Introduction

The boot sequence of a windows operating system involves running the POST (Power on Self Test) by BIOS to make sure all the hardware is working properly. These errors may occur due to hardware failure, bad driver, corrupt file or volume, System misconfiguration, or virus infection.

Error Messages Received while Booting

After running the POST when the BIOS gains access to the Video subsystem, it displays information about the PC as it boots.

some of the error messages are: Missing Command Interpreter or Invalid Boot disk error STOP: 0x0000007B Inaccessible Boot Device Missing NTLDR Bad command or File name Error Stack overflow system halted Error Errors associated with Himem.sys file

Error Messages Received while Booting 1. Missing Command Interpreter or Invalid Boot disk error. The causes for this error maybe:

Incorrect boot sequence The order in which the computer looks for the OS in the storage devices is called a boot sequence. It can be configured through the BIOS settings. Recommended boot option is: Floppy drive Hard drive CD ROM
A non-bootable floppy diskette or CD ROM in the drive In case both the floppy drive and the CD ROM are before the hard drive in the boot sequence then care should be taken to avoid inserting non bootable diskettes and CDs

Error Messages Received while Booting 2. The system files either missing or corrupted

The system files such as command.com, msdos.sys, io.sys or drvspace.bin are very essential. If these files are missing they must be replaced.

Boot from the floppy diskette and get to a A:\> prompt.

Once at the prompt type sys c: and press enter The displays a message system transferred. Once the system has been transferred, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

Error Messages Received while Booting 3. The hard drive has bad sectors

If, after following the above steps you continue to receive the error message then perform the following steps:
Boot the computer with a bootable floppy diskette. At the prompt type fdisk /mbr and press enter This will return to a prompt with no message. Try to reboot the computer.

Error Messages Received while Booting 4. STOP: 0x0000007B Inaccessible Boot Device when this error occurs the user will not be able to boot to the OS. Even restarting the computer will not be of much use.

Error Messages Received while Booting

Some of the causes for the STOP error and possible solutions are:

1.Cause: Solution:

The computer is infected with a boot sector virus scan the computer for a virus, If the virus cannot be removed by an antivirus then OS needs to be reinstalled Drive translation not being performed or changed

2.Cause:

Solution:

The Windows NT boot partition must exist within the first 1024 cylinders of the boot device due to the restrictions of the INT-13 BIOS call. Check CMOS settings for LBA support on IDE based systems, A conflict exists due to same IRQ assigned for two devices.
Remove one of the hardware with the same IRQ and reconfigure it.

3.Cause:
Solution:

Error Messages Received while Booting

4.Cause: Solution:

A conflict between the SCSI device Remove any non-essential SCSI devices or check to ensure each SCSI ID is unique .

5.Cause:

Setup does not allow adding a third-party SCSI driver when booting from the SCSI CD-ROM.
Install the device driver recommended by hardware vendor if one is available

Solution:

Error Messages Received while Booting Missing NTLDR This problem may occur if the basic input/output system (BIOS) on your computer is outdated, or if one or more of the following Windows boot files are missing or damaged Ntldr

Ntdetect.com Boot.ini

Error Messages Received while Booting Some of the causes for NTLDR to be missing or corrupted are: 1.Cause: Solution: Computer is booting from a non-bootable source. check the boot sequence in the BIOS settings. Make sure no floppy diskette is present in the floppy drive while booting.

2.Cause: Solution:

The NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file is corrupt If the files NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM are corrupt they should be replaced. In WIN 2000, copy NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM on a bootable floppy diskette and load them in the root directory

Error Messages Received while Booting

3.Cause:
Solution:

The boot.ini file is not configured properly

Need to edit this file to verify if it is pointing to the correct location of the windows operating system also check if the partitions are properly defined.

4.Cause: Solution:

The boot sector / master boot record is corrupt If the boot sector or the master boot record is corrupted then it results in the missing NTLDR file. It can be repaired through Microsoft Windows Recovery console

Error Messages Received while Booting

5.Cause:

The Windows 2000 / XP version is corrupted

Solution:

Reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP

6.Cause:

IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cables are loose or faulty open the computer case and check if the IDE cable is connected firmly. Disconnect and reconnect the cable.

Solution:

Error Messages Received while Booting

6. Bad command or File name Error

This error is displayed when the system files, autoexec.bat or config.sys file has a line that is improperly typed or missing. To solve this error, identify the line in the autoexec.bat and the config.sys file where the error is reported.

