Diagnosing and fixing computer problems is no walk in the park. That’s why we often call upon professionals to perform such a complex task. However, the truth is that you’re not totally powerless when your PC goes haywire.
If your machine has been acting funny, there are immediate remedies you can do before a trusted technician comes in to finish the job. For five of the most common computer problems, we’ve outlined some of the troubleshoots you can readily do as an end user.
A Frozen Screen
Often a sign of insufficient RAM, corrupt/missing files, registry conflicts, malfunctioning programs, or even spyware, a frozen screen can be enough reason for you to panic. However, before you go screaming for help, try doing this first: press Ctrl+Alt+Del. This will open the Task Manager, where you can close any non-responding programs that could be causing the frozen screen. Once you’re in, go to the ‘Applications’ tab and look for programs that are listed as “Not Responding”. Select those programs and click the ‘End Task’ button near the bottom of the window. After you click ‘OK’ to the subsequent queries and the program finally closes, you should notice activity resume on your screen.
In case nothing happens when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del, try restarting your computer. While you may run the risk of losing any unsaved work in the process, there is no other option, other than waiting and hoping it fixes itself on its own. Cross your fingers that the programs you were using have sufficiently saved parts of your work with their autosave feature.
Now, press and hold the unit’s power button until it shuts down and then restart the computer. After it goes back on, dedicate time to clean up the system or use the System Repair program and do some basic maintenance operations so your device won’t freeze again.
Sudden Shutdown/Unresponsive Start Up
You may have experienced your computer shutting off all of a sudden while you’re in the middle of work. Frustrating, isn’t it? What’s more, your CPU doesn’t readily turn on even after you’ve pressed the power button several times.
These two are tell-tale signs that your equipment isn’t getting enough power. When you suspect a failing power supply as the primary cause, you need to check if the computer is properly plugged into the outlet. If it is, the next step is to test the power point with another operational device so you can see if there is adequate power coming from the said source.
In case there isn’t enough power supplied through the power point, call an electrician.
An Uncooperative Printer
We’ve all been there. You order the machine to print a report and your printer simply stares back at you as if there’s no job to do. What could be running in its head?
Let’s say that your printer’s drivers are updated and there isn’t a shortage of ink/toner and paper, too. In this case, restart the machine or unplug and plug it back again. This should get the printer going. If it doesn’t, you may have to check for a loaded print queue by clicking on the printer icon in the system tray. From there, you’ll see the status of each printing job along with the status of your machine.
In addition, check to see if the ‘Use Printer Offline’ option isn’t ticked. This may be caused when you start printing something while the printer is off, which could then stall subsequent printing jobs.
A Sluggish Download
For starters, make sure it isn’t your internet connection that’s causing the bottleneck. Do this by running a speed test using sites like Speedtest.net. When you do, see if your download and upload speeds are at least 50% of your broadband plan’s advertised speeds. Check to make sure the ping is under 100 milliseconds, too,
If there isn’t anything wrong with the speed, you may have a torrent file being downloaded or VPN running somewhere in the background. In most cases, torrent-downloading programs remain hidden in the system tray while they download files. Turn these programs off.
Lastly, reset your router and modem. This simple measure has resolved countless connection problems so hope this will do it for you. Now, if you can’t find the reset button on your router or modem, pull the power cable for just a few seconds and it’ll have the same effect.
A Slow Computer
You open a program and it takes a long time for it to run. This, or you wait for a half-hour for your PC to turn on. If you’ve experienced these two, then you definitely have a slowpoke in front of you.
For starters, check to see if the problem isn’t a full hard drive. Remember that any computer needs enough room to run smoothly so if your hard drive is maxed out, a dip in its performance becomes inevitable. In this case, there may be no better time to clear up some space than now. Uninstall programs you’re barely using or all those unwanted files and applications you forgot you downloaded.
Next, trim the unnecessary programs off your startup items. Several applications launch automatically as you turn on your computer and this may be why it takes too long to boot it up. To start trimming, open System Configuration by pressing the Windows key+R, typing ‘msconfig’ in the query box, and pressing Enter. Then check the Startup Item column and determine which of software you don’t really need to run at start-up.
When you’re done with all the necessary changes, click OK and then restart your computer. Your boot time should be a little quicker.
Nowadays, troubleshooting PC problems have become a normal part of our computer life whether we like it or not. So whenever your equipment acts up, it’s wise to do a little fixing yourself before you seek the pros. Besides, it’d be embarrassing if you pay for professional help only to realize that your computer only needed a simple reboot.
