-: In this lesson, we're going to talk about
the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology.
As a technician, you're often going to be asked
to help find the root cause of an issue
or at the very least, find a workaround
to get the end user back up and running
as quickly as possible.
When you're troubleshooting,
it's important that you follow
a systematic and repeatable methodology
so that any other technician can take over for you
during that troubleshooting
and know exactly what you've done so far
and what they should try next.
After all, you don't want to be stuck working 24 hours a day
seven days a week
because you're the only person who knows what you've done
and what you plan to do when something goes wrong.
So to help with this
CompTIA provides a six-step troubleshooting methodology
which we're going to discuss in this lesson.
Now, this methodology was developed
by observing and recording the best practices
used by experts in the field.
So as you begin your career as a new technician
it is a great place to start.
Now for the exam, you are expected to know these six steps
of the troubleshooting methodology
because they're going to ask you questions about it
such as, "You just completed step five,
"what should you do next?"
And you're going to have to select the wording
that reflects what you would do in step six.
Now, as a quick side note,
if you're already working as a technician,
you probably have your own process or methodology
that you like to use.
Now for the exam, I want you to forget your method
and always use the CompTIA six-step methodology
because that is what you're being tested on
and that's what the exam writers wrote the questions around.
Do not fight the exam here.
Memorize the six steps of this methodology
and use it to answer the questions on test day.
After test day,
if you want to go back to your own methodology, that's fine.
But for the test, you need to know these six steps.
I don't tell you to memorize a lot of things
but I'm telling you, memorize these six steps.
All right, with that being said,
let's quickly go over the six steps
of the CompTIA troubleshooting methodology.
First, identify the problem.
When you attempt to identify the problem
you should gather information from the user,
identify user changes,
and, if applicable, perform backups
before you make any kind of changes.
You should also ask if there's been any environmental
or infrastructure changes recently
because those could also affect the system too.
Second, establish a theory of probable cause.
I like to call this questioning the obvious.
When you establish a theory of probable cause
you should immediately question anything
that is obvious and easy to check.
For example, if the system won't power on,
you should probably check that the workstation
is actually plugged into the wall outlet properly
and that the wall outlet actually has power.
As you attempt to establish a theory of probable cause
you may also need to conduct external or internal research
based on the symptoms that are being displayed.
One of my favorite troubleshooting tools is Google
because you can simply enter a search like,
"Why won't my Windows 11 laptop boot up?"
And you'll find a bunch of possible reasons for that.
Remember, the better your search phrase is,
the better your results are going to be.
If you get an error code, Google it,
and you're probably going to find the answer pretty quickly
on how to solve it.
Third, test the theory to determine the cause.
So, back in step two, we established our theory.
Now in step three, it's time to test that theory.
Let's use the example of the computer that wouldn't turn on.
Maybe you suspected the outlet was faulty.
Now the easiest way to test this
is to plug your computer into another outlet
and try to power it on.
If the computer powers on, then guess what,
you know the outlet was the problem.
Once that theory is confirmed, then you need to determine
the next steps to resolve that problem.
In the case of a power outlet that's not working,
that might mean that you need to replace the power outlet
or put in a work order for an electrician to come out
and then replace that outlet for you
depending on your skill level and the company policies.
Now if the theory is not confirmed
then we need to reestablish a new theory
by guessing what else could be the problem,
or, if you're truly stuck,
then you could escalate that problem
to the next higher tier of support
such as a coworker or the field services technicians.
Fourth, establish a plan of action to resolve the problem
and implement the solution.
So now that we've confirmed our theory
and we know what we need to fix,
we're going to now fix the system.
Going back to the power outlet example,
our plan of action is to replace the outlet.
The solution to implement that
is to buy and replace the outlet
or put in a work order
so a professional electrician can replace it for us.
Now also, if you're working on a computer system,
remember, it's always a good idea
to refer to the manufacturer or vendor's instructions
for repairing or replacing its components.
Fifth, verify full system functionality
and, if applicable, implement preventative measures.
Now at this point, you figured out the issue,
you've implemented the solution,
and hopefully you've solved this issue.
But to verify that
you need to check the system
and verify the system is fully functional.
Also, if the issue is one that could have been prevented,
now is a good time to implement preventative measures.
For example, if an employee spilled their coffee
on their laptop
and this short circuited their keyboard,
you might implement a preventative measure
by having the company issue a memo to all of the employees
that says you can only drink if you're using a cup
that has a covered lid
when you're using a company provided laptop or workstation
because this prevents inadvertent spills.
Sixth, document the findings, actions, and outcome.
Now that all the work is done,
we want to take a moment to document what was wrong,
what we did to solve it,
and what the final outcome was.
So, let's go back
to the spilled coffee on the laptop example.
You might go to the trouble ticket system
and document the findings and actions as,
"The user's laptop keyboard was not responsive.
"Upon visual inspection,
"the keyboard appeared to be sticky and damaged.
"When I opened up the laptop, I saw residual brown liquid
"suspected to be coffee.
"I removed the internal keyboard,
"dried the laptop overnight,
"installed a new keyboard, and retested the system
"to verify everything was functional again."
Now, under the outcome in the ticket, you could then enter,
"End user laptop has been fully restored to service
"after replacing the internal keyboard.
"The end user was advised to be careful with liquids
"around company equipment
"and to use a lid
"when drinking near any electronic equipment."
Hopefully this short video gave you a good idea
of how to use the six-step troubleshooting methodology
to resolve problems that you come across as a technician.
We're going to revisit this troubleshooting methodology
in more depth later on in the course
as we enter domain five,
hardware and network troubleshooting, as well.