Computer Repair with Diagnostic Flowcharts Free Download PDF Eight flowcharts from published available through the FonerBooks.com website. The full revised eBook with 17 flowcharts and troubleshooting text is available for $9.95. The linked website versions of the flowcharts are interactive, ie, click on the diamond decision symbols and the browser shows the relevant text. The linked flowcharts also include the text for each chapter. I had to remove the text from this eBook due to possible duplicate content issues with Google.
Six laptop troubleshooting flowcharts online at: www.daileyint.com/hmdpc/repair.htm
Copyright 2011 by Morris Rosenthal This eBook may be shared online and printed for personal use only, on the condition that any electronically transmitted or printed copy include this copyright notice and statement. This eBook may not be used for commercial purposes or modified in any way without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Flowcharts produced with Microsoft Visio Standard
Power Supply Failure
No
Live screen?
Check power requirement vs rating.
Yes
No
No
New hardware installed?
No
Yes
New build?
Proceed to Video Failure chart.
No
Power comes on?
Yes
Good AC power source?
Yes
No
Is 110/220 V set?
Yes
Use live outlet.
Boot on 2nd try?
No
Yes Premature power_ok signal. Try different power supply.
Hear any beeps?
Yes
No
Proceed to Motherboard Failure chart.
Select proper voltage on rear of power supply. Yes
Installed motherboard
No
lead?
Yes
Power switch fail?
No
Check manual and motherboard silkscreen. Connect lead from front panel switch.
Yes Replace switch or substitute front panel reset switch, if available.
Remove latest addition and retry. Test, replace power
Yes
Power supply connections to motherboard correct?
Remake
supply. Hard drive spin up?
Either you have a short circuit in the case or a geometry problem placing an unacceptable stress on the motherboard. It’s also possible that the video adapter was never seated,
No
Yes
No
motherboard power supply connections.
Spin up on other lead?
Yes
Powers motherboard on bench? No
due the bracket position. Replace power supply.
No
Bad adapter on bus? Yes
No
Yes Defective power supply lead or connector. Strip system down to video adapter only.
See Box A, on Conflict Resolution chart.
Try drive in test PC.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead. Power Supply Failure Or cut and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm
Video Failure
Does system power up?
Yes
No
No
Monitor power on?
Yes
Yes
Check monitor
Connect video card
power source. Make sure cord is fully seated in the
power inside PC
monitor socket.
No
Yes
in middle of range?
Adjust brightness and contrast. Yes
No
RAM seated?
Proceed to Power Supply Failure
Yes
Live screen?
Controls
“No power” displayed?
Hear
Yes
No
No
a string of beeps?
Yes Video cable secure?
No Check both ends of video cable.
No
No
“No Signal” displayed?
Yes
Adapter seated?
No
Yes
Reseat video adapter, secure. Cable
Yes
Reseat RAM on Motherboard.
Monitor tested?
Yes
damaged, pins bent?
No
No
Test monitor on good PC or laptop.
Repair or replace video cable. Any Testing with a different technology video adapter (PCI vs PCI Express) doesn’t prove the card slot is good No
Proceed to Motherboard
No
Freezes Yes
other adapters installed?
on BIOS Screen?
Yes Live with new video adapter?
Failure chart
No
Live with lone video adapter?
No
Yes
Proceed to Video Performance chart.
.
Yes Try old adapter in other system before chucking.
Proceed to Conflict Resolution chart.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
Video Failure Or copy and paste: http://www.fonerbooks.com/video.htm
Motherboard, CPU, RAM Failure Power diagnostic done?
No
Proceed to Power Supply Failure.
CPU seated flat?
Fan on heatsink active?
Check fan power point, (fan1), replace.
Proceed to Motherboard Performance chart.
Yes
No
Freezes on swapped RAM?
Yes
Yes CMOS settings default?
Yes Replace RAM
Default No
No
No
Reseat CPU and heatsink.
Hear beeps?
Freezes on boot screen?
