| Improper | Running servic- | Determine which pro- |
| shutdown | es or programs | grams and services are |
| prevent the sys- | running and disable | |
| tem from proper | them for troubleshoot- | |
| shutdown. | ing. |
Use MSConfig to disable a startup service or program until you determine which one is causing the problem.
Disable or update the pro-gram or service.
| Spontaneous | BSOD error has | Start the system in Safe | System Properties |
| shutdown/ | taken place on | mode and disable the | (Advanced System Settings |
| restart | a system set to | Automatically Restart | in 7/Vista), Advanced, |
| restart automati- | option. | Settings in Startup and | |
| cally. | Recovery dialog, clear the | ||
| Automatically Restart check | |||
| box in the System Failure | |||
| section (see Figure 9-8). | |||
| Restart the system to see the | |||
| STOP error or open log file. | |||
| RAID not | RAID driver not | Restart installation and | Windows XP: Driver must |
| detected dur- | installed. | provide RAID driver | be on floppy disk. |
| ing installa- | when prompted. | Windows Vista/7: Driver | |
| tion | |||
| can be on any removable- | |||
| media drive (floppy, optical, | |||
| USB). | |||
| Device fails | Driver missing | Open device proper- | Check error code; reinstall, |
| to start | or outdated. | ties sheet in Device | update, or roll back driver. |
| Manager. |
Resource con- Open device proper-
flict with other ties sheet in Device
device. Manager.
Change device to a different expansion slot or configure onboard device to run in Auto mode with CMOS setup.
Use the Troubleshoot but-ton on General tab for other suggestions.
| Chapter 9: Troubleshooting 189 | |||
| Symptom | Possible | Items to Check | Typical Solution |
| Cause | |||
| Missing DLL | DLL files may | Reinstall the applica- | Reinstall the application to |
| message | be been deleted | tion. | same location. |
| or corrupted. |
Entries may Use REGSVR32 to re-
have been register DLL files into
deleted from Registry.
Registry.
Check for Microsoft Fix-It automatic solution at http:// support.microsoft.com or other scripts to make this easier if several files must be re-registered.
| Services fails | Hardware | Reconnect the hard- | Start the service manually |
| to start | required is not | ware or reenable the | if service doesn’t start auto- |
| connected or | hardware. | matically after resolving the | |
| disabled. | problem. | ||
| Other services | Look for “the depen- | Open the Services dialog | |
| needed not run- | dency service or group | in Computer Management | |
| ning. | failed to start” error | and verify which services | |
| message. | the service that doesn’t start | ||
| requires. | |||
| Resolve those problems | |||
| before continuing. | |||
| Service needs | Service might need | Open the Services dialog in | |
| login informa- | administrator login | Computer Management and | |
| tion. | to run on standard | provide the credentials nec- | |
| account. | essary for the service. | ||
| Service has | Service not configured | Open the Services dialog | |
| stopped due to | to restart automatically. | in Computer Management | |
| errors. | and configure the service | ||
| to restart automatically on | |||
| error. | |||
| Determine the cause of the | |||
| error and resolve it. | |||
| Compatibility | “This program | Look for updated ver- | Install program updates and |
| error | has known | sion or replacement | retry. |
| compatibility | program. | Uninstall program and | |
| issues” error. | |||
| replace with program that | |||
| works with this Windows | |||
| version. | |||
190 CompTIA A+ Quick Reference
Table 9-9 Continued
| Symptom | Possible | Items to Check | Typical Solution |
| Cause | |||
| Slow system | System not | Adjust power manage- | Configure system to use |
| performance | running in high- | ment settings. | Office/Desk (XP) or High |
| performance | Performance (Vista/7) | ||
| mode. | power settings. | ||
| Drive with pag- | Check free space and | If drive has less than 15% | |
| ing and temp | fragmentation. | free space, performance is | |
| files almost full | reduced. | ||
| or badly frag- | Use Disk Cleanup to | ||
| mented. | |||
| remove unwanted files, then | |||
| run Defrag. |
System over- Check the CPU fan
heated. and system fan perfor-
mance.
Check the ventilation.
Check the power-sup-
ply fan.
Clean system fans and vents.
Clean CPU fan and heat-sink.
Replace fans that don’t spin freely or spin too slowly.
Replace the power supply if the fan has failed or is run-ning too slowly.
| Boots to Safe | Default startup | Continue with Safe | After system boots to Safe |
| mode | option if system | mode startup. | mode, restart the system |
| does not shut | normally. | ||
| down properly. | If the system can boot only | ||
| in Safe mode, disable start- | |||
| up programs and services | |||
| with MSConfig. |
| File fails to | No program | Check for “This file |
| open | associated with | does not have a pro- |
| file. | gram associated with | |
| it for performing this | ||
| action” error. |
Windows XP: Use Folder Options in Control Panel to associate a program with the extension used by the file.
Windows Vista/7: Use Default Programs in Control Panel to associate a pro-gram with the extension used by the file.
| Chapter 9: Troubleshooting 191 | ||||
| Symptom | Possible | Items to Check | Typical Solution | |
| Cause | ||||
| Missing | Vertical refresh | System has incorrect | Restart system in VGA | |
| Graphical | setting out of | settings for display or | mode and reset vertical | |
| Interface | range. | video card. | refresh rate. | |
| Graphical | Windows start- | Option available | Restart the system. | |
| Interface fails | ed with com- | from Advanced | If necessary, start system | |
| to load | mand prompt | Startup menu or from | ||
| in Safe mode and disable | ||||
| only option. | MSConfig. | |||
| Command Prompt Only set- | ||||
| ting with MSConfig. | ||||
| Invalid boot | Incorrect boot | Check CMOS for | If a floppy disk is left in A: | |
| disk | drive specified | correct drives in boot | drive, remove it and reboot, | |
| in CMOS. | sequence. | check other removable | ||
| media drives and remove | ||||
| bootable media as well. | ||||
Figure 9-7 Preparing to run System Repair from the Windows Vista Recovery Environment.
192 CompTIA A+ Quick Reference
Figure 9-8 The Startup and Recovery dialog in Windows 7 after disabling Automatic Restart.
