Computers are here. Computer are not going away. Computers are complex systems. Complex systems break. It is not a matter of “if my computer malfunctions,” it is a matter of “when my computer malfunctions.” All educators must have some skill at troubleshooting some of the simple problems that can arise when using a computer.
There are certain steps that technicians will always take before attempting any repairs. They take these steps because they work to resolve most problems:
- Save your work (if you have any work open- saving it on a network folder or web folder is best).
- Restart the computer. (Any conflicts that are causing malfunctions will probably be resolved by restarting.)
- Check connections. Cables come loose and simply plugging everything in is a good second step.
Some things to know about troubleshooting:
- Pay attention to your computer. If it starts “doing weird things,” save your work, restart it, and see if the weirdness remains.
- Pay particular attention when changes are made. Installing new software can cause new problems to arise, so watch carefully after new software is installed or the operating system is updated. Also, make only a single change at a time. If you install five new pieces of software and your computer starts malfunctioning, then it is impossible to know which title cause dthe problem.
- Correlation does not mean causation… just because you (or someone else) did something to a computer and it malfunctioned soon afterwards, does not mean the change cause the problem.
- It is really bad etiquette to ask “the computer guy” at school to diagnose your computer that is malfunctioning at home. First, that person is employed by the school to do a job, and fixing your computer is not in is or her job description. Second, you are probably not describing everything that is wrong or cannot answer all of the questions, so you are not going to get a good resolution. Third, many computer people have been blamed because of a solution that was suggested (usually by the techie just to shut the other person up) based on incomplete information or some detail that was not attended to by the person with the complaint, but “I only did what you told me to do.”