Proceed to conflict resolution chart
No
Yes
No
Freezes bare bones?
No
Proceed to Video Failure diagnostic chart
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Video diagnostic done?
RAM matched, seated?
Reseat RAM, positive lever lock. Install pairs if required.
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Live Screen?
No
motherboard Yes settings?
Restore default motherboard settings with jumpers or switches.
with type listed in motherboard documentation.
No Load defaults from BIOS.
Yes
Runs on bench?
Yes
Heatsink active?
No
No Locate short, binding, or swap case.
Yes
Bad CPU, watch voltage and heatsink
CPU swap work?
No
Install new heatsink, connect fan. May be too late for CPU.
on replace
ment.
Motherboard bad.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
Motherboard, RAM, CPU Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/cpu_ram.htm
ATA Drive Failure
No
BIOS register drive?
No
Drive seek, spin up?
Yes
CD or DVD drive?
Yes
No
Yes Try swapping power cables and test in other PC or external USB shell before trashing.
SATA drive?
No
Yes
Yes 300 MB/s SATA2? Check on-drive compatibility jumper if old 150 MB/s controller.
No
Proceed to CD / DVD chart.
Set Master/ Slave?
Yes
No
Yes
(CS)?
Cables seated,
BIOS on old motherboard may fail to detect
management. No Mode,
No
Yes
Select Master/Slave or CS. CS requires 80 conductor IDE cable or custom 40 wire cable.
both ends, test cable.
X-fer speed correct?
Replace IDE cables if in doubt.
No
PATA hard Yes
drives require 80 conductor cable, check mode in CMOS.
Reseat IDE and power cables.
IDE Yes ribbon cable No keyed?
Replace IDE cable. If BIOS still doesn’t register drive, either
Check data cable seated
No
new?
Swap power lead, try isolating on IDE cable, check power
Data Yes connection good?
SATA when present. Set cable select Yes
Drive cycles up, down?
No
No
Does FDISK see drive?
Isolate drive on primary IDE controller. If FDISK still doesn’t see drive, the MBR may have been trashed by a virus.
Yes
Proceed to Hard Drive Boot and Performance chart.
motherboard controller or drive is bad or incompatible.
M a t c h p i n 1 o n a l l c o n n e c t o r s .
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
ATA Drive Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/ide_hd.htm
CD or DVD Playback
No BIOS register drive?
Yes
Yes
Locked in software?
Try ejecting before boot.
Yes
Tray ejects?
Yes
No
Proceed to ATA Drive Failure
No
Pin hole on drive face?
Drive vibrates, noisy?
Yes Eject and remount. Try another disc. Check drive mounted level with 4 screws.
No
No
Plays music CDs?
Yes
Yes
No
Plays movies?
Pull drive, Unplug power, insert straightened paper-clip, pull tray. Make sure you didn’t use any long mounting screws. Yes
No
Yes
Two drives installed?
No
Yes
Burner problem?
Read data disc?
No
Yes
Check CODECs, recent update of media player
Proceed to Recording Problem.
DAE settings or audio patch cable from drive to sound card.
Read other discs?
Reading right drive?
No Yes
Boots OS?
No
Yes
No
Laugh at self, pick right drive.
No
faceplate, pry and pray.
Try other diagnostic chart.
Clean disc with flannel, check for scratches. Yes
Device Manager problem?
Change CMOS boot sequence, pre-spin drive, try CD in test PC.
No
No
DVD SATA?
Yes
Proceed to Conflict Resolution.
No Replace IDE cable,
change BIOS mode, try drive in test PC.
Drive shares IDE cable?
Yes
Replace data cable, test drive in USB enclosure or other PC.
Isolate on secondary IDE.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
CD or DVD Playback Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/ide_cd.htm
Modem Failure
DSL or cable modem?
Yes LED may say
No
“Online”, green is usually good. Yes
Internet LED lit? No
ISP pick up?
No
Power off PC and modem, retry. Line unplugged, modem failure, or service out.
Busy or ringing?
Yes
Filters installed? Yes
Friend w/ same?
