5.2 Troubleshooting Hardware Issues

Question 1

Give seven reasons why a computer may be having power issues.

Answer 1

• Power button is not connected properly to the motherboard
• Wall outlet is faulty
• Power cable to the computer is faulty
• Power supply is faulty
• Power cables from supply to components are faulty
• Incorrect voltage setting on power supply unit
• A power supply tester has a small variation or tolerance

Question 2

Name the three voltages a power supply comes in

Answer 2

12V, 5V, 3.3V (all DC)

Question 3

What is the voltage of a wall outlet in Australia?
In America?

Answer 3

Aus: 220-240V/50Hz
USA: 110-120V/60Hz

Question 4

What should you specifically check when testing detachable cables from power supply to components?

Answer 4

Check each pin on both sides of the cable to verify full continuity

Question 5

Give the beep code for a motherboard problem during the POST.

Answer 5

1 long and 1 short beep

Question 6

What is the code for a normal POST?

Answer 6

1 short beep

Question 7

What does a continuous beep mean?

Answer 7

A problem with system memory modules or memory controller

Question 8

Give the beep code for a power supply fault or motherboard problem.

Answer 8

Repeating short beeps

Question 9

What do two short beeps mean?

Answer 9

POST error (error code will be shown on screen)

Question 10

What do three long beeps mean during POST?

Answer 10

Keyboard issue (check that a key is not depressed)

Question 11

Give the beep code for a power supply issue, motherboard problem, or faulty onboard speaker.

Answer 11

No beep

Question 12

What does one long beep, followed by two or three beeps mean?

Answer 12

Video adapter error

Question 13

What can identify faulty components on the motherboard that need to be replaced?

Answer 13

A POST-test expansion card

Question 14

Will the beep codes be different for different motherboards? Yes/no and why?

Answer 14

Yes, because they are specific to the motherboard’s manufacturer, so motherboards manufactured by different companies will have different beep codes

Question 15

What does the blue screen of death (BSOD) mean?

Answer 15

There is a problem with the underlying hardware that Windows cannot solve

Question 16

Give three error codes that may occur on the BSOD.

Answer 16

CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION

Question 17

What is the equivalent of the BSOD for MAC and Linux?

Answer 17

Mac - Pinwheel of Death
Linux - Kernel Panic

Question 18

What issue causes intermittent shutdowns and/or continual rebooting?

Answer 18

A thermal issue (too much heat)

Question 19

Where can you find the readings from the temperature sensors inside the system?

Answer 19

In the UEFI or BIOS

Question 20

What creates a rancid smell?

Answer 20

A blown or burst capacitor

Question 21

When does a capacitor lose the ability to regulate electricity?

Answer 21

When it starts emitting internal chemicals

Question 22

Describe a 3GHz processor.

Answer 22

A grey square inside a slightly larger dark grey square, inside a slightly larger blue square

Question 23

Where are the BIOS settings stored?

Answer 23

In the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or the NVRAM

Question 24

Where is the real-time clock (RTC) stored?

Answer 24

In the non-volatile RAM (NVRAM)