BSODs how to troubleshoot?

[ibex333]

I am a low tier computer support technician working in a college. I can deal with basic hardware and softare problems most of the time, but for more serious stuff, I always have to call that mystical "IT Deppartment". Rarely I have students coming in with BSODS happening on thir laptops asking me to fix their problem. Unfortunately, I am powerless to help them most of the time becuase such problems tend to be related to a hardware issue. There was a time I was ok with this answer, and it was good enough for me, but I am tired of being the guy who doesnt know "exactly" what the problem is and having to say that this is PROBABLY a hardware or a driver issue.

I know there are people out there that can pinpoint the problem with almost 100% accuracy just by readign the error code on the screen. I want to be that guy. Do I have to know programming to troubleshhot such things? Do I have to be proficient in windows kernel? IS it all of the above and more? Can someone please tell me what I need to learn? Which books I must read?

I think it's already clear what I am saying here, but I will give one more example... There are car mechanics that replace a faulty part when there is a problem, but there are those few that can dissasemble just about any part inside a car and fix that, instead of replacing parts for new ones. I want to be that guy, but with computers. How do I become one?

 

[ibex333]

No one knows anything about this at all?

 

[jamesmcuk]

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc750081.aspx

 

[Blain]

BlueScreenView

 

[Muse]

Very nice answers so far. :thumbsup: I had a laptop that was blue screening occasionally before the warranty expired. I figured it was a driver. Was going to install a Windows upgrade but before I got around to it the dang thing died, a couple months out of warranty, a few months ago.

 

[ibex333]

Wow! Awesome replies. Thanks very much!

 

[piasabird]

I think as the laptops get older sometimes their power supplies are not good enough or just ware out. For whatever reason they do not pull enough power during startup. At startup all the drives and hardware get tested during the startup routine. So if the drivers are loaded and the harddrive does not have enough power sometimes a driver file is damaged or corrupted. So often when you see these problems, it is an indication of a more serious underlying problem like a bad power supply or maybe the batteries are worn out.

 

[chusteczka]

There are ways to read the memory dump files from the bluescreen crashes that have been described here in the forum by someone knowledgeable. The above methods are new to me.

However, the information in the bluescreen error message is often misleading. I like to scan the error message to see if the same error message occurs repeatedly. I also like to check if the system file is the same each time.

The best way I have found as an amateur technician (non-microsoft qualified) is to evaluate whether the same actions, system files, and error messages occur each time. If yes, then you have a pattern that can hopefully lead to a solution. If no, then it gets more difficult. Yes, my method requires multiple crashes but sometimes this is necessary to find a pattern.

Then it is important to understand the system architecture of the motherboard. Lately, it seems that many of the crashes I see point to overheating components such as the southbridge chipset or processor. A corrupt filesystem can point the way to the southbridge chipset or drive (RAID) controllers.

It is important to remember that bluescreen crashes mostly happen from driver problems or hardware problems. If something has been changed recently, then put it back the way it was. This is relevant when an updated driver starts causing bluescreen problems.

With a laptop, driver problems can be fixed easily. Hardware problems not so easily. Laptops are not designed to have parts pulled and replaced. The information above about laptops power supplies is logical and the first time I have heard this. Thank you piasabird for providing that information.

 

[Muse]

With a laptop, driver problems can be fixed easily. Hardware problems not so easily. Laptops are not designed to have parts pulled and replaced. The information above about laptops power supplies is logical and the first time I have heard this.

One of the nice things about my Thinkpads is Lenovo has short videos showing how to remove and replace the various components. I used this to remove the palmrest, keyboard, bezel, remove and clean the fan, apply Arctic Silver to the CPU and north bridge. They also show how to replace the MB and CPU.

T60: http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/T60_T60p/index.html

T61: http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/ion/R61_T61/index.html

I don't see a video for replacing the internal PSU. I imagine there's a way to do it, though. Maybe replacing the MB accomplishes that?