might not function (even
though it seems properly configured). Devices that were in the system previously
might still work correctly.
 The system might not crash, but a device or application that was working previously
no longer seems to function. The newly added device (and accompanying software)
might not work properly.