Computers are our friend but sometimes misbehave.  Here are some common problems and what you can do about them.

1)  The PC won't boot up

• is the power cable plugged in?  Don't laugh, this is a fairly common problem.
  

• Is the monitor on?  Reseating the video cable is a good idea.

• Is power light actually on?  If not, check power outlet and power cable.
  

• If none of this works, call the Help Desk
  

2)  The PC freezes

• Check to see if you can move your mouse cursor.  If you can, there is an application that is hung up.  The other applications are probably OK.  Try using Task Manager to close the offending application.
  

• Try rebooting the PC by pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL.  This will fix 8 out of 10 problems.  If it doesn't work, you'll have to do a hard reboot by pressing and holding the power button for about 5 seconds.
  

• If the PC comes back up and freezes again, call the Help Desk.  We'll probably start by asking what applications were running and if you had just installed anything new.

• Running an error check is a good idea after recovering from a freeze.  It usually takes about an hour.

3)  Network connectivity problems

• Start by looking at network cable.  Check both ends.  It doesn't hurt to reseat the cable.
  

• Try browsing to Google.com to determine if you have connectivity to Internet.  Make sure to refresh the page to make sure you aren't seeing a cached page..

• Check to see if the problem affects one PC or all PCs at the library.  One quick way to check is to run CMD and enter the command ipconfig/all.  Look for the ethernet adapter section for connection status.  This command can also check connectivity to the router.

• If none of this helps, call the Help Desk.  We will probably ask you to recycle the cable or DSL modem.

4)  Printing problems

• Check to verify that the printer is turned on.  Don't laugh, it happens.
  

• Is there a paper jam?  Is there an error on the printer?

• Is the printer on the network?  Printers that connect to a PC as its print server are especially problematic, which is why SELCO strongly encourages network-capable printers.  Use ping to determine if a network printer is responding.
  

• Check print jobs in the printer queue.  One job that has run off the tracks can prevent further jobs from running, creating a traffic jam of print jobs waiting to execute.
  

5)  Viruses

• Reboot the PC to engage hard disk protection.

• On a staff PC, login as Administrator and open antivirus software.  Check quarantined files; if any are present, delete them.  If not, update virus definitions (if possible) and run a full scan.  If none of this works, call the Help Desk.

A Bonus Problem!

6)  USB device doesn't work

• Is it plugged in all the way?

• Check for drivers.  Most USB devices use standard Windows drivers but you might have something odd.
  

• Make sure the device doesn't need an external power supply (usually an issue with external hard drives).  If it does check the power cable.