Computer Troubleshooting For The Technologically-Challenged
Weve all been there.
You turn on your trusty PC or workstation, only to find that those annoying beeps and other noises that normally signal a boot-up arent happeningand your monitor screen remains sickeningly blank.
This situation is enough to make some people reach for the phone to frantically contact the IT department, or the computer manufacturers tech support line, or the local PC repair outlet, or that person in the office who seems to know a lot more about computers than you do.
Before you take those troublesomeand potentially embarrassingsteps, however, try checking out a few things yourself.
The key question: Is my computer getting power? If youre getting no sounds from the unit, no lights on the CPU or monitor, and no image on the monitor, the likely answer is "no."
The next step is to check likely breakdowns in the power chain. Is your office getting power in other areas, or is there a (hopefully) temporary blackout in the area?
If thats not the problem, its time to follow the power from the wall outlet to your computer. Check to see that every connectionfrom wall to surge suppressor (you do have one, right?) or UPS, to power cord to computeris firmly in place. Tighten any loose connections. Also check to see that the suppressor or UPS is turned on.
You might also want to test the individual outlet youre using with another device, just to be certain that power is flowing.
If the computer seems to be humming, but your monitor shows nothing, check the power cord connection on your monitor, as well as the connection between the monitor and the computer. Such connections can and do occasionally loosen up over time.
Believe it or not, the measures above will remedy most instances of lack of power to the PC. While these steps seem ridiculously simple and basic, performing them sure beats calling in an expert, only to have him or her flick a wall switch or tighten a plug to bring your computer to life.
Do your own simple troubleshooting and save the experts for the real problems. Youll be glad you did.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, September 23, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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