Hardware and Network Operating System Maintenance

System/Hardware maintenance

Periodically, all computer components experience failure. Before replacing components or obtaining the services of a qualified computer technician, we can perform the following simple task to fix a problem.

Check that the component is plugged in
Check that the component is turned on
Check that all components such as keyboard mouse are connected in order to operate properly

Primitive Maintenance- Primitive maintenance typically include device cleaning, general maintenance

Device cleaning- sometimes in our computer system dust gets accumulated (gathered) that cause component to overheat and fail. If we want to remove dust from internal system components such as the motherboard and adaptor board we can use a soft brush, static-free vacuum, and also we can use compressed air to remove dust.

General maintenance

Fasten (Join) loose parts- We should ensure that motherboard and other hardware are aptly (competently) fastened.
Solve port and cabling issues- Make sure that cables are properly inserted in the proper ports.
Verify system operations- After completing preventive maintenance we need to verify that our system is in good working order.

Software maintenance

Software maintenance increase the life and usability of the software. The best way to avoid software problems is to keep software up to date. Operating system and application program manufacturers often issue updates to correct known problems.

There are some software issues that may occur are:

Operating system boot problems
Application failure

Operating system boot problems

To work on a PC or laptop, the first thing required is that it boots properly. While booting sometimes we might encounter boot related problems such as:

No Operating System- For this problem, first we need to make sure no external disk is connected. secondly we need to perform a cold boot, that turns the computer off and back on again to ensure that an operating system is present. Sometimes completely powering down and restarting it again can fix the problem.

Operating system files missing or Kernel is not available or missing NTLDR (NT Loader)-Sometimes operating system files can be lost through disk corruption. Then we can use boot disk if available, if not available then we have to reinstall the operating system. Also we can restore the operating system using a system recovery option found in many operating systems.

Hard disk or controller failure- This message indicates a hardware failure but the problem can initially look like a software failure. To fix this issue we need to boot from external disc and try to access the hard disk and controller. If this will not work then we need to replace the failed component by a trained technician.

Startup failure- In this problem operating system is present but the system cannot complete startup. Its possible cause is missing or corrupted operating system files. To solve this problem we need to try a recovery option or we need to reinstall the operating system.

BSOD (Blue screen of death)- This message appears during startup, which indicates that a critical operating system failure has occurred. To solve this problem first we need to try to restart the system. Also we can try starting up the last known good configuration option. If this option does not work then we need to try starting up in safe mode. If we can start in safe mode then we can restore missing or corrupted files or configuration settings. If still, it’s not working then we need to reinstall the operating system.

Application failure

Application failure can take several forms in an operating system and application may not load or it may crash under certain conditions. after most application errors we should try to quit the application if it did not quit automatically. Also, we can restart the operating system to clear errors caused by transient (short time) conditions. when an application will not start, we can consider the following causes and solutions:

System RAM may get too low and we need to free system memory by closing the applications running on the system.
The current logon environment may have crashed, even though it may appear to be running properly. To fix this first we need to try logging off the system and logging back on. if doing so does not solve the problem then the problem is specific to the logon account. to fix this we need to logon as another user and try to launch the application if it launches in other logon environment the we can review the setting for the problem account. if the problem continuous, then we need to reinstall the application.
Some applications will not load properly unless we have additional privileges. then we need to verify permissions for these types of applications.
System RAM may get too low because application crashes will not surrender the RAM they have been using to the operating system, to fix this issue we need to restart the system.
Some application will not run unless your system is using a certain resolution or colour level. to fix this issue we need to verify or change system resolution.

UNIT-302
Network Operating System Administration

Hardware and Network Operating System Maintenance

Submit Review