No
Multi-port modem?
Yes Try networking cable on different modem port, USB,
ISP
No
No
confirm user info? Yes Proceed to Connect at lowered speed?
No
Install on ALL lines!
Yes
Connect to different ISP?
Try borrowed DSL modem.
No
Yes
Try dialing on pulse
Get valid user name, password from ISP.
Yes
Gets online?
No
outside line. No
No
Yes
No
Confirm ISP’s phone number, area code and prefix for
Cable?
Does modem dial?
Yes
Modem Performance
Yes
Check modem standards and brands supported with ISP.
No
Try direct line or new modem.
Likely PC networking, network adapter or software, especially firewall.
Yes
No
Yes
Device Manger report problem?
“No dial tone”?
No
Yes
Best driver installed?
Yes
No
Connect line jack on modem.
Download latest driver from web.
Pass or test
wirele
ss function with laptop.
No
OS modem Yes test? Reboot, try
Try new modem.
again.
Proceed to Conflict Resolution.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead. Modem Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/modem.htm
Sound Failure
Any non-beep audio?
No
Sound enabled in O.S.?
No
Yes
Proceed to Sound Performance
Yes
Enable sound (Control Panel for Windows PCs) and test clips for Windows actions. No
External volume dials up?
No
Yes Best Yes
Turn up external controls on speakers, old
No
driver loaded?
Yes
Any “!” or “?” in Device Manager?
Manager register card?
No
driver from Internet.
USB sound?
Yes
Yes Try different USB port, cable. Try on other PC or laptop.
No Proceed to Conflict Resolution
Checked all jacks?
Plug in speaker brick (transformer), except for USB powered or old battery speakers.
Download latest
Device
sound cards.
No
External speakers powered?
Yes
Yes
Register with video only?
Yes
No
Yes
Built-in No motherboard sound?
Disable motherboard No Confirm speaker jack connected correct port (nonUSB only). If 3D sound card, use
No
Hunted down every software volume?
front speakers. Sound capable devices, and 3rd party software may all have
sound in CMOS and install sound card. Yes
Problem Ye s Proceed
to CD or DVD
Replace sound card. Use USB speaker or USB sound card if no expansion with music CDs only?
No
Hardware failure.
individual volume controls. Watch for “mute” boxes checked.
Playback
slots. Check speakers, patch cables, sound card on test-bed system.
?
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
Sound Failure Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/sound.htm
Network Hardware Diagnostics
No
Yes
New hub added to LAN?
Check crossover (X) port wiring.
PC sees other network units?
Yes
Yes
Random problems?
No
No
Software limits, user settings.
No
Link light lit?
Yes
Shielded cable?
No
Yes Copied network config?
Yes
Yes
Device Manager problem?
Clone setup from good workstation.
No
Tried known good cable?
Yes
PC works at new location?
In-wall cabling failure, limits, or hub port.
No
Yes
Within physical layer
Yes
Tried different port on hub?
Swap cable or check pairs, ends.
Yes
Add repeaters, re-route cables. Fails on traffic, # of users?
Swap hub for switch, check server utilization.
Reboot, improper software configuration or bad network adapter.
No
No
No
Flaky off network also? Yes
If connection stable on new port, prior port is failing.
network hardware if only this workstation has intermittent failures. Try eliminating all other non-essential
No
limits?
No
Problem is unlikely
software tasks for testing purposes.
Check proper ground (one end)
Physical layer (cables, devices)
No
Proceed Conflict Resolution.
Yes
No
Proceed to Motherboard Performance.
Cable bypass to hub fix?
Yes
New No Most likely software conflicts, virus.
network card works?
Yes
Bad patch or inwall cabling.
Throw out old adapter, $10 new.
You can open the interactive version of this flowchart in your browser on the fonerbooks.com website by clicking on the chapter heading below. The interactive version allows you to get the text for each decision symbol without paging ahead.
Network Hardware Diagnostics Or copy and paste http://www.fonerbooks.com/network.htm
