Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting

You Will Learn

• General guidelines for creating preventive maintenance programs and troubleshooting procedures

• The importance of maintaining an optimal operating environment for computer systems that are clean, free of potential contaminants, and within the temperature and humidity range specified by the manufacture

•  The six step troubleshooting process and common problems and solutions for different computer components.

Benefits to Preventive Maintenance

• Computer location or environment - Dusty environments, such as construction sites, requires more attention than an office environment

• Computer use - High-traffic networks, such as a school network, might require additional scanning and removal of malicious software and unwanted files

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Preventive Maintenance - Dust

• Use a cloth or a duster to clean the outside of the computer case. If using a cleaning product, put a small amount onto a cleaning cloth and then wipe the outside of the case

• Dust on the outside of a computer can travel through cooling fans to the inside. 

Internal Components

• CPU heat sink and fan assembly

• RAM modules

• Storage devices

• Adapter cards

• Cables

• Power devices

• Keyboard and mouse

Environmental Concerns

• An optimal operating environment for a computer is clean, free of potential contaminants, and within the temperature and humidity range specified by the manufacturer

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Multiple Choice

What is the most important reason for a company to ensure that computer preventive maintenance is done?

• Preventive maintenance provides an opportunity for junior technicians to obtain more experience in a non-threatening or problem environment.

• Preventive maintenance enables the IT manager to check on the location and state of the computer assets.

• Preventive maintenance helps to protect the computer equipment against future problems.

• Preventive maintenance allows the IT department to regularly monitor the contents of user hard drives to ensure computer use policies are being followed.

Multiple Choice

Which procedure is recommended when cleaning inside a computer?

• Remove the CPU before cleaning.

• Clean the hard drive heads with a cotton swab.

• Hold the CPU fan to prevent it from spinning and blow it with compressed air.

• Invert the can of compressed air while spraying.