Troubleshooting Operating Systems
Booting
Failure to Boot
EX1:
"System not found."
Black screen with white text,
Hardware issue, Windows has not been able to even boot.
EX2:
"Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart"
A scary error.
Determine the symptoms
Blank screen/error messages
Sound/smells (clicking hard drive, burning components
Hardware issue: troubleshoot and repair/replace
Windows
Order of Ops
I/O
P.O.S.T.
BIOS
Primary device
Primary Partition
MBR
EFI
click to edit
Two critical files risk corruption in Windows: bootmgr and bcd
Can be fixed with the bcdedit tool,
Which can e use in the Windows Recovery Environment
WinPE
(Windows Preinstallation Environment)
Enabled the windows installation process to have a GUI rather than relying on a command line
Can boot directly to windows media
(DVD or Flash)
Has troubleshooting and repair features within the installation.
This is called the WinRE
(Windows Recovery Environment
Overall Improvement on the Windows Recovery Console
WinRE
WinRE
Windows 7
Boot from the windows installation media
Use Repair Your Computer option on the Advanced Boot Options (F8) menu.
Create a system repair disc before issues arise.
Control Panel | Backup and Restore > Create System repair disc or System Image
WinRE
(8/8.1/10)
Create Recovery drive
16GB min
Boot to recovery drive
Access WinRE from installation media
Reasons to access it from
Installation Media v. HDD
HDD can be faulty
Advanced Boot Options menu requires
Local Administrator Pass
Avoid potential malware
Click "Repair"
Startup Repair
Rolls back non-working drivers
Rolls back updates
Restores critical system and driver files
Runs chdsk
Restores critical boot files
Runs a memory test to check RAM
Repairs registries
System Restore
restore points to go back to a time when the PC worked properly
System Image Recovery
Backup image to restore system after a catastrophe
It offers Format and partitioning options for new disks.
It will destroy existing data when restoring
Advanced Startup Options
(Win)
Press F8
After P.O.S.T.
Safe Mode (all Ver.)
Details
Starts up Window,
very basic non-vendor specific drivers
for Essential hardware.
Device manger can be accessed
Config msconfig for direct bootup
Safe Mode w/Networking
Identical with Safe mode, just with network support
Safe Mode w/Command Prompt
Loads a command prompt (cmd.exe)as the shell
to the OS after you log on
Particularly helpful if the desktop
does not display at all
Enable Boot Logging
(Creates Log file of drivers as they load into memory)
Low-Resolution Mode
(Starts Windows normally but only loads a default video driver)
Last Known Good Configuration
(Use this when windows start fails immediately after installing a new driver, but before you've logged on again.)
Directory Services Restore Mode
(Applies only to Active Directory domain controllers)
Debugging Mode
(Starts Windows in kernel debug mode)
Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure
(Stops PC from rebooting on Stop errors, giving a oppurutunity to record errors to find a fix)
Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
(If you are using an older driver to connect your HDD controller or other low-level feature, this allows Windows to load the driver)
Start Windows Normally
Reboot
Return to multiboot menu
Profiles
Tools
User Account has an associated Profile that records settings. A corrupted Profile can block a user from logging in.
Direct registry edits
Create a new user and copy old settings
Event Viewer
Autoloading Programs
Services
Task Manager
Command Line
System Files
System Restore
Troubleshooting Applet
System and Maintence (Win10)
Action Center (Win 7/8/8.1)
Windows update
Troubleshooting Wizard
Backup & Restore
System Restore
UAC settings
Recovery
Application Installation Problems
Problems with Uninstalling
Do this w/admin privileges
Application name and error number
can be used to look up a solution,
Or at least identify the issue.
Compatibility
Disable display scaling on high DPI settings
Run as Admin
Disable desktop composition (Win 7)
Enable the program to work with OneDrive files (8/8.1/10)
640x480 resolution
Change settings for all users
Reduced Colored Mode
Files and Apps
Missing File or Incorrect File Version
Application may rely on other files,
in part. DLL files
App installer may bring specifically formatted versions of common DLL, or other files.
This will overwrite previous versions
Later Applications might look for the earlier version of the DLL & fail when not found.
Typical fix for issues with DLL files,
is a internet search for the
missing DLL or missing file
Unresponsive Apps
Store> Get Updates
Some apps include apps to repair and reset.
App Crashes
Sometimes the code
is just bad
Symptoms
PC Lock-up
Random shut downs
Crash to Desktop
This can also cause random restarts
which can hurt both
Hardware/Software
If the app is particularly poorly written
It may run but at the cost of pulling
resources from where it shouldn't
Volume Shadow Copy Service and
System Protection
Makes backups of any file
Uses VSS for System Protection feature