prepared by: mamta lect. comp. engg. gpc khunimajra(mohali) 2/28/2013punjab edusat...

PUNJAB EDUSAT SOCIETY,CHANDIGARH 1

FUNDAMENTAL TROUBLESHOOTING

PROCEDURESCOMP. ENGG.- 6TH SEM

Prepared By:MamtaLect. Comp. Engg.GPC Khunimajra(Mohali)

2/28/2013


OVERVIEW OF THE LECTURE• Introduction• Fault Location• Fault Classification• Fault Finding Aids• Troubleshooting Techniques• Troubleshooting Methodologies• Hardware Troubleshooting Tools• Software Troubleshooting Tools• Measuring Instruments

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INTRODUCTIONComputers are good when they function well and allow you instant communications with the world and the computer systems have the ability to entertain the entire family. When a PC does not work right any longer, it creates a problem for the users. Without the right information it is extremely difficult to overcome an error or failure. Fault is concerned with detecting the problems and resolving them related to hardware and software .

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FAULT LOCATION

Faults occur quite often when we use our computer systems and by having the knowledge about computer system we can easily rectify the faults. Location of the fault describes the type of faults.

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FAULTS CLASSIFICATION

• Hardware Faults• Software Faults• Security-related Faults• Boot Time Faults

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HARDWARE FAULTS One of the classifications of faults is whether the

source of fault is hardware device or component. Hardware faults are easy to troubleshoot as the symptoms of the fault are obvious. For ex. if the power supply unit of the computer fails, the computer will not power up. Sometimes hardware faults can be difficult to find if the the faults and symptoms only appear intermittently i.e. the fault is not present all the times. For exmp. some hardware components only develop faults under certain conditions, such as when the temperature of the device reaches a certain threshold.


HARDWARE FAULTS Contd…

Hardware Faults sometimes can be rectified quickly by replacing the failed component. Usually common Field Replaceable Units(FRUs) are simply common components that can be replaced on the field with reasonable ease .


EXAMPLES OF FRUs Examples of FRU may include:• Hard Disk drives• Floppy Disk Drives• Optical drives(CD,DVD,CDR etc.)• Memory(RAM)• Sound Cards• Video Cards• Keyboard & Mouse• Network interface Cards


SOFTWARE FAULTS

Those faults that are caused by the software components. Software component may be a part of the system’s software or application software. Software faults are difficult to troubleshoot. Even though the source of the problem is found to be software and moreover it is not clear which software component is actually causing the fault.


SOFTWARE FAULTS Contd… System software faults are those faults that are

caused by System software. The Operating System is regarded as system software. Some application softwares might also install some system components that it needs to run and that can become source of faults.

Application software faults are those types of faults that are rooted in application software components. These types of faults only affect the application software in use and the rest of the system operates normally.


SOFTWARE FAULTS Contd…

The source of software faults can be caused by following:

i. Software Component Corruption.ii. System incorrect configuration.iii. Documented and Undocumented Bugs.iv. Compatibility issues(hardware & software).


SECURITY-RELATED FAULTS These are the faults that develop in systems and might

have their source in hardware , software, configuration or design. Mostly security-related faults occur due to the following reasons:

i. Improper configuration.ii. Un-patched software bugs.iii. System design flaws.iv. Undiscovered security holes.v. Other faults e.g. a hardware fault with a firewall

device might expose systems that would normally be protected by the firewall device.


BOOT-TIME FAULTS Boot time faults are the faults that occur during the

start-up sequence of a computer system. These are critical as they can potentially halt the boot sequence possibly halting the system & making it unusable. They can have their source in software usually due to improper configuration, missing system files or incompatibilities usually after new software has been deployed, hardware failure usually due to boot device typically hard disk drive failure and also due to other major component failure such as RAM, Video etc.


FAULT FINDING AIDS Fault finding aids refer to finding the faults and

troubleshooting them that may occur due to improper working of hardware and software. Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving often applied to repair failed products or processes. Troubleshooting is needed to develop and maintain complex systems where the symptoms of a problem can have many possible causes and is used in many fields such as engineering, system administration,electronics,automotive.In general, troubleshooting is the identification and diagnosis of “trouble” in the system caused by a failure of some kind.


FAULT FINDING AIDS Contd.. There are two major stages in troubleshooting process.

The first stage is identifying the issues. The second stage is performing the actual repair.

