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Troubleshooting Quick Tips

Many problems can be fixed by "power cycling" the equipment involved. Power off the equipment by turning of it's power switch, if it has one, then unplugging the power for 30 secs. Make sure to turn your computer off too. Plug everything back in and turn it back on and try again!

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Common sense dictates troubleshooting

Observe the POST for any problems or error codes.
Don't assume a problem, confirm it.
Be careful. Safety first.
Pay attention to detail, check everything!
Never check your connections with power on.

(That is, any connection that is directly connected to the motherboard I/O Cards, Keyboard, Bus Mouse. You can ruin the device & motherboard. However, you can check things that are connected to an I/O port. Video, Printer, Serial Mouse, Modem & Game Port.

Take troubleshooting step by step.
Keep a log of what you did to the PC. Good reference for later.
Use your all your senses. Sight, Sound, Smell & Touch.

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POST - Power On Self Test

Beep codes

When you boot up, a series of beeps occur; ROM BIOS manufacture determines the series of beep codes, AMI, IBM, Phoenix, etc.
For example, one long and two short beeps during POST indicates video display adapter problems.
check out the Beep code chart for the audio error code you hear.

POST

The error code you'll observe on the monitor upon the Power On Self Test.
100 error code is system board; 300 = keyboard etc.
check out the POST chart for the problem of you PC.

RAM Notes

Don't mix speeds within bank.
First bank dictates speed, put slower SIMM in first bank - otherwise you will get lockups but try to use the same speed SIMMS in all the banks to prevent any possible memory problems.
Run a diagnostic program.

Intermittent problems such as lockups are the toughest.
could be a memory problem or it could be a processor problem.
If you can't determine the exact location, put in an entire new bank of SIMM's and then check again.

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More problems, common problems

Here is a list of common problems with possible solutions:

1. During POST you get a 601error code.
• Check floppy drive LED upon POST.
• Is CMOS configuration correct?
• Look for loose connections, power/ribbon cable.
• Replace floppy controller card.
• Replace bad floppy drive.
• Replace main logic board.
2. BAD OR MISSING COMMAND INTERPRETER message.
• No boot c:
• No COMMAND.COM FILE present.
• Boot off the floppy drive A: with an emergency boot disk.
• SYS C: [enter]
3. CD ROM not working.
• Check power.
• Go to DOS and change default drive to D:
• Check CONFIG.SYS for LASTDRIVE=D statement.
• Check connections.
• Check drivers.
• Replace CD ROM Drive.
• Replace CD ROM Controller Card.
• Replace main logic board.
4. 1702 error.
• Fix disk controller card.
• Run diagnostics.
• Loose connections.
• Is card seated properly?
• Clean bus contacts with eraser.
• Move it to another bus slot.
• Replace main logic board.
5. Dot Matrix printer won't print in Windows.
• Exit to DOS, press [shift] [print screen].
• Check setup in Windows.
• Look at print setup in the Windows applications.
• Bad or missing printer drivers.
6. Laser printer prints garbage.
• Wrong printer selected.
• Check print setup in Windows and/or applications.
7. Audio - one long, two short beeps
• POST error.
• Wrong video configuration.
• XT, 8088 - check DIP switches.
• AT, 286, 386, 486 & Pentium - run setup.
• Bad video card.
• Replace main logic board.
8. Video is bad while using CD ROM.
• Incorrect video setup in Windows.
• 256 color or higher resolution should be selected.
• Bad or missing driver for video card.
• Not enough video RAM, 1MB needed.
• Replace video card.
• Replace main logic board.
9. No video.
• Check LED and power.
• Check video brightness.
• Check connections.
• Swap monitors.
• Swap video card.
• Clean contacts on video card.
• Move video card to a new bus.
• Replace video card.
• Replace main logic board.
• NOTE: Danger never open up a monitor! Deadly voltage in side!
10. No power.
• Is the PC fan blowing?
• Check power source.
• Is it plugged in ?
• Is power switchable from surge protector ?
• Is system shorted ?
• Check I/O cards, drives, main logic board and power supply.
11. 161, 162, 163, 164 error.
• CMOS battery failure.
• Soldered in batteries can leak, corrode and ruin the motherboard.
• Plug-ins are better.
• Replace lithium battery.
• Run setup.
12. 201 error code
• RAM bad ?
• Upon boot up observe how far the memory counts up.
• Swap possible bad Simm with last Simm in bank.
• Turn on PC & observe if memory count up has changed.
• Replace bad memory module
• If its a intermittent problem.
• Run diagnostics program.
• Replace Bad Ram.
• Replace main logic board.

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