7. Stack overflow system halted Error In order to solve this error, edit the config.sys and insure that the value for the line STACKS is set at least at 12,256

Other booting errors

The Event log is full in Event Viewer
Cause: An event viewer gathers information about hardware and software problems and stores it in the form of a log. If the log size exceeds the allocated space an error indicates event log is full Open the Event Viewer by clicking Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Event Viewer. The Event Viewer window displays three types of logs, namely Application log, Security log and System log. Click on the log you want to free. On the Action menu, click Clear all Events

Solution:

Common Problems associated with Windows Operating System

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) It is an error screen in Windows operating system, where a blue screen displays a hexadecimal value from a core dump The hexadecimal value is used to identify the cause of the system error

Common Problems associated with Windows Operating System

Blue screen are known as "Stop errors" in the Windows Resource Kit documentation

Common causes of BSOD are: Incompatible versions of DLLs In Windows 95, 98 and Me, BsoD occurs when virtual device drivers need to report errors to the user A critical boot loader error, where the operating system is unable to access the boot partition due to incorrect storage drivers in most of these causes the best solution is to perform a clean install of the Windows.

Common Problems associated with Windows Operating System

Troubleshooting problems related to Sound The problems related to sound can be classified into hardware, configuration and application problems. Hardware:

Connect speakers on a good known audio device and set the volume knob to maximum. Click Start Settings Control Panel. In the Control Panel window click on Sound and Audio Devices. Click on the Advanced button

Common Problems associated with Windows Operating System

The Volume Control option opens as shown in the figure. Keep all the volume bars at maximum and assure the mute all option is not checked.

Play a sound file. Try playing it with another pair of speakers

Troubleshooting a CPU
Troubleshooting a CPU
Troubleshooting a processor is a task which is usually is

done by the manufacturer. Leave alone troubleshooting,

The identification of the problem can be only done by one

method.
The overheating might be due to various reasons like a

bent pin, over-voltage.

As troubleshooting can be done only at the chip-level,

replacing the CPU is the only solution.

Troubleshooting Power Supplies

Power supplies are used to deliver the voltages for the computer The main connector is connected to rear panel of the system case

The power supply has a converter unit which down converts the AC to a +12, +5, +3.3 volts
And then delivers it to the different components of the motherboard.

Troubleshooting ATX Power Supply

When diagnosing power supply failures, the first thing to

determine is whether the system is powering on or not.

A live screen does not indicate that the power supply is

working because monitors have separate power supplies

If the power does not come on, check if the power source is

live and working

To do this, unplug the power supply cord and connect a

lamp or any electrical appliance to the socket.

Troubleshooting ATX Power Supply

Ensure that the correct voltage (110V/220V) is selected on

the power supply based on the voltage used in your country.

Check if the power connections to the motherboard are

connected and accurate

Ensure that the 20 pin ATX power connector and other

motherboard power connections are correctly connected.

If the monitor is connected to the PC, check if it is a live

screen.

Troubleshooting ATX Power Supply

If the system is powering on but the drive is not spinning, then check the power connection to the drives power socket.

If the system is still not powering on, go about disconnecting all the drives one by one and attempting to power on the system each time. Even after removing all the drives and adapters, if the system does not power on, the cause could be a motherboard short.

Troubleshooting Memory
Troubleshooting Memory Memory errors can be very tricky as isolation from a faulty memory or a faulty memory slot is very difficult

Replace the memory and see if the system works

Memory issues need not always stop the computer from booting Some errors like page faults can be due to the system memory issues and not the RAM

Troubleshooting RAM, Motherboard or CPU failure

Let us try to escalate the issue using the following steps.

Hard error
Soft error

Parity and Non parity memory

Troubleshooting RAM, Motherboard or CPU failure

Do the Troubleshooting a Video Card Issue exercise for a dead screen now If the video card troubleshooting procedure has been performed, then check to see if the memory seated properly Another cause for the failure could be a failed CPU insertion Check to see if the socket CPU is sitting flat in its socket. The system can fail in cases where there is a stone dead CPU

Troubleshooting RAM, Motherboard or CPU failure

If the string of beeps is never ending, then the cause is a bad RAM
Restore the default settings for the motherboard documentation If any of the standoffs are higher than the other standoffs, it will result in unacceptable stress on the motherboard.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Common Errors Solutions