To identify the issues ,we must do the following:1. Gather information.2. Verify the issue.3. Try quick fixes.4. Use appropriate diagnostics.5. Perform a split-half search.6. Use additional resources to research the issues.7. Escalate the issue(if necessary).


FAULT FINDING AIDS Contd..

After we have identified the issues, we must do the following:

1. Repair or replace the faulty item.2. Verify the repair by testing the product

thoroughly.3. Inform the user of what you have done.4. Complete administrative tasks.


TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

TESTING Tests are standardized to guarantee safety. Software

testing is an investigation conducted to provide users with information about the quality of the product and service under test.Software testing also provides an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to appreciate and understand the risk at implementation of the software. Test techniques are not limited to the process of executing a program or application with the intent of finding bugs.


TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES

TESTING CONTD…Software testing can also be stated as the process of validating and verifying that a software program :

1. Meets the business and technical requirements that guided its design & development;

2. Works as expected;3. Can be implemented with the same characteristics. Software testing can be implemented at any time in

the development process.


TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARES

The use of diagnostic software tools is very useful in saving time. These tools are not used to identify the cause of system problems but they often provide valuable information about what is in the system and how it is working. Some of these are free or are included with common operating systems at no additional charge, while others are commercial products that are quite expensive. Computer diagnostic software can take many forms. Some focuses on diagnosing hardware while other allows you to improve a computer’s performance.


TROUBLESHOOTING TECHNIQUES DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARES TOOLS:Most common diagnostic software tools are described as under:

1. MICROSOFT DIAGNOSTICS: It is well known as “MSD.EXE” and this is a small DOS utility that takes a brief inventory of the contents of your PC and Shows them to us in a text based format. This tool is very useful for seeing what disks are in the system , how much memory is installed and also for checking the system resource usage.it will show us what type of BIOS we are using.


DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARES TOOLS

2. WINDOW 95 DEVICE MANAGER :This is the most useful tool for identifying systems

configuration and resource usage information under window 95. to access it ,open Control panel and select “System ” Icon then select “Device manager” tab.We will see a graphical tree like structure showing us all of our PC hardware. This tool is very useful for resolving resource conflicts.


DIAGNOSTIC SOFTWARES TOOLS3. POWER ON SELF TEST(POST) :It is not a separate diagnostic tool and it is built into our system BIOS and it runs every time we start up our PC automatically. It is often the best indicator of system problems and always make us sure that we pay attention to its audio and video messages.

4. NORTON SYSTEM INFORMATION : This utility shows a great deal of information about what is in the PC,but it is an information utilities opposed to a true diagnostic.



TROUBLESHOOTING METHODOLOGY

• Identify the symptoms.• Identify the scope of the problem.• Establish what has changed on the

network.• Determine the most probable cause of

the problem.

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• Determine the most probable cause of the problem (cont.)– Verify user competency.– Re-create the problem.– Verify the physical integrity of the network

connection.– Verify the logical integrity of the network

connection.

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• Implement a solution.• Test the solution.• Recognize the potential effects of the

solution.• Document the solution.

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IDENTIFY THE SYMPTOMS

• Questions to help you identify symptoms of a network problem:-– Is access to the network affected?– Is network performance affected?–Are data or programs (or both) affected?–Are only certain network services affected?

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IDENTIFY THE SYMPTOMS• Questions to help you identify symptoms of a

network problem (cont.):-– If programs are affected, does the problem include

one local application, one networked application, or multiple networked applications?

– What specific error messages do users report?– Is one or multiple users affected?– Do the symptoms manifest themselves consistently?

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IDENTIFY THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

• Identify the scope of the problem:-– How many users or network segments are

affected?– When did the problem begin?

• If a problem is universal—if it affects the entire LAN or WAN—you will naturally want to answer these questions very quickly.

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ESTABLISH WHAT HAS CHANGED

• Did the operating system or configuration on a server, workstation or connectivity device change?

• Were new components added to a server, workstation or connectivity device?

• Were old components removed from a server, workstation or connectivity device?

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ESTABLISH WHAT HAS CHANGED

• Was a server, workstation, or connectivity device moved from its previous location to a new location?

• Was a server, workstation, or connectivity device replaced?

• Was new software installed on a server, workstations, or connectivity device?

• Was old software removed from a server, workstation, or connectivity device?

