This document is intended to provide basic suggestions on how to troubleshoot your computer and get better assistance from the community members.
In few words, computer problems can be categorized as follows:
- Hardware issues: Mostly associated with a failed component or new computer builds, component upgrades or electric disturbances, among others.
- Software issues: Failed updates, installation errors and corrupted drivers are frequent examples.
- User-created issues: Who has not changed some system settings without realizing the collateral damage? Keep in mind some issues may not appear right after something is changed.
The general idea is to narrow the cause of the issue to one of the categories mentioned above and discard other possibilities within the same category, isolating the culprit. There are several possibilities beyond this point but it is always important to ask the right questions: Was this working before? What has changed right before the issue started to happen? Can the issue be replicated? Do I get an error message that helps me identifying the cause?
There are plenty of software tools and guides available from the internet or even included in your operating system, it is highly recommended to get familiar with them so you can diagnose the issue properly.
A very efficient tool is the use of a forum or community. Remember that other community members may have encountered the same issue before and some of them have plenty of experience in a particular subject; so, the first thing to do is searching for similar issues.
There is a chance you will need to create a discussion for the first time if no similar topic is to be found. In the case you need to do so, try to be brief, specific, and appealing when writing the title so others will be able to understand the message and help you. Please provide a detailed description of the issue in the body of the message; background history, the system's brand and model, hardware specifications, operating system and driver versions related to the issue. The Intel® System Identification Utility provides valuable information about your system.
Other very good suggestions are given here: Al’s Guide to Avoiding Potential Pitfalls with your PC