Physical problems.
WHAT COMMON SYMPTOMS SUGGEST
No power at all: supply, cable or socket
Powers on, nothing on screen: display, graphics or memory
- Random restarts: power supply, overheating or memory
- Unpredictable crashes: memory, drivers or overheating
- Slow with disk activity: failing drive or memory shortage
- Noise: fan or mechanical drive
WHAT TO CHECK FIRST
Connections, by reseating them.
WHY
Loose connections are common and cost nothing to eliminate.
WHAT TO TEST BY SUBSTITUTION
Cable Power supply Display Memory modules, individually
WHY INDIVIDUALLY
It identifies which module is faulty.
WHAT TOOLS TO USE
Memory testing software Drive health reporting System temperature monitoring Firmware diagnostics, where provided
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE CONCLUDING HARDWARE
Whether the fault persists with minimal software.
WHY
Software faults imitate hardware faults convincingly.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT DATA ON A FAILING DEVICE
Copy it first, before further diagnosis.
