Are There Any Tech-support, Help Desk Persons, or Any Other Professionals Who Are Knowledgable About Computers
Question: Hello everyone,
I'm in a computer class and I am working on a report. I need someones input about how computer performance problems are fixed.
What tools do you use to monitor PC performance?
a) What do you like about these tools?
b) How do you use these tools?
c) Do you have any secret techniques to fix problems?
d) What are some more important tips or secrets that would
help people fix problems?
Thanks... i appreciate your answers, because I spend a huge amount of time on my computer, and I am interested in what the answers will be. Even though I am asking for this info. in order to complete a report, I think I will take the advice given here and use it on my PC also.
Take care
Answer:
Well, decent enough question there. Some consider me a tech guru... so, being so, I will attempt to help. Remember though, even gurus can at times be wrong. Gurus... hmmm, is that like that word Virus? Like, would you say Gurii to mean many? Anyhow, I digress.
Computer, or in your case, PC performance issues/probs are usually fixed with a tablespoon of patience, and a truckload of Xperience! I have the lots of the latter, unfortunately, the former I'm still working on.
The "tools" you need per say are merely things like SiSoft Sandra to "diagnose" the problems. Also, again, experience plays a big role, like with a car mechanic, in "hearing" or "seeing" what the problematic system is doing in so deciding what/where is the best place to start fixing, and what tools will truly be necessary.
Here are a few tools I use just about everytime I need to fix something, whether it be a problem inflicted by a nasty virus/virii/trojans/worms, or anything else you may encounter, like hardware errors, or software malfunctions...
1. I always first scan my computer(s) with HIJACKTHIS, the best most inclusive/comprehensive system/registry scanner. It scans for not only ambiguous errors in syntax in the registry and system, but also for virii, trojans, SPYWARE, and anything else you may have that shouldn't be there. Here's a link to it.http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
If you need help with the functionality(ies) of this program let me know via email, I've used it thousands of times.
2. Secondly, I always do a basic hard drive scan to make sure the problem isn't arrising from a simple hard drive glitch. This step is necessary to me, but hardly ever reveals anything (fortunately).
3. SiSoft Sandra is a great program to discover both what you actually HAVE inside your computer, hardware & software-wise, well, mostly hardware. It's VERY concise in detailing your every interior component, that is, for instance, your hard drive, it can give you details down to the model #, clusters, sectors... the whole 9.5 yards. I love what it does for the video card (busloads of helpful details). It can even diagnose errors... unfortunately, it cannot fix them. :-/ http://www.sisoftware.net/
4. Another handy tool is one program that M$ has actually made that doesn't have major bugs. MSCONFIG
To run this handy little helpful tool, click START, then RUN, then type in MSCONFIG. That's it. Take it from there. it's easy to use, very intuitive. Also, it has my #5 tool I use to fix errors there.
5. SYSTEM RESTORE This step/tool is possibly the most important tool you have at your disposal when all else fails... guess I'm assuming that you have WinXP/XP pro/2000.
You can find this tool using MSCONFIG. What you can do with this tool is just as it says, restore your system settings to a preset dat and time when your computer was actually working fine... this is sort of codependent on another factor: Your knowledge of when the heck your computer was in fact running correctly/uninfected.
6. Now... here's another handy tool. A phillips screwdriver. You'll need this after you slide open your case, assuming that your case is one of the newer ones that is TOOLLESS for opening it. But, after you get into it, you'll need a phillips, as most ever component inside it requires this for getting out of the comp or putting back in. For instance, all PCI/AGP/PCI Express 'cards' require a phillips for installation.
I guess that's about it for now. There are far more tools, perhaps even as important as my most important ones above, but that's about all I can think of at the moment. In summary, I guess the best tool would be your ability to scrutinize any problem thrown at you from that darned computer. Oh, and PATIENCE. Take care and GOOD LUCK! Hope that helped. Again, email me if you have any further questions.
There is the task manager, it will show you not only the tasks that are running but also the performance of the CPU.
Access by pressing CTRL - ALT - DELETE at the same time.
Also there is the performance utility. You can go to the
Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Performance
this will show you the percentage amount that is being used for the listed variables.
It really depends on what system I'm working on. However you more than likely talking about a Windows Desktop. The tool I use the most the standard Windows task manager. This tool will tell you what processes are running in the background, applications that are running, and CPU/memory usage. As a systems administrator you can garnish this information remotely.
As for the best tips, always keep you system updated with the all the security patches, and have a current virus scan application like McAfee or Norton with the latest a greatest definitions. As for secrets, not giving any, then we as IT technicians will be out of a job. Seriously though, there is a lot of information available on the web, you can find anything from virus removal instructions/tools to detailed programming to fix a bug in some software.
More Questions & Answers...