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Troubleshooting
Introduction
In order to successfully repair a unit you must first confirm the problem, this will involve gathering informa-
tion from the customer and performing your own tests. This is the most important part of the entire
process, if you do not confirm and understand the fault properly then you will never be sure whether the
repair has fixed the fault and that it has not just temporarily disappeared.
This troubleshooting guide will take you through diagnosing faults at a high level as apposed to delving
down to the depths of the circuit boards and software at a low level.
where we replace a suspected faulty part with a good part. You will require a known working set of parts,
ideally built into to a working system so that they can be moved across to the faulty unit to isolate the
problem. In contrast, fitting a potentially faulty part into a known working unit should confirm the diagnosis.
The unit under examination should have the lid removed enabling full access to all of its internal compo-
nents. You should be equipped with at least the following equipment:
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A Digital Multimeter will be used both inside and around the unit.
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An SVGA monitor that has been previously checked to operate correctly with the sometimes-
unusual sync frequencies generated by the unit when in the various TV out modes. Ideally the
monitor will have the power saving options disabled so that it will immediately display any input.
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A TV that can correctly handle both PAL and NTSC format signals over composite or S-video
interconnects.
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An amplifier to check the analogue outputs and ideally has digital inputs to test the digital
output.
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Anti-static measures. This should include an anti-static mat on which the unit should be stand-
ing and wrist straps.
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A Memtest CD which is a bootable CDROM that tests the operation and integrity of the
CDROM and the core processing engine of the mainboard.
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A USB keyboard to instruct the unit to boot the Memtest CD.
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A protective cover to prevent electric shock from the open frame power supply unit (PSU).
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An Ethernet Hub or Switch.
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A DHCP server to allocate IP addresses to the unit for networking tests.
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An Analogue line for checking the modem.
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Complete set of known working spare parts in order substitute suspect faulty parts.
It is extremely important that you have full confidence in the items listed above as problems will result in
delay or possible misdiagnosis.
IMPORTANT: The Power Supply Unit (PSU) protective cover should be fitted at all times whilst the unit is
open, unless otherwise instructed.
Essential Preparation
Before proceeding with this troubleshooting guide, you must have done the following:-
1. Performed a visual inspection on the unit to determine whether the connectors have been properly
seated, all components such as the Hard disk and CDROM are present and that there are no foreign
objects that could cause a device to short.
2. The unit is hooked up to the following items with the correct tested cables.
- Standard SVGA monitor
- Composite output to a TV and the appropriate AV/Channel selected for the unit
We will use a process of substitution
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