PRECAUTIONS

Personal Protective Equipment

Proper preparation is the key to a successful work. Before you begin, make
sure that you have the tools you will need, and secure a clear well-lit
workplace. Gather all the components you’ll be using and unpack them at
the same time. Always keep in mind that personal protection is one of the
traits of a good computer technician
Types of personal protective devices

1.Anti-static devices
2.Power surge protectors
3.Personal equipment
Anti-static devices
Devices designed to protect the computer from static
electricity.
Power surge protectors
- devices designed to protect the computer from
sudden power surges from intermittent power
sources.

1. AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) 2. UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

Personal Equipment

small paint brush

screw drivers
pliers and tweezers

compressed air

handheld vacuum
 TYPES OF COMPUTER SYSTEM ERROR
There are several errors in a computer from the point you open it up to the point you reach
the stand by window (reaching standby windows means boot process has no error). Below
is a list of computer errors.

1. No Video Output - When you open your PC, nothing shows up in your
monitor and the LED indicator of your monitor is flashing in yellow color.

2. No Video Output - Same as number one but now the LED indicator of
your monitor is in steady orange color.
3. Doesn't Boot - When you open your PC it will show the processor’s brand
and/or the motherboard’s brand but doesn't continue. Usually this error will
result to system restart over and over again.

4. Never Ending Loading of Operating system - The computer opens up

then boots but when the operating system loads it, doesn't continue and it will
take a longtime if you're going to wait for it to load.

5. Lots of pop up windows showing on standby mode - This also happens

even if you try disconnecting your computer set from the internet. This is what
we called aftershock virus which will continue to run even if internet is
disconnected.
6. Lots of hardware installation windows appear - This happens even if you try
installing the hardware. When you restart your set it will happen again.

7. Safe mode doesn't work - When you try going to safe mode, all you will
see is a list of files in Command prompt style.

8. Keyboard and mouse system restart - This will happen only in standby
mode, when you move your mouse or type something, your system will
automatically restart and the worst part is it will delete a file at random.
9. Sound on/off error - Upon loading the operating system, you will hear a
loading sound and then the sound stops, when you try running an audio file, no
sound will be heard.

10. Application causes system to restart - Just like the mouse problem,
when you open a program that will take the whole screen like for example a
game and/or a program applications, when you close it, it will cause your
system to restart.
Aside from the common computer errors, computers also can have different Operating System (OS) errors. OS
errors can be classified into various categories such as:

1. System errors – These are moderately dangerous types of errors

among those that can pop up on your PC. System errors are caused by
malfunctioning hardware components, corrupted operating system
modules, etc.

2. Runtime errors – Runtime errors are caused by corrupted or

malfunctioning system files or software executables. Most runtime errors
cause the application that caused it to shut down. However, more serious
runtime errors may cause the system to become unstable or
unresponsive, suggesting that you should restart your computer.
3. Stop errors – Stop errors are caused by corrupted hardware, especially
malfunctioning RAM modules and bad sectors on hard disks. Stop errors can
be difficult to resolve at times.
4. Device Manager Errors – These are usually caused by corrupted driver
files or malfunctioning hardware components. In case of the former cause,
the problem is often solved by reinstalling or updating the drivers. However,
the latter cause can often be solved only by replacing hardware components.

5. POST code errors – POST code errors are caused by malfunctioning

hardware components, and are characterized by short beep sounds from the tiny
internal speaker of your motherboard. POST code errors occur when you press
the power button to turn on your PC.
6. Application errors – These can happen at any point of time. As the name
suggests, these are caused by applications while those are running. These are
commonly caused by glitches in the program code itself. These are normally
resolved by updating the program to its latest version.

7. Browser Status Codes – These are caused by problems faced by browsers

when trying to access a website. These can be caused by misplaced web pages
in the server of the website itself, or due to connection problems. For instance, a
404 error would indicate that the browser is trying to access a webpage that
does not exist in the specified location.
DIAGNOSING COMPUTER SYSTEMS
• PC Diagnosing

Trial and error: When you find a faulty component in your computer, check it with
the other computers so that you can make sure whether the fault is in the
component or not.