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SELECT THE MOST PROBABLE CAUSE

• Verify user competency.• Re-create the problem– Can you make the symptoms recur every time?– Can you make the symptoms recur some of the

time?– Do the symptoms happen only under certain

circumstances?– Do the symptoms ever happen when you try to

repeat them?

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• Verify physical connectivity:-– Is the device turned on?– Is the NIC properly inserted?– Is a device’s network cable properly

connected to both its NIC and the wall jack?–Do patch cables properly connect punch-

down blocks to patch panels and patch panels to hubs or switches?

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• Verify physical connectivity (cont.):-– Is the hub, router, or switch properly

connected to the backbone?–Are all cables in good condition?–Are all connectors in good condition and

properly seated?–Do network segment lengths conform to

the IEEE 802 specifications?

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VERIFY LOGICAL CONNECTIVITY

• Questions to help you identify a problem with logical connectivity:-–Do error messages reference damaged or

missing files or device drivers?–Do error messages reference malfunctioning

or insufficient resources?–Has an operating system, configuration, or

application been recently changed, introduced or deleted?

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VERIFY LOGICAL CONNECTIVITY

• Questions to help you identify a problem with logical connectivity (cont.):-–Does the problem occur with only one

application or a few, similar applications?–Does the problem happen consistently?–Does the problem affect a single user or one

group of users?

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IMPLEMENT A SOLUTION• Steps to help you implement a safe and

reliable solution:-– Collect all the documentation you have about a

problem’s symptoms.– If you are reinstalling software on a device, make a

backup of the device’s existing software installation.

– Perform the change, replacement, move or add that you believe will solve the problem.

– Test your solution.

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TEST THE SOLUTION

• After implementing the solution, it must be tested to verify that it works properly.

• Type of testing performed depends on the solution.

• Often good to enlist the user who reported the problem in testing your solution too.

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RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE SOLUTION

• When implementing a solutions, consider the:– Scope– Tradeoffs– Security– Scalability–Cost

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DOCUMENT THE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

• Name, department, and phone number of the problem originator.

• Information regarding whether the problem is software- or hardware-related.

• If software-related, the package to which it pertains.

• If hardware related, the device or components to which it pertains.

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DOCUMENT THE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

• Symptoms of the problem including when it was first noticed.

• Name and telephone number of the network support contact.

• Amount of time spent in troubleshooting the problem.

• Resolution of the problem.

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HARDWARE TROUBLESHOOTING TOOLS

• CROSSOVER CABLE– Cable in which the transmit and receive wire pairs in one

of the connectors are reversed.

• TONE GENERATOR AND TONE LOCATOR– A tone generator is a small electronic device that issues a

signal on a wire pair.– A tone locator is a device that emits a tone when it detects

electrical activity on a wire pair.– Combination of these devices is known as a fox and

hound.

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TONE GENERATOR AND TONE LOCATOR

Use of a tone generator and tone locator

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MULTIMETER

• Multimeter– Simple instrument that can measure

multiple characteristics of an electric circuit.• Voltmeter–Device used to measure voltage of an

electric current.

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MULTIMETER• Resistance– Opposition to electric current.– Resistance is measured in ohms.– The device used to measure resistance is an ohmmeter.

A multimeter2/28/2013


USES FOR A MULTIMETER

• Verify that a cable is properly conducting electricity.

• Check for the presence of noise on a wire.• Verify that amount of resistance generated by

terminators on coaxial cable networks is appropriate or whether terminators are actually present and functional.

• Test for short or open circuits.

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CABLE CHECKERS

CABLE CHECKERS

Determine whether your cabling can provide connectivity.

Basic cable checker2/28/2013


CABLE TESTERS

• A cable tester performs the same continuity and fault tests as a cable checker, but also provides the following functions:-– Ensures that cable is not too long.–Measure the distance to a cable fault.–Measures attenuation along a cable.

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CABLE TESTERS• Additional functions provided by a cable

tester (cont.)–Measures near-end crosstalk between

wires.–Measures termination resistance and

impedance for Thinnet cabling.– Issues pass/fail ratings for CAT3, CAT5, CAT6,

or even CAT7 standards.– Stores and prints cable testing results.

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CABLE TESTERS

A high-end cable tester

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TIME DOMAIN REFLECTORS (TDRS)

• High-end instrument for testing qualities of a cable.

• Optical time domain reflectors (OTDRs)– TDRs made of fiber-optic cable.

• Baseline– Record of how well a network operates under

normal conditions.

