Learn how to trouble shoot your computer to see what is broken, and needs to be fixed.


Trouble shooting a computer is the process of looking for what computer part or software is broken, and needs to be fixed to make your computer running well again. Even if you do not know how to fix a computer, it is better to know how to troubleshoot a computer, so you know what needs fixing, and you can talk to the computer technicain about how to fix the problem.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your computer is properly plug into the wall, and the power supply is on. Some power supplies at the back of the computer have a switch which you can turn on and off by flicking the switch. If your PC refuses to turn on, it can mean your power supply is dead, or  it is disconnected. It can be also possible that the on switch on your PC is broken or disconnected.

If your computer has power, but does not boot into Windows or your operating system. It may be over heating, your pc's memory or video card may have gone bad.

Sometimes you can start into Windows, or start up partially, but get a blue screen error. This can mean your memory or has gone bad and is no longer reliable.

If your computer turns on, but says you have no operating system, or no hard drive. It might mean your hard drive cable is disconnected, broken, or your hard drive is broken. Also, make sure to remove CDs, flash drive, and turn of your USB devices like printers before you restart your computer and turn on your PC again.

Sometimes a DVD and CD drive can get a dirty lens causing your drive not to read discs well or at all. There are CD drive lens cleaners for cleaning CD drives. However, you should get a CD and DVD lens cleaner disc which can clean both CD and DVD drives.

If you recently installed software which has been making your computer slow, you need to uninstall it to see if it is the software which is causing problems. If you can't uninstall it, you can do a system restore in Windows 7 or Vista by typing in System Restore in the Windows startmenu textbox, and picking a system restore to an earlier date when your computer was working fine.

You can see if running Windows update can fix your computer problems since sometimes updates for Windows fix problems windows have.

Your internet and computer is very slow or not working very well. It could mean you have a computer virus. It is best to scan your computer for virus and spyware programs with an antivirus and anti-spyware software. Some virus programs can also block you from using a web browser or the internet.

If you have no video on your monitor, test your monitor on another computer if possible, check to see if the monitor video cable is not damage and tightly connected to your computer. Also, your video card or memory may be broken causing you to not have any video.

When your computer does not have sound, check to see if your speakers are plug-in, and your volume settings on Windows or your speakers are not muted or off. Lastly, If you still do not have sound, try downloading your sound card driver software from the sound card makers website, and reinstalling the software.

If your computer is making a lot of weird high pitch sounds, it could mean your computer fans need to be replaced. It can also mean your hard drive are dieing. You should backup your files at once!

Keyboard and mouses are easy to troubleshoot. Check to see if they are plugged into a USB port, or try different USB ports. If you own a multimedia keyboard with volume controls, and special buttons. Try to reinstall the software to see if your computer keyboard shortcut buttons work.

I just cover the most basic troubleshooting steps for computers, but if you want to learn more advance methods of troubleshooting what is wrong with your computer. I recommend you get CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams 220-701 & 220-702)  to learn more about computer troubleshooting and repair.


Troubleshooting a computer can be very difficult since a computer has so many parts which can fail. I recommend you get a copy of CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition (Exams 220-701 & 220-702) . This book will teach you everything you need to know about computer trouble shooting, repair, operating systems, and more. Plus, if you want, you can take the A+ computer technician exam, so you'll be qualified to fix computers when you pass the exam after reading this book.