This chapter introduces preventive maintenance and the troubleshooting process. Preventive maintenance is

a regular and systematic inspection, cleaning, and

replacement of worn parts, materials, and systems. Preventive maintenance helps to prevent failure of parts, materials, and systems by ensuring that they are in good working condition. Troubleshooting is a systematic approach to locating the cause of a fault in a computer system. With fewer faults, there is less troubleshooting to do, thus saving an organization time and money.

Troubleshooting is a learned skill. Not all troubleshooting processes are the same, and technicians tend to refine their own troubleshooting skills based on knowledge and personal experience. Use the guidelines in this chapter as a starting point to help develop your troubleshooting skills. Although each situation is different, the process described in this chapter will help you to determine your course of action when you are trying to solve a technical problem for a customer.

After completing this chapter, you will meet these objectives:

• Describe the purpose and benefits of preventive maintenance for personal computers.

• Explain the purpose of PC preventive maintenance.

• Identify the steps of the troubleshooting process and perform basic PC troubleshooting.

• List and explain the purpose of each of the troubleshooting process steps.

• Identify common problems and solutions for PCs.