Troubleshooting & Maintaining Pcs All–in–one For Dummies, 4th Edition

Show your PC who’s boss  

Nothing’s more annoying than a tech malfunction, especially when it’s your PC—with the exception of perhaps wading through reams of random, unreliable theories online looking for a solution, or paying an expensive tech geek to show up to perform a five-minute fix. The latest edition of Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies puts all this frustration behind you and gets you straight to work solving the problem yourself! 

In his straightforward, friendly style, Dan Gookin—bestselling tech author and all-round Mr. Fixit—packs everything you need to know into 5-books-in-1, giving you the knowledge and process to hit on the right solution, fast. From identifying common problems to methodically narrowing down to the correct fix, you’ll save hours of frustrating research—and experience the sweet, righteous satisfaction of having achieved it all yourself.  

• Pick up quick fixes 
• Understand and reconnect networks  
• Restore memory 
• Boost your PC’s performance 

Every problem has a solution and PCs are no different: get this book and you’ll never catch yourself shouting at your monitor or frustrated with the motherboard again—well, maybe not quite so often.   

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

How This Book Works 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Book 1: Solve My Problem Now! 5

Chapter 1: Trouble Comes Hither 7

The Root of All PC Trouble 7

What’s Changed? 8

Installing software 8

Adding or removing hardware 9

Changing settings 10

Hardware-versus-Software Problems 11

Dealing with software issues 11

Solving hardware issues 12

Addressing firmware issues 12

When to Give Up 13

Chapter 2: Quick Fixes 15

Things to Try First 15

Checking the Settings app 16

Restarting the PC 16

Restarting a stubborn PC or laptop 18

Running a troubleshooter 18

Repairing a program 19

Fixing Windows 20

Restoring the system 21

Help! 21

Locating Internet support 22

Downloading drivers 24

Perusing forums 25

Contacting tech support 26

Being wary of remote desktop access! 27

Book 2: O, We Got Trouble! 29

Chapter 1: Startup Problems 31

The Onset of PC Heartbreak 31

Phase I: Power On 32

What happens 32

What could go wrong 32

Troubleshooting steps 32

Phase II: The POST 35

What happens 35

What could go wrong 35

Troubleshooting steps 36

Phase III: Startup Options 37

What happens 37

What could go wrong 38

Troubleshooting steps 39

Phase IV: The Search for an Operating System 42

What happens 42

What could go wrong 43

Troubleshooting steps 43

Phase V: Operating System Initialization 44

What happens 44

What could go wrong 44

Troubleshooting steps 45

Phase VI: Sign In to Windows 45

What happens 45

What could go wrong 46

Troubleshooting steps 46

The Last Thing You Do 46

Chapter 2: Disk Disaster 47

PC Storage Overview 47

Understanding computer storage 48

Exploring mass storage devices 48

Finding mass storage in Windows 50

Adding another mass storage device 52

Adding media 52

Replacing drive C 53

Assigning drive letters 54

Resolving AutoPlay issues 55

Removing media and mass storage 57

Mass Storage Tools and Utilities 59

Opening the Disk Management console 60

Finding mere mortal storage media tools 61

Drive Management