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SOFTWARE TROUBLESHOOTING TOOLS

• NETWORK MONITORS– Software-based tools that continually

monitor traffic on the network from a server or workstation attached to the network.– To take advantage of software-based

monitoring and analyzing tools, the network adapter installed in your machine must support promiscuous mode.

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CAPABILITIES OF MICROSOFT’S NETWORK MONITOR (NETMON)

• Capturing network data traveling from one or many segments.

• Capturing frames sent by or to a specified node.• Reproducing network conditions by

transmitting a selected amount and type of data.

• Detecting any other running copies of NetMon on the network.

• Generating statistics about network activity.2/28/2013


NOVELL’S LANALYZER

• LANalyzer performs the following functions:– Initially discovering all network nodes on a

segment.–Continuously monitoring network traffic.– Tripping alarms when traffic conditions meet

preconfigured thresholds.–Capturing traffic to and from all or selected

nodes.

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NETWORK ANALYZERS

• Tool that can capture traffic and analyze packets.

• Also known as protocol analyzers.• Sniffer Portable– Network analyzer from Network Associates .

• Sniffer– Laptop equipped with special network adapter and

software that performs network analysis.

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STAFF INVOLVED IN TROUBLESHOOTING

• Help desk staffed with help analysts–Organizations may group their help desk

analysts into teams based on their expertise.• Most help desks have a help desk

coordinator.• Most organizations have an operations

manager, who supervises the help desk coordinator.

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MEASURING INSTRUMENTSThese are useful tools. They can be simple like ruler or complex like a laser rangefinder which determines the distance to an object by using a laser beam. All measuring instruments are subject to varying degrees of instrument error and measurement uncertainty. Most commonly used measuring instruments are described as under:-

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MULTIMETER

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WHAT IS A MULTIMETER?

• A multimeter is a device used to measure voltage, resistance and current in electronics & electrical equipments.

• It is also used to test continuity between to 2 points to verify if there is any breaks in circuit or line.

• There are two types of multimeters :- Analog & Digital– Analog has a needle style gauge .– Digital has a LCD display.

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WHAT DO METERS MEASURE?

• A meter is a measuring instrument. • An ammeter measures current.• An voltmeter measures the potential

difference (voltage) between two points,.• An ohmmeter measures resistance. • A multimeter combines these functions, and

possibly some additional ones as well, into a single instrument.

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SwitchedManually switch between ranges to get most accurate reading.

Auto RangeSwitches between ranges automatically for best reading.

THERE ARE 2 STYLES OF MULTIMETERS

Both of these styles work the same

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METER LEADS•Red meter leadIs connected to Voltage/Resistance or amperage portIs considered the positive connection

•Black meter leadIs always connected to the common port Is considered the negative connection

•Probes Are the handles used to hold tip on the tested connection

•Tips Are at the end of the probe and provides a connection point

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DISPLAY & DIAL SETTINGS

• Meter DialTurn dial to change functions.Turn dial to OFF position after use.

• Panel IndicatorShows each function and setting range to turn dial to.

• Probe ConnectionsSpecific for each function.

• Digital DisplayShows measured value.

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THERMOMETER

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

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THERMOMETER

A thermometer is a device which measures temperature. It can check the temperature of many different things including the body, the air and inside of a refrigerator or oven.


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BAROMETER


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BAROMETERA barometer is a device which measures atmospheric pressure and it is useful to weather stations because changes to atmospheric pressure indicate a change in weather. It may also measure altitude, because atmospheric pressure changes with distance below or above sea level.


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SUMMARY• Fault is concerned with detecting the problems & resolving them related

to hardware & software. • Troubleshooting is the identification & diagnosis of “trouble” in system

caused by a failure of some kind.• Tests are standardized to guarantee safety.• The use of diagnostic software tools is very useful in saving time.• Hardware and Sound tools are used to identify and fix hardware devices

such as audio devices, DVD/CD, network adapters, printers etc.• Software testing is an investigation conducted to provide users with

information about the quality of product and service under test.• Network and Internet tools are used to connect to a particular website , to

access shared files and folders, to view a Home group or to solve problems with networked printers.

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THANK YOU

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prepared by: mamta lect. comp. engg. gpc khunimajra(mohali) 2/28/2013punjab edusat...

Documents

application software

source of faults

classifications of faults

types of faults

type of faults

fault location faults

software components

systems software