Troubleshooting General Hardware Problems ion Microsoft windows xp

Written By: admin on December 16, 2009 No Comment

You can use Device Manager to identify devices that are not functioning correctly, either because the device is not properly configured or because it has become inoperable. You may receive an error when the system starts up that sends you to Device Manager to troubleshoot the problem, or you may simply notice a loss of functionality. When you open Device Manager, devices that are experiencing problems are identified with either a yellow exclamation point or a red x icon. If a device is not functioning, consider the following:

? Verify that the device is plugged in and turned on.

? Verify that the device is listed on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

? If the device has been functioning for a time and suddenly stops functioning, determine whether there have been any configuration changes to the system. If changes have occurred, look for potential conflicts associated with new hardware or software. If there have not been any configuration changes (hardware or software), most likely the device drivers have become corrupted and need to be updated, or else the device is physically damaged in some way and needs to be repaired or replaced.

? Make sure that you are using the latest version of the device drivers. You can use the Drivers tab in the device properties to update device drivers to the most current version.

? Consider shutting Microsoft Windows down and turning the computer off. This action causes all hardware to reinitialize and all device drivers to reload, potentially eliminating a transient problem.

? In some cases, you may need to update the firmware on a device. (Firmware is a set of software instructions written onto read-only memory (ROM) on a device.) If there is a firmware update for the device, attempt to apply it to see whether the problem is corrected.

? Move the device to another slot or port on the system to determine whether the slot or port is malfunctioning.

? If you suspect a physical device malfunction, install a known good replacement for the device that is configured in the same fashion and determine whether the replacement device functions. If it does, the original device is most likely damaged and needs to be replaced.

? If you have installed a device driver that is causing the system to crash, attempt to boot into Safe Mode and update or remove the driver. If you are unable to boot into Safe Mode, try the Last Known Good Configuration. If both of these methods fail, use the Recovery Console in windows xp. The Recovery Consoleâ??s Disable command will disable a driver, enabling the system to boot properly so that the driver can be updated or removed.

Alina Wilson is a technical and security specialist, associated with numerous tech firms including iYogi. iYogi is synergistic ally aligned to offer technical support, Microsoft support, computer repair, PC help services, computer support, online technical support, data back-up services to its clients in Australia, US, UK and Canada by Microsoft certified technician.

Popularity: unranked [?]