Troubleshooting, The Game is Afoot!

In our professional careers when faced with problems in technology, we have to place a Sherlock Holmes hat on and declare, "The game is afoot!" However, unfortunately, we often find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again in hopes of obtaining a different result.  Which is funny, because that is the primary definition of insanity?  In fact, it can be argued that one of the revealing factors of our psychological makeup is revealed in how we approach problem solving. 

So why when we have this wonderful opportunity to display who we are when approach a problem in technology, do we seem to make problems worse when we try to fix things, or in other words, “Dig the hole deeper?”   How many times have we raced into an issue, but every move we make seems to open Pandora’s box bringing to life issues  and complexities so vast, we can only wish were back just facing the initial issue.

Without getting into the psychology of it all, we often give too much credit to the issue.  Thinking that the challenge must be some complex issue, we immediately respond with complex troubleshooting techniques, when all we had to do is notice that the network cable was not connected, or the power was not plugged in, or we calculated the answer in English unit when we should have been using Metric… NASA! (Sorry, that still gets me, hah…)

More closer to home, how many times have you missed your off ramp, but rather than backtrack to the correct exit, you try the next exit and try to get to your destination from there only to find that the effort to do that was 10 times more difficult than just backtracking?  Yes?  So how does one avoid beating our heads against the wall when we approach problem solving in the IT world?  Perhaps a method that eliminates further damage. 

It would be nice if there was a definitive roadmap in problem solving that we can all defer to when challenged with anomalies in technology, but if cognitive sciences has shown us anything, it’s that problem-solving processes differ across knowledge domains and across levels of expertise (e.g. Sternberg, 1995) and that, consequently, findings obtained in the laboratory cannot necessarily generalize to problem-solving situations in the field, has led to an emphasis on real-world problems. In short, in field, experience outweighs knowledge.  This is probably the reason why they say that “knowing is only (half) the battle.”

So for you IT professionals out there, Wasabi Roll would like to step in and assist in this method of madness by prescribing a list of steps defined from experience in the field, rather than from the books, that one may find helpful when troubleshooting technology…

Don’t Panic.

If Douglas Adam’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series have taught us anything, it’s “Don’t Panic”.  Nothing is accomplished in panicking, but providing a comic relief.  So if you don’t want to be remembered as “that guy”, don’t run around like a chicken with your head cut off.  Take a deep breath and relax.  Your colleagues will appreciate it and you will be the better for it.

First, Physical Check Up?

Now this may seem rudimentary, but this is the number one question overlooked when approaching technology issues.  Is it plugged in? is it connected?  This includes display screens, network cables, power cables, and all the devices that are in the path of operation.  Make sure all connections are complete before opening up the patient.  Now you may think this is intuitive, but for some reason has escaped the advanced players in their troubleshooting book.  In fact, it’s so remedial that it’s always assumed that everything is connected correctly, when in fact after hours of exhausting forensics, we find out that it may be the actual culprit.

      What has changed?

Another rudimentary question, but critical nonetheless.  By just asking this, you may save yourself hours of trouble and anxiety.  Always ask the parties involved, “What is different?” Now understand, as Dr. House would tell you…”Everybody Lies”, so don’t give up when given the categorical denial of “Nothing”.  This is impossible, something has changed, so assume that the operator either is not cognizant of the change, or is the cause of the change.  Book’m Dano!

Jesus Saves, so Should You…

Before doing anything, make sure you save your current work so that you don't lose it. Save it on the hard drive or on a USB stick. It doesn't matter where; just make sure you save it.

Backup your critical data

This is the freeway example, before blazing the new path, backup to the original exit first.  Never assume that the normal backups are functioning properly, make a backup and remove all doubt.  If you confirm a recent full backup then you will only have to backup your most recent documents.  Without the backup, just know that your hard drive may crash or the system may not start up again, so take steps to backup your critical data while it is still working and before you turn it off.  Consider copying the data to a network drive or burning it onto a DVD.

Reboot your computer

The unspoken universal panacea for Microsoft is something that should not be ignored.  When in doubt and before you go escalating to third level support, make sure that it isn’t a Microsoft undocumented feature and Reboot!  Turn your computer off, let it sit for two minutes, and reboot it. Sometimes one command of the hundreds a computer executes every second can cause corrupted memory or other temporary unexplainable problems. Rebooting will clear out all the gremlins and gives everything a fresh-start.

Is your OS happy?

Look at your OS first and make sure the obvious indicators are not glaring at you.  This will save you time in fault isolation.  Unhappy OS is often the source of problems. To check your OS, right-click on My Computer, select Properties, click on the tabs, specifically the hardware tab and then the Device Manager Button. This will open the Device Manager Dialog box. It lists all the hardware devices on your computer. Devices that aren't working properly will have a yellow exclamation mark next to them. Double-click on the problem devices to open a dialog box that may have details on the problem, and a listing of suggestions on how to fix it.

Don’t be like Troy

Falling for the proverbial Trojan horse has been done, so learn from that experience, run a complete system scan with your anti-virus software (make sure you update your virus definitions before you run the scan). You can do a free online scan at TrendMicro's Web site (http://www.trendmicro.com/). You should also scan your computer for adware, spyware, or other malware with a product like Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) or SpyBot (http://www.safer-networking.org/). Scanning your machine with two of these products can be helpful as sometimes you will find something that one product missed.

Install Updates

If it seems one program or hardware device is acting up, check the manufacturer's Web site for updates. The code in most software is thousands if not millions of lines long and it is impossible for software companies to find all the bugs in their programs. As users discover problems, software and hardware manufacturers often release revised software or updated drivers that include new code to address newly discovered problems.

Check online support

The majority of the issues you will run in have been experienced by someone else.  Hence, if you get as far as this step, your problem is probably more complex. Most hardware and software manufacturers now have extensive support information online in searchable databases. These are often called Knowledge Bases. Microsoft's support page is at http://support.microsoft.com/. Odds are someone else has already experienced the same problem you have, and you can often a solution online. Good luck with your troubleshooting.

Source(s):

• http://www.stat.purdue.edu/~jennings/stat522/handouts/ProblemSolving.pdf
• http://www.stat.purdue.edu/~jennings/stat522/handouts/ProblemSolving.pdf
• http://www.troubleshooters.com/tuni.htm
• http://certcities.com/editorial/tips/story.asp?editorialsid=17

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

About Rick Ricker

An IT professional with over 20 years experience in Information Security, Telecommunications, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

For more information, contact Rick at (800) 333-8394 x 689