The computer will not boot from the Ensure that the hard drive power hard drive, but we can see drive connector and ribbon cable are activity connected The drive does not spin up and the drive light doesn't light up during power-up. Change the hard drive

The computer cannot communicate Hard Disk Failure with the hard drive if the following Hard Disk Controller Failure error messages occur HDD Controller Failure Hard drive runs slowly Check for viruses Defrag the hard drive Check whether you have a slow device on the cable

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Problem Possible Solution

The Floppy disk drive LED always stays on

The interface cable or the power cable may be connected reverse

Unable to boot with Change the boot sequence in the BIOS the system disk feature setup option in the CMOS to access the floppy disk drive
Invalid media or track 0 bad The floppy disk is bad

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Problem Possible Solution

The Floppy disk drive LED always stays on

The interface cable or the power cable may be connected reverse

Unable to boot with Change the boot sequence in the BIOS the system disk feature setup option in the CMOS to access the floppy disk drive Invalid media or track 0 bad The floppy disk is bad

Troubleshooting Storage Devices

Hard drive Troubleshooting

IDE drive failure Troubleshooting The drive does not spin up and the drive light doesnt light up during power-up.

The drive spins up, but the system fails to recognize the drive.
The drive will work as a primary drive, but not as a secondary (or vise-versa) Hard drive runs slowly Frequent drive failures

 The first step in troubleshooting a IDE drive failure is to check if all the installed IDE drives are identified by BIOS
The BIOS does not register the presence of the drives, then check to see if the Master/Slave settings are done properly. New IDE drives support the option of Cable Select (CS) by which the pin 28 connection in the cable decides which drive is the Master and which one is the Slave If the master/slave jumper settings are done accurately If the cables are seated properly and are new/nondefective, check to see if the hard drive spins up when the system is powered on.

 Even after installing new cables and the hard drive spinning up, if the motherboard does not detect the hard drive, then the IDE controller is faulty If the BIOS detects the installed IDE hard drives but the problem lies with the CD or DVD drive, then move

on to the CD or DVD drive Troubleshooting exercise.

If the hard drive spins up but will not seek (you cannot

hear the read/write head move in and out), then it is a

mechanical problem.

 If the drive makes little clicking sounds and fails to start up, restart the machine via the Reset button. If the drive makes little clicking sounds and fails to start up, restart the machine via the Reset button. Check the transfer mode in the BIOS setup and transfer speed. If the speed and mode is correct, check to see if the drive can be accessed via FDISK to create or view partitions.

Optical storage drive troubleshooting

One of the issue the stuck CD/DVD drive stuck tray. Check if pressing the eject button on the drive ejects the tray or not. Another reason why the drive will not open right away is if a disk is being actively played in the drive. Ensure that when installing a new drive that you use the short screws that come along with the drive Restart the system if the tray refuses to eject the CD/DVD But if the drive is registered and displayed in the CMOS setup screen, it means that the disc is indeed stuck.

 If you do manage to eject the disc, determine if the drive can read software or music discs
Check to see if the CD and DVD drive softwares are installed on the system. Sometimes when the system has two physical drives, the operating system may not be reading the drive in which the CD/DVD is placed in. If the right drive is being read, check and see if any other disc (a factory CD in CD-ROMs or CD-Rs or a factory DVD ROM or DVD-Rs) is read.

Try cleaning the disc with a soft bit of flannel and check for scratches
If the drive does not read any disc at all, check to see if the drive is displayed in the operating system If the OS CD can be booted from this drive but the drive is not seen in the Device Manager, reinstallation of the OS is required.

Troubleshooting Mouse
Problem Mouse is not moving properly. Mouse not being detected Solution Clean the Mouse The drivers may not installed properly or there is some conflict with the hardware settings. If the mouse is placed in a very bright area there are chances of stray light entering in to the case or the gaps in between the buttons.

Mouse pointer moves on the screen randomly without any intervention of the user.

Troubleshooting inkjets
It deals with some common problems and possible solutions for troubleshooting inkjet printers
Streaky printing
Missing colors Dirty printer

Drivers and wiring

No connection Ink and paper Refills Paper jams

Troubleshooting Laser Printer

Troubleshooting the problems arising with the laser printer
Loose or smeared toner Vertical white area Gray mist Printing not dark or varied darkness Regularly spaced splotches Vertical black line at the end of the page All white page

All black page