Check cables: In case of any device failure, check all the cables of your computer
such as data cables, power cable, internal circuitry cable and make sure that all
these are plugged in and working fine
Hardware settings: Check the hardware settings in the CMOS and in the
device manager of the system and make all the device drivers up to date
and all the cards are plugged in properly.

Notice changes: When you notice a software or hardware error in your

computer, determine what was changed before the problem occurred.

Event viewer: In the event viewer, you will find the error or warning
messages associated with any faulty hardware or software.
Make notes: Troubleshooting is a useful skill and we can learn
a lot when we face any kind of troubleshooting in our computer.
Make notes including the error messages and their solutions,
so that you have a record on how a certain problem occurred
and how did you solve it.
Common PC Problems and Solutions
• You are working away at your computer when suddenly, an error message – or worse, your computer
comes to a screeching halt. Here are the common computer problems and solutions that can help you.

Steps

1. Check the POST. POST stands for Power On Self-Test. This is generally
the first or second thing that appears on a computer after turning on
the power. This appears before the operating system begins to load.
The POST will display any problem found with the hardware that
makes the computer unable to boot. POST may also display problems
with hardware that allow the computer to boot, but not operate at its
full capacity during operation.
2. Notice the load time of the OS (operating system). A longer than usual load
time may indicate errors in the hard drive.
3. Notice any graphics problems once the OS has loaded. Reduced graphics
may indicate driver failures or hardware failures with graphic cards.

4. Perform an auditory test. An auditory test is a simple, but still effective way of
judging how a computer is working. With the computer on and running, play any
decent length audio file (usually above 30 sec.) If the audio is choppy or slow, it
usually means that the processor is working at an elevated level, or there is not
enough RAM to run all programs loading. Changing the startup sound is a great
way to apply this test. Another issue associated with choppy sounds is PIO
(Programmed Input/Output) Mode. This affects how the hard drive reads and
writes data from a drive. Switching to Direct Memory Access (DMA) allows for
faster reads and writes, and can sometimes repair choppy audio.
5. Check any newly installed hardware. Many operating systems, especially
Windows, can have conflicts with new drivers. The driver may be badly written, or
it may conflict with another process. Windows will usually notify you about devices
that can cause or have any problem. To check this use the Device Manager, this
can be accessed by entering the Control Panel, clicking the System icon, clicking
the Hardware tab, and clicking on Device Manager. Use this to check and arrange
the properties of hardware.

6. Check any newly installed software. Software may require

more resources than the system can provide. Chances are that
if a problem begins after software starts, the software is causing
it. If the problem appears directly upon startup, it may be
caused by software that starts automatically on boot.
7. Check RAM and CPU consumption. A common problem is a choppy or
sluggish system. If a system is choppy it is good practice to see if a program is
consuming more resources than the computer can provide. An easy way to check
this is to use the Task Manager, right click on the taskbar select Task Manager, and
click the Processes tab. The CPU column contains a number that indicates the
percentage of CPU the process is consuming. The Memory Usage column
indicates how much memory a process is consuming.

8. Listen to the computer, if the hard drive is scratching or

making loud noises, shut off the computer and have a
professional diagnose the hard drive. Listen to the CPU fan,
this comes on a high speed when the CPU is working hard, and
can tell you when the computer is working beyond its capacity.
9. Run a virus and malware scan. Performance problems can be caused by
malware on the computer. Running a virus scan can find any problem. Use a
commonly updated virus scanner (such as Norton Antivirus or Avast! Antivirus)

10. Check for the problem in safe mode. To enter safe mode, press F8
repeatedly during POST (this works on most systems). If the problem persists in
safe mode, it is a fair bet that the operating system itself is to blame.
Common Trouble shooting for Computer Units
1. Double check the 3. Check the power cords
power connections. and cable connectors in
your computer unit.
2. Voltage regulator and
power supply could cause 4. Unseated card. Loose
power failure in the cards could cause
computer unit. malfunction.

5. Check the boot sequence configuration in the advance

BIOS (Basic Input/Output Unit) setup
Diagnosing Network Connection

1. Check the cable

connecting to the network 3. Check the network
card into the network hub cable (use cable tester)

2. Check the back of the 4. Check the network hub

computer to see if the (use multi-tester)
network card light is on